MTV President Sean Atkins To Exit After One Year [Full Text Of His Email To Viacom Staff]

Sean Atkins has been the president of MTV for just a year, and during his tenure the network has veered back towards it musical base. But in the last 9 weeks through mid-October, MTV ratings in the key 12-34 demographic were down an average of 17% over 2015. _________________________________ Sean…

How Fan Videos Helped Sell Adele’s “Hello”

It is a truth universally acknowledged that having a good video to accompany it can really help a song to gain popularity, as seems to have been the case with fan copies of the video for Adele’s "Hello" according to recent analysis. ___________________________ Guest Post by Bobby Owsinski on Music…

"Hot Boy" Bobby Shmurda Sentenced To 7 Years Despite Last-Second Attempt To Change Plea

Brooklyn rapper Bobby Shumrda, best known for the hit “Hot Boy,” has been sentenced to seven years in prison, despite his last minute attempt to change his plea deal, which has been worked out last month. ___________________________________ 22 year old Rapper Bobby Shumrda has been sentenced to seven years for…

How Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat Count Video Views Differently

Video views are critical for measuring success not only to artists, but also labels, advertisers, and anyone else attached to the video in question. Unfortunately, measuring these views is not always easy, as each platform has their own method for counting. Here we examine what the different platforms use to…

Getting More Fans On YouTube: A Musician’s Guide

A key piece of music promotion for a quite a while, video has long given fans a way to connect more deeply with music, so it stands to reason that YouTube would rise to become one of the most useful platforms from which artists can connect with fans. Here we…

Google, Amazon Leverage Copyright Loophole To Use Songs, Not Pay Songwriters [Chris Castle]

To avoid properly compensating songwriters, big data purveyors Amazon and Google are claiming they are unable to find contact information for the deserving songwriters, instead opting to file copyright notices in what appears to be a music land grab, says Chris Castle. _____________________________ Guest post by Chris Castle of Music…

Can You Name All The Musicians And Celebrities In The New Apple Beats Headphones Ad?

Apple used Twitter to debut a new celebrity-filled ad for Beats wireless headphones on Monday. Set to the Disney Pinocchio song "I’ve Got No Strings" it features a plethora of musicians and other celebrities including DJ Khaled, Pharrell Williams, Nicki Minaj, Rebel Wilson and Steve Buscemi. WATCH: The ad features…

Last Fortnight In Music Supervision and Sync 10.10.16

A run through of the latest and greatest news in sync licensing and music supervision over the past fortnight, courtesy of Synchblog. Film and TV The musicians behind Luke Cage on creating a ‘timeless’ sound and the lack of opportunities for black composers (Vulture) When Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed…

Lyor Cohen Takes the Cake by Joining the Google Empire [Op Ed]

Google’s hiring of industry insider Lyor Cohen as YouTube’s Global Head of Music is "no grounds for celebration" says musician and activist Maria Schneider in a new op ed. "And who better to prevail over the majors than the very guy who helped lead those majors into the back alley…

Irving Azoff Claims YouTube "Pirates" Are "Really Evil"

The CEO and Chairman of Azoff MSG Entertainment, Irving Azoff, is leveling some heavy criticism at YouTube in very public war as he attempts to get the popular video sharing site to properly compensate artists for their music. ______________________________ Guest Post by Dave Brooks on Amplify When you work in…