Kobalt has reported strong growth for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. Revenues at the global indie publisher and label services firm rose 25.3% year-over-year to $402.1 million. Gross collections were up 30% percent to $494 million. AWAL, the company’s recorded music and label services division, grew 50% during…
Author archives: Bruce Houghton
Grammy Awards Cut Eligibility Year To Just 11 Months
Eligibility for the 62nd annual Grammy Awards will close Aug. 31, a full month earlier than in previous years. The shift comes alongside the Grammy telecast moving up two weeks to Jan. 26, 2020, after the Academy Awards moved its telecast to Feb. 9, 2020, the same day as the…
Symphonic Partners With Songtrust
Independent music distributor Symphonic has partnered with Songtrust to expand its publishing services. Songtrust represents more than 150,000 songwriters and more than 20,000 publishers. The new partnership will benefit Symphonic clients who choose their Publishing Administration service which charges 15% of the publisher’s share of royalties. “Symphonic is the premier…
Alison Bonny Is Leaving Spotify And I’m Sad
Alison Bonny is leaving Spotify after eight years as Communications Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Bonny joined when Spotify had just a million subscribers and exits as it passes 200 million active users. The respected executive also spearheaded many of the streamer’s international launches. I’m not prone to…
“Old Town Road” Was #19 On Country Chart, Then Billboard Decided It Wasn’t Really A Country Song
Lil Nas X scored a crossover country hit when his cowboy-themed rap song “Old Town Road,” debuted at #19 on the Billboard country chart. The Billboard decided to pull the song from a country chart after determining it wasn’t a good fit for the genre. In a statement to Rolling…
FRI. BRIEF: Kobalt Revenue Grows 25% • Mixcloud Select Expands • Instagram Music Head Departs • More
FRIDAY 3.29.19
Music Business News From Around The Web
Updated continuously under the More News tab
Amazon Music To Be 2019’s Fastest Growing Music Streamer
Amazon Music will be the fastest growing music service in the US this year, according to a new analysis, crossing 35 million monthly listeners in 2019. That trend will continue through 2023. eMarketer predicts a growth rate for Amazon of 17.7% year over year. Earlier this week, eMarketer’s data dive…
BUSINESS OF INDIE: Downtown Acquires CD Baby • Mojo Expands Catalog • Spinnin’ Records Turns 20 • More
In this Business Of Indie update, CD Baby is sold to Downtown Music, indie publisher Mojo expands its catalog, Spinnin’ Records turns 20, zines make a comeback and so much more. Like Hypebot’s More News section, The Business Of Indie is nestled under its own Indie tab at the top…
Everything You Need To Know About Article 13
The Article 13 copyright directive passed the European Parliament this week, bringing with it sweeping copyright reform, limits to Safe Harbor and an end to YouTube as we know it, at least in the EU. The legislation is complex, so here is Everything You Need To Know About Article 13….
A2IM Names Indie Libera Award Nominees 2019: Mitski, Bad Bunny, Courtney Barnett, More
The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) has announced the nominees for its 2019 indie music Libera Awards. The Libera Awards will be held on June 20th in New York City as part of Indie Week. A2IM Libera Award Nominees 2019 Album of the Year (sponsored by The Orchard) •…