How Spotify’s expanding content options could create new businesses

After launching in October, Spotify has continued adding to its roster of In Residence shows. These playlists bring a new content approach to the streaming service, one that sounds more like a podcast or a radio show. Now that Spotify is also finally beginning the rollout of its long-awaited video options, it appears that the company is positioning itself as an entertainment hub for more than just on-demand music. Continue Reading

Amazon Prime adds concert subscription add-on, hinting at a bigger streaming vision

Amazon Prime is the latest major company to add a concerts and live performance angle to its streaming service. It has made Qello Concerts available as an a la carte channel for its Prime members. Qello is an initial member of the Amazon Partners Streaming Program, which brings a la carte third-party video content to the platform. What might this signal about Amazon’s longer-term entertainment plans? Continue Reading

Test Drive: 360-degree videos from the Google Cultural Institute

Google announced new additions to its push to record great works in 360-degree video, this time focused on the fine arts. The tech giant has partnered with more than 60 performing arts groups around the world to create live, 360-degree experiences. I’ve seen a few experiments with this video tech before, and it has always seemed more interesting in theory than in practice to me. So I was curious to see what this meeting of high-tech and high culture could produce. Continue Reading

[UPDATE] Rumor Fact(ory): An alleged leak of Facebook’s video and audio domination plans

UPDATE: The social media juggernaut spoke to Billboard following yesterday’s leak at Music Ally, which alleged that Facebook is planning a video service to compete with YouTube and a pure music service to compete with Spotify. Facebook said in a statement that it has “no plans to go into music streaming.” Continue Reading

Vessel’s windowed video service is now open to the public

Vessel has exited its beta phase and its online video service is now available to all viewers. The service, started by former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, is offering exclusive access to videos to its members for a small monthly subscription of $2.99 a month. To further build up the viewing audience, Vessel is offering a year of free access for anybody who signs up in the first 72 hours following the launch. Continue Reading