Can SoundCloud Survive as Rappers Depart?; Samsung Partners with Spotify

Can SoundCloud Survive as Rappers Depart? — XXL — www.xxlmag.com SoundCloud has become a launchpad for hip-hop’s hottest acts. But can…

Can SoundCloud Survive as Rappers Depart? — XXL — www.xxlmag.com 
 SoundCloud has become a launchpad for hip-hop’s hottest acts. But can the streaming platform survive as its stars depart for more profitable pastures?

Samsung is partnering with Spotify across its devices — www.theverge.com 
 Samsung has announced that it’s partnering with Spotify on its devices, including smartphones, TVs, and the newly announced Galaxy Home smart speaker for a “true cross-platform listening experience.”

Slacker Radio Channel Leads New Initiatives to Up Country Airplay for Women — www.billboard.com 
 Digital radio outlet Slacker has announced a unique new way of exposing its listeners to more female country artists, joining a handful of new initiatives aimed at shifting the country format’s longstanding and widely-documented gender imbalance.

Drake Becomes First Artist to Surpass 50 Billion Streams — www.billboard.com 
 Drake has become the first artist to surpass 50 billion streams across all global streaming platforms, his record company announced on Wednesday (Aug. 8).

Phish Announces Free Raleigh Webcast — www.jambase.com 
 A free webcast of Friday’s Phish show at the Coastal Credit Union Music Park At Walnut Creek in Raleigh is available.

Verizon Unlimited Customers Will Receive Six Months of Apple Music Free, Thanks to New Partnership — www.billboard.com 
 Verizon and Apple announced an exclusive partnership on Wednesday (Aug. 8), and the news comes with an exciting new offer.

You Don’t Need to Be a Musician to Get a Record Deal in 2018 — www.rollingstone.com

Streaming has upturned music’s status quo — and labels are looking farther afield for truly fresh talent.

Spotify: The Crucial Change That Almost Came ‘Too Late’ — www.barrons.com 
 An extensive profile of the company and its CEO offers a view into its plans for the music industry.

SiriusXM Presents Slash Ft. Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators at Whisky a Go Go — platformandstream.wordpress.com 
 SiriusXM announced that Slash Ft. Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators will perform for SiriusXM on Tuesday, September 11 at the famed Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles. The announcement was made on SiriusXM’s Volume channel show, Trunk Nation LA Invasion: Live from the Rainbow Bar & Grill. SLASH joined Eddie Trunk as the special…

4 Reasons Why Streaming Services Are Killing Music Piracy — www.idropnews.com 
 A new report by market research and data analytics firm YouGov revealed that more Britons are streaming music today than downloading music

SoundCloud CEO Kerry Trainor on his plan to turn the company around — www.youtube.com

SoundCloud needed help badly when Kerry Trainor took over the company last summer.

Smart speaker sales, forecasts: Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple — musically.com 
 The music industry is intensely interested in the growth of the market for smart speaker devices: Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple HomePod and other speakers controlled via voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri respectively.