Streaming
Concert Review: Puscifer’s Streaming Show Features Eye-Popping Visuals and Crystal-Clear Sound
Setting the Stage: Under normal circumstances, fans would quite possibly be enjoying seeing Puscifer performing tunes off their latest album, Existential Reckoning, at a packed venue. But, of course, 2020 has thrown us countless curveballs — tops being the COVID-19 pandemic canceling all extensive tours and most in-person performances. Fortunately, some bands have become creative and found other ways to perform – whether it be drive-in outdoor concerts (where fans can watch from afar while in or around their car), or via professionally filmed livestreams. On October 30th (the same date that Existential Reckoning was released), Puscifer opted for the latter, offering a show from the middle of the Arizona desert for fans to view on their most convenient electronic device with the purcha...
Netflix Raises Price of Its Most Popular Plan To $14, Premium Tier Now $18
Source: SOPA Images / Getty Netflix & chilling and binging just got a tad bit more expensive after the streaming service just raised the price of its most popular plan. Thursday (Oct.29), Netflix announced the price hikes for US subscribers bumping the price of its standard plan from $13 to $14, a $1 increase. Those who enjoy the premium tier also saw an increase, with their monthly subscriptions jumping from $16 to $18. If you happen to enjoy using Netflix’s basic plan, your fee remains $8, so you can breathe a sigh of relief. New subscribers will be the first to experience the new pricing while current customer’s subscriptions will be adjusted over the next few weeks. Netflix’s decision comes as no surprise to industry insiders, being that there are so many more options for customers...
YouTube Reports Revenue Up 32%, Paid Music & Premium Subscribers Top 30M
CFO Ruth Porat acknowledged the increase in advertiser spend for Alphabet’s Search and YouTube groups in a statement. Alphabet does not break out YouTube’s non-advertising revenue, which comes from subscriptions and other entertainment transactions, like movie rentals. Those revenues are reported as part of the “Google other revenues” line item, which contributed $5.5 billion during the period. Alphabet began disclosing YouTube revenue in February of this year when it announced that the world’s largest ad-supported video platform had brought in $15 billion in advertising in 2019. The company also shared updated subscriber figures for its music and premium services, now topping 30 million paying customers and 35 including those on free trials. A version of this...
iHeartMedia to Acquire Voxnest, Its Latest Bet on Podcasting
Like Spotify’s two-pronged approach to podcasting, a mix of acquisitions and original content, iHeartMedia has actively improved its stature in the format. Among the U.S. audience, as of September, iHeartMedia narrowly ranked second behind NPR, 26.05 million to 25.98 million, according to podcast analytics company Podtrac. iHeartMedia produces such popular podcasts as Stuff You Should Know, Crime Stories With Nancy Grace, Paper Ghosts and Dead Ass With Khadeen and Devale Ellis. iHeartMedia certainly needs a boost in 2020. Digital advertising accounted for about one-fifth of iHeartMedia’s second quarter revenue, from April to June. Broadcast radio sales, half of total revenues, fell 56.5% compared to the same period last year from $561.1 million to $244 million. But podcasting revenue grew ...
SiriusXM Revenue Up Slightly to $2 Billion, Pandora Recovers in Virus-Impacted Q3
SiriusXM’s satellite service had steady improvements from the third quarter in 2019.• Satellite subscriber revenue improved 1% to $1.6 billion.• Satellite gross profit grew 7% to $596 billion Pandora had mixed results that showed the business has recovered from a pandemic-related crash in the second quarter. The following are the third-quarter year-over-year results: • Pandora’s advertising revenue dropped 3% to $306 million, a big turnaround from the 31 percent decline in the second quarter.• Pandora’s self-pay net subscribers grew by 105,000. Pandora has two subscription services: a $9.99 premium service and a $4.99 radio tier with limited interactive features.• Pandora’s September advertising increased year-over-year, said Meyer — but didn’t give the number. Three full-year guidan...
The Kid LAROI Tunes up For Spotify’s RADAR Program
Also, Spotify will get behind a mini-documentary on the youngster, set to premiere next month. In recent months, the Kid (real name Charlton Howard) has matured into a fully-grown international chart star. In the U.S., his debut F*ck Love opened at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with 40,000 combined units (including 33,000 in SEA units and 7,000 sales). F*ck Love bowed at No. 12 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, just one place behind the debut of two-time Grammy-winning U.S. hip-hop star Logic’s final album, No Pressure. In his homeland, LAROI impacted both main ARIA charts as his debut mixtape started at No. 3 on the albums survey, behind recordings by Taylor Swift and Cub Sport. A protégé of the late Juice WRLD, the 17-year-old bagged three nominations heading into the 20...
