Folk Alliance Announces 2020 Conference Move, 2019 Registration Still Available

Folk Alliance International has announced the dates and location of its 2020 conference, just a few weeks before its 2019 gathering in Montreal. The 2020 edition is headed to New Orleans at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel on Canal Street Jan. 22-26. The 2020 conference theme is “The Story of…

Arcade Fire, 200+ Musicians Sign Letter In Support Of Indigenous People’s Pipeline Fight

Arcade Fire, Tanya Tagaq and more than 200 Canadian musicians and industry professionals have signed an open letter supporting the Indigenous people of northern British Columbia’s fight against the construction of a natural gas pipeline. Arcade Fire, Destroyer, Stars, Peaches, Tokyo Police Club, Tanya Tagaq, Owen Pallett, U.S. Girls, Fucked…

PledgeMusic Payment Problems Continue, Lefsetz Weighs In

Late payments to artists after their campaigns are completed on PledgeMusic continue 8 months after they began. Now powerful music industry pundit Bob Lefsetz has weighed in, after a call from veteran manager Ron Stone. "If you don’t have the money, you shouldn’t be taking new clients,"wirtes Lefsetz. Hypebot first…

WED. BRIEF: iHeartMedia Bankruptcy Exit • Oscar Music Surprises • UMG Adds Epic Rights • Napster • More

WEDNESDAY 1.23.19
Music Business News From Around The Web
Updated continuously under the More News tab

CD Baby, SACM Partner To Empower Independent Mexican Artists and Composers

CD Baby has partnered with SACM, Mexico’s only Performance Rights Organization. As part of the alliance, SACM has named CD Baby as their “preferred” distributor, and CD Baby will offer free submissions for SACM members to all digital music services. photo (l-r): Arturo Peěrez Courtade (SACM), Heli Del Moral (CD…

Making Free Pay: The New Data Battle Ground [Mark Mulligan]

From Spotify to Xbox Live and the New York Times, 2018 is the year that paid subscriptions took hold. But the nasty truth is that most consumers still won’t pay, as evidence by the100M who prefer Spotify’s free tier. "This means ad-supported strategies are going to play a growing role…

‘The Roaring Crowdfund’ Explores The Wonderful World Of Music Crowdfunding

A new five-part podcast series, The Roaring Crowdfund follows four very different musical acts as they launch crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter, PledgeMusic and Indiegogo. Sponsored by, Berklee Online, the online school of Berklee College of Music, host Pat Healy and guests examine the real issues these musicians face as they…

BUSINESS OF INDIE: Spitfire Launches Label • Absolute Adds Marketing Packs • Triple Tigers Signs Go West • More

This edition of the Business Of Indie roundup includes Spitfire Audio launching a label, Absolute Label Services adding creative marketing packs, a signing for indie Triple Tigers and much more. Like Hypebot’s More News section, The Business Of Indie is nestled under its own Indie tab at the top of…

Centrip Launches Music Industry Brexit Desk

International financial services firm Centtrip, has launched a dedicated music industry Brexit desk to help touring artists, promoters, distributors and the wider music industry navigate Britain’s chaotic exit from the European Union. Constantly changing currency rates greatly affect the income of artists and music businesses working globally. Centtrip’s new specialized…

Tencent Music (TME) Upgraded As Analyst Praises Streamer’s Unique, Profitable Revenue Model

Just weeks after Tencent Music’s belated IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, JPMorgan has given a strong endorsement to the Chinese Music streamer, moving it from hold to buy with a $16.00 target price. Tencent Music closed Friday trading at $14.35, up 10.6% on the news. JPMorgan analyst Alex…