Americans Listen to 151 Minutes of Music Each Day

So, just how much music do you really listen to?  And, how do you spend your music listening time? In Audio Monitor US 2018, a joint study on music habits in the US, Music Biz and AudienceNet have found most Americans still listen to more music on the …

The 100 Best Selling Albums of All Time (Updated for 2018)

What are the best-selling albums of all time?  According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975  is now the top-selling album in history, with 38 million copies sold in the US alone.  He…

Spotify Will Have More U.S. Users Than Pandora by 2022, Study Projects

According to industry analyst firm eMarketer, Spotify is poised to surpass Pandora in the number of US-based active users by 2022. We’ve closely tracking the race between Spotify and Apple Music, specifically over US-based paying subscribers.  Bu…

A Billionaire Investor Is Pressuring Nielsen Entertainment to Sell Itself

Billionaire Paul Singer is apparently placing pressure on Nielsen Holdings to puts itself on the market. Shares of Nielsen Holdings rose 10% after Elliot Management, the hedge fund managed by Singer, disclosed an 8.4% stake in the company.  Anonymous s…

Streaming Kills Piracy, Yet Piracy Boosts Concert Sales. Any Questions?

YouGov says people now pirate less in the UK thanks to streaming music services.  MUSO disputes that fact.  Yet, a separate study reveals piracy may lead to higher concert and music festival sales. According to a new report, streaming music platforms h…

Spotify Closes In on Pandora While SoundCloud Bottoms Out

Spotify has overtaken Pandora and Apple Music as the most listened-to streaming music app in the US, at least on Android.  And, SoundCloud has yet to find a way to engage its users. Last week, Spotify released its Q2 2018 financial results.  And, it wa…

Streaming Music Isn’t Killing Local Music In France — It’s Growing It

The popularity of music streaming is soaring in France this year.  And so are local artists. In the first half of 2018, music streaming services in the country grew 39% from the same period last year.   Also, streaming services now make up 56% of the t…

Metallica Changes Its Setlist In Every City Based on Spotify’s Local Listening Data

Spotify’s recent earnings call revealed an interesting factoid about the heavy metal band, Metallica. According to CEO Daniel Ek, Metallica creates its live performance setlists after consulting Spotify’s data.  Whatever fans in a local are…

So, Why is Spotify Losing the Streaming Wars in the US?

Family plans, student discounts, and even Hulu bundles.  No wonder Spotify has fallen to second place in the US. Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal published a very surprising report. According to the newspaper’s research, Apple Music would ove…

Ed Sheeran Beats Out Bruno Mars to Top Pollstar’s Mid-Year 2018 Concert Charts

Here’s a conundrum – Ed Sheeran offers ticket prices much cheaper than Bruno Mars, and ends up breaking sales records. Pollstar has released its 2018 Mid-Year report on the live concert industry.  And the industry has never looked so good. Looking at t…