Category Archives for "Music Industry News"
October 31, 2018
SoundCloud Changes Its Contract Terms After Artist Pressure
In this era of big business its seems to be the norm when the contract terms favor the company rather than the user, even to the detriment of the user. Usually we blindly accept those terms, but if the latest SoundCloud kerfuffle proves anything, it’s that fighting back can sometimes bring about some needed change. […]
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October 29, 2018
The Reasons Why Rock Is Still King On The Concert Circuit
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 […]
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October 26, 2018
Getting On A Spotify Playlist Just Got Easier
Getting 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 […]
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October 24, 2018
Study Finds That The Smart Speaker Does Indeed Impact Music Consumption
To 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 […]
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October 19, 2018
Warner Music Launches WMG Boost To Invest In MusicTech Startups
You 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 […]
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October 18, 2018
Spotify Deal With Distrokid Means Artists Can Now Upload To Other Streaming Services As Well
When 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 […]
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October 17, 2018
Here’s Why Apple’s Acquisition Of Shazam Is Such A Big Deal
A 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, […]
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October 15, 2018
SoundCloud Premier Now Lets You Get Paid For Your Streams
It’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 […]
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October 12, 2018
The Music Modernization Act Is Now Law
It’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 […]
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October 10, 2018
Consumers Worldwide Still Listen To A Lot Of Music According To An IFPI Study
The 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, […]
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October 8, 2018
Here’s Why The SiriusXM Pandora Deal Makes So Much Sense
Now 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 […]
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October 5, 2018
Ditto Music Offers It’s Version Of Label Services
As 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 […]
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October 4, 2018
Sony And Warner Music Invest In Tencent Music Before IPO
The 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 […]
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October 3, 2018
Spotify Wants Your GPS Location If You’re Signed Up For A Family Plan
Recently 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 […]
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October 1, 2018
The “Stairway To Heaven” Copyright Lawsuit Headed Back To Court Yet Again
Led 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 […]
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