In what appears to be a targeted competitive thrust, song-identification platform SoundHound announced an app update that connects more substantially to music subscription service Spotify. Competitive strategy against Shazam and its recently completed deal with Rdio? Continue Reading
Yesterday afternoon, Reuters spotted a Spotify job listing containing language which implied that the music subscription company was preparing to go public with an initial public offering (IPO). The buzz building around this speculation today is an extension of past predictions from many quarters. Continue Reading
RAIN Hotspots: The five most-read articles of the week. Pandora vs. ASCAP trial; how millennials listen; the inaugural RAIN Poll; spotify launches a radio-like hosted program; Pandora accepts open music submissions. Continue Reading
Paris-based international music subscription service Deezer will close its Australian office. Thomas Heymann, who ran that office, will leave the company. Heymann oversaw Deezer’s Australian launch in 2012. Deezer’s Australian service will continue, undisturbed by the structural change, managed from Paris. Continue Reading
Spotify announced a new programming tactic it calls a “radio show,” starring singer/songwriter Billy Bragg. A monthly production, the first episode will appear tomorrow, February 11. The program’s hook is a “talking playlist.” Continue Reading
As expected, Beats Music made its TV-ad debut with a Super Bowl commercial starring Ellen DeGeneres. It hit Beats’ consistent marketing angle of delivering music that is just right for each listener. How does Spotify’s marketing contrast? Continue Reading
The ultimate in music discovery? Forgotify is based on a startling Spotify factoid that was revealed in the service’s fifth birthday anniversary last year: 20 percent of its vast music catalog goes unheard — not even a single play. Continue Reading
In a frank and concise interview with Hollywood Reporter, Spotify founder Daniel Ek volleys a series of questions about his competitors. He denigrates Beats Music, and makes a mistake about Pandora, but, more interestingly, defines Spotify in a meaningful way. Continue Reading
When Spotify and Topspin announced today that bands would be able to sell t-shirts and other branded merchandise through the music service, it hit four birds with one stone. Continue Reading
It’s as if Beats Music were a meteor headed for earth, and inhabitants on the ground were feeling the heat of its approach. Rdio has followed Spotify, making its web listening free and unlimited. Even Pandora has added a feature to counter Beats Music’s emphasis on curated listening. Continue Reading
Beats Music is launching next Tuesday, aiming squarely at Spotify’s subscription business. Spotify set the stage in December by freeing previous listening restrictions that applied to non-paying users. (That side of the business is ad-supported.) Today, Spotify makes more news by revealing a restriction most people didn’t know about, then lifting it. Continue Reading
British rock band Oasis has yielded to time and trend, adding its 10 albums (representing over 70-million album sales) to Spotify, Rhapsody, Deezer, and Rdio. As usual with announcements like this, but rarely mentioned, YouTube already carries Oasis extensively, with full albums, live performances, official videos, and the band’s own YouTube channel. Continue Reading