The Napster Comeback; Facebook + Spotify?

Don’t Call It a Comeback: How Napster’s Making Waves in 2017 — www.pastemagazine.com 
 Although it’s no longer the file sharing service that shook up the world in 1999, Napster today is still all about music discovery.

As Facebook pushes video, analyst suggests an acquisition: Spotify — www.cnbc.com 
 Facebook’s better-than-expected earnings may mean an acquisition-heavy year for the social media giant, analyst Richard Kramer says.

So What Does Apple Have in their Plans for Music Streaming? — ajournalofmusicalthings.com 
 Filtering what’s happening in music to save you time, money and effort.

How Important Are Movies, Music to Amazon’s Strategy? — www.bloomberg.com

Amazon reported disappointing sales in the holiday quarter and said revenue in the current period may miss estimates, raising concerns that rising spending on warehouses, movies and gadgets isn’t yet translating into fast enough growth.

Sources: Spotify may delay IPO to 2018 as it rethinks licensing deals — techcrunch.com 
 Spotify — the music streaming company with over 100 million users (40 million of them paying) — has long been seen as one of the more likely candidates..

Apple moves into sports sponsorship with FC Bayern Munich partnership — www.thedrum.com 
 German football club Bayern Munich have signed an exclusive partnership with Apple Music as music streaming service steps up its push into sports marketing.

Singer David Lowery keeps the debate over streaming music services in your ear — www.washingtonpost.com 
 The Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven frontman discusses combining bands and artists’ rights.

How virtual reality is shaking up the music industry — www.bbc.com 
 Virtual reality is opening up new revenue streams for the music industry and reviving the pop video.

Meet The Music Nerds Behind The Tunes You Hear At Starbucks — www.fastcompany.com 
 From CD compilations to Spotify playlists, Holly Hinton and David Legry have been overseeing music curation at Starbucks for 20 years.

Thanks Alexa, Music Streamers See Lift From Amazon Echo — www.hypebot.com

With more than 14 million consumers in the US now users of an Amazon Echo device, the conversation has once again shifted to music in the home, and whether Amazon will be able to make strides in the streaming market in 2017.

With Grammys Near, Will Prince’s Music Make a Big Return? — www.nytimes.com 
 Music’s biggest night is a possible place for a splashy Prince comeback, but record labels, streaming services and the musician’s estate will need to align.

Can Apple Music ever make up the ground it has lost to Spotify? — www.irishtimes.com 
 The tech giant is shifting digital operations to Cork, but the jury is out on whether it can recover its former digital smarts and regain ground on its biggest streaming rival

Steve Savoca, Formerly of Spotify, Joins Apple Music — www.billboard.com 
 Steve Savoca, formerly VP of content at Spotify, has joined Apple Music, Billboard has learned.

SoundCloud Faces Massive Lawsuit Over ‘GO’ Subscription Service — www.digitalmusicnews.com 
 Last year, SoundCloud launched GO, a premium subscription tier. Now, the struggling company faces millions in a patent infringement lawsuit.

Pandora Ranks as Streaming Favorite For Amazon Echo Users — www.digitalmusicnews.com 
 Pandora and iHeartRadio emerged as a favorite among Amazon Alexa-enabled devices. Yet, why aren’t more users listening to Amazon Music Unlimited?

Sony’s portable audio system is a hi-res heaven for audiophiles — www.stuff.tv

Knocking on musical heaven’s door.

Netflix Inks BMG Deal to Manage Music Rights Outside U.S. — variety.com 
 BMG has signed an agreement with Netflix to exclusively manage and administer the streaming giant’s music-publishing rights outside the U.S. In the U.S., Netflix handles music licensing in-house.

Charleston Symphony Orchestra launches new club, CSOgo — www.charlestoncitypaper.com

The Charleston Symphony Orchestra, launched a new program, CSOgo, designed to help young and/or busy music lovers to experience the symphony on the cheap.

AmpMe’s speaker-linking app adds access to your Spotify library — www.engadget.com 
 When AmpMe arrived in late 2015, the app that links phone and tablet speakers for a more robust audio setup only played tunes from SoundCloud.

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