Next Big Sound (a/o May 24th):
TuneIn, an online radio hub and mobile app that delivers music, sports, and other programming from around the world, has hit 40 million active listeners. The service, which is available on almost any device with an internet connection, has experienced particularly rapid growth on mobile platforms. TuneIn reports that its mobile listener base has increased by 267% in the last year alone. The news comes alongside the closing of a $16 million round of funding, led by General Catalyst Partners, with additional participation from Google Ventures and Jafco Ventures.
Lollapalooza has announced that it will be expanding to Tel Aviv, beginning next year. This marks the third international installation of the festival, which is also held in Santiago, Chile, and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Marc Geiger of William Morris Endeavor, a partner of the festival, cited the sophisticated musical taste of Israelis, high demand, and the lack of an existing large-scale music festival in the country as the primary reasons for expanding. The Tel Aviv festival will take place on August 20-22, 2013, at Yarkon Park, the last of Lollapalooza's four stops.
Univeral Music Group will have to hold its breath for a bit longer. The European Commission has extended its deadline for a decision on the UMG/EMI merger to September 27th. But with all this negotiation happening overseas, one has to wonder, what about the US? A few days ago, Senator Herb Kohl (WI) and Senator Mike Lee (UT) delivered a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, expressing concern over the proposed merger. The letter states, "We believe this proposed acquisition presents significant competition issues that merit careful FTC review to ensure that the transaction is not likely to cause substantial harm to competition in the affected markets." Pretty standard, but still significant considering Senator Kohl also holds the position of chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust issues, and Senator Lee is a ranking minority member. The FTC is still looking into the merger, and has made no announcements about a possible ruling.
Pandora, which has had a tough month along with other social media companies, has plenty of reason to be optimistic. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the internet radio company accumulated 400,000 more active listeners this month, totalling 54.9 million. More impressive still is how much time users are spending listening to Pandora. This month it recorded 1.12 billion total listener hours, which is a 76% increase from a year ago, and a 3.7% month-over-month gain.
United Airlines has introduced a new digital media store, part of MileagePlus, which lets customers exchange frequent flier miles for music, TV shows, and movies. The store features 7 million tracks and a sizable collection of videos. It will also be offering some exlusive content. The Chicago Tribune reports that a track 'costs' about 130-150 miles. Albums cost around 1,035 to 1,150 miles, while movies cost around 2,300 miles.
In other news, Lady Gaga has revealed that her upcoming album will be titled ARTPOP, a clear reference to Andy Warhol (one of Gaga’s big inspirations). The followup to 2011's Born This Way will be released sometime in 2013.
And Chris Amenita, a longtime executive at ASCAP, has passed away. Amenita, 55, was suffering from complications related ot cancer.
Corrine Stanley Monday, August 06, 2012
It's over for Lady CaCa...I mean GaGa...she missed her big moment and could not sustain it...then, got her CLOCK CLEANED by Adele for past 18 months...espec at Grammy's..Zero, nothing for Gaga. Ditto last week, she got snubbed (ignored?) at VMA Award Noms...well, it was fun while it lasted. I predict she'll fire her manager soon, then get thrown into the cesspool of agents and reps all trying to 'recover' her 'lost' career....was it really anything more than one, maybe two, good songs anyway? Her videos xcept for "Bad Romance" and "Paparazzi" were all misguided crapola. She seems really nice, too bad...oh well, NEXT!
Glenn Galen - Minneapolis Monday, August 06, 2012
I was surprised to see that Lady Gaga does just great in this song with the great Tony Bennett.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPAmDULCVrU
Visitor Tuesday, August 07, 2012
This is just awful.
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