Category Archives for "Music Industry News"
July 12, 2017
Spotify Accused Of Making It’s Own Music With Fake Artists
There’s been a lot in the news over the last week about Spotify making its own albums under fake artists names, then placing the music on popular playlists. This news actually came out about a year ago but has bubbled to the surface again. Why would the company do that? To make more money, of […]
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July 10, 2017
You’re Wrong If You Thought Pop Was The Most Listened To Music Genre
If you listen to the radio much you might think that Pop music is by far the most listened to music by U.S. music consumers. That supposition is wrong, however, according to the latest figures by BuzzAngle, a relatively new metrics company that is quietly been surpassing the standard Nielsen Music thanks to its more […]
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July 7, 2017
SoundCloud Lays Off 40% Of Staff
Everyone knew that SoundCloud was deep in financial trouble and that trouble would come to a head sometime this year. It looks like that time is finally here as the company closed both its San Francisco and London offices yesterday. While 173 people lost their jobs as a result, it’s the people that depend on […]
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July 5, 2017
- in Music Industry News , Tips by Bobby Owsinski
Big Hits Are Now 2 Billion Streams
It wasn’t that long ago that we were impressed by any song that received 100 million views or streams, but in the age of streaming that number is ancient history. These days, a billion streams is well within reach for a hit, and more and more songs are even hitting the once unthinkable 2 billion […]
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July 3, 2017
Gen Z Now Prefers Spotify Over YouTube
All the signs have pointed to YouTube’s dominance in music delivery having peaked in the last 6 months, and now it looks like we have some confirmation. Midea Research did a deep dive into the technology and media trends of Gen Z (kids age 16 to 19) in the UK, and came up with some […]
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June 30, 2017
You Might Not Like It, But Facebook Now Has 2 Billion Users
Every few months there seems to be a new post or article regarding how much Facebook is slipping in one demographic or another. The cries that millennials, Gen X and Gen Yers were abandoning the platform for something new have scared many artists and bands from using it, or made them reluctant to give the […]
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June 28, 2017
Taylor Swift Makes A Bundle Since Returning To Streaming
One of the reasons that management pulled the Taylor Swift catalog from all streaming services in 2014 was that the revenue from streaming wasn’t sufficient to warrant it being there. Swift was the biggest artist in the world at the time and didn’t need the additional exposure, and she was still selling CDs, so other […]
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June 26, 2017
The Proposed Tesla Music Service Might Not Be What Everyone Thinks
The last few days has seen plenty of news copy about the rumor of new Tesla music streaming service, and, as usual with anything that has to do with Elon Musk, the hype builds on itself. Let me throw the cold waters of reality on this rumor. Even if it does come to pass, it […]
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June 21, 2017
Apple Music Quietly Launches $99/ Year Tier
Apple has been pretty diligent about keeping the price of Apple Music at $9.99 per month with no discounts (except for the $14.99 family plan) since it launched, but now it looks like a new $99 per year option is now available as well. recently spotted this new tier, and found that the interesting thing […]
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June 19, 2017
Major Holdout Bob Seger Finally Comes To Streaming
Some fans thought it would never happen, but the Bob Seger catalog has finally come to Spotify and Apple Music. 13 of the singer’s most popular albums are now available to most streaming services, with the exceptions being Tidal and Pandora. The interesting thing here is not that Seger made it online at all, but what […]
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June 16, 2017
YouTube And ASCAP Do A Deal
The music business has long been critical of YouTube not only for its 55/45 split (45% going to YouTube), but for the fact that songwriters and publishers frequently go unpaid. This could soon change for songwriters signed to ASCAP as the organization has agreed to a new plan that shares songwriter information with the video […]
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June 14, 2017
Apple Music Up To 27 Million Users
Spotify may be in the lead when it comes to paid streaming subscribers, but Apple Music is closing the gap fast. The company announced last week during its presentation at the World Wide Developers Conference that its streaming service is now up to 27 million users. Spotify still leads the pack with 50 million, but […]
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June 12, 2017
Pandora Fails To Get The Message In Its Deal With Sirius XM
The streaming music service Pandora’s in trouble and it has been for some time. Its user base is shrinking, its losses are increasing, and it’s not able to generate enough revenue, a bad combination if there ever was one. Reports are that the company actually rejected a total acquisition by the satellite radio company Sirius […]
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June 7, 2017
Sony Music Folds RED Distribution Into The Orchard
Sometimes consolidation is a good thing, and that certainly looks like the case with Sony Music folding its RED distribution into its Orchard operation. The move is being made in the name of efficiency, and no jobs will be lost in the transition, which is unusual. This is actually happening on a worldwide basis as […]
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June 5, 2017
Arianna Grande’s Manchester Benefit Concert – It’s The Right Thing To Do
There was a time when music artists led the charge for social awareness, eschewing commercialism in favor of some greater public good. “Selling out,” was about the worst thing you could do during those days, and a quick way to become ostracized not only from fellow musicians, but a large portion of the music consuming public […]
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