Streaming
Spotify Begins Raising Prices With Family Plans in US, UK
Meanwhile, in the U.K., Student, Duo and Family Plan subscriptions will also see a price hike, up one pound apiece for Student and Duo plans to £5.99/month and £13.99/month, respectively, with Family Plan subscriptions rising £2 to £16.99/month. The raises were first reported by The Verge, which also reported that some other countries in Europe will see Student and Duo plans rise by one euro/month and Family Plans by three euros/month, with increases in Asia and South America as well. “With more than 70 million tracks and 2.2 million podcasts, Spotify continues to innovate and invest in providing our listeners with greater value than ever before, including the best audio content and user experience,” a spokesperson told Billboard in a statement. “We offer a variety of subs...
Spotify Stock Soars 8% Ahead of First-Quarter Earnings
This vote of confidence helps buttress Spotify’s share price, which has lost 26.7% since hitting $387.44 on Feb. 22, valuing the company at $73 billion. That fall was perhaps a sign that investors were too enthusiastic about exclusive podcast deals and that spoken word will help improve Spotify’s margins. Analysts tend to agree that Spotify is the leader in the streaming market, a sentiment CEO Daniel Ek communicated during Spotify’s Feb. 3rd earnings call, calling the shift from linear (one-way) to on-demand (interactive) music a “massive multi-billion user opportunity” accelerated by COVID-19 and that was reachable by “only a handful of companies” in audio. Spotify’s first-quarter numbers probably won’t disappoint, although they might not impress, either. Universal Music Group’s first-qu...
The Sluggish Stowaway Still Delivers Thrills and Chills in Space: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-22T21:55:56+00:00“>April 22, 2021 | 5:55pm ET The Pitch: A trio of astronauts: Commander Marina (Toni Collette), Doctor Zoe (Anna Kendrick), and Biologist David (Daniel Dae Kim) find their plans for a two-year research mission to Mars derailed when they discover an unwitting stowaway named Michael (Shamier Anderson). Things go from bad to worse when the trio realize there isn’t enough oxygen on the ship to sustain four people: either one person has to die, or all of them do. In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream: The second Netflix space film in five months, Stowaway is also the second film of its kind (and overall) from director Joe Penna, who also penned the chilly survival film...
Hilary Duff to Star in Hulu’s How I Met Your Father
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-21T19:14:34+00:00“>April 21, 2021 | 3:14pm ET Well, this should be legen — wait for it! — dary. Hulu has picked up How I Met Your Father, a sequel series to CBS’ How I Met Your Mother starring Hilary Duff, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This Is Us and Love, Victor showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger will oversee the spinoff, with HIMYM creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas executive producing alongside Aptaker and Berger. Duff, who will play a character named Sophie, will also receive a producer credit. Here’s the official description: “In the near future, Sophie (Duff) is telling her son the story of how she met his father: a story that catapults us back to the ...
What’s Streaming on Netflix in May 2021
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-21T20:05:15+00:00“>April 21, 2021 | 4:05pm ET April showers bring a load of new original content to Netflix in May 2021. After nearly four years and some personal controversy, Aziz Ansari is returning with a third season of Master of None. Other Netflix Originals coming back include Selena: The Series, The Kominsky Method, Lucifer, and a new volume of Love, Death & Robots. The new series Jupiter’s Legacy, an adaptation of the comic book my Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service), is also set to make its debut, as will HALSTON, Ryan Murphy’s limited series with Ewan McGregor. Related Video On the film front, Zack Snyder’s&nb...
Paul McCartney, Chris Martin Join Pleas for Streaming Royalty Reform
The letter, backed by the Musicians’ Union and U.K. songwriters and composers body The Ivors Academy, is also signed by Bob Geldof, Boy George, Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn, Jimmy Page and Kate Bush. It comes amid a U.K. Parliamentary probe into the streaming business that has seen major labels’ dominance of the market emerge as a central issue. The inquiry, which is being led by the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) Committee, is looking into the economic impact music streaming is having on artists, record labels and the wider music industry. The first stage of the inquiry concluded March 22 with government minister Caroline Dinenage saying she would support a referral of the three biggest music companies — Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music — to the CMA. Rou...
