Streaming round-up – January 2025

by IDOL
News
24.01.25
Stay up to date on the latest in streaming news with our monthly round-up. This month, Australia bans social media for teenagers, TikTok gets a reprieve in the US, and Instagram offers test reels.

The figure of the month: Streams almost hit the 5 trillion mark in 2024, with female pop artists leading the way in the US. More info on ABC News.

Economy

Amazon Music
Universal Music and Amazon expand their partnership and pledge to “tackle illegal AI-generated content”. More info on Hollywood Reporter.

Bluesky
The social network adds Trending Topics and surpasses 25 million users. More info on Social Media Today.

Deezer
Deezer and SACEM align on a user-centric publishing rights payment system. More info on Music Week. Deezer files two patents for its new AI detection tool. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Meta
Australia bans social media for those under 16. More info on The New York Times.

Napster
Some labels are considering withdrawing their catalogs from Napster due to late royalty payments. More info on Complete Music Update.

Soundcloud
SoundCloud launches an “affordable” subscription plan for emerging artists. More info on Music Week.

Spotify
UMG reveals “Streaming 2.0” agreement with Spotify for recording and editing. More info on Music Week.

Tidal
TIDAL announces it will focus on creating new tools for DJs in 2025. More info on Music Tech.

Triller
TikTok’s rival, Triller, is being sued for non-payment of a substantial debt. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

TikTok
In early December, the U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously upheld TikTok’s ban. More info on Digital Music News. Tiktok then requested an emergency injunction to suspend the ban. More info on Music Business Worldwide. Two weeks later, the Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok’s appeal. More info on Music Business Worldwide. Pending a decision, TikTok launched Lemon8 and SaveMyTikToks. More info on Hypebot. The ban was finally upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, and on January 19, TikTok disconnected for over 170 million users. More info on Music Business Worldwide. But the app quickly returned, with a 75-day reprieve. More info on Complete Music Update.

In its year-end 2024 report, TikTok demonstrates its key role in chart results and artist breakthroughs. More info on Music Week.

YouTube
YouTube partners with Creative Artists Agency to develop tools for removing AI-created deepfakes. More info on Digital Music News.

New Features

Instagram
Instagram introduces “trial reels”, which are not shown to your followers. More info on TechCrunch. Instagram launches the ability to block screenshots for View-Once media. More info on Social Media Today. Instagram will now tell your friends which reels you’ve liked. More info on Social Media Today.

LinkedIn
After the boost for corporate publications, LinkedIn is testing paid boost for personal updates. More info on Social Media Today.

TikTok
TikTok has integrated Deezer into its “Add to Music App” function. More info on Music Ally.

Winamp
Winamp updates its all-in-one Winamp for Creators suite, including NFT sales tools. More info on Music Ally.

X/Twitter
X makes its Grok AI chatbot available to all users. More info on Social Media Today.

YouTube
YouTube tests improved audio quality for Premium subscribers. More info on Music Ally. YouTube’s AI will soon help you remix your music. More info on TechRadar. YouTube looks to simplify the creation of Shorts from longer clips. More info on Social Media Today.

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