Consumer Electronics Association president and CEO Gary Shapiro projects that the CE industry is on course to generate an all-time high of $223.2 billion in sales in the U.S. this year. Shapiro told CES attendees that emerging technologies including 3D printers, Ultra HD televisions, connected appliances, drones, robots, cameras and wearables are likely to grow 108 percent in revenue in 2015. Other areas projected to experience more modest growth include smartphones, tablets and automotive technology. Continue reading CEA Predicts Record Year for Consumer Electronics Revenue

Reddit, the self-proclaimed “front page of the Internet,” wants to give something back to its millions of active contributors. In a blog post Friday, Reddit announced its plans to distribute 10 percent of its equity in the form of ‘reddit notes’ to approximately 950,000 users in the fall of 2015. The ‘currency’ can be used to tip, donate, or trade on the Reddit site, although specifics are still being worked out. Reddit plans to use a random lottery for distributing reddit notes to active user accounts. Continue reading Reddit to Thank Active Community Members with Equity Share

Despite revenue generated by licensing content to streaming services, some analysts and execs are concerned that the growth of subscribers to Netflix and related services may negatively impact traditional TV audiences and related advertising revenue. During the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference on Monday, research was presented that suggests a significant disruption in media consumption, as Netflix subscribers watch less broadcast TV than consumers without the service. Continue reading Research Suggests Streaming is Impacting the Business of TV

Nielsen is planning to begin measurement of viewership ratings next month of television shows streamed on subscription online video services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video. Nielsen will analyze the audio of programs to identify which shows are being streamed, a new measurement capability that does not require the approval of the streaming services. The data could impact how business is conducted between the services and the studios that license content. Continue reading Nielsen Planning to Measure TV Viewing via Streaming Services

File sharing network BitTorrent is now giving all artists the option to distribute their content in paid content bundles. A paygate-based distribution model is a major departure for the site that is infamous for its pirating. BitTorrent will get a 10 percent cut of the revenue from these paygate premium content bundles, while artists will earn a whopping 90 percent cut. The artists will also get access to valuable data about the consumers who are buying their content on BitTorrent. Continue reading Artists Get Major Cut from BitTorrent Premium Content Bundles

Amazon and Hachette have finally resolved their ongoing public dispute, which began back in January. Hachette will now have the ability to set its own prices for e-books and print books, but will be offered incentives for selling at lower prices. Despite yesterday’s announcement, seen by most as a victory for Hachette (in the short term), Amazon still controls almost half of today’s book trade. In addition, the long-running dispute showed the industry that Amazon is not afraid to use its power to affect sales. Continue reading Amazon, Hachette Settle Long-Running Dispute Over E-Books

Bandcamp, an online music store that supports promotion of independent artists, will now offer individual subscription platforms. Artists will be able to share content, merchandise, and other offers, choosing their own subscription rate. Music will be available to subscribers through downloads or streaming via the mobile app. As a bonus for new subscribers, artists can choose to give items from their back catalog. Bandcamp currently features 12 million tracks and 1.6 million albums. Continue reading Bandcamp Gives Artists More Control with Subscription Service

Snapchat is in talks with Buzzfeed, ESPN, CNN, Vevo and others to help launch a new feature for its popular app that offers a much wider variety of content than friends’ selfies. These media companies will produce articles, music and video for the upcoming “Discover” section of the Snapchat app, making it more of an all-inclusive media consumption app. No date has been announced regarding when the “Discover” section will make its debut on the popular photo- and video-messaging app. Continue reading Snapchat Teams with Major Media Companies on New Feature

Concert discovery service Songkick will now sell concert tickets directly to music fans. The London-based startup — which, over the course of seven years has gained 10 million active users — will now potentially earn 20 times as much revenue. While the service previously referred users to other sellers, clicking away to another service to purchase was a nuisance and could be impacted by conversion rates. Now, by adding payment information, users can purchase tickets without leaving the site.  Continue reading Songkick Service Now Sells Concert Tickets to Fans Directly

With about 175 million current users, SoundCloud far exceeds Spotify and Pandora, which combine for a total of about 116 million users. And while SoundCloud has yet to build any sort of real business with these numbers, it recently agreed to partner with a major record label. Rather than taking a traditional licensing route with its new Warner Music Group deal, the music-streaming site will offer WMG the option to advertise on some of its songs and share revenue with SoundCloud. Continue reading Warner Music Group Partners with SoundCloud for Digital Edge

According to Bernstein Research senior analyst Todd Juenger, there has been an unprecedented drop in TV ratings during the summer and fall seasons, which can be attributed to a growing number of viewers opting for streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. Juenger suggests that traditional ad-supported TV viewing has declined over the last year by an average of 13 minutes per day, while Netflix viewers are spending 12 minutes more each day watching video content via the video service. Continue reading Netflix to Blame for Recent Decline in Traditional TV Ratings?

Redditmade, unveiled Wednesday, helps users raise money to create and sell customized products. The crowdfunding service gives users 30 days after creating an item to raise the money and send the product out. Reddit will then take a cut of the campaign for platform costs. While Redditmade is similar to Kickstarter, it focuses on physical goods rather than ideas. It then encourages users to donate revenue from successful campaigns to charities and causes. Reddit also plans to give a percentage to charity. Continue reading Reddit Introduces Crowdfunding Service Called Redditmade

Music sales via Apple’s iTunes Store have dropped about 14 percent since the start of the year. Meanwhile, streaming services now supply one-third of the recorded music revenue in the U.S. The total number of streams reported for services such as Spotify and Pandora have increased 46 percent this year over 2013. This shift may be one reason behind Apple’s $3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics. The company is reportedly planning to relaunch Beats next year as a part of iTunes. Continue reading Streaming Services Grow While iTunes Music Sales Decline

Tumblr is following in the footsteps of Facebook with its new autoplay video ads that will appear in users’ feeds. Yahoo, which owns Tumblr, launched the service with ads from Universal, CW, Hulu, and others. The video ads will be mute by default and play in a continuous loop. They will only play automatically when a mobile user has a Wi-Fi connection. Yahoo is hoping that the new ads will help the $1.1 billion Tumblr deal lead to generating significant revenue. Continue reading Brands, Media Companies Try Out Tumblr Autoplay Video Ads

Subscription music service Spotify introduced a new family plan that will allow subscribers to add up to four more Spotify accounts for half-price. Under the new plan, Spotify would charge $10 for the primary account holder and $5 for each additional account holder. Other streaming music services are also trying to lower prices as CD and download sales continue to plummet. Apple, which owns the Beats Music streaming service, is negotiating with record labels to cut prices. Continue reading Spotify Lowers Music Streaming Prices with Family Discount