Facebook has been losing its teen users and its video assault on YouTube has plateaued, so the next logical step is to include long form videos on its Instagram service. That’s exactly what happened as the company announced its release of IGTV, a new feature that will be available on existing Instagram accounts and a new […]
Continue readingMany times an artist or band is so concerned with their music that they forget about a piece of the puzzle that’s still essential, which is the cover art. Even if you don’t plan on a physical product, the cover art is still the thing that catches people’s eyes and can lead to a listen […]
Continue readingRadio is declining in influence in the U.S., but it’s still quite formidable thanks to its “heavy listeners” or those who consume more than one hour of radio per day, according to the latest study by Edison Research. It’s annual Infinite Dial report, conducted in partnership with Triton Digital, states that 30% of the American population over the […]
Continue readingMusic Connection magazine has been a bible for musicians, songwriters, artists, engineers, producers and music execs since its first issue in 1977. The magazine has grown from a local Los Angels publication to national distribution, and now features everything from revues of artist’s and band’s live performances and albums to extensive directories ranging from music […]
Continue readingYou have to give Spotify credit. The company realized that for the most part artists weren’t utilizing the streaming platform to its fullest, so it created a site just for artists with a series of help videos called The Game Plan so they could take advantage of all the features it has to offer. The […]
Continue readingArtists and songwriters have a tendency to rip on streaming for its low payouts, sometimes without understanding the scale and metrics of how it really works. While it’s true that streaming royalties can seem absurdly low sometimes, it turns out that U.S. radio airplay is way worse. According to a post on Roconomic, a spin […]
Continue readingThe last few years have gone better than expected for the recorded music industry, with double digit growth and lots of smiles to go around. With streaming continuing to grow in acceptance, it’s a party that looks to go on for some time, but that’s not what Sony is predicting. Despite the growth in streaming, Sony […]
Continue readingFacebook has threatened to go big into music for quite a while and last week finally made its move. The company announced that its users can now upload and share their videos that contain music by popular artists and now have it legally licensed for the first time. Facebook also announced a new music feature called […]
Continue readingMy guest this week is longtime Senior VP of Marketing for Warner Bros and current marketing consultant to both labels and indie artists Ted Joseph. Ted has been associated with over 100 gold and platinum recordings for artists in a wide range of genres, from pop and urban to contemporary jazz and country. He has […]
Continue readingA new report suggests that Spotify is embarking on a new strategy that may ultimately alienate the very partners it needs to stay in business. A recent Billboard article outlined Spotify’s currently unannounced program of offering advances to a select number of indie artists for a direct licensing deal with the service. If you’re an artist or […]
Continue readingVirtually everyone in the music business breathed a sigh of relief when the Music Modernization Act sailed through the House of Representatives recently. Finally it looked like we were making some headway towards changing at least a few outdated copyright laws. When it comes to Washington however, nothing is as easy as it seems as […]
Continue readingWe all want the maximum number of followers to see our posts, but that’s not always easy. The guardian of the feed on any social network is its algorithm, which selects the posts that it believes will be relevant to each user. Knowing how that algorithm works, then tailoring your posts accordingly, is the secret […]
Continue readingI’ve been privileged to be invited to appear as a guest on three great podcasts recently that you might want to check out. Coincidentally, all of them posted at around the same time. The first is the great Working Class Audio Episode #180. Host Matt Boudreau and I spoke about artist/musician/engineer diversification, the state of the […]
Continue readingMy guest on the Podcast this week is record producer, mixing engineer and songwriter Andrew Maury. Andrew is one of the few mixers who has made the transition from mixing live sound to the studio, and he’s had a lot of success, especially lately working on big hits by Shawn Mendes. In the interview we […]
Continue readingSongwriters have always made a good amount of performance royalties from radio airplay, and many still do under the right circumstances (meaning, a big hit). That said, there’s a constant battle between the performance rights organizations (PROs – ASCAP and BMI) and the RMLC (Radio Music Licensing Committee) to raise and lower the rates every […]
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