We all hate commercials of any type, but they’re a necessary evil when you’re consuming media content for free, especially the free tiers of streaming services. Spotify is looking for new ways to monetize its free tier and it thinks it’s come up with something new – sponsored ads on its extremely popular Discover Weekly […]
Continue reading
My guest on the podcast today is Tim Pierce, who’s one of the most widely used and respected session guitar players in Los Angeles today. Tim has a client list a mile long that includes superstars like Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Rod Stewart, Don Henley, Faith Hill, Dave Mathews Band, Mylie Cyrus, and many more. Simply put, he’s the […]
Continue reading
Despite the rise of streaming, most recent studies have found that our automobile listening habits have been surprisingly consistent with the past. That now appears to be changing as found by a new study by Edison Research, which found that we’re now much less reliant on our AM/FM radios in our cars these days. Interestingly, […]
Continue reading
According to the latest stats from market analyst BuzzAngle, hip-hop dominated US streaming last year with just over 25% of the total, up from 22% the year before. That figure was even higher when it came to Spotify and Apple Music, as the genre came there in at 26.9%. That domination carried over to video […]
Continue reading
When I wanted to send one of my first email newsletters to a list of only about 1200 (which seemed large at the time but is really tiny in grand scheme of email lists), I was astounded to find that my Internet Service Provider (ISP) wouldn’t allow me to send to more than 100 addresses simultaneously […]
Continue reading
January 1st was Public Domain Day 2019, the first day that a host of titles originally published in 1923 are now available to use for free and without permission. These include literary works, music and movies. Originally the works from 1923 were set to go into the public domain in 1999 after a 75-year copyright […]
Continue reading
Happy New Year and thank you again for your support! Here we are on the cusp of a new year again. That’s why its time to gaze into the crystal ball to see what awaits us. In this week’s Inner Circle Podcast episode I’ll take a look at some of the things that we can expect in […]
Continue reading
Predictions can be a tricky thing, but if we look at the trends in the music business over the last year we can see where things might be going. Here are 10 predictions for how the industry will fare in 2019. 1. Apple Music Nearly Catches Spotify Spotify is still the king of the hill […]
Continue reading
It was another big year for music streaming, and since Spotify is the largest and most influential streaming service, it only makes sense that we pay attention to the many Top 5’s that the platform recently published. Keep in mind that these are global lists and not limited to the United States. Most Streamed Artists […]
Continue reading
One thing for sure about streaming music is that the payouts per stream are constantly changing and this year was no exception. In fact, you’ll be surprised who is new highest pay leader. According to a survey of third-party websites made by Digital Music News, Napster now owns the highest pay mantle at $0.019 per […]
Continue reading
If you’ve ever owned physical music product like vinyl or CDs you know that there’s a market for “pre-owned” albums. People have made a living from the used market for decades, so it was natural to believe that this same idea would transfer to digital music as well. ReDigi was one of the first virtual […]
Continue reading
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for being a part of courses, blogs, books and podcasts this year. I truly appreciate your support! You might find my latest Inner Circle Podcast episode interesting in that it’s a look back at all of the interesting stories in music business in 2018, and there sure were […]
Continue reading
Trying to launch a streaming service these days is insanely difficult due to the fact that in order to get any sort of catalog together, music licenses that are prohibitively expensive are required. But what if an artist only featured his or her work on the service? That’s exactly what Neil Young is doing with […]
Continue reading
Much has changed in the music industry over the last few years that affect an artist’s ability to be successful. Some of it is brand new and a result of the technology we use, while some of it is good common sense that’s been used over and over over many decades of the business. Here […]
Continue reading
The touring industry has wondered for a while now what would happen when the legacy rock acts were no longer able to tour. Would the new generation of artists be able to fill the concert venues and stadiums like their predecessors? The answer is yes, and this year has proven it beyond a shadow of […]
Continue reading