Not to trivialize business issues for musicians, but the “Spotify debate” rages on which increasing repetition. Some of the publicized outbursts against Spotify result from musicians being asked about it by journalists. The latest high-profile musician to take a club… Continue Reading
SoundCloud, the audio upload site sometimes positioned as the audio version of YouTube, turns five years old this week. The company blog celebrates the milestone, and mentions a few eye-opening usage statistics. Upload traffic is intense, with an average 12… Continue Reading
If you visit the Deezer website (www.deezer.com) on a computer in the U.S., you see this notice: “Deezer’s music services are not yet available in your country.” That will reportedly change soon, as Digital Music News posts that the Paris-based… Continue Reading
Spotify is reportedly in late-stage discussions to obtain 200-million dollars in new venture funding from Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV). Added to Spotify’s current funding total of $288-million, the new investment would raise the startup’s valuation by 41 percent. Spotify has… Continue Reading
Songkick, which identifies music tour stops by city, has joined Spotify’s app ecosystem. The concert tracking service can be accessed in Spotify’s desktop program. Songkick hooks into the user’s Spotify music collection to recognize bands and artists of interest. It… Continue Reading
Listn is a music app owned by MFive Labs that expands the social possibilities of music listening by connecting people, and their music collections, across platforms and services. The company received $500-thousand in seed funding this week, giving it a… Continue Reading
Singer-songwriter Billy Bragg has stepped into the Spotify debate with a Facebook post that’s getting picked up in the digital music news. Bragg joins Thom Yorke, David Byrne, Dave Allen, and others who critique artist-royalty system in spotify’s business model.… Continue Reading
Wednesday lies at the week’s fulcrum point, and can make you feel stranded in a dim purgatory between weekends. At those times Cafe Cody (www.cafecody.com) is the pureplay music station of choice, able to carry you away sonically. Emanating from Palma… Continue Reading
Tom Taylor notes in his morning newsletter that all-Christmas radio is breaking out early on the broadcast side. Taylor’s interpretation: “Most are an attempt to lay claim to the local market’s Christmas image — even if it irritates regular listeners.”… Continue Reading
Spotify, which arguably has the most vigorous social environment of the interactive music services, is pushing social sharing outside of its apps, via a new partnership with Tango Messenger. Tango is a stand-alone message, game and communications service. Members can… Continue Reading
RAIN’s Weekend Perspective summarizes the week’s important events for a weekend catch-up, and revives your blasted synapses for coming week. PARTNERSHIPS The Echo Nest partners with Getty Images: Music services that use The Echo Nest’s intelligence technology will be able… Continue Reading
It might seem ironic that Swedish musicians are unhappy with their participation in Swedish-born Spotify. But it makes sense that if any national group of artists would take action related to Spotify payouts, it would be in Sweden, where streaming… Continue Reading