Menu

Why Buy Albums When You Can Get the Songs for Free?

By
April 4, 2013

Sites like Pandora and Spotify have made a significant impact on the music industry with their free streaming music services. Now, these sites may be influencing how well artists do in regards to their album sales. Justin Timberlake, for example, released his new album “The 20/20 Experience” to Spotify, which resulted in 980,000 copies being sold within the first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Continue reading Why Buy Albums When You Can Get the Songs for Free?

Will Spotify Be Next to Develop Video Streaming Service?

By
March 28, 2013

It seems a number of major media companies are looking to get into streaming video as it continues to grow more popular. On-demand music service Spotify is the latest company rumored to be in the planning stages of such a service, perhaps a surprise to many since its focus has thus far strictly involved music. But two sources say Spotify intends to grow into an on-demand music and video service, including original content. Continue reading Will Spotify Be Next to Develop Video Streaming Service?

Twitter Expected to Soon Launch Standalone Music App

By
March 15, 2013

Twitter is leveraging last year’s acquisition of music discovery service We Are Hunted to build a standalone music app. Twitter Music could be released on iOS as early as the end of this month, suggest insiders. The service will reportedly recommend artists and songs based on the accounts a user follows on Twitter. The music will be streamed to the app via SoundCloud. Continue reading Twitter Expected to Soon Launch Standalone Music App

YouTube May Launch Subscription Streaming Music Service

By
March 7, 2013

YouTube is reportedly planning to launch a subscription streaming music service later this year, that could take on existing services such as Spotify and Pandora. The company is expected to offer a subscription plan that will likely overlap with new features coming to its Android music platform, Google Play. With the subscription, users will have access to new features, including ad-free music streaming. Continue reading YouTube May Launch Subscription Streaming Music Service

Music Industry Sees Worldwide Growth, Led by Streaming

By
February 28, 2013

Due in part to growing demand in developing markets, digital music and streaming services are driving renewed health for the music industry, according to a report from global music trade body, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). Digital revenues climbed $500 million worldwide in 2012 for a total of $5.6 billion, representing a nine percent increase over 2011. Continue reading Music Industry Sees Worldwide Growth, Led by Streaming

Spotify and Ford Team to Offer Streaming Music in Your Car

By
February 27, 2013

At the Mobile World Congress this week, Spotify and Ford announced that the music streaming service will soon be available via the Sync AppLink platform and integrated with the Sync’s voice command system in Ford vehicles in the U.S., Europe and Australia. Additionally, iPhone and Android apps will soon pair up with the dashboard AppLink system to stream music through car speakers. Continue reading Spotify and Ford Team to Offer Streaming Music in Your Car

Will Google Soon Expand to Offer Streaming Music Service?

By
February 26, 2013

Google is reportedly in talks with major music labels about the possibility of starting a music streaming service. It is expected that such a service would offer a subscription-based model along with free unlimited access to songs supported by ads, much the same as models already provided by streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer. Google started a music download store in 2011. Continue reading Will Google Soon Expand to Offer Streaming Music Service?

Serendip Media: Music Discovery Service Launches iOS App

By
January 25, 2013

Streaming music startup Serendip began offering its “lean back” music discovery service to mobile devices this week with the debut of the Serendip iOS application. Similar to its Web version, the new app offers a “continuous stream of the music popular among friends, or others you’ve dubbed your ‘music soulmates,”’ explains TechCrunch. Continue reading Serendip Media: Music Discovery Service Launches iOS App

CES 2013: CEA Presents Consumer Attitudes Toward the Cloud

By
January 7, 2013

Jessica Boothe, CEA manager of strategic research, presented the findings of her recently completed research “Cloud Computing and the Implications for Consumer Tech” at a Monday afternoon CEA Research Summit session. While the majority of online adults are using cloud resources, they overwhelmingly associate the term “cloud” only with storage and primarily use the resources for personal activities, rather than work. Continue reading CES 2013: CEA Presents Consumer Attitudes Toward the Cloud

Spotify Rival Deezer Launches Wide, Seeks U.S. Partner

By
January 4, 2013

Heavy-hitting music-streaming company Deezer wants into the U.S. market in order to increase its overall market share. The Paris-based Spotify competitor launched a free streaming service in late December in more than 150 countries. The service currently allows users two hours of free listening per month on desktops and laptops, marking the first time the company has offered a free service backed by advertising outside its native France. Continue reading Spotify Rival Deezer Launches Wide, Seeks U.S. Partner

Digital Music Study: Is Spotify Detrimental to Music Purchasing?

