Think YouTube Is Evil? Facebook Is Paying $50 Million For Live Videos, But Most Musicians Get Nothing

With one of the lowest payouts per stream of any service offering music, YouTube has become the target of much ire from the music industry. But Facebook, which recently extended its $50 million payment program to select creators, is not paying a dime for the vast majority of the videos…

The Music Industry’s Complex Relationship With YouTube Explained In Just 50 Words

“According to those who oppose the service, YouTube is slowly killing the music industry, one tiny cut at a time. It is anti-artist and anti-copyright, they claim. Meanwhile, every major artist has a channel on YouTube and wouldn’t dream of releasing a new record without YouTube involved in its launch.”…

YouTube Music Launches Daring Ad Campaign Featuring A Cross Dressing Teen, Rapping Hijabi Muslim, More [VIDEO]

There are no reliable stats on how many people pay to use YouTube Music, but it clearly lags well behind Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal. In a move guaranteed to raise awareness, the Google owned music streamer has launched a brilliantly conceived, guaranteed-to-be-controversial ad campaign. _____________________________________________ "Music isn’t just what…

Is YouTube Not Music’s Boogie Man After All?

Although YouTube been taking a lot of heat from the music community of late owing to its alleged failure to pay sufficient royalties, some of the numbers used to make this claim may be not be clear enough to fully condemn the service, a service which seems to be waning…

How Your Music Distributor Can Help Increase Your Revenue

Introducing a new video series, we here examine what a distributor can do to further disseminate your music among the masses, thereby leading to an appreciable increase in revenue. ________________________________ In this latest post from MusicThinkTank, Ta’Rikah Jones unveils the launch of a new Music Biz 101 YouTube series, the…

Create, Publish Your Own Ads With New YouTube Director App

Allowing its users to take the reigns for the first time ever, YouTube has released a new app, YouTube Director for Business, giving users the ability to produce and create ads which they can then easily publish on the video sharing site. ________________________________ Guest Post by Jacob Roggenbuck Coordinator, Rights…

Will Virtual Reality Usher In A Creative Rebirth For Music Videos?

Although music videos and their accompanying budgets slipped into a decline after the early 2000s, the rise of VR could spell a resurgence, as a whole host of creative doors are opened. __________________________ Guest Post by Bryce Clemmer, CEO and co-founder of Vadio If you grew up watching MTV in…

Slipknot’s Corey Taylor Slaps Phone From Fan’s Hand At Concert [VIDEO]

Fans engrossed in using their smartphones to share a show present a dilemma for musicians. They want fans to spread the word, but expect them to experience the performance and not distract those around them. Artists from Adelle to the Lumineers and now Slipknot have found their own solutions. _________________________________________________…

YouTube Past And Present: 10 Things We Learned At VidCon

At this year’s VidCon, a rapidly growing annual conference for the online video community, we learned about the state of YouTube, and where we can expect the video sharing site and its content to go in the future. ________________________________ Guest Post by Chris Robley on CD Baby’s DIY Musician Blog…

Documentary On Happy Birthday Copyfraud Released Day After Song Enters Public Domain [VIDEO]

The day after the popular birthday ditty was declared to officially be in the public domain, Jenn Nelson has released a 15-minute documentary about the struggle to free Happy Birthday from the illegitimate clutches of Warner/Chappell. _______________________________ Guest Post by Mike Masnick on Techdirt You may recall that last fall,…