Every Music Company Morphing Into the Same Thing; Global Recorded-Music Revenues Hit $19.1B; Pandora Tests AI-Powered Voice Ads

Record labels are becoming streaming services; talent management companies are becoming record labels; distributors are having a go at becoming managers. And artists are stuck in the middle.

Driven by streaming, global recorded-music revenues soared nearly 10% to $19.1 billion, according to IFPI's annual report.

If you spot someone in the street talking to ads on Pandora in the coming months, then no, you’re not going mad. It's part of a trial by the music streaming service that will use interactive voice ads to encourage responses from listeners so brands can learn what elements of a product they’re most interested in.

Service was launched in December 2018

Troy Carter has revealed his next move after vacating the role of Spotify's global head of creator services in September: He's reuniting with former Atom Factory co-president J. Erving to form a new music and technology company called Q&A.

Bernard Perusse used to spend countless hours seeking hard-to-find albums. Now streaming services have made a mockery of that work. But the music geek of yesteryear and the modern-day version aren't so far apart.

Charlottesville's local artists have found success navigating the new frontier of streaming platforms. 

With the rise of the internet and easy access to music streaming platforms, many problems and benefits have come to light.

In this piece, Gimme Radio's Tyler Lenane outlines why they felt compelled to start another streaming service in an already crowded sector and how Gimme Radio differentiates themselves from other platforms by focusing on serving the passionate fan.

Canada's music industry is growing on the back of online streaming, with its almost 50 percent market share of how people listen to music.

We salute you.

iHeartMedia announced on Tuesday the 32 artists who received the company's Titanium Award for reaching a threshold of one billion total audience spins of their hits throughout 2018.

---------

Say Hello.

Send news tips, comments, questions to Jeff: platform.stream007@gmail.com