One of SoundCloud’s co-founders is leaving the audio company’s day-to-day operations. Eric Wahlforss announced that he is exiting his role as chief product officer in favor of an advisory role beginning March 1. Continue Reading
DJ tech solutions provider Dubset has released a piece of software which makes it easy and quick for DJs and remixers to puts their sets into music services. It’s an API which sends the mixes, comprising many tracks mixed into a seamless whole, through an automated ID and licensing process. Continue Reading
Napster’s parent company, RealNetworks, has doubled its existing stake in the streaming service. RealNetworks acquired the debt and equity interests in Rhapsody International, an action that gives it about 84% of the outstanding stock in Napster. Continue Reading
Spotify is still coming hot and fast with the updates and future plans. The newest feature is an option to mute individual artists, and the latest churn of the gossip mill points to developments around in-vehicle hardware and an Indian launch down the road. Continue Reading
Jim Ballas has been named CTO and VP of Operations at PodcastOne, where he has worked since the podcast company’s founding. Today’s announcement marks his fifth titled role in the company. Continue Reading
Pinna, an audio subscription platform for children, is spinning out from its parent company as a standalone company. The service, which offers podcasts, audiobooks, and music, was initially launched in October 2017 by Panoply Media. Continue Reading
The latest development from Amazon Alexa is a more nuanced change in its language skills. The assistant now has the option to adopt the speech cadences and delivery of a professional newscaster. We tested it — click for the audio. Continue Reading
CBS News has conducted a poll into podcast listening habits and found an upward trend over the past year. In December 2017, 53% of adults said they never listened to podcasts, but in the latest results the rate shrank to 30%. The drop was even more extreme for listeners who fall in the Millennial age group. Continue Reading
Audio news has never been so resplendent with listening options. Today brings news (and a trailer) from The Economist, a global current events publication, called The Intelligence. The Economist has been in podcasting since 2006, and claims that podcast revenue has increased 50% in the last year. Continue Reading
Political podcaster Ben Shapiro, recently noted in RAIN News for his wide syndicated extension into broadcast radio, has lost two sponsors after a live podcast performance at a Right To Life rally. The fallout shines a new light on brand safety — a constant concern in advertising that messaging does not appear connected to controversial content. Continue Reading
UK-based podcast company AudioBoom, which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, released its full-year 2018 financials. In a story familiar to leading streaming music services, the bottom line is in the red even as revenue jumped upward, and the earning per thousand listens (CPM) likewise spiked. It is a growth picture after a rough road in 2018. Continue Reading
RAIN News attended the inaugural iHeartRadio Podcast Awards presented by Capital One on January 18. At the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles, many notable figures from podcasting appeared to recognize the successes of the audio format. Continue Reading