Tidal has 3m paying subscribers

"Tidal has hit a recorded 3 million subscribers, which doesn’t even include trial users. The news comes a day before Tidal’s one year anniversary.
Of those 3 million subscribers, around half of them are paying $19.99 for the Hi-Fi tier as opposed to $9.99 for the basic tier, at least according to Billboard.
That suggests a premium crowd, and 3 million active paying users is a major milestone for the service.  In September of last year, the service celebrated hitting 1 million subscribers, yet 6 months later that figure has tripled.  Tidal has also improved its catalog of songs, and now boasts more than 40 million tracks.
There’s little doubt that streaming exclusives like Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo had a positive impact on subscriber numbers.  Indeed, many have presumed that Kanye single-handedly doubled the number of Tidal subscribers.  Though the service has some way to go to match giants like Spotify (30 million subscribers) and Apple Music (11 million), Tidal has come a long way from its niche Norwegian roots.
Equally impressive is that Tidal has been growing significantly, despite a head-to-head content with powerhouse Apple Music.  Apple entered the streaming market last July, swiping up over 11 million subscribers within approximately 9 months.  But Tidal is rallying higher-end audiophiles, not to mention the support of artists themselves."

Source:  Digital Music News, 29th March 2016

Dropbox has 500 million registered users

"With 500 million signups under our belt, it’s exciting to see Dropbox connecting people around the world with everything that’s important to them. But this milestone hints at something much bigger—how much our users are working together.
Since we started, Dropbox users have created 3.3 billion connections by sharing with each other. That’s a 51% jump in just the last year. And as new people join, they’re bringing friends, family, and co-workers along. 44% of new accounts were opened when existing users introduced people to Dropbox. That’s making for an even more creative and collaborative community.
What they’re achieving never ceases to amaze us. Over 65% of the filmmakers at this year’s Sundance Film Festival told us that Dropbox is integral to their work. Mining industry manufacturer GIW Industries is using Dropbox to speed turnaround time for customers. And News Corp’s 25,000-plus employees have made Dropbox part of their increasingly cloud-centric workflows.
Even though Dropbox is based in the US, our last 100 million users have come from all over the globe. Brazilians, Indians, Brits, and Germans join Americans at the top of the list of new signups. The businesses on Dropbox, too, are making it a truly global community. Swedish distiller The Absolut Company and Japanese advertising/PR agency Dentsu are just two of the companies using Dropbox to bridge gaps with colleagues around the world."

Source:  Dropbox, 7th March 2016

68% of American smartphone owners stream music every day

"Parks Associates has released new data which shows that 68% of US-based smartphone owners listen to music via streaming outlets on a daily basis, a stunning stat that further reaffirms the mobility of music fans today.
Within this group, Parks also found users listening to streaming music approximately 45 minutes per day, on average.  The finding underscored the strong preference for mobile-based streaming consumption, with two-thirds of US smartphone users listening to music via a streaming service of some sort.
Desktop is starting to look like a totally different terrain.  Indeed, the rankings change drastically when you compare the popularity of music subscription services between fixed-line broadband and mobile broadband.  According to Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research of Parks Associates, “Amazon Prime Music is the most popular paid music subscription service among U.S. broadband households, thanks to its inclusion in Amazon Prime,” a service that is way down the smartphone list."

Source:  Digital Music News, 11th March 2016

More than half of American broadband homes have at least one TV connected to the internet

"More than half (52%) of all U.S. Internet homes have at least one TV connected to the Internet, representing an increase of six million homes over the past year, according to The NPD Group Connected Intelligence Connected Home Entertainment Report.
While the types of devices being used to connect these televisions to the Internet are varied (video game consoles, streaming media players, Blu-ray disc players, and the TVs themselves), the average connected TV home had nearly three (2.9) devices installed that they could use for programming from apps on their televisions.
These numbers are in lock-step with the macro-level rise in the number of connected devices* Americans own. In examining the entire connected device landscape, there are now 734 million in use within U.S. Internet homes, averaging 7.8 connected devices per home. This represents an increase of 64 million installed and Internet-connected devices over the past year. This momentum is, in part, being driven by the increased adoption of Internet-enabled televisions and streaming media players as well as the increased availability of streaming video content.
“Ownership of connected televisions and streaming media players is accelerating while the availability of streaming content is simultaneously expanding. These combined forces will continue to drive increased adoption of connected devices within U.S. households,” stated John Buffone, executive director, Connected Intelligence. “At the same time, as the number of households that have access to apps on TVs rises, so too do the business opportunities for content owners and distributors.”"

