Brief news items and worthy reads from around the Internet: Spotify’s new competitive strategy; YouTube and the music industry; finding therapeutic potential in Pandora’s Music Genome. Continue Reading
When Spotify announced last week that it was adding video to its content catalog, it signaled a directional shift and a competitive thrust into YouTube’s territory. YouTube, meanwhile, is inching its Music Key subscription platform onto Spotify’s front lawn. Other brands like Deezer and SoundCloud are also blurring their lines of identity. It’s all about un-platforming … while trying to succeed as a platform. Continue Reading
YouTube has extended the beta trial for its Music Key subscription service through Sept. 15. According to the emails sent to current beta testers, the extension is a thank you for the helpful feedback received during the first six months of testing. Continue Reading
Robert Ashcroft, CEO of PRS for Music, spoke about the concerns for UK publishers and songwriters at the performing rights organization’s annual general meeting. His critiques were focused on online platforms that thrive on user-generated content, such as YouTube and SoundCloud. Ashcroft said those services have been unfairly benefiting from safe harbor laws. Continue Reading
Australia’s music industry is adding a new weekly chart to reflect the popularity of streams. The Australian Recording Industry Association will launch the Top 40 Audio & Visual Streaming Chart on Monday, May 18. It will incorporate plays from all official music videos on YouTube. Continue Reading
TuneCore announced a partnership with digital entertainment network DanceOn. Under this deal, TuneCore will offer its independent artists more options for creating content and reaching audiences on YouTube. DanceOn is a dance-centric entertainment network that has generated more than 3 billion views and 20 million subscribers on Google’s video service. Continue Reading
Spotify’s 2014 earnings include higher revenue, and wider losses, compared to a year ago. The financial news is coupled with rumors of a new angle for Spotify’s business — video. Continue Reading
During a press conference, IFPI CEO Frances Moore said that safe harbor protections that YouTube, Dailymotion, and similar free platforms receive mean that the music industry loses billions in potential income. “YouTube and Dailymotion are in the business of promoting, distributing and monetizing content, but claim to be mere hosting services, and then say they don’t have to take a full license,” she said. “That is unfair.” Continue Reading
The recording industry has always been troubled by free music, understandably. Yet the progression of disruptive technology has made music an Internet commodity. Spotify is arguing that free listening is necessary to scale streaming revenue. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Introducing the first all-digital radio transmitter; Variety reports on YouTube after a decade; Adweek on streaming finances. Continue Reading
In the early days of streaming, it wasn’t uncommon for big-name musicians to withhold their catalogs from online services. Led Zeppelin was a famed holdout, to the point where the band giving exclusive rights to Spotify back in 2013 was groundbreaking. So it’s a sign of the times that the Zep is expanding where you can hear its music. This week, the band opened up its library to listeners on several more platforms, including some that specialize in hi-def listening, such as Tidal and Deezer Elite. Continue Reading
Google appears to be preparing a new YouTube feature called YouTube Radio. The description matches an existing YouTube Music experience called YouTube Mix. The new feature might be a subtle tweak, or a key new YouTube experience. Continue Reading