Podcasting company Acast has hired Guy Scott-Wilson as the content director for Australia. In this position with Acast, he will be responsible for expanding the company’s presence and local content strategy. Continue Reading
Spotify has hired a new managing director for the region of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Michael Krause was most recently at Deezer, spending a year as CEO of EMEA for the music company. Continue Reading
VSporto, a network of sports podcasts, has entered a deal with Gow Media to have its programming syndicated on SB Nation Radio. The partnership will see VSporto’s shows air on more than 100 SB Nation stations affiliates on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings from 11 pm to 7 am CST. VSporto’s shows cover college sports, the NFL, and the NBA. Continue Reading
August webcast listening showed a 4% increase across the board in Triton Digital’s Top 20 Webcast Metrics report for August, with each streaming entity in the group gaining ground from July. That unanimity is rare. Continue Reading
Musical.ly has been purchased by Chinese social media company Toutiao for between $800 million and $1 billion. The social app’s users can lip sync along with a track to make their own music videos. Continue Reading
The BBC has introduced a new show called Podcasting House that aims to be a discovery hub for its audio content. In its introduction, the show is described as “a clearinghouse for hundreds of podcasts from the BBC.” Continue Reading
Audio companies of all stripes have been hopping on the bandwagon of smart speakers. The BBC is the latest to take advantage of the new technology in a more unique way. The broadcaster has created an interactive audio drama where listeners can influence the end result of their story. The piece, titled The Inspection Chamber, debuted as an Amazon Alexa skill in the UK this week. Continue Reading
French regulators have laid out a plan for the ongoing rollout of DAB+ radio technology in the country. Nicolas Curien of the Le Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA) detailed the plan during the WorldDAB General Assembly. Continue Reading
Music Business Worldwide is reporting that two of the major labels have started legal proceedings against TuneIn UK around possible breach of copyright. Sources told the publication that the suit alleges the UK branch of the online audio company had at least 800 unlicensed music streams in that market. Continue Reading
Apple’s plans for a major video push continue with the announcement of a new scripted TV show that expands the company’s connections with A-list Hollywood talent. In addition to the reboot of Amazing Stories announced last month, Apple has made a two-season straight-to-series order for a scripted drama centered around a network morning show. Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon star in the new project, which is still untitled at this stage. Continue Reading
Podtrac posted its ranking of the top 10 podcast publishers for October 2017. The new ranking features the debut of iHeartMedia at the No. 2 spot. Its 525 shows secured a U.S. unique monthly audience of nearly 8.96 million and 33.59 million global unique streams and downloads. Continue Reading
Taylor Swift made major waves in the music world in 2014 when she pulled her entire catalog off Spotify and other streaming services with free listening. Now the pop icon is at it again, with a plan to withhold her upcoming album Reputation from streaming services for at least a week after it releases on November 10. Continue Reading