Two new services sign with labels for music streaming

Online retail giant Amazon and radio streaming Pandora have virtually wrapped up deals with major record labels, says a report from The Financial Times. It cited two sources close to the negotiations.

Amazon could launch its new streaming service as early as nextmonth. Pandora’s would be later in the year, around the time that Vevo is apparently also unveiling its service.

Both platforms already have streaming services already. But Amazon’s is only for Amazon Prime subscribers with just 1 million tracks, compared to the 30 million that, say, Spotify and Apple Music have.

As reported last week in TMN, Amazon has been considering two new streaming services – a $5 offering for use through its voice controlled Echo speaker and digital assistant device (it’s sold about 3 million of these worldwide) and a $9.99 a month service, which puts it in the same price league as Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and Google Play.

Pandora too is also expected to slap a $9.99 tag on its subscribers.

Both companies are also expected to pay copyright holders the same rate as their rivals (Spotify pays nearly 70% of its revenue).

It would be a change of tact for the radio service which has riled the recorded music industry for years, as it’s paid the lower rate approved by the US Copyright Royalty Board. Its listenership has dropped (from 81.5 million in late 2014 to 81.1 million in late 2015) and it is well known that Pandora is under pressure from shareholders to diversify or find a buyer. Entering the music subscription streaming market, which last year grew 20% to $2.4 billion while ad-supported streaming has plateaued to $600 million, is a no-brainer.

In the latest moves to forge closer ties with the music industry (like offering musicians personalised video messages to fans) Pandora is getting endorsement from musicians.

As revealed in today’s Musical Chairs, it has appointed the highly-respected performer, educator and author Questlove of The Roots as a strategic adviser and its first artist ambassador.

“We are entering into a new phase for the company,” CEO Tim Westergren revealed to one publication. “We are working more directly with labels and artists. We really want to invest a lot in that nexus, and having someone like him bridge that and speak on our behalf is really powerful.”

The first of the partnership is the debut on September 7 of Questlove’s three-hour radio show, Questlove Supreme. It covers a wide range of music (which Questlove says is an extension of the music courses he teaches at New York University) of a playlist chosen from 200 songs.

Guests of the first show include Australian-based Kimbra and actress Maya Rudolph, the one-time Saturday Night Live cast member. As an indication of Questlove’s academic approach to his guests, his chat with Rudolph (daughter of the late ‘70s soul singer Minnie Ripperton who had a hit with Lovin’ You) covers the history of children in ‘70s soul songs.