YouTube is trialling a redesign of its desktop product, offering an advanced look and soliciting feedback on the changes. The new look is based on the Material Design philosophy, an approach to presenting digital experiences. According to a blog post announcing the redesign, YouTube said the key principles are simplicity, consistency, and beauty. Continue Reading
Ad-tech company AdsWizz is now in the Alexa development business, partnering with iHeartMedia on the publishing side, and ad agencies Assembly, Mediavest|Spark, and Mindshare. Alexa is the voice-controlled home assistant platform developed by Amazon and embodied in the Echo, Dot, and Look devices. Skills involve interactive listening and voice-activated responses to advertisements. Continue Reading
Registration for the June 21 RAIN Podcast Business Summit opens today, as tickets for the milestone conference go on sale at the Early Pricing level for a limited time. Between now and May 16 attendees may register to be part of the event at New York’s AXA Event & Production Center for $299. Continue Reading
Varick Media sent an announcement today that it has expanded its relationship with Triton Digital, using Triton’s a2x programmatic marketplace in Canada. Continue Reading
The Academy of Podcasters has announced the 2017 inductees to its Hall of Fame. Click through for the honorees. The event will also hand out an award for contributions to podcasting, honoring an individual who is not a show host but has still had a significant impact on this audio format. Continue Reading
Otto Radio announced the launch of a new feature dubbed Themed Stations. The company, a personalized streaming audio service, now allows users to create stations centered around more than 500,000 topics or themes. We gave the newe feature a test drive. Continue Reading
Tencent Music Entertainment Group is working on an initial public offering that could see the business valued at $10 billion, according to the China Money Network. The company is part of Chinese conglomerate Tencent. Continue Reading
SoundCloud has announced a new promotion that seems aimed at encouraging new listeners to test out its paid service. The audio platform is offering three months of access to SoundCloud Go+ for just $1. The plan normally costs $9.99 a month. Continue Reading
Global streaming revenue was up 60% in 2016, according to the International Federation of Phonographic Industries (IFPI) annual report. Streaming revenue nudged the industry upward as a whole. Within that good news, a centerpiece of the report is an analysis of the “value gap,” emblemized by YouTube. Continue Reading
The Webby Award season concluded last week. Here are the winners in the “Podcasts & Digital Audio” group, across 15 categories. Though some are well-known, and most are from leading networks, the winners (official and People’s Voice) make a good discovery list. Continue Reading
Guest columnist Mark Ramsey weighs in on a hot debate in podcasting: How long is the best podcast length? Continue Reading
SoundExchange, which collects and distributes label royalties from streaming music, released its Q1 2017 report this morning, citing growth statistics compared to Q1 2016. It’s a growth story of participating musicians, even as Pandora — the largest single contributor to label royalties from webcasting — reduced its involvement in this particular payment system. Continue Reading