March 2021

Spotify takes you behind the scenes

13/03/2021

Spotify takes you behind the scenes with a new miniseries of podcasts showing how its product strategy has been developed over the past decade. In the podcasts Spotify’s Chief R&D Officer, Gustav Söderström, will bring listeners these insider stories of product strategy and development at Spotify as told by the people who built it. Spotify: A Product Story will contain previously untold stories filled with colourful characters, product challenges and successes, and many lessons learned. “In this […]

Deezer launches audiobook channel in Austria

13/03/2021

Deezer launches audiobook channel in Austria with an editorially maintained service of audiobooks and radio plays. Last year, the streaming service started in Germany with Audiobooks by Deezer, a standalone app for audiobooks, as well as a curated audiobook offering in the Netherlands. From bestsellers to novelties to non-fiction books, crime novels and radio plays, audiobook fans can now browse through more than 15 different genres and categories in the new channel. Among them are editorial recommendations […]

BTS’ MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 is winner of IFPI’s Global Album All Format Chart

12/03/2021

BTS’ MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 is first ever winner of IFPI’s newly-launched Global Album All Format Chart. The chart, an addition to IFPI’s existing global awards, contains the best-selling albums of the year across all consumption formats, spanning physical sales, digital downloads, and streaming platforms. The fourth studio album from global superstars BTS, MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 broke records and topped charts all over the world after its release in February 2020. As well as […]

German music sales grew 9% in 2020 despite pandemic

12/03/2021

German music sales grew 9% in 2020 despite the pandemic with digital reaching 71.5% of the market, up 24.6% from 2019 according to BVMI, the German recording industry association. Retail revenues from recorded music sales and proceeds from the streaming business amounted to €1.79 Bn, up 9% on 2019, with 71.5%, or a good three-quarters of sales, coming from online music use. Audio streaming increased by 24.6% on the already high level of the previous […]

Spotify is rolling out 36 new languages on mobile

11/03/2021

Spotify is rolling out 36 new languages on mobile as part of its expansion to 80+ new countries which was announced at last month’s Stream On event. This brings the total number of languages supported on the platform to 62. The streamer said, “This update, which will make Spotify more accessible for speakers of these additional languages worldwide, goes hand in hand with our commitment to building a truly borderless audio ecosystem.” The new languages are […]

The Weeknd wins 2020’s IFPI Global Digital Single Award for Blinding Lights

11/03/2021

The Weeknd wins 2020’s IFPI Global Digital Single Award for Blinding Lights according to IFPI’s recently published Top 10 Global Digital Singles of 2020 chart. The IFPI Global Digital Single Award is presented to the world’s best-selling single of the year across all digital formats including single track downloads, and streams on both paid subscription services and ad-supported platforms. Blinding Lights was the second single from The Weeknd’s fourth studio album After Hours, which was released in March […]

Apple Hearing Study reveals new insights on hearing health

09/03/2021

Apple Hearing Study reveals new insights on hearing health from data collected from thousands of participants across the US. The Apple Hearing Study is one of the studies launched within the Research app which is using technology that is part of individual’s everyday lives. The study is being conducted in collaboration with the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and data is being shared with the World Health Organization’s Make Listening Safe initiative. By […]