Spotify has been putting up big numbers in recent months as it grows a subscriber base. Now, sources say that the streaming service reportedly has expanded to about 37 million paying subscribers. The company has not confirmed that number, but given its recent rates of listener acquisition, the reports aren’t much of a surprise. Continue Reading
This week the U.S. podcast industry descended on Chicago with a collective enthusiasm and entrepreneurial energy, for the second annual Podcast Movement (PM) conference. The event is attended by over 1,500 participants, features 80 stage sessions in eight parallel tracks, and features an exhibit floor where established brands nestled with newcomers angling into the podcast sphere with fresh ideas. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: A Discover Weekly data dive; Rdio accuses Sony of antitrust activity; UK report finds piracy on continued decline. Continue Reading
Audible has added a new subscription option called Channels that focuses on short-form audio content. The subscription includes original shows from Audible alongside and news and shows from publishers such as The Wall Street Journal, The Onion, and Scientific American. Continue Reading
Today at the Podcast Movement conference Libsyn announced that its hosted podcasts can now easily integrate with iHeartRadio. At the same time, Libsyn has updated its producer analytics tool to measure listenership in each of a podcast’s distributed destinations. Continue Reading
Podtrac has released its monthly ranking of the podcast publishers using its measurement tools, with some notable changes appearing in the June list. Podtrac has added 500 publishers to its measurement platform since it started releasing rankings in April. Continue Reading
Nielsen’s mid-year music report revealed a continuing upward trajectory for digital sources, including audio streams nearly doubling since the first six months of 2015. Audio surpassed video as the top format for streaming, with a share growing from 44% in H1 2015 to 54% in H1 2016. Continue Reading
SoundCloud is expanding its Station feature. The lean-back streams can now be seeded from an artist, with a new Start Station button now appearing on all performers’ profiles. Continue Reading
AdsWizz took advantage of this week’s Podcast Movement conference in Chicago, and the resulting intense focus on podcasting, to announce PodWave — the first podcast-specific advertising marketplace. National Public Media is the launch partner. Continue Reading
Podcast listening measurement is a notorious problem — depending on who you ask. Some network owners perform their own analytics, and drive business forward based on them. But advertisers want to bring order to podcasting, so they can better measure the opportunity. Continue Reading
Guest columnist Glenn Peoples offers a case study analyzing why online radio can be a better exposure market than traditional radio for certain crossover artists. Continue Reading
Data measurement and analysis company BuzzAngle is making waves with the release of its United States 2016 Mid-Year Music Report (PDF here), released on Tuesday. On-demand audio streaming more than doubled year-over-year. Continue Reading