The overarching narrative we saw last year with Tidal, the boutique streaming service focused on artist empowerment and audio quality, was wonky PR. Unfortunately, the company has kicked off 2016 with another peculiar problem: Tidal appears to have accidentally billed some of its former customers. Continue Reading
BandPage has embarked on a tighter integration with Rhapsody that focuses on promoting live shows. Through this partnership, Rhapsody will begin offering its listeners push notifications about upcoming concerts from their preferred artists. Continue Reading
The German Federal Music Industry Association, or BVMI, has released its 2015 music data for the nation. The year saw a 3.9% increase in value with sales rising to €1.5 billion. Streaming services were a big portion of that growth, with the format gaining 96.6% last year. Continue Reading
Spotify has partnered with coffee chain Starbucks for what they’ve dubbed a “new digital music experience” in stores across the U.S. Under this new arrangement, patrons will be able to identify music playing over the store loudspeakers from within the Starbucks app. Continue Reading
James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: David Bowie; best 2016 podcasts; predictions, and much more from around the world. Continue Reading
Australia-based Omny Studio will announce a new tool which easily converts audio to a video player for posting on Facebook. This clever automated workaround solves one of the most vexing problems in social audio for podcasters and broadcasters — Facebook’s inexplicable lack of native audio. Continue Reading
iTunes Radio, a late-arriving Internet radio initiative, once widely appraised as a “Pandora killer,” will end as a free, ad-supported service on January 29. On that date the lean-back listening service will become part of Apple Music’s monthly music subscription offering. Continue Reading
The National Association for Broadcasters and National Public Radio have submitted a call to the FCC to activate FM chips in smartphones. The recommendation was in response to the FCC’s proceedings aimed at improving wireless emergency alerts. Continue Reading
STRATA announced that digital ad inventory from iHeartMedia is now available in its systems for ad buyers. This new deal brings iHeart’s inventory to more than 1,000 ad agencies currently using STRATA. Continue Reading
Several music platforms have experimented with branded channels, and Guvera is the latest to hop on the bandwagon. The service has signed on as the official music streaming partner for the Australian Open tennis major. Continue Reading
Apple Music made its Russian debut last summer, and the numbers coming out of the market show some early promise. The reports point to Russia being one of the top five biggest markets for Apple Music so far. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: The future for French music subs; Interview with Deezer’s North American exec; can public radio and TV be friends?; visualizing punk music’s hazy definitions. Continue Reading