Jumbo jets need longer runways to take off than smaller planes. With reported new funding that nearly doubles its previous capital investment, jukebox service Spotify buys time to continue building momentum. The question is: Whither the destination? Spotify’s new funding… Continue Reading
Rdio, competing for audience in a crowded online-music market, made significant workforce reductions to lower costs. Layoffs are reported to have carved out about a third of the company. In the wake of the layoffs, Rdio made confident noises about its future destiny, but it looks like a rocky road from here.
Continue Reading
Spotify has partnered with Vodafone Ireland, one of many country-specific branches of the international telecom giant. The deal is another instance of a music service joining a telecom carrier in a synergy that benefits both companies. Continue Reading
Last week’s drop of Google’s All Access music subscription app into Apple’s app store was a milestone moment in both the music-service wars and the larger tech-ecosystem land grab. We had fun with our “Google invades Apple” headline, and every media site covering the convergence of music and Internet hit the same note.
The invasion metaphor is apt, more than just for its imagery of two tech/media giants engaged in business warfare. Google’s Play Music All Access, awkwardly-named thought it might be, offers a more complete music platform than Apple does — and likewise for Spotify, Rhapsody, Pandora, and Rdio. Continue Reading
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