It’s been a fact of life in the recorded music business that the records known as “frontline” releases get all the attention. The big marketing dollars, the promotion, and any sales push is reserved for only the latest releases, and that attention changes pretty quickly on to the next new one unless it’s a big […]
Continue readingMy guest this week on the podcast is Bryan Calhoun, who’s been a business and marketing consultant to artists like Kanye West, Lil Wayne, The Cult, Questlove, Nicki Minaj, and Drake. He’s a noted music industry speaker, and has given workshops at conferences that include SXSW, MIDEM, The New Music Seminar, CMJ, ASCAPs I Create […]
Continue readingYouTube has repeatedly tried to get music fans to buy into its paid subscription services Music Key and Red but hasn’t had too much success so far. So little success, in fact, that its subscriber numbers have never been published. That said, the company has big expectations for its new service, which carries the code […]
Continue readingSpotify just released its list of most streamed artists for 2017, and while many are household words, the extent of their popularity might surprise you. For instance, Ed Sheeran was the platform’s top streaming artist with over 6.3 billion streams this year, dethroning Drake who was number one in 2015 and 2016. Rihanna was the top streaming […]
Continue readingOne of the things that an artist or band hears a lot these days is the need to promote “your brand” in order to get ahead in the current era of the music business. That’s all well and good, but you canât promote your brand unless you know the definition of a brand in the first place. […]
Continue readingI’ve reported on the bankruptcy status of the top corporate radio group, iHeartRadio, for some time now. It’s bad enough when the biggest station owner is in deep financial trouble, but did you know that the #2 station group now has a similar problem? Yep, Cumulus Media has filed for Chapter 11 and is around […]
Continue readingThis week’s podcast guest is Bob Power, who’s a Grammy Award–winning and multi-platinum producer, engineer, composer, arranger, performer, and educator. Bob started his career as a television and advertising composer, working on campaigns for The American Cancer Society (an Emmy Award winner), AT&T, Casio, Coca-Cola, Elizabeth Arden, Hardee’s, Hertz, Intel, Mercedes-Benz, Purina, and The United […]
Continue readingIt’s been reported that Spotify and Chinese Tencent Music Entertainment Group are in talks to acquire 10% of each other, and should the deal go down, there’s no other way to look at it than a strategic maneuver that has nothing to do with their subscribers. No, this all about stockholders – actually potential stockholders […]
Continue readingWhenever we think of the top music market for an artist, the major city centers of New York, Los Angeles or London immediately come to mind. One that’s been off the radar but is coming fast is Mexico City, and it’s already the #1 market for a diverse number of artists like Diplo, Adele, Dua Lipa, Radiohead, Shania Twain, Harry […]
Continue readingIt’s been proven over and over that Instagram has a huge music audience, and if the platform is a part of your social toolkit, then you’ll want to know about a few recent changes. Instagram has incorporated several new metrics, and a number of them are essential to gauging your success on the service, and […]
Continue readingPlaylists are clearly becoming the next big thing online as nearly three-quarters of those who stream music in the U.S. create their own online lists both for themselves and others. More than half of all music listeners create playlists, and 32% share their lists with others, up from 24% in 2016, according to Nielsen Music’s […]
Continue readingJeri Palumbo is a television broadcast engineer, audio mixer and RF tech who’s worked on hi-profile sports shows for more than 25 years. She’s been part of the TV audio team for all of the most celebrated sporting events, including the Super Bowl, NBA and NHL playoffs, and most recently, the World Series. Not only […]
Continue readingThere are plenty of music aggregators that will get to songs to all the streaming platforms, and Ditto Music is one of the least expensive ones. At $19 a year for unlimited uploads, it’s hard to go wrong. The company does so much more though, as it’s becoming a bigger player in “label services,” and […]
Continue readingFor a company that can’t yet turn a profit, Spotify is sure acting like one. It keeps on hiring more people and renting super expensive office space like it’s going out of style. Word comes that it will soon double its UK workforce of 200 people, and that it just rented about 60,000 square feet […]
Continue readingTo all my friends and readers, I wish you a happy holiday. I truly appreciate your support and I am humbled and honored that you take the time out of your busy day to read my musings. It’s a good day to take some time off, eat a nice meal, have a cocktail and watch some […]
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