Streaming round-up – April 2024

by IDOL
News
23.04.24
Stay up to date on the latest in streaming news with our monthly round-up. This month, Spotify plans to allow users to remix tracks, TikTok launches a photo-sharing app, and Instagram rewards creators for engagement. Don’t miss a beat!

The figure of the month: ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, announces $40 billion profits in 2023, overtaking rival Tencent in both revenues and earnings. More info on Music Ally.

Economy

Audiomack
Pursuing its goal of legitimizing and monetizing modified audio (accelerated, slowed down or otherwise), Audiomack signs a partnership with Merlin. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Instagram
According to The Verge, Instagram’s advertising revenues are larger than YouTube’s, and it has been so for several years.

Even
In-app sales of EVEN, the Superfans app that already boasts 10,000 artists, now count towards the Billboard rankings. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Napster
The dispute between Napster and a British photographer puts the spotlight on artwork licensing in the music industry. More info on Complete Music Update.

Spotify
Spotify raises prices again and introduces a new subscription level. More info on Music Business Worldwide. The NMPA accuses Spotify of using the price increase to reduce copyright payments. More info on Complete Music Update. UMG extends partnership with Spotify to include music videos and more. More info on TechCrunch.

TikTok
IMPALA supports UMG’s position on TikTok and calls on other platforms for “fair licensing”. More info on Music Week. Regarding this dispute, TikTok is in talks with UMG. More info on Billboard. Meanwhile, TikTok’s U.S. ban is being discussed at the Senate. More info on Complete Music Update. On the concert side, TikTok extends its partnership with Ticketmaster to 20 additional markets. More info on Complete Music Update. In addition, TikTok partners with AXS to sell tickets for live events worldwide. More info on TechCrunch.

Triller
TikTok’s rival Triller merges with NASDAQ-listed AGBA to create a social media and financial services company. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Twitch
Twitch CEO says he’s “close” to signing licensing deals with labels. More info on Music Ally.

Weverse
Universal Music invests in Weverse, a platform dedicated to Superfans. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

YouTube
YouTube has decided to set up its “Music AI Incubator” in Japan. More info on Music Ally.

X / Twitter
Against a backdrop of political unrest, X is now banned in Pakistan. More info on Social Media Today. The platform also risks a ban in Brazil, as Elon Musk refuses to censor users. More info on Social Media Today.

New Features

Amazon Music
Amazon Music launches Maestro, an AI-based playlist creation tool, in beta. More info on Complete Music Update.

Bandsintown
Bandsintown adds a waiting list to collect fan contact details for sold-out concerts. More info on Hypebot.

Instagram
Instagram tests the ability to comment on specific images within a carousel. More info on Social Media Today. Instagram tests paying certain creators for their posts. More info on Mashable.

Meta
Facebook and Instagram to label AI-edited content, with a “high risk” tag on misleading content on important issues. More info on The Guardian.

Spotify
Spotify launches video courses on production, songwriting, how to “make hits” and more. More info on Music Business Worldwide. Spotify offers a new “Playlists AI” generator, which transforms text into personalized song suggestions. More info on Music Business Worldwide. Spotify develops tools that would enable premium subscribers to “accelerate, merge and edit” tracks by their favorite artists. More info on The Verge.

Tidal
Tidal is phasing out the HiFi Plus tier and integrating higher-quality sound into its standard subscription. More info on Complete Music Update. Tidal partners with Feature-fm to link to off-platform tracks. More info on Music Ally.

TikTok
TikTok launches its STEM feed – focusing on videos related to science, technology, engineering and math – in Europe.More info on TechCrunch. In France, TikTok launches TikTok Lite, an application that rewards screen time. More info on Le Monde. TikTok rolls out TikTok Notes, a photo-sharing app, in Australia and Canada. More info on The Verge. Taylor Swift’s music returned to TikTok just before the release of her new album. More info on Music Week.

Twitch
Twitch launches a new TikTok-style feed. More info on The Verge.

Going further

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