In Apple-Spotify World, SoundCloud Can’t Find Room; Music Business Set to Embrace Moneyball

The company’s free software analyzes metrics like social media traffic and streaming statistics to determine artists' influence.

Outside Sweden, Daniel Ek isn't a household name.

High-level rumors are now beginning to bubble, however, that Google is very interested in snapping up the Berlin-based company – which boasts more than 175m users around the world.SoundCloud was reportedly hoping to sell for $1bn to Spotify in the second half of 2016.

“There are very few music platforms at this tremendous scale.”

Never a dull moment, or a dull year, in the online audio field.

Dating app Coffee Meets Bagel today announced two web apps, Mixtape and DateSpots, both aimed at helping singles improve their first date experiences. The startup is billing the move as an expansion — instead of simply helping people discover others online, Coffee Meets Bagel wants to also drive offline interactions.

Branded Moments allow brands to sponsor playlists on Spotify’s mobile app that correlate with specific activities and times of day that consumers listen to music, said Danielle Lee, global head of partner solutions at Spotify. It’s also Spotify’s first foray into vertical video.

Speak Music has launched an iOS app called Melody, which lets you play music using voice commands and stream tunes through your phone or Bluetooth-enabled speaker. Available for free, it lets you broadcast music stored locally or pull from YouTube, iHeartRadio, or Spotify (if you have a premium subscription).