The Financial Times reported over the weekend that Apple Music has reached 10 million subscribers, which represents impressive growth over six months. What does it indicate about the future audience growth for Apple Music? Guest columnist Bret Kinsella infers a churn rate from publicly disclosed retention numbers, and arrives at a prediction.
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Spotify has been hit with a second lawsuit in two weeks, again centered on licensing and royalties. The plaintiff is artist Melissa Ferrick, who said her songs have been streamed more than a million times without proper licensing. Continue Reading
In December we wrote about the Listomania research from Chris Price of New Slang Media. Part two of Listomania goes deeper and more granular with a case study of Justin Bieber’s hit song, “Love Yourself.” What are the respective roles of streaming and broadcast radio in fostering a global hit song? Continue Reading
David Lowery has filed an attempted class action lawsuit against Spotify, charging that the streaming service knowingly and willingly distributed music without the correct mechanical licenses. Lowery is a vociferous critic of streaming music services.
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In addition to the gift-wrapping and boxes, we’re also spending our post-holiday stupor unpacking the impact of The Beatles’ arrival into the streaming music space. This Monday morning focuses on social data, Spotify, and the top song choice this weekend. Continue Reading
The Beatles are finally on-demand. It’s not the first time a celebrated hold-out splashily entered the interactive streaming space. But it feels different, closing the loop on a tectonic disruption of music consumption. Continue Reading
Spotify has announced plans to add a new component to its behind-the-scenes features. The streaming service is making a songwriters and publishers administration system to help ensure that the right people get the right payments for the music they have on the platform. Continue Reading
Rdio’s closure meant some scrambling for an unusual partner. The now-shuttered streaming service was the music partner for Tesla’s Model S series of electric cars. Rdio has now been replaced by Spotify for the vehicles in Europe, Australia, and Hong Kong. Current Tesla owners in those markets will see Spotify replacing Rdio through an over-the-air software update. Continue Reading
While albums fade as commercial products, and radio is challenged by streaming audio, is there a new power product that drives listens and accelerates hit-making? U.K.-based consultant and founder of New Slang Media, Chris Price, has emerged as a specialist in identifying the power of playlists, and quantifying their influence. Listomania is his new research study. Continue Reading
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The weekly update of the streaming audio industry, from RAIN News. THIS WEEK: The U.S. Copyright Royalty Board delivers new webcaster royalty rates for payments to record labels. Also, Vivendi takes a majority stake in Radionomy’s online radio platform. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: The most-covered Christmas songs; where are Spotify’s Shows?; Vox talks podcasting; a new feel for classic rock radio; the brain drain at the BBC. Continue Reading
Two developments came from the Spotify camp today. First, the company added a new mobile feature called Party. Second, the streaming service has caught Star Wars fever, and created a standalone site aimed at identifying a listener’s musical match from the film saga’s cast. Continue Reading