UK Government Launches Investigation of Streaming Platforms’ Economic Impact on the Music Industry
The world’s music streaming platforms have often been a source of controversy and debate in the music industry. While many love the convenience they offer to listeners and the ability to reach markets easier than ever, many artists are facing economic and financial strife due to the low payout per stream. The United Kingdom’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee (DCMS) is aware of these issues and is now getting involved in a new investigation into streaming platforms’ economic impact on the music industry as a whole. On the DCMS Committee’s website, officials shared a statement highlighting the large revenue brought in by the companies and emphasized how small the portion actually paid to artists is. “With streaming currently accounting for more than ...
GWAR Announce “Scumdogs XXX Live” Streaming Concert
GWAR have announced an upcoming streaming concert dubbed, “Scumdogs XXX Live!”, which will see the intergalactic barbarians performing their 1990 debut album, Scumdogs of the Universe, in its entirety Taking place on Halloween Eve, October 30th, at 8 p.m ET, the concert comes in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Scumdogs of the Universe. Though some as-yet-unnamed special guests will make an appearance during the livestream, there will be no in-person audience. Snger Blōthar the Berserker doesn’t seem to mind, however. “We always wanted to do a concert without an audience in the room,” Blōthar said in a press release. “The audience is always the worst part. Well, that and the fact that we’re constantly being attacked by a bunch of assholes while we try to get through a set. Man, I hop...
Code Orange Announce “Back Inside the Glass” Halloween Livestream Show
Code Orange mastered the art of the livestream during the pandemic, having already delivered two unique virtual concerts this year. The band has now announced a new Halloween event, “Back Inside the Glass”, which is billed as an “environmental experience.” The event streams at 4:00 p.m. ET on October 31st. Tickets start at $15 and also grant access to a previously unreleased track, “The Cutter”, an outtake from Code Orange’s 2020 album, UNDERNEATH. What’s more, Code Orange won’t be alone, as the stacked bill also features Jesus Piece, Year of the Knife, and Machine Girl. “We are very excited to present the next chapter of the Code Orange live streaming experiment,” vocalist Jami Morgan said in a press release. “We are hoping to deliver something on a whole new level with ‘Back Inside ...
Eddie Murphy’s ‘Coming 2 America’ Reportedly Property Of Amazon Studios
Source: WENN/Avalon / WENN Coming to America, the 1988 comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, remains a classic in many households around the world. The anticipated sequel from Paramount Pictures is reportedly now moving to Amazon Studios, with a wintertime release date attached. As the moviegoers around the world are left with limited options due to the coronavirus pandemic, theaters are shuttering thus pushing streaming back into the mix. With Disney Plus and Amazon Prime employing the strategy of video on demand, Hollywood is slowly shifting to the home theater model for the foreseeable future. As Deadline reports, Coming 2 America will now be the property of Amazon Studios, with a price tag reportedly around $125 million if the whispers behind the scenes are true. A date of Dec...
Mastodon, Baroness, and Kvelertak Members Cover Ozzy Osbourne’s “Over the Mountain”: Watch
Two Minutes to Late Night’s “Bedroom Covers” series has become one of the few simple pleasures heavy metal fans have been able to enjoy during the pandemic. The YouTube channel gathers various metal musicians for socially distant performances, and we’ve seen a consistent stream of entertaining cover renditions over the past several months. The latest video sees Mastodon drummer-singer Brann Dailor on lead vocals — along with Darkest Hour guitarist Mike Schleibaum, Kvelertak bassist Marvin Nygaard, Baroness drummer Sebastian Thomson, and Two Minutes to Late Night host Gwarsenio Hall — taking on the Ozzy Osbourne classic “Over the Mountain”. The song was the lead track from Ozzy’s sophomore album, Diary of a Madman, the last studio recording to feature late guitar legend Randy Rhoa...
Consumer Interest in Paid Livestreams Surging, According to New Data
Over the course of the last three months (July 1-Sept. 30), engagement with IRL events has remained steady (up 4%, comparing engagement from the month of September to that of July) and interactions with free livestreams has declined (down 26%). In the same tracking period, ticket clicks on paid livestreams has risen by 577%. In July, ticket clicks on paid livestreams accounted for 3.3% of all activity on Bandsintown, at just 70,136 clicks, compared to 1.54 million on IRL events and 485,000 on free livestreams. That percentage leapt to 12.6% in August and then to 19.5% in September, stretching July’s 70,000 count to 475,057 ticket clicks. Zooming in on free livestreams vs. paid livestreams (removing IRL events from the equation), ticket clicks on paid events were just 14% of the engagement ...
