Sony Consolidates Records, Publishing Under Rob Stringer

Sony Corporation chief Kenichiro Yoshida has announced that the company will bring together its recorded music and music publishing businesses outside of Japan under the umbrella of Sony Music Group Sony Music Entertainment CEO Rob Stringer will now run Sony Music Group as well as Sony Music Entertainment. According to…

Another Spotify Ad Under Fire: ‘Skip School, Skip Work’

Another Spotify ad is being criticized just days after the streamer drew fire for a campaign titled " ‘Dance As If No One Is Paying" from artists and advocates who have long complained about royalty payments. Now another ad offering a 30 day free trial of Spotify Premium is drawing…

SXSW 2020 PanelPicker: Just 3 Days Left To Submit

The deadline to submit proposals to the SXSW PanelPicker is this Friday. July 19th. This online process gives attendees a voice in conference programming including presentations, panels and at SXSW. Competition is fierce with 6100 proposals submitted in 2018. The 2020 SXSW Conference & Festivals will run from March 13-22,…

Woodstock 50 Loses Appeal, Richard Branson Pulls Support

For the third time, organizers of the Woodstock 50 festival had their proposal for a permit to produce the event at Vernon Downs race tack rejected Tuesday evening, this time by the town’s Planning Board. Immediately after the decision, Richard Branson’s Virgin Produced, who has been advising the Woodstock 50…

WAVE Raises $5.65 Million To Mix Music and Meditation

Breath, body, and beats could serve as the tagline for WAVE, the new subscription-based music-based meditation app and vibrating pillow that has launched with $5.65 million in seed funding. Investors include CrossLink Capital, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Collaborative Fund, and Ludlow Ventures. WAVE’s founders see hugely successful apps like Calm and…

WED. BRIEF: Woodstock Permit Denied • Apple Invests In Podcasts • Indie Stores Appeal To Majors • Polaris Short List

WEDNESDAY 7.17.19
Music Business News From Around The Web
Updated continuously under the More News tab

Slide Over Lil Nas, Blanco Brown Brings The Beats To Top The Country Charts [Don’t Miss The Video]

It didn’t take long for other hip-hop and R&B artists to join in on a party started by Lil Nas’ “Old Town Road.” Now Blanco Brown has hit the country charts with “The Git Down.” Lil Nas, with the help of Billy Ray Cyrus, reinterpreted what could be, and probably…

LANDR Raises $26M To Expand Beyond AI Powered Mastering

AI-powered music mastering platform LANDR has closed a $26 million Series B financing round led by Sony Innovation Fund, microphone manufacturer Shure and state-owned financing corporation Investissement Québec and Fonds de solidarité FTQ. Additional investors include Warner Music, Plus Eight Equity Partners, Slaight Communications, YUL Ventures and PEAK Capital Partners….

Patreon Adds $60M To ‘Take Membership To The Next Level’

Creator subscription platform Patreon has raised an additional $60 million that it says will be used "to take creator memberships to a whole new level." Patreon has more than 3 million active patrons and 100,000 creators on the platform, and has paid out more than $1 billion to date. This…

Black Keys Film Funny Or Die Musicians ‘MasterCourse’ [VIDEO]

“Every song on a record is trying to accomplish something,” Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys quips at the start of a new ‘MasterCourse filled for Funny Or Die. “That song, in particular, was trying to get me a new pool.” “It means a lot to be a drummer," says…