Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Music Biz Slams Citi Report on Industry & Artist Revenue as ‘Inconsistent,’ ‘Inaccurate.’ The future is ear: Why “hearables” are finally tech’s next big thing. Spotify’s $30 billion playlist for global domination. Cook says Apple not in music streaming for the money. Your Favourite BBC Podcasts, Now on Spotify in the UK. Continue Reading
Pandora has hired Heidi Anne-Noel as its new senior manager of communications. In this position, she will be responsible for overseeing the music communications strategy as well as outreach to the music press and business communities. Continue Reading
Veritone One, the full-service ad agency branch of AI tech giant Veritone, has acquired podcast ad sales company Performance Bridge Media. The deal will make Veritone One a larger player in the field of podcast and radio solutions. Continue Reading
The Podcast Exchange announced that it will partner with HowStuffWorks to provide advertising services in Canada. Under the terms of the deal, TPX will have first right to market and sell ads for shows in the HowStuffWorks podcast network. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Steve Penk of BBC wants your bloopers. iHeartRadio adds AI tech for song segues. Continue Reading
Apple Music has long been making video a key component in its strategy, from funding viral music videos to landing exclusive visual albums. Now, the streaming service has a new visual project with a decidedly classic bent. Continue Reading
Samsung has unveiled its first smart speaker, joining the product segment that has been rapidly growing and bolstering a boom in audio and voice tech. The Samsung Galaxy Home will run the conglomerate’s Bixby voice assistant and will put an emphasis on high-quality audio. Continue Reading
Anchor, a platform working to put podcast tools in the hands of the average person, is adding a new feature to help its amateur podcasters turn their work professional. Anchor Listener Support is an option for users to collect recurring monthly payments from listeners who are fans of their efforts. Continue Reading
Spotify has been dedicated to its ad-supported free tier since the service’s inception, and is now slowly introducing an interesting feature which could make commercial interruptions more agreeable to listeners, and make the ad platform smarter for advertisers. Continue Reading
In this week’s Q2 earnings call, Townsquare Media noted that its digital initiatives, most of which are bundled into Townsquare Interactive and Townsquare Ignite, are leading drivers of quarterly growth. Also in the call, Townsquare execs advocate for regulatory loosening of local station ownership rules, saying that radio’s competitors are digital platforms. Continue Reading
Spotify has been named the go-to music service provider for Samsung. Under the terms of a new arrangement, Samsung users will have seamless transitions when listening to Spotify on different devices. The deal covers listening on a range of Samsung’s hardware, from smartphones to smart televisions. Continue Reading
Slacker Radio has launched a new effort to increase visibility for female country music artists. The company launched a new channel called #WCE Country that will exclusively program women working in the genre. Continue Reading