BuzzFeed will cease its production of the Another Round podcast starting in 2018. However, hosts Tracy Clayton and Heben Nigatu have taken over ownership of the show. The duo announced on Twitter that they plan to take a break, but will be back to continue making the popular show. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James reacts to Australian radio’s long holiday break in ratings. Others share insights on UK radio’s impending deregulation. Continue Reading
General Motors is reportedly adding podcasts to the dashboard of about one-million cars. Only a handful of podcasts will be included in a proprietary selection. The most interesting aspect of this venture is GM’s recognition of podcasting as a worthy audio category around which to build business relationships and proprietary distribution products. Continue Reading
Legislation that proposes a mechanical licensing overhaul has been introduced in the House of Representatives. The Music Modernization Act would create a collective to manage the licenses for the mechanical licensing in all digital uses of music compositions. Under the bipartisan proposal, royalties would be based on free market rates of what willing buyers and sellers would negotiate. Continue Reading
Pandora announced that its Premium subscription service is now supported on Android TV devices. This means that on-demand audio features such as searching and playing songs, albums, or playlists directly through a supported television. Continue Reading
If partridges in pear trees aren’t your type of holiday fun, maybe Tidal’s 12 days of free streaming is more your style. The company is offering 12 days of free access to its Hi-Fi tier. Each day will also include a release of some exclusive content, plus there will be a giveaway of concert tickets. Continue Reading
Universal Music Group has signed a global, multi-year licensing deal with Facebook, marking a big legal development for how and where music might start showing up on the social network. Universal is the first major label to ink a licensing deal with Facebook, and the arrangement will allow the creation of music features across Facebook’s properties. Continue Reading
The Interactive Advertising Bureau has released its report on digital advertising trends from the first half of 2017. Music streaming shows astonishing penetration of top-10 brands, when measuring time spent. Continue Reading
YouTube is making a move to curb posting of videos that might skew the chart performance of songs. This premise, where a repeating loop of a song snippet is tagged in YouTube’s system to look like the full track, came to light around a popular single called “Rockstar” by rapper Post Malone. Continue Reading
Amazon is eventually ending its service that offers cloud storage of MP3 files. The Amazon Music Storage is projected to shut down in January 2019, but an exact date has not been shared yet. There are two important details in this announcement. Continue Reading
Radioplayer is looking to find a new provider for its technology and support contract. The collaborative radio platform is accepting bid applications until January 29, 2018, and the three-year contract has an anticipated start date of the second quarter of 2018. Continue Reading
Musical.ly announced the start of a fund to support its users. The short-form music video and lip syncing app will invest up to $50 million into a Creator Fund over the next two years. The money will go toward a range of programs, from college scholarships to co-development deals to a “creator marketplace” where users can trade creative assets or instruction. Continue Reading