A study of American audio consumption by music streaming service Pandora has, not unexpectedly, talked up the growth of music streaming and podcasting, but has also acknowledged that traditional analog broadcast radio is still strong, but is "finding a new place in the audio landscape."

In Australia, where the radio industry is stronger than in America, Pandora recently closed down its local operations and disabled its mobile app.

The report says:
 

Spotify UK has filed its annual company return, revealing some of its European revenue sources.

Company Director Barry McCarthy said: "2015 was a big year for Spotify... in many ways it was our best year ever."

He said the company has become the "number one pure play music service."

Total revenue increased from £ 159 million to £ 187 million, due mainly to increasing subscriptions.

He notes that the majority of new users of the service are now signing up on mobules not desktops.

Pandora has become the first music streaming company to launch its own iMessage extension, allowing users to send tracks to their friends within the iMessage app.

Pandora's iMessage extension on Apple's iOS 10 lets you text your favourite music, within the Pandora app.

Available in the AppStore for iMessage, Pandora's new sharing feature is bringing a collaborative and fun way to play, discover and interact with music directly in your iMessage chat threads.

It may be the biggest music streaming company in the world but while Spotify's revenue has increased by 80%, it remains in the red.
 
Spotify made $2 billion in revenue, almost twice the growth rate that the company saw in 2014, and while it’s a leader in on-line music streaming, Spotify has never turned a profit.

The BBC's latest policy document, published as part of the British national broadcaster's charter review, foreshadows a strategy for radio that will give the audience more control of what they hear, in an effort to get radio back into people's pockets via smart mobile devices.

Renting music is becoming more popular.
 
As music streaming services move into the mainstream, they are changing consumer habits and disrupting the traditional music industry business models. This trend has been evident for a while, but new figures show that the industry is reaching a tipping point.
 
Steve Ahern analyses the latest SNL Kagan report Economics of Mobile Music and looks at the implications for the radio industry.