Perhaps the biggest question that today’s producer has is, “How do I get paid?” Back in the days when physical sales were king, this was never a problem as producers were paid handsomely for their services from sales royalties. Even though there are still physical sales involved today, that more than likely will not pay […]
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YouTube is about to employ a rather unique strategy in order to get more people to buy into its upcoming subscription plan. The service is going to begin to insert more ads in videos in an effort to frustrate users enough that they’ll want to pay to eliminate them. YouTube’s global head of music Lyor Cohen laid […]
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Last week I posted about iHeartMedia’s chapter 11 bankruptcy in which it was attempting to wipe out $10 billion worth of its $20 billion debt so it could carry on operations. Although various music companies are owned just a small portion of that amount, its still a significant $38 million, and that’s money that’s not […]
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My guest on the podcast this week is Joyce Kettering, a composer who became so successful licensing her music that she did the thing that so many dream about – she was able to quit a very good day job as a financial auditor and just dedicate herself to music. What makes this story even […]
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We live in an age where it’s probably the easiest it has ever been to access just about any kind of music you want, and all for free. The music business has always been driven by convenience of consumption, and it’s difficult to imagine how much easier it can get than joining the free tier […]
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When the verdict in the 2015 copyright infringement trial brought by the Marvin Gaye estate against the writers of the Robin Thicke hit “Blurred Lines” was reached, most of the music industry shuddered. While some of the flavor of the Marvin Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up” hit of 1977 was captured on the “Blurred […]
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Most artists and musicians that I know hold the shows American Idol and The Voice in some level of contempt. It’s made-for-TV music and doesn’t reflect much about the true business of music or paying your dues (although there’s less of that these days anyway). It gets the public excited for the duration of the […]
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Way back when radio was the main channel for developing a hit, record labels tried to game the system by bribing radio station program directors with money and gifts to add a record to the station’s playlist, a process that became known as payola. Several scandals ensued and the practice became illegal, but labels and […]
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My guest on the podcast this week is producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer Clarence Jey, whose credits include music on US Billboard Hot 100, a Grammy-winning record, one of the largest viral music successes in history, music for film and multiple Emmy-nominated TV shows. His broad musical spectrum ranges from creating music for the Grammy […]
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Spotify’s direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange is coming on April 3rd and there’s already been plenty written about this unusual tactic. Much of the reasoning for the move coming from the company seems to circle around the fact that underwriting a traditional IPO costs too much, so there will be considerable savings by avoiding […]
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It just goes to show the state that radio is in these days when iHeartMedia, the largest station group in the United States, needs to files for bankruptcy protection. The company formerly known as Clear Channel, which owns 858 stations as well as well as the iHeartRadio digital streaming venture, had been stymied under the […]
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When it comes to measurement, one of the things that can happen is that it’s easy to be almost overwhelmed by the data that a measurement tool can provide. Here’s an excerpt from the 2nd edition of my Social Media Promotion For Musicians handbook that shows how to interpret the performance metrics in order to understand […]
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Have we reached peak social media? It’s beginning to look that way if the data from The Infinite Dial study is to be believed. The annual report is a collaboration between Edison Research and Triton Digital and takes a look at the digital and analog consumption habits of people in the U.S. This year’s version […]
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My guest this week is the content creation manager for KEF America, Jack Sharkey. KEF, in case you’re not aware, manufacturers some pretty high-end loudspeakers, but also has a long history of supplying monitors to the BBC, which is one of the highest references a company can have. Jack originally got in touch with me […]
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To many music artists and bands, making an album has always been the epitome of their art. This group of songs was a statement to their voice and current state of mind, not to mention a reflection of their social and physical environment. It was thought to be the highest form of recorded experience the […]
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