January 1st was Public Domain Day 2019, the first day that a host of titles originally published in 1923 are now available to use for free and without permission. These include literary works, music and movies. Originally the works from 1923 were set to go into the public domain in 1999 after a 75-year copyright […]
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Happy New Year and thank you again for your support! Here we are on the cusp of a new year again. That’s why its time to gaze into the crystal ball to see what awaits us. In this week’s Inner Circle Podcast episode I’ll take a look at some of the things that we can expect in […]
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Predictions can be a tricky thing, but if we look at the trends in the music business over the last year we can see where things might be going. Here are 10 predictions for how the industry will fare in 2019. 1. Apple Music Nearly Catches Spotify Spotify is still the king of the hill […]
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It was another big year for music streaming, and since Spotify is the largest and most influential streaming service, it only makes sense that we pay attention to the many Top 5’s that the platform recently published. Keep in mind that these are global lists and not limited to the United States. Most Streamed Artists […]
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One thing for sure about streaming music is that the payouts per stream are constantly changing and this year was no exception. In fact, you’ll be surprised who is new highest pay leader. According to a survey of third-party websites made by Digital Music News, Napster now owns the highest pay mantle at $0.019 per […]
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If you’ve ever owned physical music product like vinyl or CDs you know that there’s a market for “pre-owned” albums. People have made a living from the used market for decades, so it was natural to believe that this same idea would transfer to digital music as well. ReDigi was one of the first virtual […]
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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for being a part of courses, blogs, books and podcasts this year. I truly appreciate your support! You might find my latest Inner Circle Podcast episode interesting in that it’s a look back at all of the interesting stories in music business in 2018, and there sure were […]
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Trying to launch a streaming service these days is insanely difficult due to the fact that in order to get any sort of catalog together, music licenses that are prohibitively expensive are required. But what if an artist only featured his or her work on the service? That’s exactly what Neil Young is doing with […]
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Much has changed in the music industry over the last few years that affect an artist’s ability to be successful. Some of it is brand new and a result of the technology we use, while some of it is good common sense that’s been used over and over over many decades of the business. Here […]
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The touring industry has wondered for a while now what would happen when the legacy rock acts were no longer able to tour. Would the new generation of artists be able to fill the concert venues and stadiums like their predecessors? The answer is yes, and this year has proven it beyond a shadow of […]
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My guest on the podcast today is Laurence Juber, who’s truly one of the world’s most remarkable acoustic guitar players. Laurence has a big history on both electric and acoustic guitar actually, starting as a busy session player in his home town of London before joining Paul McCartney’s Wings. After the band folded he resumed his session career first […]
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The Chinese music streaming service Tencent Music raised $1.1 billion last week, in what was one of the largest U.S. public offerings of the year. After a hot start where the stock gained almost 10% in its first day of trading, it fell considerably to $12.81 per share from its opening price of $14.10 on […]
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It seems like the days of the YouTube personality are slowly beginning to wane thanks to creator burnout and corporations getting better at implementing their channels. PewDiePie currently leads all others on the platform with an astounding 76.4 million channel subscribers, but that record may fall by the time you read this. What’s more interesting […]
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The major record labels have always chaffed at the idea of tech companies like Spotify, Apple, Google and Amazon being in control of the distribution of their music, especially at the currently Wall Street valuations that those companies possess. That said, they’ve been unsuccessful in developing their own digital distribution product in the past, which […]
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Remember Muzak, the music we all loved to hate, affectionately known as “elevator music?” Even though it supplied super-sweet versions of cutting edge hits to businesses everywhere for years, it was actually a good business to be in as it made a lot of under-the-radar money, and Apple now wants a piece of it. According […]
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