This week readers went wild over Festify, Amazon launched a free ad supported music service, Live Nation Urban announced a series of events designed to empower female creatives, we got to peak inside Billy Eilish’s bedroom and so much more. Festify Uses Spotify To Create Your Dream Music Festival Amazon…
Author archives: Bruce Houghton
Amazon, YouTube Just Launched Free Music Services But Neither Is A ‘Spotify Killer’
Amazon and YouTube each just launched free music streamers. Like Spotify’s free tier, both offer free ad-supported music. But despite the media hype, their goals are very different than Spotify. Spotify’s free tier offers on demand access to 40 million tracks across almost every platform imaginable. Whereas YouTube and Amazon…
Spotify Passes 500 Million Installs, Far More Than Other Streamers
The Spotify app has passed 500 million installs on Android. In its last quarterly report, Spotify reported 207 million monthly active users, so the 500 million stat includes people who are no longer using the app and reflect how Google calculates downloads and installs. Pandora, Amazon Music, Deezer, YouTube Music,…
Universal Music Group Partners With Podcaster Wondery
Universal Music Group announced it is expanding its presence in the world of podcasting via a new partnership with indie podcast publisher Wondery. Under the terms of the deal, podcasts produced by Wondery will have access to UMG’s catalogue and its roster of artists. The podcasts will be available globally…
BBC Music Launches In US
BBC Music has launched in the US, bringing its in-depth music journalism to a stateside audience. US produced content will be featured alongside the BBC’s deep catalog and extensive coverage of global festivals, music news and more. It will also feature access to interviews and live performances, including BBC Radio…
FRI. BRIEF: Amazon, YouTube Launch Free Music Streamers • Youth Abandon Radio • TikTok India Ban • More
FRIDAY 4.19.19
Music Business News From Around The Web
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Amazon Launches Free Ad Supported Music Service
Amazon Music customers in the U.S. who do not have a Prime membership or subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited can now listen to a free ad-supported selection of top playlists and stations for free with Amazon Music on compatible Alexa-enabled devices. It is expected that Amazon’s free music service will…
SoundExchange Payments Up 16.2% In Q1 2019
SoundExchange distributed $220.7 million in payments to more than 185,000 payees in the first quarter of 2019. This represents a 16.2% increase in distributions and 17.3% increase in payees over the first quarter of 2018. In 2018, SoundExchange distributed a record $953 million in sound recording performance royalties to artists…
YouTube Music Launches Free Ad-Supported Streaming On All Google Home Speakers
YouTube Music has launched a free ad-supported streaming service, just days after rumors surfaced that Amazon is about to launch similar free music service. YouTube’s free tier is currently available on Google Home speakers and other Google Assistant-powered speakers. YouTube Music’s free service and Amazon’s pending launch mark the first…
PledgeMusic Sale Appears To Be Another Empty Promise
Last week, we reported that some artists affected by the demise of PledgeMusic became hopeful they would be made whole after receiving emails touting "negotiations the board is having with a potential buyer." It now appears that is was just the latest in a series of empty promises from the…