Category Archives for "Music Industry News"
If you were to believe the music press, the only thing in music that’s hot these days is hip hop. While that may be true when it comes to the charts, rock is far from dead when it comes to the concert circuit, and in fact clobbers most other music genres in terms of ticket […]
Continue readingGetting a placement on a Spotify playlist can be career changing as suddenly millions of people can be aware of you and your music, but until now the chances of that happening were extremely slim if you weren’t on a major label. The company has been trying to democratize its service though and making its […]
Continue readingTo the surprise of no one, a new study finds that the smart speaker trend is impacting music consumption in a big way. A new study by AudienceNet of people over the age of 16 looked at exactly how each age group is consuming music and by what distribution source. Those that own a smart […]
Continue readingYou can tell that the music industry is back in the money when the major record labels decide to spread some of their cash around. To that end, Warner Music announced that it has launched WMG Boost in order to invest in music-related tech startups. Although no exact figure on exactly how much money is […]
Continue readingWhen Spotify announced its direct upload feature last month many artists weren’t particularly wowed since they’d still have to use a distributor to have their music uploaded to the other streaming services anyway. The company has now turned that argument on its ear by making a “passive” investment in the the distribution company Distrokid, which […]
Continue readingA few weeks ago Apple completed its acquisition of Shazam for $400 million, and while it didn’t go unnoticed, it didn’t created much of a ripple either. That said, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that could make this a much bigger deal down the road. Music Business Worldwide covered this in depth, […]
Continue readingIt’s been a long time coming, but SoundCloud has finally announced its new SoundCloud Premier program that allows artists on the platform to monetize the streams they’re getting. There are still some questions about the program and exactly how much will be paid out, but just launching it is a big step in the right […]
Continue readingIt’s been a very long road but the Music Modernization Act (MMA) was finally signed into law by the President yesterday after the bill was previously unanimously approved by both the House and the Senate. Congratulations to all the industry organizations that put major effort into making this a reality! The new law helps not only […]
Continue readingThe IFPI released its annual Music Consumer Insight Report, and as usual, it has data that confirms suspicions and also surprises. This is a truly a global look at music consumption since the data was collected by AudienceNet from a wide demographic aged 16-64 from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, […]
Continue readingNow that some of the dust has settled on SiriusXM’s $3.5 billion acquisition of streaming service Pandora, things have become a little clearer on why the deal makes sense for both parties. Although the all-stock transaction was announced last month, it’s expected to close in the first quarter of 2019. This is a win/win if […]
Continue readingAs you may or may not know, all the services that record labels provide are available for hire under the banner of “label services.” That means that if you want the promotion abilities of Warner Music, for example, they can be available to you for a fee with no other contractual strings attached (in other […]
Continue readingThe giant Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) streaming service out of China has filed for an IPO to go public in the US, which is a big deal in itself. What’s just been revealed is that both Sony Music and Warner Music have invested $200 million in the company prior to the IPO according to the […]
Continue readingRecently I posted about how the streaming services are losing subscribers through family plans, when a user invites people into a plan from outside the family. This is especially the case for Spotify, who reportedly is suffering from this problem more than other streaming services. Now the company has taken the unusual attempt to stop […]
Continue readingLed Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven” is certainly one of the the era’s most iconic rock songs but it’s been wrapped up in a lawsuit that can’t seem to come to a close. The estate of the late Randy California of the band Spirit sued the members of Led Zep for stealing parts of “Stairway To Heaven” from […]
Continue readingHere’s one to keep an eye on as it can open up a whole new set of artist/label lawsuits. The estate of the late 60s pop start Ricky Nelson has filed a class action lawsuit against Sony Music over streaming royalties. The suit alleges that Sony assessed an intercompany charge on international streaming royalties, and as […]
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