Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web, once more with a focus on stories emerging from the coronavirus pandemic and its impact. Today, an exec suggests connecting with company podcasts, independent musicians’ output grows, and podcast stats about kids from PRX. Continue Reading
A streaming music app co-owned by Sony Music and Universal Music is adding a free tier. The labels operate NOW That’s What I Call Music! brand, which includes the NOW Music app for both iOS and Android mobile devices in the UK. The app now offers a free, ad-supported counterpart to its usual mid-tier subscription of £4.99 per month. Continue Reading
Acast has entered a new partnership with DIVE Studios, a podcast network centered on K-pop performers. Under this partnership, Acast will offer DIVE Studios monetization services at scale and support advertising on its podcasts. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group has appointed Oana Ruxandra as its new chief digital officer and executive vice president of business development. She rejoined WMG in 2018 after two years at Universal Music Group, and was most recently the company’s interim head of business development and its EVP, new business channels – chief acquisition officer. Continue Reading
SoundExchange announced that Colin Rushing has been promoted to its chief legal officer. Rushing has been with the organization for more than a decade, and has served as its senior Vice President and general counsel since 2014. Continue Reading
Pod Drop features new, interesting, and returning podcasts. Today: “The Dennissance” with host Dennis Quaid, “The Essentials: Inside the Curve” from ABC Audio, and “An Animal Saved My Life,” produced by The Dodo in collaboration with iHeartRadio. Continue Reading
We saw a wave of startups looking to combine music and social media in meaningful ways back in 2014-2015. Now, a fresh crop of entrepreneurs is looking to apply social networks to podcasting. The latest startup to try this combination is Goodpods. Continue Reading
Spotify’s latest move in its pitch for podcast dominance is to bring on a new hire. The role is head of podcast editorial, and the company put an emphasis on reaching Millennial and Gen Z audiences in the description. Continue Reading
SOCAN, Canada’s music publisher and composer organization, announced that its CEO Eric Baptiste has resigned. Baptiste was nearing the end of his contract as chief executive for the society, and reached “a mutual decision” with the SOCAN board to close his term, effective immediately. Continue Reading
Liberty Media is a powerful force in music, with holdings in Sirius XM, Pandora, and Live Nation/Ticketmaster. After the Sirius XM and Pandora deal closed, the rumors turned next to Liberty having an interest in iHeartMedia. A group of consumer rights advocates and an artists’ rights organization have teamed up to send a letter to the Justice Department to oppose that possible acquisition. Continue Reading
RadioKing, an internet radio station provider based in Tourcoing, a city in northern France, reached out to us with news of a product update. There are two parts for existing and prospective stations — the Media Library where music is managed, and the server infrastructure. Our test listening went well. Continue Reading
ABC Australia, the public radio network down under, told us about a new podcast-oriented video series started by the Audio Studios team, which operates the organization’s podcasts. Called “Lockdown Podcasts,” it is a recommendation show which spotlights three podcasts per show for listening while sheltering at home. Click through for video. Continue Reading