By
November 22, 2011
  • A recent survey of dedicated music demographics indicates access to music from services like Spotify, YouTube, Grooveshark and others significantly decreases the interest in purchasing across all groups except the least dedicated.
  • “Services like Spotify increase access, but also decrease spending in many situations.  Which means less money from higher-returning formats like iTunes downloads, CDs, and LPs,” according to Digital Music News. “But free access also includes a range of other services, including YouTube, Grooveshark, and various freebie competitors.  And all of these are sapping the juice out of higher-end impulse buying, once a music industry lifeblood.”
  • The recently released findings from NPD Group and NARM have already had an impact. “Following a study that claims that streaming music is damaging to record sales, a distributor representing more than 200 labels has withdrawn its entire catalogue from Spotify, Napster, Simfy and Rdio,” reports Huffington Post.
  • “As a distributor we have to do what is best for our labels,” STHoldings explained in a statement. “The majority of which do not want their music on such services because of the poor revenues and the detrimental affect on sales. Add to that the feeling that their music loses its specialness by its exploitation as a low value/free commodity.”
  • In a related All Things D story, Spotify announced it has new things on the horizon, but has yet to provide details. “In New York on November 30th, we are holding our first press conference to unveil the latest major development from Spotify — and a new direction for the company. The press event will be hosted by CEO and Founder Daniel Ek, along with special guests,” wrote the company’s PR unit.
  • All Things D speculates Spotify may be releasing a U.S. service to buy songs (already available in Europe) or an iPad app, but “it is courting the risk of overpromising” if these are the only developments to be announced.

Pandora Targets the Vast Majority Who Pay Little or Nothing for Music

By
November 11, 2011
  • Speaking at the GigaOM RoadMap conference this week, Pandora CTO Tom Conrad suggested that more than half of Americans do not pay for music each year, while 40 percent only pay about $15 annually.
  • “Conrad revealed that his company aims to monetize the vast majority of listeners who pay little or nothing per year for music,” reports TechCrunch.
  • “While there are opportunities to build businesses on the 10 percent who are willing to pay more, Pandora plans to focus on monetizing the majority via advertisements. Other music companies might be wise to target the non-paying segment as well.”
  • Pandora is working to expand across multiple areas, including “in the home, the television, the living room, the bedroom, even embedded above the ice maker on your refrigerator,” and in your car.
  • Conrad doesn’t feel threatened by Spotify’s success. “I see Spotify as largely complementary to what Pandora does,” he said. “Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek says he thinks Spotify is the future of the record store, and that Pandora is the future of radio.”

Media Consumption: Redefining Content Ownership in a Digital World

By
November 8, 2011
  • An increasing number of consumers are switching to digital content for movies, music and books. The approach has benefits, including convenience and cost, but may also be leading to a loss of rights and abilities we’re accustomed to as consumers.
  • Fortune writer J.P. Mangalindan expressed concerns that systems such as Amazon’s new lending library would change the meaning of ownership since users would be relinquishing actual ownership of content in favor of a rental model.
  • The ability to stream digital content online has led to the same kind of transformation. Services such as Spotify and Netflix have allowed users the freedom of streaming content anywhere, and have made subscribing to such a model affordable and convenient.
  • GigaOM raises an interesting concern: “Apart from our simple human need to own and collect physical objects, however, there’s also the way that renting changes our legal relationship to the content we are consuming. Amazon has shown the downsides of this in the past by actually deleting copies of e-books from people’s Kindles remotely after a complaint by the rightsholder — and those were copies that people had actually bought, not rented.”
  • If we move closer to a streaming, rental-style model for all content then perhaps consumers would eventually prefer a short-term license to use content over actually owning it. But what if Netflix or Amazon decide to change their terms of service? “What if companies decide you no longer have the right to watch certain TV shows or read certain books?”

Google to Link New Music Download Store with its Social Network

By
October 26, 2011
  • Google’s music download store is expected to link with Google+ within the next two weeks. However, the service may prove disappointing if the company cannot secure deals with the four major music labels.
  • Tentatively named Google Music, the service would follow in the footsteps of Spotify, which earlier this fall linked with Facebook to promote its music service.
  • The Google+ integration would allow users to recommend songs to Google+ contacts, who could then listen to those songs once for free. MP3 downloads would then be available, most likely for 99 cents each.
  • Music labels have shown hesitation about the service’s propensity to allow piracy, in addition to the lack of revenue for record companies, as the music locker is free.

Spotify Reports Significant Losses, Despite Increase in Subscribers and Revenue

By
October 12, 2011
  • Streaming music service Spotify, which recently partnered with Facebook, saw its revenue more than quintuple last year. However, the British company still showed losses totaling $42 million, an increase from $26 million in 2009.
  • “Spotify’s performance has been closely monitored by the music industry, which sees it as a kind of litmus test for the viability of digital music by subscription, which pays labels each time a listener streams a particular song,” reports The New York Times. “That system brings in lower royalties per song than downloads, but with a large enough listener base could in theory bring in substantial amounts.”
  • Spotify subscriptions cost about $10 to $15 per month and includes an ad-supported free version. Daniel Ek, Spotify’s chief executive, recently announced that the service had reached the 2 million mark with paid subscribers, although there are believed to be more than 10 million total users.

Top Stories
More News