July 2020

Groups can stream simultaneously using Spotify’s Group Session

28/07/2020

Groups can stream simultaneously using Spotify’s Group Session beta release which enables groups of 2-5 users to share music and podcasts in real time. The first first beta version of Group Session back in May allowed groups of Spotify Premium users to share control of their listening sessions with others in real time. It even offered shared opportunities for collaboration among all the listeners. In this release Spotify Premium users around the world can tune […]

Deezer creates ‘Black Culture’ channel

28/07/2020

Deezer creates ‘Black Culture’ channel reinforcing the streamer’s commitment to Black artists and podcasters. The streamer is taking action to support black artists and creators and in June this year Deezer removed the term ‘Urban’ explaining that it’s an outdated word and is something they have banned internally and stopped using externally. With its new ‘Black Culture’ channel, Deezer has committed to promoting audio content from the most talented black creators around the world. Its […]

Higher Learning - one of the first Spotify video podcasts

Spotify launches video podcasts

21/07/2020

Spotify launches video podcasts which are available for Free and Premium subscriptions everywhere podcasts are available. The streamer has unveiled the first version of its new video podcast feature with select podcasts. Listeners can tune into podcasts like Book of Basketball 2.0, Fantasy Footballers, The Misfits Podcast, H3 Podcast, The Morning Toast, Higher Learning with Van Lathan & Rachel Lindsay, and The Rooster Teeth Podcast for a visual and audio feast. To start watching, just press play on your desktop or mobile app. The […]

24% of Americans value keeping up-to-date with music

19/07/2020

24% of Americans value keeping up-to-date with music with 12-34 year olds preferring to use YouTube but radio is still the favourite of 55+ listeners according to a recent survey by Edison Research. New-music Seekers is an Infinite Dial report based on a representative sample of 3,159 12+ Americans who were interviewed between January and February, 2020 before the COVID-19 disruptions. Key findings from the New Music Seekers: An Infinite Dial Report This new research explores how this […]

Spotify launches in Russia

19/07/2020

Spotify launches in Russia together with 12 other European countries bringing the total number countries the streamer is in to 92. Listeners in Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Ukraine can receive Spotify’s full experience of 50 million tracks, 4 billion playlists, and localised music personalization features. Expansion in Europe comes as consumers in the region embrace streaming. Russia in particular is one of the […]

US music streaming up 16.2% in the first six months of 2020

18/07/2020

US music streaming up 16.2% in first six months of 2020 with 419.8 Bn streams so far this year according to a report from Nielsen Music/MRC Data. At the beginning of the year audio streaming was growing through early March, up 20.4% over the same period in 2019. Total music consumption was up 14.6% in the first 10 weeks of the year. As working from home became a reality for many due to COVID-19, some […]

Apple News gets an update

18/07/2020

Apple News gets an update adding new audio features and expanding its local news offerings for readers. The premium offering, Apple News+, gets a new daily audio briefing, and curated local news collections. The new curated local news experience is only available in five areas of the US at the moment – the Bay Area, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco and features a variety of content from a diverse collection of local […]