‘Bankrupt’ iHeartMedia buys Stuff Media.
The broadcaster paid $55 million for Stuff Media, the company behind podcast network HowStuffWorks. This comes a week after iHeartMedia announced it would partner with HowStuffWorks to launch the second season of Atlanta Monster, a podcast show.
Farewell, 3,333 song limit.
Spotify Premium users can now download a maximum of 10,000 songs. This limit applies to 5 devices now instead of the previous 3.
Latest data says Spotify’s holding a big lead — but Apple’s growing faster.
This largely confirms lots of earlier data on streaming music services. But for the first half of 2018, Midia Research has estimated that paying music subscribers notched upward 16% to 229.5 million. Measured year-over-year, that’s an addition of 62.8 million subscribers, or 38%.
Music subscription revenue reached $3.5 billion. Spotify had a global share of 36%, the same percentage it had in Q4 2018. Apple Music had 19%, growing 3% year-over-year. Between Prime Music and Music Unlimited, Amazon grew half a point to 12%.
Live Nation Electronic Asia announces a new deal.
Under terms of the multi-year deal, Budweiser has become the official brand and exclusive sponsor of the Creamfields dance music festivals and the Cream Tour in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Creamfields, founded in 1992, will return to China in 2018.
Deezer ramps up efforts to grow in the US market.
To capture the growing streaming music market in the US, Deezer has unveiled a free 15-day premium trial for new users. The company has focused on appealing primarily to Hispanic – or ‘Latinx’ – listeners offering reggaeton, Latin trap, and Mexican subgenres playlists.
British music organizations launch CMM.
The UK Council of Music Makers (CMM) has launched, aiming to protect and enforce digital rights for songwriters, artists, producers, and creators. The CMM is comprised of BASCA (British Academy of Songwriters), FAC (Featured Artists Coalition), MMF (Music Managers Forum), MPG (Music Producers Guild), and MU (Musicians’ Union). CMM wants to achieve modernization, fairness, and transparency for music makers.
Modern Sky announces a Circus Recordings JV.
The deal involves the UK division of Modern Sky Entertainment, a Chinese indie music company. Modern Sky UK will pact with Circus Recordings, with Circus’ DJ Yousef running the show. The label, which releases mainly techno and EDM music, has released hits from Carl Cox, David Glass, and Steve Lawler, among others.
Brat Studios launches record label.
Per Variety, the company – which has released shows like ‘Chicken Girls’ – will release one-off singles instead of signing artists to long-term contracts. Co-founder Rob Fishman noted the company won’t release physical products just yet. Tunecore, Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon will distribute the singles.
Vendini acquires Boxxo.
Boxxo, a Quebec ticketing software company, has worked with arts organizations for over 15 years. Vendini, an Eventbrite competitor, has previously made several key acquisitions to expand its audience, including InTicketing, CrowdTorch, and Dataflow.
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