As I’ve written in other posts, Spotify wants to do a public offering this year but won’t be able to do that until it signs new licensing agreements with each of the major labels. It looks like the first of those agreements has come to pass with the reported signing of Universal Music. The fact […]
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Shawn Milke’s band Alesana had been touring almost non-stop since 2004 when he decided to tap the brakes and get off the road for a bit. This resulted in the creation of Revival Recordings, which lives by the inspirational mantra “Good Music By Good People.” Now with distribution through Artery/Sony Red, the label continues to […]
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In record label executive offices across the U.S. there’s rejoicing as the latest RIAA numbers show a double digit increase in revenue for the first time in almost 20 years. The latest figures show that the recorded music market in 2016 brought in $7.7 billion, up a bit more 11% over the previous year. And […]
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Here’s the Music Industry News Roundup for the week ending on March 31st, 2017. There is less news about streaming than in past weeks, but there’s still lot of very interesting items nonetheless. Let’s get into it. New music is cool, but it’s old music that sells. The weekly Top 50 is only worth less than 4% of the total […]
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Videos on any platform can be used as an effective marketing tool, but you must observe some essential SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, techniques for that to happen. Before you go live on a video, here are 5 tips that will improve its search results: 1. Name your video something descriptive. “Untitled_bandvideo12.mov†is not descriptive […]
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As mentioned here before, Spotify’s licensing deals with the major labels is currently out of contract. This is a big deal since the company wants to go public this year, and that could be put in jeopardy if it doesn’t have its licensing house in order. But the labels are driving a hard bargain, not […]
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Unless you live in a big media center like NY, LA or Nashville (or any big city for that matter), most artists and songwriters probably don’t have access to the caliber of musicians needed to really make their tracks as good as they can be. A company called Custom Tracks is trying to change that […]
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You’d think that owning music is a thing of the past, yet the iTunes music store still does over a $1 billion a year selling downloads. Streaming may be putting a big hit on downloads, but a new online store called Voltra is coming at it with a new approach that might benefit both music […]
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Here’s the Music Industry News Roundup for the week of March 24th, 2017. Spotify gets a lot of attention because it’s getting serious about its upcoming public offering, but lots of other news as well. Let’s get into it. Spotify is nearing a new licensing deal with the major labels. It’s been out of contract for the […]
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A new strategy in music releases is beginning to take place, even within the major labels. In almost a return to the early days of records, the single song is king rather than the album, and that requires an entirely new look at the timing of when your material becomes available. The basic premise of this new […]
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We like to think that everything about music is built around the tastes of the people that are both creating and listening to it, but that outlook seems to be increasingly out of step with reality. Artificial intelligence is being used more and more for all sorts of things that control our lives, so why […]
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If you were going to show someone how to make it in the music business, you’d point to engineer and mixer Drew Drucker as the perfect example. Drew graduated from recording school, then worked his way up in the business by starting as a runner and moving up the ladder thanks to hard work, paying […]
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Music is a big part of the nightlife of any city, but venues everywhere have been seriously threatened by rising real estate costs, noise control laws, and city taxes. Luckily, many cities are finally waking up to the fact that a city without music is a far less attractive destination or place to live, and […]
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Here’s the Music Industry News Roundup for the week of March 17th, 2017. There’s lots of interesting speculation on new services, and not a mention of Spotify for once. Let’s get into it. Facebook trying to solve “social music.” No one else has cracked it, but the company is taking music very seriously. Will AI and chatbots […]
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Getting your music placed on playlists is now an important part of an artist’s release strategy. If a track is added to a popular playlist, its streams will spike and listeners will add it to their personal playlists, which sometimes adds a viral element that spreads to playlists on other networks as well. What’s more, hot […]
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