Acquisition and Growth in World of Music: Exaget Week in Review
Our last Week in Review looked at the turning of the tide for online music streaming services, as two more companies entered the fray; but radio still remains as the go-to-place for new music discovery.
This week we’re looking at growth and acquisition, as some of our favourite and well-known companies acquire new investments and businesses in a continual bid to grow and keep up with the ever-changing times of the music streaming industry.
Shazam valued at $1 billion after new funding round
Music-identifying app Shazam has this week been valued at an impressive $1 billion following a recent acquisition of a $30 million investment. The company has stated that they are looking to use this investment to expand into new ‘market sectors’ – notably marketing and advertising. Shazam have not disclosed who is behind the investment, but with this new acquisition it will be interesting to watch in what direction they will grow.
Apple buys music analytics service Musicmetric
As part of its plan to relaunch Beats Music, Apple’s music streaming service, later this year, the American music giant has acquired British start-up Semetric, who operate Musicmetric; an analytics dashboard that tracks data on sales for music labels. And although Apple are not stating their exact reasons for acquiring Semetric, it can be surmised that Musicmetric’s dashboard will become Apple’s in-house tool for tracking sales and streams within iTunes.
Streamus: A Google Chrome extension that undermines Google’s streaming business
The verdict may still be out for Streamus. Digital natives and those who resist paying for on-demand music will love this Google Chrome browser extension which ‘turns YouTube into the music player you always wanted’. It annihilates the video – thereby improving stream performance – and it also does not contain any adverts – so no opportunities for advertisers there. Essentially a better version of YouTube, and a Chrome extension that goes against Google’s streaming business – the reception that it will receive is certainly worth keeping an eye out for.
If you are interested in becoming a broadcasting partner, or would like to know what our integrating technology can do for you, contact our Partnership Account Manager Matthew Layton – matthew.layton@exaget.com or +447533517396
If you are interested in advertising opportunities, please contact the CEO of Exaget, Shankar Meembat –shankar.meembat@exaget.com or +447411130680
The Importance of Content: Exaget Week in Review
January 29, 2015
In last week’s Week in Review we looked at the growth and acquisition of some well-known and emerging music streaming services as this market becomes increasingly competitive.
This week we’re looking at the various ways in which brands and companies use their content across a variety of platforms to reach new audiences while keeping their current ones happy.
BBC to test ‘experimental’ digital technology and content
The BBC has launched an online platform, BBC Taster, which will allow them to develop and test ideas for digital content and technology, which audiences will be able to watch and rate; such as interactive, short-form or social content, online features, as well as digital technology from BBC Future Media. The BBC hopes that this platform will enable them to respond to changing media habits as well as better serve its audience from gained feedback.
Umano offers streaming narrations of the web’s written work
Quite simply, Umano reads the internet for you, so that you don’t have to. The company supplies audio narrations of written web content, and currently has access to articles from several outlets, such as Forbes, Digital Trends, and VentureBeat. Umano’s PR have stated all narrations have links back to the original written posts, which will drive new traffic to the original publishers. Available as a free app for iOS and Android, the programme has already seen millions of downloads and streams, according to their PR. It’s good to see illiteracy levels being kept down….
Rdio launches in new countries & partners with Digicel
Rdio continues its empirical expansion into 24 new countries and territories across the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific, as well as partnering with mobile phone network Digicel. 30 minutes of free Rdio internet radio listening will be offered to Digicel prepaid customers per day. A pay structure is, however, to be developed and launched in due time. These moves come following Rdio’s recent launch in India, where last year they acquired music streaming service Dhingana. Rdio CEO Anthony Bay had previously hinted at expansion plans: ‘Our ultimate goal is to be everywhere.’
Twitter tries to up its game with native video
Twitter is set to take on the likes of Facebook and YouTube in the world of native video content. Video is both a crucial and an important form of content for Twitter, as it drives engagement and generates more revenue than other forms of media. By launching its own video platform, users will be encouraged to upload their videos directly to Twitter rather than post links to clips on Facebook or YouTube, or any other video platform.
If you are interested in becoming a broadcasting partner, or would like to know what our integrating technology can do for you, contact our Partnership Account Manager Matthew Layton – matthew.layton@exaget.com or +447533517396
If you are interested in advertising opportunities, please contact the CEO of Exaget, Shankar Meembat –shankar.meembat@exaget.com or +447411130680