This weekly podcast is a quick and concise catch-up of must-know news in streaming music and online audio
This week: Swell Music shutters … Vevo looks for a buyer … Pandora releases earnings … NPR reinvents radio, again … Sirius and Radionomy have news. Continue Reading
On Monday we reported a possible sale of Swell Radio to Apple for $30-million dollars, citing unnamed sources talking to Re/code. That rumor has been substantiated now by thoday’s shutdown of the Swell site. The iOS app fails to connect to Swell servers, except for a brief audio message thanking listeners for using Swell. Continue Reading
Apple is purchasing Swell in a deal worth $30 million, according to unnamed sources. The app offers personalized streams of podcasts and talk radio programs. It has raised $7.2 million as a startup project but this valuation implies that the tool has a lot more to offer Apple as it overhauls its music services. Continue Reading
Bryan Moffett is VP, Digital Strategy & Sponsorship Operations at National Public Media (NPM). We spoke with him in a pre-RAIN Summit phone conversation about NPR’s approach to its audiences via archived content, and the potential of its recently-announced launch partnership with XAPPmedia for voice-activated mobile ads. Continue Reading
There’s a lot going on with streaming audio talk platforms that’s intriguing. Jennifer Lane listens to spoken audio in her car, and in a quest to find good sources she looks at Swell, Stitcher, and Spoken Layer. Also: A glance at the new Inside.com. Continue Reading