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News

Australian record industry growth fuelled by streaming

In 2017 the Australian record industry grew by 10.5% fuelled by a 56% increase in advertising supported and subscription streaming services, according to ARIA, the Australian Recording Industry Association. The increase in value to A$391 million was the largest increase the industry has experienced in its annual wholesale figures since 1996. 2017 was the first year that revenue from music streaming services (at A$213 million) accounted for over half (54%) of the overall market. The […]

Amazon Echo in the Living Room
Streaming

Are Smart Speakers the future of Streaming?

Smart Speakers will fuel the next wave of music consumption and market growth. 48% of all Smart Speaker owners have a premium subscription to a music-streaming service and with global sales of 24m-27m Smart Speakers in 2017, 55% of US households will own a Smart Speaker by 2022. […]

Amazon Echo and EchoDot - 2
Hardware

What is a Smart Speaker?

Smart Speakers are internet-connected speakers controlled by voice commands coupled with an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant responding to the owner’s requests. These voice controlled personal assistants are often referred to as Voice Assistants (VA). The most popular VAs are Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Google Assistant with Siri powering Apple’s HomePod and Cortana controlling Microsoft enabled devices. Traditional electronics companies are rapidly playing catchup and Samsung recently announced its own Bixby powered speaker which is scheduled […]

The Soundboard with Elton John
News

Amazon announces Elton John’s ‘The Soundboard’ experience

Amazon Music announces ‘The Soundboard’ an inside look into the making of Revamp and Restoration, two recently released albums from Elton John which celebrate the iconic artist’s legendary songs. Elton John and long-time lyricist Bernie Taupin present the music and stories behind their extraordinary catalogue and song writing partnership, with commentary surrounding new interpretations of these classic songs from a diverse roster of some of the world’s biggest artists including Chris Martin, Demi Lovato, Brandon […]

Spotify Overview
News

Spotify goes public

In March this year Spotify filed for a direct listing (Spotify takes the first step to going public) on the New York Stock Exchange. The Swedish owned company made its stock market debut (4th April 2018) with a market capitalisation of $30bn although that dropped to $27bn after early profit taking. In 2017 Spotify generated $4.99bn in revenue, up from $3.6bn in 2016. Its number of paid subscribers grew by 46% with monthly active users […]

Saavn and JioMusic Logo
News

Saavn and JioMusic merge to form India’s largest music streamer

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has agreed to buy out music streaming platform Saavn and merge it with its own digital music service JioMusic to form India’s largest music streamer. The $104 million in cash and remainder in stock deal for Saavn will value the combined streaming entity at about US $1 bn with RIL holding roughly three quarters of the merged entity. Reliance plans to invest up to $100 million of which $20 million will be […]

TIDAL FireTV
News

TIDAL launches Amazon Fire TV App and Android Auto service

TIDAL announced the launch of the TIDAL app for Android Auto as well as Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. TIDAL subscribers get a custom Fire TV interface that is designed to provide the best experience for large screen devices. Subscribers with Android Auto compatible vehicles can now access TIDAL, simplifying the use of apps on the go. Amazon Fire TV App On the ‘Home’ screen of Fire TV, users will have access to […]