March 2019

YouTube Music continues its international expansion

31/03/2019

YouTube Music continues its international expansion adding India, 12 Latin American countries and South Africa to its worldwide coverage. YouTube Music is being developed as a replacement to Google Play Music which is likely to be retired once the full rollout of YouTube Music is complete and all the Google Play Music functionality has been developed for YouTube Music. If you are a subscriber to Google Play Music, then you will get a YouTube Music […]

Spotify trials couples subscription

31/03/2019

Spotify trials couples subscription in five countries (Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Chile and Colombia). Branded Spotify Premium Duo, two people can combine two separate Spotify Premium accounts for €12.49 (Ireland pricing) all in a single bill. Given Spotify’s pricing structure of €/$/£9.99 for a Premium subscription and €/$/£14.99 for a Family Plan, the likely price in the rest of Europe, the US and UK could be €/$/£ 12.49 if the trial is extended to the rest […]

SoundCloud adds more curated playlists

30/03/2019

SoundCloud adds more curated playlists which alongside personalized weekly recommendations from ‘SoundCloud Weekly’ and playlists like ‘Fresh Pressed’’ adds even more handcrafted playlists, curated by some of the leading names in music. SoundCloud now has 1.7 million unique creators heard each week and SoundCloud Premier creators will receive an an email with details on its new playlist submission form launching in beta. The form is currently only available to SoundCloud Premier creators and will roll […]

News

Restart and rewind live radio on BBC Sounds app

30/03/2019

Restart and rewind live radio on BBC Sounds app features have been added to both iOS and Android. This update on mobile apps means listeners can now restart any live programme and listen to it from the beginning, or rewind to any point in the live programme and pick it up from there. They can also pause a live stream and later resume from where they left off or jump back to live. Live restart […]

Streaming makes up 93% of US Latin music revenue

29/03/2019

Streaming makes up 93% of US Latin music revenues in 2018 according to the RIAA, the US recording industry association. Latin music’s transformation from a physical-based business to a streaming-driven one is even faster than the overall US music market’s turnaround. Revenues from streaming now comprise 93% of the total Latin market, with a paid subscription service increase of 50% fuelling most of the growth. The US Latin music business grew 18% in 2018 to […]

News

Spotify is to acquire Parcast podcast studio

28/03/2019

Spotify is to acquire Parcast podcast studio, a premier storytelling-driven podcast studio for an undisclosed sum. Since its founding in 2016, Parcast has launched 18 premium podcast series including Serial Killers, Unsolved Murders, Cults and Conspiracy Theories and the studio’s first fiction series, Mind’s Eye. Parcast will bring to Spotify its curated library of highly produced shows and an engaged and loyal audience. With an expertise in genres touching mystery, crime, science fiction, and history, […]

Dutch music industry increases 5.5% in 2018

27/03/2019

Dutch music industry increases 5.5% in 2018 totalling €178 million according to NVPI Audio, the Dutch music industry association. Streaming dominates the market and now makes 71.5% of the total market compared to 63.7% in 2017. Once again there is a mix of national and international artists who dominate the charts and contribute to the result; Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa, Frenna & Lil Kleine, Bløf, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Children for Children, Josylvio, Post Malone and […]