Streaming round-up – March 2025

by IDOL
News
25.03.25
Stay up to date on the latest in streaming news with our monthly round-up. This month, Qobuz delivers its pay rate, Spotify is at the heart of live music, and Apple Music plays DJ.

The figure of the month: 752 million. That’s the total number of paid music streaming subscriptions, with an increase of 10.6% over last year. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Economy

Amazon Music
Amazon Music defends its new remuneration model after criticism from independents. More info on Music Ally.

Dancefloor
A new platform, Dancefloor, launches to help music lovers find the best DJs and parties at clubs in their city. More info on Mixmag.

Deezer
Deezer reports higher-than-expected sales, up 12%. More info on Billboard.

Napster
Napster, one of the oldest digital music services, has been bought out for $207 million. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Qobuz
Qobuz publishes its per-stream royalty rate, a first for a streaming platform. More info on Billboard.

Spotify
Spotify has published its Loud & Clear report, announcing that half of all royalties have gone to independent artists. More info on Hollywood Reporter.

TikTok
According to the latest information, Oracle is the favorite partner to keep TikTok going in the United States. More info on Social Media Today.

Tencent
Tencent Music Entertainment revenues rose 8% to $1 billion in the fourth quarter, and 121 million subscribers. More info on Billboard.

Tuned Global
Tuned Global partners with data analytics company Zetaris to “turn streaming data into revenue”. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

YouTube
YouTube Music and Premium reach 125 million subscribers worldwide. More info on Music Week. YouTube expands the pilot of its ad-free, low-cost Premium Lite subscription. More info on Complete Music Update.

New Features

Apple Music
The platform launches DJ With Apple Music to enable subscribers to mix their own sets. More info on Music Week. Apple Music Classical is now available on desktop. More info on TechRadar. Apple Music is preparing to introduce a mood music feature in the next iOS 18.4 update, with four predefined categories: productivity, wellness, relaxation and sleep. More info on Kill The DJ. Apple launches a new Shazam update for better synchronization with Spotify and Apple Music. More info on 9to5Mac. Apple says its haptic accessibility feature is at the heart of its identity. More info on Forbes.

Bandcamp
Bandcamp partners with Feature.fm to automatically add links to promote album releases. More info on Music Ally.

Hio
The Hio music streaming service is launched with a user-centric remuneration model. More info on Music Ally.

Instagram
Instagram live tests the Blend sharing feature, which allows you to view AI-recommended Reels. More info on Social Media Today. Instagram considers a separate app for reels. More info on Digital Music News. Instagram experiments with AI-generated comments on posts. More info on Social Media Today.

Soundcloud
SoundCloud partners with Ticketmaster to enable artists to integrate concerts. More info on Music Week.

Spotify
Spotify launches “Concerts Near You” playlists to discover nearby concerts. More info on TechCrunch. WhatsApp statuses could soon include a ‘Play on Spotify’ music sharing option. More info on Music Ally.

TikTok
In its race to compete with YouTube, TikTok is revamping its desktop features with several new additions. More info on Digital Music News.

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