In March, as the coronavirus (COVID-19) started to spread through Europe and North America, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek instructed his employees to work remotely. Now, the leading music streaming platform has revealed that its team members will be able to co…
Author archives: Dylan Smith
Podcasts Are Absolutely Exploding — But Just 17% of Episodes Contain Music
Although podcasts are becoming exponentially more popular with each passing year, a recent study found that just 17 percent of podcast episodes contain at least 10 seconds of music. Podcasting is clearly a high-growth segment, though there hasn’t…
Judge Reverses Katy Perry $2.8 Million Copyright Infringement Decision
Last year, a California jury found Katy Perry guilty of copyright infringement and ordered her to pay $2.8 million to Flame, a Christian rapper. Now, after a long, expensive courtroom battle, Perry and her legal team have successfully overturned the ru…
Recording Academy Pledges $2 Million to Coronavirus Relief; Additional Donations Expected
The Recording Academy and its charitable organization, MusiCares, have donated $2 million to assist members of the music industry who are suffering financially from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Both the Recording Academy and MusiCares pledged $…
DJ’s Remix of Cardi B Saying ‘Coronavirus’ Is Quickly Charting
For the first time in recent memory, a relatively lighthearted coronavirus (COVID-19) headline is making waves, as DJ iMarkkeyz’s remix of Cardi B saying “coronavirus” has become immensely popular on music-streaming services and social media. On March …
SAG-AFTRA Issues Urgent Warning Against Coronavirus Scams
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) is warning its members of widespread fundraising scams, which are being perpetrated by third parties who claim to be assisting those in the union. According to an “…
Apple Stores In Lockdown; Apple Employee Tests Positive In Culver City Campus
Apple has closed its brick-and-mortar stores, and one of the company’s Culver City, California, employees has tested positive for COVID-19. Excepting the 42 Apple stores located in China, 464 Apple locations will be out of commission “until further not…
Media Streaming Poised to Spike 60 Percent Amidst Coronavirus Pandemic
With a significant portion of the United States and the world remaining indoors due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, media streaming—including television, movies, music, and more—is expected to increase by approximately 60 percent, according to …
Musicians Are Suddenly Out of Work — Musicians Union President Urges Immediate Government Relief
Ray Hair, the international president of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM), is calling on the U.S. government to provide relief funds to gig-economy artists. In a statement, President Ray Hair acknowledged that …
iHeartRadio Music Awards Cancelled Over Coronavirus Concerns
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in the indefinite postponement of yet another much-anticipated music-industry event: the iHeartRadio Music Awards. iHeartRadio took to Twitter this morning to announce the cancellation. The company’s mes…