Now Submit Directly to Spotify’s Playlists

Spotify has opened the process of submitting music to 2018’s holy grail of music marketing – Official Spotify playlists. Ariel Hyatt and the team at CyberPR have put together a guide the new playlist submission tool and and ways to improve your chances of success. ____________________________ By Ariel Hyatt and…

Teen Social Media Cord Cutting – Should It Worry The Music Industry?

Adults have been anxious about the smartphone usage of youths for some time, and it appears teens themselves are jumping on the concern train, with more than half of teenagers feeling they spend too much time on their phones. This raises the question, however, will efforts to combat this tech…

Billboard #2 Sells Just 1K Downloads As Decline Accelerates

How quickly are download sales declining? It took just over 1000 track sales to grab the #2 spot on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart for the week ending August 16th. According to a breathless Billboard writer impressed by the 1000 track milestone: "(G)I-DLE is proving their hot debut…

BMG, COX Settle As Major Labels Lawsuit Begins

BMG has reached a settlement with Cox Communications in its 2015 lawsuit alleging the ISP contributed to copyright infringement. BMG called the sealed settlement, originally set by a jury at $33 million, "substantial." Cox is also fighting all 3 major labels in court. Earlier this month Sony, UMG and WMG…

DistroKid Adds ‘Mastered For iTunes’ Service

The "Mastered For iTunes" label is a badge of sonic approval that you see on most major label tracks and almost none from idie and D.I.Y. artists. A new add-on service from DistroKid makes it possible for any artist to get the "Mastered For iTunes" certification. Apple has a proprietary…

Why Every Indie Needs A Music Sales Ninja

As with any other industry, those in the music business earn money from transactions. In this piece we hear from Sara Dempsy, an expert and building and maintaining relationships with digital stores like Sony Music, The Orchard, and Interscope. _________________________________ Guest post by Sara Dempsy for Indie Ninja Relationships are…

What To Consider Before Hiring A Music Publicist (HELP!)

As an artist, having a music publicist working for you can be a huge asset, particularly given that most publicists now double as digital strategists, and help to shepherd and artists overall brand. That said, there are several important things to consider before committing to hiring a publicist. ____________________________ Guest…

Court Rejects ‘One Size Fits All’ Bit Torrent Ruling

Stephen Carlisle, Esq. wades into the ongoing saga of Bit Torrent litigation. In a decision with major implications. the Ninth Circuit Court recently rejected a "one size fits all"approach to Bit Torrent lawsuits, in which the sins of one case could be brought to bear on others. ______________________________ Guest post…

Musician’s Guide to Instagram’s IGTV

Instagram has a lot of news lately – they just hit 1 BILLION active users and they have just rolled out a brand new feature called IGTV that now allows you to upload videos longer than 1 minute. This post was a collaborative effort written by our badass interns Jared…

Music for Mourning: The Heartbreak of Losing Your Favorite Artist [Kyle Bylin]

Long-time Hypebot contributor Kyle Bylin reflects on the death of his favorite lead singer and lyric writer, Scott Hutchison of indie rock band Frightened Rabbit. He says, "Hutchison described the struggles of finding love and meaning in adulthood in a way I related to more than any other artist. He…