Business software company Marketron announced today that it has combined two product units, Marketron Mobile and Marketron Interactive, into a one-stop solution center called Marketron Digital. The announcement came during this week’s Marketron User Symposium in Chicago. Continue Reading
In what most observers regard as a crucial year for music licensing, copyright, and royalties, RAIN Summit Indy will face the issues head-on with a panel of experts to demystify the complexities and throw light on the issues. The Royalty Reset session will discuss the potential impact on the Internet radio industry of possible changes to the U.S. music-licensing regulations. It comes at a time when, remarkably, nearly all parties involved (music rights owners, performing rights organizations, senators and members of congress, musicians) agree that current law is broken. But there is no accord on which parts need overhaul. Continue Reading
Broadcast law attorney David Oxenford contributes an information-packed overview of potential music copyright reform, and all its moving parts. Continue Reading
All live jazz concerts. Don’t let the 1996-style website put you off. The listening is outstanding, and the site dishes out valuable information about the artists. Inside jazz is a great Internet radio station, with the sort of off-the-beaten-path programming dedication that justifies the entire indie-radio category. Every jazz lover needs to know about Inside Jazz. Continue Reading
Earbits, an interactive music service specializing in independent music with unique business and revenue models, is closing as of Monday. Earbits went down an unusual path in providing new kinds of value to listeners and artists, connecting its audience to bands via artist merchandise, mailing lists, and social sharing. Continue Reading
This weekly podcast is a quick and concise catch-up of the week’s top stories.
This week: Apple’s announcements …. The future of the music industry … the U.S. government might change music licensing … and independent labels throw YouTube under the bus. Continue Reading
RAIN Hotspots: the five most-read articles of the week. Triton Digital webcast metrics…SoundExchange CEO says radio hurts music sales…KCRW launched gleaming new website…iTunes Radio goes broadcast…review of Amazon’s Prime Music Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthwhile reads from around the web: Is Amazon Prime Music the future of digital music? And an obituary for East Village Radio. Continue Reading
File this under Friday Fun. Apple will pay $3-billion for all of Beats (the electronics and music-service divisions) when the deal closes later this year. Source reveal that the Beats Music portion of the merger is accounted at $500-million. Yielding to temptation, we ran the numbers and hereby propose (not with an entirely straight face) some stratospheric prices. Continue Reading
Mark Mulligan is co-founder of MIDiA Consulting, and has been a digital music analyst for over a decade. In this guest column, he compares Amazon’s music strategy with those of Google and Apple, and speculates about the future perceived value of music. Continue Reading
Broadcast-law attorney and RAIN contributor David Oxenford notes a piece of information important to all webcasters. The Copyright Royalty Board has extended the deadline for comment on proposed rule changes to how webcasters report the songs they’ve played, to SoundExchange, which collects and distributes royalties to labels and artists. Continue Reading
In the days of broadcast ownership caps, a radio broadcaster could own only seven AMs and seven FMs — across the entire U.S. It was an exciting and intense time to be in radio: If you could own only fourteen radio stations in the entire U.S., you cared very much about all fourteen of them.
Imagine if someone had offered you the opportunity to own a broadcast signal with complete national coverage! RAIN founding editor Kurt Hanson does imagine that, and contemplates looking at gift horses in the mouth. Continue Reading