Merlin Paid Indie Labels $1 Billion In Last 18 Months

Global independent digital rights agency Merlin announced the findings of its 2019 Membership Report & Survey at A2IM Indie Week on Tuesday, The report revealed 63% year-on-year increase in member payments to $845 million. The total includes over $130 million in revenues generated from one time settlements and other non-royalty…

U.S. Patent Office Reveals Microsoft’s Next Gen AirPods Killer Dubbed the Surface Pen

Apple’s wireless earbuds, the AirPods, have proven a success for the Cupertino tech giant.  Now, Microsoft wants in. Providing an estimated amount of units sold, Ming-Chi Kuo, a trusted Apple analyst at TF International Studies, says the company sold a…

REWIND: The New Music Industry’s Week In Review

In this journey back through a busy seven days in the music business, we revisit why music’s superstars are suddenly getting streamed less, how Spotify is redesigning your music library, a look at how a recent fire in the Universal Music archives may have been much worse than previously thought,…

Music Superstars Are Getting Streamed Less

Even as streaming continues to grow in popularity, it seems those top tear artists who were bringing home a disproportionate amount of revenue have seen their play counts slip – something which can only be good news for struggling mid-tier artists. __________________________________ Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0…

Apple Music May Be Worth $15-$20 Billion Alone

Just how much is Apple Music worth exactly? According to one analyst, Apple’s music streaming platform may be more successful than the Cupertino company has let on. In a note published yesterday, Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani explored how the com…

Music Piracy Up 13% In The Us Last Year, Stream-Ripping To Blame.

While many thought that the rise of streaming had brought about an end to music piracy, a new report reveals this is far from the case. In fact, it appears the phenomenon known as stream-ripping has seen a significant spike in the past year. __________________________ Guest post by James Shotwell…

TikTok Passes 120M Montlhy Users In India As Label Talks, Streaming Plans Continue

TikTok now has 200 million registered users, with 120 million using the short video app every month. The milestone comes as the company is in talks with major labels and publishers to launch a music streaming service. ByteDance, the Chinese conglomerate that owns TikTok, could launch its Spotify competitor as…

DistroKid Links With Audible Magic To Verify Music Authenticity, Launches DistroLock

DistroKid has joined a growing list of music distributors and services using Audible Magic to fight unauthorized content by verifying the authenticity of both tracks and artists before it is distributed. CD Baby and The Orchard, both of whom have been tagged by Spotify and Apple Music as preferred partners…

Beatstars Has Paid Out $50 Million To Producers

BeatStars has paid out more than $50 million to the producers who license and sell their work on the marketplace, the startup announced today. The site boasts has more than 340,000 active sellers, and its tracks have been used on a number of major hits, including Lil Nas X "Old…