Spotify has hired a musician to help build a hub centered on Arab music and culture for the platform. Suhel Nafar, a Palestinian musician, is now a senior editor for the streaming service and will work out of its New York office. The Middle East has been a region of growth for digital audio advertising. Continue Reading
Germany, one of the last markets of CD dominance, has finally seen streaming eclipse physical formats. In the first half of 2018, the country’s music industry saw revenue of €727 million, down 2% on-year. The period saw digital revenue overtake physical for the first time. Continue Reading
Trebel, a new music app focused on offline listening, announced its official launch in the United States and Mexico. The program has position itself as an option for listeners who currently find offline playback from music video sites or unlicensed platforms. Continue Reading
The Spring 2018 edition of The Smart Audio Report, produced by NPR and Edison Research, will be released tomorrow (Wednesday July 18) in a 1pm webinar. It is a key research report about the adoption and use of smart speakers, arguably the most important new distribution platform since smartphones. In a teaser release, NPR and Edison have revealed a few key findings. Continue Reading
The team behind popular podcast S-Town is being sued over claims that it exploited the life of its main subject for financial gain. The estate of John B. McLemore has sued host and creator Brian Reed, Serial Productions, This American Life, Chicago Public Media, and others. Continue Reading
Qobuz announced three new hires who will help the hi-definition streaming platform with its United States launch later this year. Dan Mackta is the new managing director of Qobuz USA. The other new hires are Ted Cohen and David Soloman. Continue Reading
Deezer announced that it has expanded access to its high-fidelity, CD-quality listening tier. Deezer HiFi is now available worldwide on select models of Samsung soundbars and wireless speakers. Continue Reading
audioBoom announced new hires at two of its international offices. The audio and podcasting company has hired Mike Newman as head of content partnerships in the UK, and Umesh Barve as head of partnerships in India. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Entercom exec’s audio snapshot. A podcasting history lesson. Best podcast episodes of the year (so far). Roger Lynch’s Bloomberg interview. Continue Reading
Canalys, a British research firm, has released its latest projections for smart speakers. The company anticipates that the smart speaker installed base will reach 100 million by the end of 2018. By 2020, it estimates the installed base will reach 225 million units. Continue Reading
Podtrac has released its podcast ranker for June 2018. Overall, the chart showed few changes from its May iteration. This American Life from NPR led the ranking for yet another month, while the New York Times’ The Daily took the second spot once again. Continue Reading
Spotify Ad Studio has rolled out in Australia. The self-serve advertising platform launched after at least six months of testing in the market. The tool can create an audio ad to air on the streaming service, from the production to the audience targeting to analytics. Continue Reading