News Archives

Spotify acquires podcasting companies

15/02/2019

Spotify acquires podcasting companies Gimlet Media and Anchor to accelerate its growth in podcasting. Gimlet is an independent producer of podcast content, and Anchor is a market leading tool for podcast creation, publishing, and monetization services. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed. With these acquisitions, Spotify is positioned to become both the premier producer of podcasts and the leading platform for podcast creators. Gimlet will bring to Spotify its best-in-class podcast studio with dedicated […]

Welsh Language Music Day playlists hosted on Spotify

Welsh Language Music Day gets streaming site

14/02/2019

Welsh Language Music Day gets streaming site with bilingual playlists hosted on Spotify. All kinds of Welsh language music is featured including indie, rock, punk, funk, folk, electronica, hip hop and more. The playlists were sponsored by Carmarthenshire County Council and curated in association with Stiwdio Box to celebrate the event on 8th February 2019. The initiative was launched following a pilot held last year when Welsh music was played at certain times during the […]

Tidal accepts Venmo digital payments

13/02/2019

Tidal accepts Venmo digital payments using its iOS and Android apps for both new and existing users. Venmo is a mobile payment system owned by PayPal and currently only available to US residents. Tidal’s adoption of Venmo follows on from recent partnerships for the payment app giving support for Uber, Shopify and Hulu. New Tidal users will be able to select Venmo as a payment option when signing up to a subscription, while existing users […]

Smart Speaker sales in US soar in holiday season

12/02/2019

Smart Speaker sales in US soar in holiday season with one third of users owning more than one device, according to investment research company Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP). Sales figures were compiled on Amazon Echo, Google Home and the Apple HomePod for purchasers in the quarter ending 31st December 2018. CIRP analysis indicates that the US installed base of smart speaker devices is 66 million units, up from 53 million in the September 2018 […]

Paid-for streaming set to overtake free services in UK

11/02/2019

Paid-for streaming set to overtake free services in UK with younger consumers more likely to pay for streaming according to new figures from the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA). Subscription streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Deezer and YouTube Music are winning the battle to persuade more people to pay to stream music than stream it for free. More males pay to stream (24.3%) rather than stream for free (23.9%), and more 25-34 year-olds […]

Japan should look to China for future streaming growth

09/02/2019

Japan should look to China for future streaming growth according to media and technology analysts, MIDiA Research. Despite being the world’s second largest recorded music market accounting for 14% of the global total, Japanese recorded music revenues fell by 3.3% in 2018 (US dollar value) or 1.8% (Yen value). Although streaming was up 30% in 2018, physical sales still accounted for 69% of all revenues. CD sales and monetising fandom One of the major drivers […]

Shiri Hebrew music streaming app launched

08/02/2019

Shiri Hebrew music streaming app launched backed by the Israeli Culture and Sport Ministry and put together in conjunction with the National Library of Israel and the music nonprofit Finjan. The app gives free access worldwide to more than 40,000 Hebrew songs and there is both an Android and iOS app available. The developer states on Google Play that ‘Shiri is the only Israeli music app that learns the taste of listeners and offers them Israeli music, free […]