5 Best Electronic Music Artists to Follow on Audius
It’s no secret that the blockchain-powered streaming service Audius has taken the electronic music world by storm since its inception. As cryptocurrency becomes more and more accessible—and valuable—it seems the polarizing platform is here for the long haul. Positioning itself as a disruptor and a threat to SoundCloud’s dominance in the digital space, Audius is the perfect blend of innovation, controversy, and razzle-dazzle rolled into one platform. And with a user base that seems to be growing faster than a daisy in a summer, it’s no wonder why the service’s flagship $AUDIO token recently reached its all-time high. Countless major electronic artists have backed Audius and released music via the unique platform, like Excision, REZZ, and Dillon Francis, among many ot...
Spotify Is Rolling Out Voice Control Functionality: Just Say “Hey Spotify”
The Spotify experience is now hands-free. In a move to step up their “voice” game, the music streaming giant has implemented the use of a wake word that will allow users to navigate within the app upon command. Simply saying “Hey Spotify” now yields an on-screen prompt to try saying the name of a playlist, artist, or song. The wake word function will only activate if the app is open and presently onscreen. Even as music is playing, using the function will allow users to redirect with ease. Big tech sleuth Jane Manchum Wong first discovered that Spotify was working on such a feature back in early 2020. From the looks of her screenshots, the final product presently rolling out to users seems to be vastly similar to what she had uncovered at the time. Digit...
What Spotify Ratifying Ringer & Gimlet Unions Means for Music’s Labor Movement
“This is not just a significant victory, it’s also an innovative victory,” Bronfenbrenner says. “There’s language that prioritizes those that needed it the most. They’re fighting for the lowest-paid workers, workers of color and LGBTQ workers.” In recent years, unions have struggled to gain traction at Big Tech companies: Amazon warehouse workers lost an election Friday (April 9) to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union; Google workers formed the Alphabet Union in January, but it has only 700 members in a company of 130,000 employees. And although music workers aren’t specifically impacted by the Spotify ratifications, the streaming service’s action is the latest in recent small but positive signs for labor movements after indie rec...
What’s Streaming on Hulu in April 2021
Hulu is bringing plenty of Easter eggs in April. On the features front, subscribers can check out documentaries such as WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn and Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World or turn off reality with Songbird and Wild Mountain Thyme. There’s also the Season 4 premiere of The Handmaid’s Tale, the launch of the new Duplass brothers’-produced docuseries Sasquatch, and the beginning of Freeform’s new psychological thriller show Cruel Summer. The back catalogue upgrade is admittedly delish, too: 28 Days Later, Bulworth, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Shaft (2000), That Thing You Do!, Vanilla Sky, and So I Married an Axe Murderer are just a few noticeable highlights upon first glance. Check out the full list below, which also includes what...
What’s Streaming on Disney+ in April 2021
Disney+ is keeping steady in its Flying V for April. Now that Gordon Bombay has hit the ice, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers will really start heating up. Not to be outshined by the Minnesota Miracle Man, of course, is Marvel’s other spinoff series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, which keeps getting better. Right behind those two juggernaut series are some Ewoks. Yes, the cuddliest creatures in the Star Wars galaxy are finally coming to Disney+ with both films (Caravan of Courage, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor) and two seasons of its animated series. Elsewhere, John Stamos is coaching a basketball team in new series Big Shot, the first two seasons of Daredevil are making the leap from Netflix, the first two Night at the Museum flicks will open their doors, and JTT will prove he’s sti...
The Deals: MOD SUN Signs With Big Noise, ADA Pairs With Billy Mann
Big Noise is a record label, publishing and media company offering artists the opportunity to develop and transform their artistry. The company manages artists across various genres like hip-hop, alternative and pop. Warner Music Group’s ADA Worldwide announced a partnership with Billy Mann and Benton James for their new label icons+giants. Mann, who is a Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer, entrepreneur and artist manager and James, an A&R executive and artist manager, will combine their digital marketing and A&R track record with ADA’s global influence, resources and connected artist services. “On behalf of everyone at ADA and Warner Music, we welcome Billy and Benton and the icons+giants team to the ADA family,” said Eliah Seton, president of independent music and ...
