Facebook is reportedly pulling yet another exec away from the major labels. Perry Bashkoff is the SVP of global content and revenue development at Warner Music Group. Music Business Worldwide is reporting that Bashkoff will be joining the social media network next year. Continue Reading
Spotify’s valuation may have reached $19 billion thanks to private trading. That’s up from a rumored valuation of $16 billion in September. Sources familiar with the trades claimed that the private trades for the streaming music services were happening at a price of more than $4,000 per share. Continue Reading
The awaited Podcast Analytics suite from Apple has arrived in beta. Whatever its shortfalls in the minds of some industry observers, and however ambivalent some podcast publishers might be about the intrusion of new data, Apple’s reporting of podcast consumption will sharply influence the shape, growth and revenue prospects of podcasting. Details and RAIN analysis. Continue Reading
RadioPublic is offering a a gift idea for the podcast fan in your life. The podcast listening and discovery platform is now making Podcards. Continue Reading
AdsWizz announced that the first campaign using its Shake Me audio ad format has successfully run. Shake Me is a new digital audio ad format technology designed to encourage mobile listeners to take action without needing to look at the phone. They do so by shaking the phone, or tapping it. Continue Reading
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced that five new House representatives have signed onto the Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), making a majority of support. LRFA is a non-binding resolution against any new performance royalty imposed on U.S. radio stations. At issue is broadcast radio’s historic exemption from paying artists and labels for playing music recordings over the air. Continue Reading
Several tech companies have pitched the European Commission to request limits on behavior from Apple and Amazon that they claim are anti-competitive. Spotify CEO and Co-founder Daniel Ek and Deezer CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht both signed the letter to EU regulators asking for “a level playing field” that prevents some tech giants from “regularly abusing their advantaged position.” Continue Reading
Google’s latest addition to the smart home speaker space has officially launched. The Google Home Max is now on store shelves both physical and digital. The launch draws Google’s smart speaker offerings closer in line to market-leader Amazon, although the Echo line is still leading in adoption. Continue Reading
Streaming services have explored many options to tease premium features to their free listeners. Pandora is new offering its ad-supported listeners and its mid-tier Pandora Plus listeners a chance to try out a Pandora Premium session in exchange for viewing a video ad. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio has entered a partnership with Jibo to launch Jibo Music. The music features have been added to the Jibo product, a cross between a voice-activated smart speaker and a cute robot. Jibo owners will automatically get access to iHeartRadio music through a software update beginning on Monday. Continue Reading
A report from Norway’s Dagens Naeringsliv claims that Tidal is in serious financial trouble. The article claims that company lost $44 million dollars before taxes in 2016 and says Tidal only has six months of cash left. It reportedly based the information on the accounts of parent company Project Panther Bidco. But is there any truth to it? Continue Reading
Voice controls aren’t just for smart speakers. Pew Research Center surveyed U.S. adults who use voice assistants and learned that 46% said they use the technology to interact with smartphones and other devices. The most common device was a smartphone, leading with 42% of respondents. Continue Reading