In the wake of analysts from both Evercore and Bernstein giving Spotify an underperform rating, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the company is in early talks to acquire a podcasting network called the Ringer. With many in the industry projecting that podcasting will become the next big thing in streaming, Spotify has increasingly […]

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Most people think of Twitch as a place to stream video games alone. However, Twitch’s music initiative may change that. The ‘Just Chatting’ category on Twitch is a catch-all for all non-gaming content. It’s also growing five times faster than the most-watched games like League of Legends and Fortnite. Last year at TwitchCon, Twitch announced […]

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Warner Chappell Music has announced that it has concluded a global publishing deal with Ice Nine, which is the Grateful Dead’s publishing company. Interestingly, the name Ice Nine comes from a weapon of mass destruction that caused havoc in Kurt Vonnegut’s classic novel Cat’s Cradle. The agreement between Ice Nine and Warner Chappell covers the […]

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Apple Music just announced a new deal with the NBA, starting with an exclusive playlist. The war for music streaming services to differentiate themselves is on. Yesterday, Spotify announced a playlist generator for pet owners everywhere. Today, Apple is responding with something far more substantial: a partnership with the National Basketball Association. Apple Music will […]

The post Apple Music Inks a Major Deal With the NBA, Urban Indie Artists Stand to Benefit appeared first on Digital Music News.

One of Spotify Japan’s leading executives has jumped ship for Universal Music. Japan is the second-largest market in the world for recorded music. Ichiro Tamaki joins Universal Music Japan starting February 15th. He will be responsible for heading Digital Strategy, data analytics, and platform partnerships for Universal Music Japan. Tamaki formerly served as Spotify Japan’s […]

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In the wake of layoffs and the replacing of workers with “technology and artificial intelligence,” iHeartMedia announced that it has promoted three senior programmers to division executive vice presidents of their National Programming Group. iHeartMedia says that the three will “work closely” with recently appointed division presidents as they implement the company’s new operating structure […]

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Yesterday, we first reported on iHeartMedia’s mass layoff of employees nationwide.  Now, the company has explained why those people were let go. We certainly hear a lot about machines replacing humans in the workforce. And there are certainly some in-your-face examples, like self-checkout aisles at supermarkets. But most of the threats feel like they’re in the distant […]

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Here’s a recap of recent executive shuffles — including both hirings and in-house promotions — from across the music industry. If you have a job listing to share, we’re all ears.  Send us a note to news@digitalmusicnews.com. If you’d like to post a job on our Job Board, just send us a request to noah@digitalmusicnews.com. Warner Music […]

The post Latest Industry Gigs: Warner Music, The MLC, Elektra, Atlantic, CBC Music and More appeared first on Digital Music News.

iHeartMedia has reportedly laid off dozens of people across its network of radio stations, including DJs and program directors. So far, the company, which is the largest broadcaster in the world, has not specified exactly how many employees were laid off. A spokesperson for the company would only say that “the number is relatively small […]

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On the heels of Bernstein’s Todd Juenger giving Spotify an underperform rating, an analyst from Evercore has downgraded the stock to underperform as well. Benjamin Black gave the stock the rating after previously assigning it a neutral rating, or what the company terms “in-line.” Interestingly, Black has not lowered his price target of the stock […]

The post Evercore Analyst Downgrades Spotify, Calls Profit Margin Growth ‘A Pipe Dream’ appeared first on Digital Music News.