President Trump is now expected to sign the Music Modernization Act (MMA) into law this week, according to multiple industry sources. Kanye West will be on hand. After unanimous approvals in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, the …
Category archives: Feature Story
Canadian Music Organization Proposes Forced Copyright Levy on Every Canadian Internet User
Because the Screen Composers Guild of Canada has failed to update its business model, now, all Canadian users should pay the price just for using the internet. The Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) has an interesting – if not draconian – idea. At…
Live Nation Abruptly Cancels Iggy Azalea’s Bad Girls Tour
Did a string of poor ticket sales force Live Nation to cancel Iggy Azalea’s tour? Two months ago, Live Nation confirmed Nicki Minaj had postponed the North American leg of the NICKIHNDRXX tour. According to the concert promoter, the singer decided to “…
Warner Music Group Is Opening a Seed Stage Investment Fund Called ‘Boost’
Warner Music Group has launched a new seed investment fund to help support entrepreneurs and innovation in the music industry. The new multi-million dollar fund is called WMG Boost. The aim is to invest in early startups in the recorded music and musi…
Extremely Rare Pink Floyd Red Promo Vinyl Sells For Nearly $14,000
A rare 2xLP red color variant of the Japanese promo for Pink Floyd’s 1969 album Ummagumma sold in August 2018 for nearly $14,000. This white label, red vinyl variant promo is an ultra-rare item as the red color was only used for promo albums, while bla…
Daniel Ek and Martin Lorenzton Cash Out $100MM+ In Spotify Shares
Daniel Ek and Martin Lorenzton may have netted a large sum from their shares in Spotify. Last May, Sony cashed out 50% of its Spotify shares, earning a cool $760 million. Less than a week later, Warner Music Group revealed it had dumped 75% of its sha…
‘Dear White People’ Director to Helm a Biopic About Sugar Hill Records Founder Sylvia Robinson
According to a new report from Deadline, ‘Dear White People’ director Justin Simien will direct the untitled Sylvia Robinson biopic for Warner Bros. The movie has been in the works since 2014 when Paula Wagner acquired the rights to tell Robinson’s sto…
Here’s the Complete Vinyl Records Manufacturing Specification for 7″, 10″, and 12″ Discs
Last month, we reported that an industry workgroup had been assembled to reexamine a decades-old specification for vinyl records. The most recent specification was issued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1978. Since that poin…
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Eventbrite Over Embarrassing Ticketfly Hack
What’s the true cost of using Eventbrite and Ticketfly? Anxiety and a lot of anguish, claims a new lawsuit. On May 30th, a top-level hacker followed through on his threat against indie ticketing service Ticketfly. After sending an e-mail to the ticket…
Prosecutors Push for Billy McFarland to Receive 15-20 Years in Prison
Billy McFarland – the embattled Fyre Festival co-founder – may very well leave prison no earlier than 2033. Prior to the Fyre Festival debacle last year, Billy McFarland was a very shady character. He had founded a credit called company called Magnises…