Frank Ocean’s new album Blonde was the latest album to spark debates about exclusive releases. Today, the album is available on other streaming services after two weeks as an Apple Music exclusive. But if you’re a Spotify subscriber who has been waiting to hear Blonde, you probably wouldn’t know it had arrived by opening the app. Continue Reading
Spotify is continuing its original video expansion with a new show called Trading Playlists. The program’s seven episodes pair up players from the National Football League to chat about their listening preferences and favorite tunes. Continue Reading
On the Move tracks hires, promotions, and other notable personnel changes within the online audio industry. Today’s moves include new additions to the teams at Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Another spin on the vinyl resurgence; iHeartMedia turns to a future-proofing plan; new stories from Starbucks; Spotify songs of the summer. Continue Reading
Spotify may finally be relaxing its hard line against windowing. The New York Post is reporting that Spotify might reverse the long-held stance that its entire catalog should be available to both free and paid listeners all the time. Continue Reading
It seems that each week kicks off with some new development in exclusive releases. The distribution approach has strong advocates and critics, and today’s news demonstrates just how controversial the path has quickly become for the music industry. Continue Reading
Spotify has amped up its partnership with Songkick, bringing Concerts tabs to all artist pages on the streaming platform. Songkick’s data includes listings and ticket links. The two parties have been working together since 2013. Continue Reading
One of Spotify’s latest hires announced that the streaming service now has 39 million paid subscribers. Troy Carter, global head of creator services, told Billboard that Spotify has added 9 million paying customers since the last audience update in March. The interview also touched on the streaming sector’s current race for exclusive releases. Continue Reading
Spotify is reportedly engaged in a juggling act over its licensing deals with the major labels. According to The Wall Street Journal, the streaming service is running off short-term extensions of its agreements with all three of the major labels. As Spotify continues to move toward a potential IPO, getting all its ducks in a row for these complex legal questions is a must. Continue Reading
David Gray is getting a “Best Of” collection, but he and Kobalt Label Services are taking a unique approach in distribution. The release will be on sale as a CD and vinyl format in October, but for now, it’s a dynamic Spotify playlist. Rather than serve as a traditional album release, the Best Of playlist will be updated every week to reflect the most popular tracks by the artist. Continue Reading
Spotify is going full-steam ahead with its new video content, launching a documentary about Metallica. The four-part series is called Landmark – Metallica: The Early Years and the first episode is available today. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Spotify exec on data-driven marketing; behind the scenes with Coloring Book’s success; Spotify as SoundCloud suitor? Continue Reading