Source:  NPD, 7th March 2016

American pay TV lost 385,000 subscribers in 2015

"Findings from Leichtman Research Group (LRG) suggest that the thirteen largest pay-TV providers in the US – representing about 95 per cent of the market – lost about 385,000 net video subscribers in 2015, compared to a loss of about 150,000 subscribers in 2014, and a loss of about 100,000 subscribers in 2013.
The top pay-TV providers account for 94.2 million subscribers – with the top nine cable companies having over 49.0 million video subscribers, satellite TV companies about 33.7 million subscribers, and the top telephone companies nearly 11.5 million subscribers.
Other key findings include:
The top nine cable companies lost about 345,000 video subscribers in 2015 – compared to a loss of about 1,215,000 subscribers in 2014
Top cable MSO losses were the fewest in any year since 2006
Satellite TV providers added 86,000 subscribers in 2015 (including gains from DISH’s Internet-delivered Sling TV) – compared to a gain of 20,000 in 2014
Not including gains from Sling TV, DBS providers lost about 450,000 subscribers in 2015
The top telephone providers lost 125,000 video subscribers in 2015 — compared to a gain of about 1,050,000 net additions in 2014
Telco net adds in 2015 were the fewest in any year since the services started in 2006
In 4Q 2015, the top pay-TV providers added about 110,000 subscribers – compared to about 90,000 in 4Q 2014
Top cable MSOs added about 125,000 subscribers in 4Q 2015 – their first quarter for net video additions since 1Q 2008
DirecTV net adds of 214,000 subscribers in 4Q 2015 were higher than in any quarter since 4Q 2010
AT&T U-verse lost 240,000 subscribers in 4Q 2015 – compared to a gain of 73,000 subscribers in 4Q 2014"

Source;  Advanced Television, 11th March 2016

How heterosexual couples in the US met their partners, 1940 - 2009

Source:  BBC News, 13th February 2016

Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter has 400,000 subscribers and an open rate of 65%

"This mix has helped Lenny Letter reach more than 400,000 subscribers, and the newsletter has a covetable 65 percent open rate. All content is also published to the Lenny Letter website (after a delay), and the site’s uniques topped 600,000 in February. While Lenny Letter doesn't have thorough demographic information on its readers yet, most are women between the ages of 18 and 34."
Source;  Nieman Lab, 2nd March 2016

Facebook has 3 million advertisers

"Today, three million businesses actively advertise on Facebook. That’s three million companies from all over the world, with more than 70% from outside of the US.
Each of these businesses has a unique story and mission. Whether it’s fashion or fitness, confidence or creativity, each business offers something to its customers and communities that no one else does."
Source:  Blog post from Facebook, 2nd March 2016
Earlier - 2.5m announced in October

54% of British ad blocker users would turn them off if required to see content

"The latest wave of the IAB UK’s Ad Blocking Report, conducted online by YouGov, reveals that 22% of British adults online are currently using ad blocking software – a rise from 18% in October.
Rise from 18% to 22% of British adults online using ad blockers
Over half using ad blocking software would turn it off to access content they want
Industry committed to developing better advertising experience through IAB LEAN principles
Nearly two-thirds have been asked to turn blockers off
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents who’ve downloaded the software have received a notice from a website asking them to turn off their ad blocker. Over half (54%) said, in certain situations, they would switch off their ad blocker if a website said it was the only way to access content – this rises to nearly three-quarters (73%) of 18-24 year olds.
One fifth (20%) of people who’ve downloaded an ad blocker no longer use it: not being able to access content they want being the second most popular reason for doing this, after changing to a new device.
“The IAB believes that an ad funded internet is essential for providing revenue to publishers so they can continue to make their content, services and applications widely available at little, or no cost,” said IAB UK’s CEO, Guy Phillipson. “We believe ad blocking undermines this approach and could mean consumers have to pay for content they currently get for free.”
He continues: “Part of the solution to tackle ad blocking lies in making consumers more aware of the consequences, which seems like it’s starting to filter through. If they realise it means they can’t access content or that to do so requires paying for it, then they might stop using ad blockers. It requires reinforcing this “trade-off” message – ads help to fund the content they enjoy for free.”
Less interference and fewer ads key ways to stop ad blocking
The most common reason people would be less likely to block ads is if they didn’t interfere with what they were doing (cited by 45%), followed by having fewer ads on a page (29%) and if they were more relevant (12%).
Phillipson concludes: “As an industry we are committed to improving the user experience with the LEAN ads programme launched last October, which promotes a less invasive, lighter ad experience.”
Among those currently using ad blocking software, 72% are doing so on laptops, 41% on desktop PCs, compared to 26% on smartphones and 21% on tablets."

Source;  Press release from the IAB UK, 1st March 2016

8 billion video views a day are watched on Snapchat

"News broke in early January that Snapchat users were racking up seven billion video views per day. That number is now at eight billion, according to a source who heard Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel speak with bankers and analysts Monday afternoon at Morgan Stanley’s Tech, Media & Telecom conference in San Francisco.
Snapchat was at two billion daily video views last May.
By Kurt Wagner, Jan 15, 2016, 8:53 AM PST
That means Snapchat is, at least on paper, serving the same number of daily video views as Facebook, which (somewhat surprisingly) did not update its video view metrics during the company’s last earnings call in late January. Even if Facebook users are watching more than eight billion — which is likely, since the last time we heard from the company was in November — Snapchat is at least close, with a much smaller audience. Snapchat boasts 100 million daily users, compared to Facebook’s user base of more than a billion daily active users."

Source:  ReCode, 29th February 2016