Streaming round-up – February 2025

by IDOL
News
26.02.25
Stay up to date on the latest in streaming news with our monthly round-up. This month, Ticketmaster talks to DSPs about superfans, YouTube Shorts embraces AI, and Instagram puts music in our DMs.

The figure of the month: Over 86% of tracks on streaming platforms were listened to less than 1,000 times last year (all platforms combined!). More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Economy

Amazon Music
Amazon raises prices for its “Music Unlimited” streaming service in the US, UK and Canada. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Audiomack
Warner Music extends its licensing agreement with Audiomack to include the UK, France and Germany. More info on Music Week.

ByteDance
TikTok’s parent company has quietly launched a music licensing platform called EasyOde. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Hangout
Hangout, the social music service, opens up to all Discord users. More info on Music Ally. And now boasts 1.1 million registered users. More info on Music Ally.

MashApp
Universal, Warner and Sony sign licensing agreements with new music creation and social application MashApp. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Meta
Meta offers creators deals to promote Instagram on TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube Shorts. More info on CNBC.

SM Entertainment
SM Entertainment’s majority shareholder Kakao builds an app for super fans. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Spotify
Spotify records its first annual profit. More info on Hollywood Reporter. And announces that it paid out $10 billion to the music industry in 2024, $1 billion more than in 2023. More info on Music Business Worldwide. Warner Music Group has signed an extended multi-year agreement with Spotify for recordings and publishing. More info on Music Week.
On the legal front, the NMPA takes legal action against Spotify for unlicensed songs in podcasts. More info on Music Business Worldwide. Spotify won its case against MLC Audiobooks after a judge ruled that federal royalty rules were “unambiguous”. More info on Billboard. MLC asked the judge to reconsider Spotify’s decision, otherwise “injustice will be manifest”. More info on Complete Music Update.

Ticketmaster
Spotify, Apple and Amazon are in talks with Live Nation, owner of Ticketmaster, about pre-sale access for super-premium level subscribers. More info on Music Ally.

TikTok
TikTok is back in the American app stores of Apple and Google, while Trump announces a potential further postponement of the ban. More info on Complete Music Update.

Tuned Global
B2B music streaming company Tuned Global has teamed up with startup AudioShake, to offer new AI-boosted features. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

New Features

Facebook
Facebook livestreams will now be deleted after 30 days. Plus d’infos sur Social Media Today.

Instagram
Instagram adds a music sharing option to direct messages. Plus d’infos sur TechCrunch. Instagram tests comment voting to combat negative interactions. Plus d’infos sur Social Media Today.

Linkedin
LinkedIn launches video updates to make videos more visible and improve video discovery. Plus d’infos sur Social Media Today.

Spotify
Spotify is set to launch a ‘Music Pro’ service with fan benefits such as advance ticket sales and an AI remix tool. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Soundcloud
SoundCloud’s new feature highlights artists’ first and top fans. More info on Music Ally.

YouTube
YouTube extends its “Communities” feature to more channels. More info on Music Ally. YouTube Shorts gets a new AI-generated video feature. More info on The Verge.

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