Posts made in September, 2016

on Sep 23, 2016

By John Glenday iHeartMedia has firmed up plans to enter the competitive music streaming business early next year after signing deals with two major labels to license content from first quarter 2017. The licenses cover not one but two streaming services; iHeartRadio Plus and iHeartRadio All Access which aim to offer mid-tier and premium services for a subscription fee of $5 and $10 per month respectively. Unlike the likes of Spotify however iHeartMedia will offer hundreds of ‘live’ local radio stations alongside streamed content, as well as podcasts and digital ‘Pandora-style’ radio – a rival service which also offers a free tier in which listeners Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Sep 23, 2016

By John Glenday Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has launched a scathing attack on Amazon claiming that his own business can lower prices and faster technology within the key cloud computing sector. Addressing the company’s OpenWorld user conference in a keynote speech an aggressive Ellison laid into his rival, openly criticising software offered by Amazon Web Services. Ellison said: “AWS is more closed than an IBM mainframe. People are saying that is ridiculous. How can that be.” By comparison Ellison big upped his own software products, stating that Oracle’s newly released Exadata Express costs customers $175 per month – versus Amazon’s Aurora which costs $245 per month. Despite Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Sep 23, 2016

By John McCarthy Video is the future of Facebook however in its drive for supremacy it reportedly overstated its video views for two years by failing to factor in views under three seconds in its ‘average duration of video viewed’ metric. The news follows on from comments made by Facebook’s EMEA vice-president Nicola Mendelsohn earlier this year in which she said she would put money on Facebook becoming “all video over the next five years”. Somewhat stunting its reputation as a video aggregator was the news that it has vastly overstated its average video viewing times by between 60 to 80 Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Sep 23, 2016

By John Glenday Music streaming services such as Spotify and YouTube have been served notice by Facebook after the social media giant revealed its intent to enter the global music licensing business. To that end the platform has advertised for a director of global music licensing to join its team as it seeks to further branch out from its social media roots. This post require the successful applicant to ‘…lead Facebook’s strategy and negotiations with music labels and publishing/performing rights organizations, as well as collaborate with our product and media partnerships teams to ensure a coordinated and best-in-class licensing structure’. Music rights holders will likely Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on Sep 23, 2016

By John Glenday Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley has resumed day to day control of his sprawling retail empire with “immediate effect” following the abrupt resignation of chief executive Dave Dorsey. The change at the top follows a torrid few weeks of headlines for the billionaire tycoon over poor working conditions – principally pertaining to zero hours contracts and salaries that fall below the minimum wage. In an effort to salvage the brand Mike Ashley has previously went on record to say that he was determined to play a frontline role in restoring the tarnished reputation of Sports Direct, vowing to work tirelessly Read full story › Source: The Drum...