Pineapple Street Studios’ Union Strikes First Contract with Audacy
Members of the Writers Guild of America East at Audacy's Pineapple Street Studios have successfully ratified their first collective bargaining agreement. The three-year contract introduces salary increases and protections against the use of AI in content production.
Spotify Defies Q2 Expectations After Second Premium Price Hike
If there were doubts that Spotify's aggressive push for profitability would prove fruitful, those had to have been quashed on seeing the streamer's Q2 2024 results. Seven million new paid subscribers were added for the quarter, despite the second price hike in a year.
Programmatic Push Leads To Sales Team Layoffs At Spotify
Spotify is undergoing a reorganization of its ad sales division, dismissing 40 employees globally from its account and campaign management teams. This comes as the streaming giant focuses on programmatic advertising for small- and medium-sized businesses.
Spotify Introduces AI DJ Livi for Spanish-Speaking Users
Spotify has announced the expansion of its AI DJ feature to Spanish-speaking Premium users worldwide. Originally launched in English, the new AI DJ is the streamer's attempt at a more radio-like music experience for Spanish-speaking users.
AI Audio Platform Wondercraft Welcomes Former Canva Exec
AI-driven audio production platform Wondercraft has boosted its executive team with the hiring of former Canva product designer Didier Sibellas as its new Head of Design. This matches Wondercraft's goal of becoming the "Canva for Audio," as it calls itself.
SoundStack and Barometer Launch Curated Audio Ad Packs
Audio-as-a-service provider SoundStack has announced a new partnership with brand suitability and contextual targeting platform Barometer to offer curated "supply packs" for audio advertisers.
NPR, SiriusXM Trail Behind iHeart in Latest US Podcast Rankings
iHeartMedia is continuing to dominate the podcast sector according to the June 2024 US Podcast Ranker from Triton Digital. A month after its debut on the list, the iHeart Audience Network maintained its leading position on the Top Sales Networks Report.
SiriusXM to Air Coverage of The 152nd Open from Royal Troon
SiriusXM is set to broadcast the 152nd Open live from Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland from July 18-21. The event will be available on SiriusXM’s The Open Radio channel, with live coverage starting at 2a ET on Thursday and Friday and 4a ET over the weekend.
Subaru To Offer SiriusXM Standard Starting With 2025 Models
In April, SiriusXM announced it would be adding its next-gen 360L satellite radio service to select new Subaru models. Both companies are expanding that collaboration to make SiriusXM's basic service a standard feature across all 2025 Subarus in the US.
ENCO Systems Adds AI Voice Cloning To SPECai Tool
ENCO Systems has announced a new generative AI voice cloning feature has been added to its SPECai spec spot creation tool for radio. SPECai, in collaboration with Benztown and Compass Media Networks, can now replicate a voice from a user-uploaded audio sample.