Artists Could Make Just A Little More With Elimination Of The Controlled Composition Clause

Last week BMG took the unprecedented step of eliminating what’s known as the Controlled Composition clause from its artist contracts, a moved that shocked the industry. This means that BMG artists will receive just a little more in their pocketbooks if they still sell any physical product. The Controlled Composition clause has been a staple […]

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7 Surprising Social Media Trends In 2020

Because of the news and our personal experience, we sometimes get a skewed idea of what a part of the world looks like. Nowhere is this more evident than with social media. Researchers from Edison Research have found a number of social media trends in their Infinite Dial 2020 report that bust many of the […]

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Led Zep Finally Win “Stairway To Heaven” Copyright Battle Thanks To Supreme Court

Talk about a long court battle, the “Stairway To Heaven” plagiarism lawsuit brought about by the estate of the late Randy Wolfe against the members of Led Zeppelin has finally come to an end. It concluded yesterday when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, upholding a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals jury […]

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YouTube Shorts Launches To Rival TikTok

Since TikTok is in trouble with the U.S. government and it’s looking quite possible that it may end up being banned in the country, other platforms have been rushing to launch their own version of the popular service. YouTube is no exception, as it’s just launched YouTube Shorts, a new short-form experience featuring 15 second […]

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It Sure Looks Like Spotify Will Add A Karaoke Mode Soon

While Spotify can’t compete with TikTok when it comes to short videos, it might be able to do something else soon that will be just as effective. According to MBW, a screenshot was leaked last week of what looks likes a new Spotify karaoke mode, which coincides with the company being granted a patent for […]

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Vinyl Sales Are Higher Than CDs For The First Time In 30 Years

The CD used to be the king of all music product back in the early 2000’s, but the mighty have fallen greatly as vinyl has surpassed it in revenue for the first time in 30 years. This according to the RIAA’s 2020 Mid-Year Report, which showed that vinyl sales not only surpassed CD sales, but […]

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Vinyl Sales For Some Retailers Surge 47% On The First Weekend Of Record Store Day

You would think that with retail stores of all sizes suffering because of the pandemic that record stores especially would be hard hit. That might be true for other times during this situation, but on the first weekend of the annual Record Store Day vinyl sales again proved to be a big winner. The 13 […]

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Songwriter Royalties From Radio Airplay About To Take A Beating

While streaming has done very well during the pandemic, the same can’t be said for radio. Advertising revenue was cut in about half during the second quarter of the year as compared to the same time last year. That means that songwriter royalties for those who have songs that are getting radio airplay will see […]

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Songwriters Steal From Themselves, Not Free To Experiment On My Latest Inner Circle Podcast

We look at 2 interesting copyright infringement cases on my podcast this week – can a songwriter steal from him or herself, and does stopping my stealing stop my freedom to experiment. Plus my guest on the podcast this week is Sean Giovanni, producer, engineer and owner of The Record Shop Studio in Nashville.  Sean has worked with […]

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These Are The Top Artist Money Makers Of 2019

It’s always interesting to see exactly who’s making all the money in the music business, and sometimes the results can be surprising. Every year Billboard releases a top Money Makers chart based on data for the previous year, and this year is particularly interesting. Let’s look at the top 10 money making artists. Remember that […]

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How To Save Yourself From Embarrassing Social Media Posts

I have standard operating advice to any musician, artist or band posting on social media – keep your posts as professional as possible. We’ve seen so many celebrities, artists, sports and media figures, and politicians needlessly harm their careers as a result of some embarrassing social media posts, even if they were way in the […]

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Stairway To Heaven Lawsuit, Rickenbacker Dumps Guitar Center, And AmplifyX Founder Adam Cowherd On My Latest Podcast

My guest on the podcast this week is Adam Cowherd, the founder of AmplifyX, a company that bridges the financial gap between musicians and fans by letting supporters invest in artists like startups. When his work with Ernst & Young in the financial sector landed Adam in Los Angeles, it wasn’t long before he started seeing gaps in the music […]

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How Apple Bundles Are A Direct Assault On Spotify

Apple is reportedly about to launch a series of bundled services as soon as October, which will provide a lower per month cost over the individual fees as they are now. According to last week, Apple Bundles, internally labeled as “Apple One,” will consolidate Apple Music, TV, News, Gaming and cloud storage services together under […]

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This Is What Happens On The Internet Every Minute Of Every Day

Internet use continues to grow at an amazing rate, and just about the time we think it can’t possibly grow any more, usage takes another leap. Domo released its yearly Data Never Sleeps chart that outlines the typical usage on the Internet every minute. Prepare to be amazed. Facebook users upload 147,000 photos Twitter gains […]

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It Looks Like Car Audio Hardware May Be In Spotify’s Future

One of the secrets to Apple’s success is the fact that it makes much of its profit on the various hardware items that it sells. iPhone, computers, iPads and accessories are the main engine for revenue, while software and services, huge businesses in themselves, take a back seat. Spotify has been watching, and understands that […]

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