CISAC has signed a memorandum of understanding with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation. This arrangement is a step towards strengthening copyright, technical exchange, education, and training of organizations collecting creator revenues. Continue Reading
Soundtrack Your Brand has received financing of $22 million. Nordic VC fund Industrifonden and the U.K.’s Balderton Capital led the found. The company, which is backed by Spotify and founded by former Spotify execs, is a B2B version of the streaming service. Continue Reading
Prince is still racking up the fans from beyond the grave. Songs by the multi-talented songwriter and performer were streamed 5.9 million times in their first two days back on streaming services, according to BuzzAngle Music. Continue Reading
New Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Ajit Pai advocated for “activated” FM chips in smartphones, but said the FCC would not mandate that technology advance. Why not? And why don’t phone makers activate those chips in the first place? Analysis. Continue Reading
SoundCloud is making another foray into programmatic advertising. The audio platform has partnered with Rubicon Project to offer automated buying of video and audio ads on its service. Continue Reading
Uncover Studios announced its official launch as a marketing podcast and influencer company. The company, owned by marketing agency TMPG, creates original podcast content and multimedia marketing campaigns. In a press release, Uncover explained its work as aiming “to maximize brand impact with original podcast shows, custom content, influencer campaigns and large-scale multimedia support.” Continue Reading
Naxos has shuttered its Classics Online streaming service. The platform, which featured high-resolution and CD quality audio, only spent about a year in operation. Continue Reading
Spotify is relocating its New York City operations, but the change is happening with a little extra pomp and circumstance. The move was announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Spotify will be benefitting from up to $11 million in rent credits from the Empire State Development Corporation. Continue Reading
In a major alignment of forces in the streaming audio advertising realm, TargetSpot announced that it has reached agreement with Spanish Broadcast System (SBS) to be the exclusive third-party representative of SBS streaming inventory. Continue Reading
In this guest post by Thomas Mancusi, VP of Sales & Development at audioBoom, he discusses how common podcasting terms lack consistent definition throughout the industry, and suggests solutions. Continue Reading
Guest columnist Steve Goldstein explains what he sees as the biggest issue with car infotainment systems: that they are ugly, not user-friendly, and don’t offer a great audio experience. In his mind, that’s good news for radio. Continue Reading
Amazon is continuing to expand the talent pool for its music team. The latest addition is Jason Carter, who will take over a director position for a new initiative at the company. Carter joins from the BBC, where most recently served as head of live music, international, and BBC Introducing. Continue Reading