OFFICIAL: Prince Comes To Streaming This Sunday [UPDATED]

UPDATE 2: It’s been music’s worst kept secret for more than a week, but we now can confirm that Prince is coming to music streaming services this Sunday, the day of the 2017 Grammy Awards. In recent days, multiple sources told Hypebot that the arrival of the Purple One would…

Pandora Stock Recovers Friday Morning Despite $343M Loss, Disppointing Forecast, No Listener Growth

UPDATE 2: Pandora stock fell as much as 5% more in after hours trading Thursday, but recovered 4% Friday morning to an 11AM price of $3.11. Yesterday’s drop came as the company reported that losses doubled from $169.7 million to $343 million,and offered a weak forecast. Pandora’s total active listeners…

Google Combines YouTube, Google Play Music Teams, Unified App Appears Likely

Google’s multiple music platforms – Google Play Music, YouTube, YouTube Music, YouTube Red – have always presented a confusing and even competing mix, portions of which have failed to gain much traction. Now, Google is combining its music teams into a single unit, and a unified music app would seem…

Universal Music Wins Bidding War To Manage Prince Catalog Just Ahead Of Streaming Launch

With multiple sources reporting that Prince’s extensive catalog will become available on most streaming music services this weekend, Universal Music Group has won the much sought after right to manage his extensive catalog. __________________________________ Universal Music Group has signed a a multi-year agreement with the Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson…

New York Times Subscribers Now Get Free Spotify Premium

On-demand music streamers are all pretty much stuck charging $/€/£ 9.99 – much to there detriment, according to MIDiA’s Mark Mulligan. So to attract new customers, they are constantly experimenting with discounts, pricing and partnerships like the one that Spotify and the New York Times announced today. _____________________________ The New…

For Continued Growth, Music Streaming Needs Product & Pricing Innovation [MARK MULLIGAN]

Issues with pricing are nothing new in the streaming economy. Although $9.99 remains something of a standard, many companies are working to ease customers in with steeper discounts, with the result of devaluing the service, and the industry is in need of a more stable pricing strategy. _________________________ By Mark…

What Happens When Drake Brings You On Stage, A SoundCloud Success Story and More

A new London Rapper gets a sweet, sweet Drake boost, a new Latin artist takes the salsa community by storm, a developing SoundCloud success story and much more bubbling up on the Pandora Predictions Chart. _________________________________ Guest post by Emily Blake of Next Big Sound On this week’s Pandora Predictions…

10 Pandora Initiatives It Says Are Moving The Music Industry Forward

Not long ago, if you asked someone in the music industry about Pandora, you’d get an earful about aggressive attempts to pay lower royalties. Now, their not paying much more than they always did; but most would give the streamer a thumbs up. That shift is largely because artist-friendly founder…

Spotify Joins Apple, Facebook, Google, 100+ More Major Companies In Fight Against Trump’s Anti-Immigration Plan

Spotify has joined more than 120 companies filing an amicus brief in the US Court of Appeals in San Francisco in the case against President Trump’s anti-immigration executive order. Until now Spotify has been silent on the issue, and many others in the sector remain so. Spotify has joined 120…

Lady Gaga Spotify Streams Soar Following Super Bowl Show

Lady Gaga’s sales jumped 1000% after Sunday’s Superbowl 51 half time performance in Houston and her catalog’s streams on Spotify did the same. ________________________________________ Following Lady Gaga’s performance at Super Bowl 51, streams of the singer’s catalog in the U.S. have skyrocketed on Spotify. Stats on her streaming spikes include:…