The UK has a strong radio culture, thanks to the long legacy of the BBC and widespread radio-set ownership. But we’re seeing more and more outlets in the region pushing the boundary between lean-back and lean-in as they transition into the digital space. Capital Xtra, the radio app from media/entertainment company Global, has recently made strides to offer features that would usually be the purview of on-demand services. Continue Reading
The British Phonographic Industry has released its music market report for 2015. It finds that UK music consumption rose 4% in 2015 to a retail value of £1.1 billion. Last year saw 26.8 billion streams served to UK listeners, an 82% increase over the previous year, which put it at more than a fifth of the UK’s total music consumption. Continue Reading
The British Phonographic Industry and the Entertainment Retailers Association have investigated the crossover between streaming music patrons and CD purchases. The UK organizations found that 66% of its survey respondents use streaming as a discovery tool, then buy physical copies of their favorite works. Continue Reading
Kevin Brown has been appointed chairman at the Official Charts Company. He will be replacing BMG UK SVP Korda Marshall, who held the chair spot for three years, starting January 2016. Continue Reading
Deezer has entered a partnership with Three UK, a mobile carrier. Through this deal, customers of the UK telecom will get free access to Deezer Premium+ for six months. The bundled subscriptions will include exclusive playlists, content, and events just for the Three UK network. Continue Reading
UK Music released a new report for the year that examined the music industry’s impact on the UK economy last year. In 2014, music added £4.1 billion to the gross domestic product, outperforming the rest of the British economy with 5% growth. Continue Reading
Leaders from Germany and the UK both voiced support for digital radio at the WorldDMB conference in London this week. The main takeaways from both officials were the importance of digital for radio’s future and the need for governments to collaborate to achieve that vision. Continue Reading
The UK’s culture minister spoke at Radio’s Digital Countdown about the uptake of DAB receivers in cars. Ed Vaizey reported that 74.1% of new cars now come with DAB receivers as standard. Continue Reading
Third-quarter RAJAR data was released today, revealing the latest radio listening trends for the UK. Radio in the region had a weekly audience of 47.8 million adults or 89.3% of the UK’s population aged 15 and older. The most notable developments for radio this quarter were in digital radio. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worth reads from around the web. Today: The “NPR Voice” has taken over the air (and podcast) sound. Adele is back, with meteoric force. Most stream-listening is mobile; the PC is over; what’s next? Continue Reading
Brief news items and worth reads from around the web. Today: Where is the British breakout podcast? Also India roundup 2.0 and opposing sides get technical in a panel discussion on music licensing. Continue Reading
The Music Managers Forum released a new report titled “Dissecting the Digital Dollar” that examines the industry’s income from digital sources. The UK group used the report as a chance to push for more transparency in the business of online music. It posed seven key issues for the industry to address and closed with a survey of managers. Continue Reading