December 2019

Deezer trials a karaoke app

30/12/2019

Deezer trials a karaoke app in France using its AI based Spleeter technology according to a recent blog posting by the streamer (in French). Spleeter uses AI techniques to separate vocal tracks from instrumental tracks and this has been incorporated into a dedicated karaoke app called Karaoke by Deezer. The recording process usually mixes a selection of separate tracks – vocals, drums, bass etc – to produce the final recorded song. Given the final mix, […]

Qobuz playing through StreamMagic on Cambridge Audio Edge NQ

Cambridge Audio adds Qobuz HiRes streaming to its network players

29/12/2019

Cambridge Audio adds Qobuz HiRes streaming to its network players offering support for 320 kbps, CD Quality and HiRes streams. The high end audio equipment manufacturer has added full support for HiRes audio music streaming and download service Qobuz to three of its network audio streamers – the EDGE NQ, Azur 851N and the CXN (V2). Qobuz is integrated into its popular iOS and Android app, StreamMagic, that works with the company’s range of network players, […]

8tracks to close at year end

28/12/2019

8tracks is to close at year end (2019) according to a recent announcement by the company. Launched on 8th August 2008 the streamer initially offered a globally available streaming service which in 2016 was restricted to the US and Canada due to licensing concerns. The reasons given for the closure are that because of its relatively small scale compared to the likes of Spotify it cannot charge enough in advertising to fund its advertising sponsored […]

Music piracy declines in Australia

28/12/2019

Music piracy is declining in Australia according to a recent survey conducted by the Australian Government’s Department of Communications and the Arts. The survey conducted in March 2019 was the fifth consumer survey of online copyright infringement amongst Australians aged 12+ which asked respondents about their consumption of all types of online content. The results show that consumption continues to grow and ‘online copyright infringement continues to trend down’. The four key objectives stated for […]

Indie artist streams double on Napster

21/12/2019

Indie artist streams double on Napster’s 100 most streamed artists growing from 15% in 2015 to 33% in 2019 according to a recent blog posting. Latest data from the streamer shows that its subscribers are streaming songs and albums by indie artists more frequently helping more listeners discover music outside the mainstream. Indie artists are also seeing this trend and are feeling optimistic. Eva Walker, The Black Tones, said, “With a ton of hard work […]

Spotify’s biggest playlist hits 25 million followers

20/12/2019

Today’s Top Hits, Spotify’s biggest playlist hits 25 million followers and has been streamed more than 20 billion times according to a recent blog posting. If Today’s Top Hits was an artist, it would be the third most streamed of all time (after Drake and Ed Sheeran). Over 70 featured artists have received 100+ million plays Since 2014, Spotify’s team of curators have analysed its streaming data, as well as music culture and trends, to […]

Deezer adds an Exclude button

20/12/2019

Deezer adds an Exclude button to remove unloved songs and artists from Flow, mixes or mood selections. Available now, users can give feedback on titles and artists they don’t like and these are then excluded from your Deezer Flow and recommended mixes. The streamer maintains that ‘in this way, the algorithm behind it gets to know the listener’s taste in music even better and can further personalize recommendations.’ The new exclude button is available on all […]