Deezer Puts Focus On Difference; Stationhead Integrates Apple Music; 7 Podcasts for Music Lovers

From Startup To Challenger — Streaming Pioneer Deezer Puts The Focus On Difference

www.forbes.com 
 10 years ago, Deezer was a music tech startup, operating from a garage in France. Today the company has 12 million active users, but with developments in digital music distribution moving ahead at speed, the company is seeking to answer the question: Why choose Deezer?

Streaming App Stationhead Integrates Apple Music — www.billboard.com 
 Social radio streaming app Stationhead has integrated Apple Music, making it platform-agnostic and opening it up to Apple’s 30 million subscribers.

How does free ‘promotion’ fit in to the music-streaming era? — musically.com 
 “The industry’s problem to solve is we’ve been addicted to promotion for the entire time that the music industry has existed”

7 Podcasts for Music Lovers — ppcorn.com

If your podcast lineup is feeling a little stale, why not shake it up with these seven podcasts, all designed for music lovers. The formats range from traditional host interviews to storytelling and incorporates people from all walks of life. The common thread is something everyone loves: the power of music.

Evolving exit strategies for music startups — musically.com 
 We’ll be blunt: for many music startups, the ‘exit’ is either shutting down when nobody wants their product or service, or an ‘acquihire’ of their team.

Music 360 Report Finds That More And More People Create Their Own Playlists — music3point0.com 
 Nielsen Music’s annual Music 360 report looks at the consumption habits of U.S. music fans and listeners.

Crunch Digital Launches New ‘Sandbox’ to Help Startups Navigate Licensing Music From Record Labels — www.billboard.com

Keeping the digital music business booming requires encouraging more startups to enter a market that’s generally perceived as difficult and complicated. Could one new company provide the answer?

Amazon to push ‘U2 experience’ out to music streaming apps — www.completemusicupdate.com

Taking note of what a massive success it was when Apple snuck a free U2 album onto everyone’s iPhones, Amazon is going to push out a collection of interviews and live performances by the band to users of its streaming service.

Exec: Spotify Skip-Rates Aren’t as Important a Playlist Metric as Many Believe — www.billboard.com 
 Turns out all the hype around Spotify “skip-rates” — when a listener skips a track less than 30 seconds into listening — might not be such an important metric in the service’s playlist placements as previously thought.

Buying music vs. streaming: What you need to know — www.windowscentral.com 
 You might consider buying music to be a thing of the past now that streaming services are more popular and feature-rich than ever before. But which approach is best for you?

Taylor Swift’s ‘Reputation’ to Hit Streaming Services Friday — variety.com 
 Three weeks to the day after its release, Taylor Swift’s new album “Reputation” will be available on major streaming services Friday.