What do consumers think of Conversational Commerce, and how can retailers and brands devise a sound voice-driven Conversational Commerce strategy?
Source: Conversational Commerce: Why Consumers Are Embracing Voice Assistants
A unique and valued platform for both creators and consumers of music since its creation in 2007, SoundCloud has grown to become an integral part of the world of digital music. Once expected to surpass a billion dollars in value, however, the service’s future has now become uncertain.
Justin Timberlake’s performance at the Super Bowl halftime show got very mixed reviews, but his streams surged 214% on Spotify in the US during the hour that followed Philadelphia Eagles’ win over New England Patriots.
Source: Timberlake, Prince, Music In Super Bowl Ads Streams Surge – hypebot
While many in the music industry welcome this bill, smaller publishers and musicians may be surprised to learn that several of the provisions in the Music Modernization Act may harm their interests.
There are many accusations against Apple, Facebook, Google, Amazon and others for their addictive effects on our brains and culture. Most of the discourse is about how evil tech companies are (covertly) peddling addictive products/services that are destroying our minds, our society and our relationships. I’ve been frequently quoted in this dialogue as an example of someone who used to focus on increasing addiction (through gamification) to a “changed man” who now believes things have gone too far — with a startup to prove it.
Source: Stop blaming Apple and take responsibility for tech addiction | TechCrunch
Thirty-nine million Americans now own a smart speaker device, but the voice app ecosystem is still developing. While Alexa today has over 25,000 skills available, a number of companies haven’t yet built a skill for the platform, or offer only a very basic skill that doesn’t work that well. That’s where the startup Storyline comes in. The company is offering an easy to use, drag-and-drop visual interface for building Amazon Alexa skills that doesn’t require you to have knowledge of coding.
Source: Storyline lets you build and publish Alexa skills without coding | TechCrunch
Amazon is investing in a startup with an astoundingly simple premise: testing voice apps on real, human people.
Source: Amazon Is Spending $2.5 Million To Fix Alexa’s Fatal Flaw
New data from Kantar Consulting shows that an impressive 45% of households are more than willing to pay Prime membership fees, in exchange for free two-day shipping, along with ancillary benefits like access to Amazon’s streamable content.
Source: Nearly Half of US Households Are Now Amazon Prime Subscribers | eMarketer Retail
TV viewership of the The 2018 Grammy Awards was down 24%, but the show still spurred immediate sales gains for the songs performed on Sunday’s broadcast. Those songs earned a collective 328% gain in download sales in the U.S. on the day of the show, according to initial sales reports. All together, the songs performed (and original versions of songs covered) sold 74,000 downloads, up from 17,000 on the previous day.
Source: Grammys 2018 Boost Sales 328% Despite TV Ratings Drop – hypebot
In the latest episode of eMarketer’s “Behind the Numbers” podcast, analyst Paul Verna discusses trends in music consumption and how the Grammys fit—and don’t fit—with consumers’ evolving habits.
Source: Are the Grammys Relevant in a Digital World? – eMarketer
Source: From Amazon, Apple, Comcast and AT&T: This is who owns the media today – Recode
US copyright authorities on Saturday decided to increase over the next five years the royalty payments music streaming companies like Spotify and Apple Inc (AAPL.O) must make to songwriters and music publishers. The National Music Publishers Association said the ruling, which has not yet been made public, will require streaming companies to give 15.1 percent of their revenue to songwriters and music publishers. The previous rate was 10.5 percent.
Amazon is in a better position than any other company to dominate ambient computing, the concept that everything in your life is computerized and intelligent. Amazon’s Alexa platform continues to get better while remaining open to third parties, unlike Apple’s Siri. Buying into Alexa now will future-proof your home.
Source: Why Amazon Alexa is the best way to future-proof your smart home – Business Insider
A recent survey of internet users worldwide by Salesforce showed 81% of respondents watched broadcast TV at least monthly, more than any other format. But there are stark generational differences in the way they consume media, especially video.
China is not here for hip hop culture, or at least, that’s what their government made clear recently. According to Time and a Chinese news outlet called Sina, the country’s top media regulator — the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SAPPRFT) — is cutting TV’s ties to hip hop. They require that “programs should not feature actors with tattoos [or depict] hip hop culture, sub-culture (non-mainstream culture) and dispirited culture (decadent culture).”
Source: Hip Hop Culture Is Officially Banned From Chinese TV | 92 Q
Spotify beat back the scourge of streaming album exclusives, and now it’s ready to go public. Here’s what it says about how fans value artists and platforms.
Source: How Spotify Beat Apple to Charting the Future of Music – The Ringer
Spotify, which accounts for an estimated 17% of all major label revenue, has rejuvenated the music industry. But it’s own revenue future is far murkier. Spotify, like its competitors, is loosing hundreds of millions each year. And while an eminent public stock listing will replenish reserves, eventually the streamer must become profitable.
Source: Spotify Has 4 Paths To Profitability, None Are Good For Labels, Artists – hypebot
- US Facebook users aged 45-54 are spending more time on Facebook, and represent 21% of the total time spent on the platform, more than any other age group.
- The age composition of Snapchat users in the US has become more evenly distributed over the past year, and it appears the company is doing a better job of attracting older users.
- Teens are starting to use a category of social media called “digital hangouts.” These are apps that enable users to video chat with several friends simultaneously. Over 60% of users on Houseparty, one of the most popular digital hangout apps, are under 24 years old.
- LinkedIn is popular among high-income users. Forty-five percent of US adult internet users with an income higher than $75,000 annually are on LinkedIn, making it more popular among this demographic than Instagram (31%), Pinterest (35%), or Twitter (30%).
Today’s labels actually sit alongside of a new wave of digital opportunity and complexity, far beyond streaming.
Source: Why Digital Music (And Not Just Streaming) Is Booming – hypebot
Streaming music has put the audience in control, letting music fans choose what, when and where they listen. One of the most dramatic changes that streaming has enabled is the expansion of music from a lean-back, linear experience into something far more engaging and interactive. Now fans lean forward to choose the songs they want, build playlists, comment and share. Lyrics are centre stage in this shift, transforming from static-print-hidden-away-inside-album-sleeve notes, to a dynamic extension of the music itself. Lyrics permeate the streaming music ecosystem, from websites, through YouTube and Vevo to the streaming services themselves.
Source: Free Report: Lyrics Take Centre Stage In Streaming Music | Music Industry Blog
