Spotify Is Upgrading Its Family Plan With Actual Family Features

Spotify is upgrading its Family Plan subscription with new features that are — wait for it — family-oriented. Spotify is currently running a new test of family plan features in Ireland, with some enhancements geared towards parental oversight.  As part…

After Helping to Save SoundCloud In 2017, Chance the Rapper Hits 1 Billion Streams on the Platform

Chance the Rapper is the first independent SoundCloud creator to hit 1 billion streams, according to the company. SoundCloud held a special event to present Chance the Rapper with two plaques during a Good Morning America concert this week.  SoundCloud…

iHeartMedia’s CEO Says ‘73% of Spotify’s Listening Comes from Just 3% of Their Audience’ — Spotify’s CEO Responds

Bob Pittman came out swinging against Spotify in iHeartMedia’s recent Q2 earnings call. Now, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has responded. Pittman noted that quarterly digital revenue for iHeart increased by 32.8% year-over-year.  iHeart now reaches around 275 …

YouTube Overhauls Its Copyright Claim Rules for “Very Short Clips” of Music — Rights Owners May Not Like the Changes

YouTube is making some broad changes to how it handles copyright claims of ‘brief unintentional clips’ of music. The new system is supposed to make the copyright claim system fairer to content creators.   The intention is to stop small bits of music fr…

Hi-Res Streaming Service Qobuz Says Its Has 200,000 Paying Customers — 25,000 In the U.S.

Hi-Res streaming music service Qobuz launched in the United States on Valentine’s Day.  Now, the service says it has attracted at least 25,000 subscribers in the country, just a fraction of its worldwide customer tally. Qobuz recently revealed some fin…

Nintendo Drops The Hammer on YouTube Music Channels — Virtually Guaranteeing an Increase In Piracy

Nintendo is hitting YouTube channels featuring popular game soundtrack with copyright strikes. Many channels are voluntarily shutting down in the wake of the strikes. Several YouTube channels shut down yesterday after Nintendo issued repeated copyright…

Spotify for Podcasters Officially Moves Out of Beta

The statistics-oriented Spotify feature is now available for use by all podcasters. Podcast hosts can now upload their shows to Spotify free of charge, and Spotify will then list and promote the podcasts to the platform.  Spotify boasts more than 200 m…

Tencent Music Entertainment Q2 Earnings Disappoint Wall Street

Why is Wall Street so unhappy with Tencent Music Entertainment? Despite the fact that revenues surpassed estimates — having come in at 10 cents per share, more than the nine cents per share that experts expected — Tencent Music Entertainment’s stock to…

Spotify Is Testing Smoother Proximity Hand-Offs Between Phones and Speakers

With competition between music streaming services continuing to intensify, Spotify is focusing on smooth peripheral hand-offs. Spotify is now testing a new feature that will allow users to hand-off music playback between two devices, such as a phone an…

UK-Based Music Streaming Expanded 25.8% During the First Half of 2019

Recent years have brought with them considerable increases in the number of individuals who use music-streaming services, and according to a report on the entertainment habits of UK residents, the rise of digital media is just beginning. The report cou…