James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the U.K.’s radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Review of Fun Kids Radio; several items on podcasting; key traits for radio presenters. Continue Reading
TuneIn announced a partnership with the National Football League to add football audio content to its Premium tier. The deal will give Premium listeners access to multiyear partnership with the NFL that will bring live play-by-play coverage of all NFL games from pre- to post-season to the subscription. Continue Reading
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The weekly update of the streaming audio industry, from RAIN News. THIS WEEK: New streaming metrics from Nielsen; Apple Music trials; Pandora enters the concert business; data-free listening; more. Continue Reading
On the Move tracks hires, promotions, and other notable personnel changes within the online audio industry. Today’s moves include an interim hire for Vevo and two promotions at major label divisions. Continue Reading
Digi Telecommunication, a Malaysian mobile operator, announced an extension of its Digi Music Freedom program through the end of the year. Digi Music Freedom is a pass for subscribers to stream from partner services without incurring data charges. We’re seeing more arrangements of this nature worldwide. Continue Reading
Dash Radio announced a partnership with Benztown. Under this deal, Benztown will deliver comprehensive custom imaging for the stations and will work with Dash on new station launches, custom content curation, and programming strategy consulting. Continue Reading
Due to budget restrictions, the BBC has said it will not fund the digital radio switchover for its stations. “We are not convinced of the value for money case for any further such investment, particularly while digital listening remains below 50%, with DAB listening only a proportion of that.” Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: iHeartMedia talks programmatic; Virgin + Guvera in Australia; is Sony/ATV on the chopping block? Continue Reading
Spotify announced today that it has partnered with Katz Radio Group for sales representation. Katz will exclusively represent Spotify’s geo-targeted audio inventory throughout the U.S., starting immediately. Continue Reading
The latest quarterly SoundScan report from Nielsen found further growth in music streaming and further declines in digital downloads. It found that 232 billion tracks were streamed in the first nine months of 2015, up 96.4% from the year-ago period. Continue Reading
The freemium streaming model has taken a lot of fire in recent months. The latest to lock and load is Jimmy Iovine. The Apple/Betas exec spoke at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit and had some pointed words for the freemium approach to music, calling it a shell game. But his comments need some context. Continue Reading
Guvera may be trying to sell off its Blinkbox music property, but the former employees of streaming service aren’t going quietly. About 100 of them have filed a class action lawsuit against Guvera and two of its UK-based subsidiaries. Continue Reading