Music streaming service Pandora announced this week that it has acquired Next Big Sound, a company that tracks how popular songs become online and via social networks. Next Big Sound has become a standard for measuring artist popularity through activity on Twitter, Wikipedia, YouTube and other platforms. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed. However, in similar data-tracking deals, Spotify paid about $55 million for the Echo Nest last year and Apple paid a reported $50 million in January for Next Big Sound competitor Semetric. Continue reading Pandora Purchases Music Data-Tracking Firm Next Big Sound

In the face of declining ratings and a shift in ad dollars to digital platforms, television networks are expanding their data and analytics capabilities. On Monday, leading broadcast and cable TV companies announced the formation of the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB), a new trade organization that plans to promote research and data that highlights the impact of TV commercials to Madison Avenue. The VAB intends to provide marketers with insights and measurement tools that help gauge whether video ads drive consumer purchases. Continue reading Broadcast and Cable TV Join Forces to Form New Trade Group

Amazon is the current leader in the cloud computing business, with its Amazon Web Services division bringing in $1.57 billion in just the first quarter, but Microsoft and Google have their eye on a market that is projected to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. To maintain its lead, Amazon has rushed to provide other software and analytics services and increased its network of resellers. The real winner, though, will be determined by what company hosts established enterprises. Continue reading Amazon Faces Growing Competition in Lucrative Cloud Business

Videos from the opening session of The Entertainment Technology Center @ USC “Virtual NAB Cloud Conference,” a 3-day extension of the Media Management in the Cloud track that ETC leads at the NAB Show, are now live for viewing on the ETCenterVideo YouTube channel. The Virtual Conference, recorded at YouTube Space LA on March 2, 3 & 4, featured 35 presenters and provided a forum for a deeper discussion of M&E (Media & Entertainment) and the Cloud. The entire program will be posted in advance of NAB in April to provide a lasting repository of perspectives and experiences in this rapidly evolving sector. Continue reading First Videos from ETC’s vNAB Cloud Conference Now Online

Following the positive response to the Meerkat app that enables users to temporarily broadcast live video via social media, and the restrictions placed on it by Twitter (which is likely readying its own similar service with the acquisition of Periscope), live-streaming startup Ustream announced that it is opening its internal API to anyone interested in building their own broadcasting app. This could potentially lead to alternatives for individuals and companies looking to broadcast video without the need for embedded media players. Continue reading Ustream Offers SDK for Those Interested in Live Broadcasting

With assistance from DataSift, a leader of brand analytics, Facebook recently launched Topic Data, a product that lets marketers tap into the social media’s hub of user data. For marketers and brands, information about what users are sharing on their Facebook accounts is especially valuable when trying to determine how to best reach key demographics. Facebook says that while marketers will have to this type of data, users’ personal information and identities will remain anonymous. Continue reading Facebook Looks to Compete with Twitter for Data Monetization

According to a new report from eMarketer, digital-image bookmarking site Pinterest is poised to become the newest social favorite with advertisers since its users typically “pin” and “repin” items that paint a compelling picture of consumer interests. These interests often focus on specific products, services, travel ideas and other areas that could lead to purchases. The researcher suggests that 2015 will be a critical year to determine whether or not Pinterest can generate a serious advertising business. Continue reading New Report Points to Major Marketing Potential of Pinterest

Yahoo is wooing app developers with a new mobile development suite that makes it easier to build apps with search, integrate ads into the code, and analyze app performance. Yahoo is hoping that the development suite will not only encourage developers to build new apps, but also build apps that host its advertisements. Flurry Analytics, a Yahoo acquisition, will provide users with a collection of new tools designed to analyze their app’s performance and securely share that information with others. Continue reading Yahoo Unveils Mobile Development Suite with Analytics and Ads

Apple has acquired British startup Semetric to analyze the data from music sales, streaming services, and social networks. Semetric’s music analytics tool, Musicmetric, is already popular with music labels and industry clients. The $50 million acquisition will likely help improve Beats Music, which will be built into Apple’s iOS update this year. With download sales continuing their decline, Apple and other companies need data analytics to better understand digital music consumption. Continue reading Apple Purchases Startup to Bolster Analytics for Beats Music

United Talent Agency has developed a measurement tool to track and rank movies based on the social media buzz they accrue in the 365 days up until the film’s release date. Using data provided by Twitter, UTA determines and assigns a ranking for every move on a scale of 1-100. For 2014, UTA observed a pattern by which higher ranked movies outperformed lower ranked movies at the box office. The correlation between a movie’s social media numbers and box office performance however, does not imply causation. Continue reading CES: UTA Talks the Importance of Social Data in Hollywood

Cisco Systems is now selling analytics that provide insight into the information gathered by the company’s hardware. Cisco’s “connected analysis” will rely on sensor data from its customers’ pre-installed data transmission networks, providing rapid analysis of consumer activity in a stadium or retail store, for example. Business customers will have the ability to respond to new patterns quickly because the analytics are relayed in real time. General Electric is also planning to relaunch its analytics service. Continue reading Cisco is Offering Real-Time Analysis of Network Sensor Data

Apple and IBM released 10 apps this week designed for businesses and governments. The apps are the first to come out of the tech companies’ new partnership and target sectors such as air travel, banking and retail. Apple is looking to put new life into its lagging iPad sales by drawing business users, while IBM hopes to catch up in the mobile space. The two companies are working with 50 corporations to create apps for Apple mobile devices; the next round is slated for release early next year. Continue reading New Apple-IBM Partnership Unveils First Apps for Enterprise

Is it time to come up with new language to address second screens? According to digital analytics firm Flurry, consumers spend an average of 2 hours and 57 minutes on their smartphones and tablets each day. Since the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that viewers spend 2 hours and 48 minutes per day watching television, the Flurry numbers would suggest mobile devices are becoming the new first screen. Flurry also notes that time spent with apps has increased nearly 10 percent in the last three quarters. Continue reading Report Points to Mobile Devices Replacing TV as ‘First Screen’

According to mobile analytics firm Flurry, female consumers are leading the charge in mobile gaming in terms of time, money and loyalty. Based on analysis of 1.1 million worldwide devices, Flurry concludes that mobile gaming currently represents 32 percent of the time people spend on their phones. Meanwhile, the report specifies that females spend 35 percent more time in gaming apps than males, make 31 percent more in-app purchases, and have 42 percent higher 7-day retention on average. Continue reading Women Lead Men in Time and Money Spent on Mobile Games

Each month, almost 100 million people use song-recognition app Shazam. Many shows and ads integrate Shazam to supply special offers or exclusive content. The app now plans to launch Resonate, a sales platform to help television networks monetize the viewers that use second screens while watching television. The platform aims to help network partners exert more control over the messages and content users receive when using Shazam while watching TV.  Continue reading Second Screen: Shazam Unveils Sales Platform for TV Networks