Independent label network Merlin has seen its earnings from Latin America increase five-fold in the past three years. Based on current growth rates, Merlin’s 2018 revenue from Latin America are projected to exceed $60 million. Streaming appears to be a key driver of that international growth. Continue Reading
Spotify is expanding the beta test of its self-serve advertising platform. After an initial launch in the United States in September, the streaming music company is opening the beta trial of Spotify Ad Studio to Canada and the UK. Continue Reading
Pandora has entered a deal with Linkfire, a music marketing platform, to improve music discovery for fans and marketing for artists. The agreement dubs Pandora the premiere streaming music data provider for Linkfire and it will provide its attribution data to the company. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The radio station operator, the biggest in the United States, has reached a deal with its creditors that will reduce its debt burden by about half to roughly $10 billion. It made the filing in the late hours on Wednesday, March 14, after several extensions and last-minute negotiations. Continue Reading
Accurate metadata is a critical component in streaming music. It’s how the correct people get paid the correct amounts, plus how listeners can find exactly what they want. Spotify has launched an effort to start crowd-sourcing some metadata from its listeners. Continue Reading
Apple Music for Artists is looking for more musicians to try out its analytics dashboard. The platform debuted in January with a limited beta test, and now Apple is looking for more performers to test the service. Continue Reading
Dubset has entered another relationship to further its goal of securing mechanical royalties from DJ sets and remixes. The rights startup has inked a deal with Rumblefish, a music licensing and administration company. Under the agreement, Rumblefish will use Dubset’s MixBANK platform to ensure that compositions used in mixes, remixes, and other user-generated content are cleared and administered. Continue Reading
Podcast hosting platform Podomatic announced a new distribution option for its shows. Independent podcasts on Podomatic now have the option of being available to listeners on Spotify. Continue Reading
Deezer has launched a new app to bring its music service to the Xbox One and Xbox One X. The music app brings Deezer’s lean-back Flow playlists and other features to Microsoft’s linest video game consoles. Continue Reading
The first two episodes are now available for Wolverine: The Long Night, Marvel and Stitcher’s scripted podcast collaboration. The show marks the first-ever scripted podcast for the venerable comics and entertainment company. The ten-episode series will be available on Stitcher’s premium service before a broad release across other podcast platforms this fall. Continue Reading
Apple’s Eddy Cue shared some updates and milestones about the tech company’s streaming music service at SXSW. The senior vice president for Internet software and services announced that Apple Music now has 38 million subscribers. That’s 2 million added to the audience in just over a month. Continue Reading
The New York Times is launching a new podcast that marks its audio team’s first foray into narrative non-fiction. The audio documentary, titled Caliphate, will seek answers and context about ISIS and its role in the Middle East. Episodes will be released in the spring, and New York Times subscribers will receive early access to the series. Continue Reading