Two Songwriters Appeal Dismissed Taylor Swift ‘Shake It Off’ Lawsuit

Sean Hall and Nathan Butler unwillingly fulfill Taylor Swift’s prophesy.  “Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate…” Last September, Sean Hall and Nathan Butler launched a scathing accusation against Taylor Swift. Both songwriters claimed Taylo…

The RIAA’s Mid-Year Revenue Report: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has released its mid-year 2018 report.  Here’s how the US-based recorded music industry is performing. The report was officially published today, and contains lots of substantial gains.  Let&#8…

Artists Can Now Upload Their Music Directly on Spotify

Goodbye, CD Baby, Tunecore, and Distrokid.  Well, at least for uploads on Spotify, at least. Spotify has just unveiled a new feature. Still in beta, musicians can now upload their music directly onto the streaming music service. According to a post on …

The New Music Modernization Act Has a Major Fix: Older Recordings Will Belong to the Public, Orphan Recordings Will Be Heard Again

The Senate passed a new version of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) as an amendment to another bill this week, a marked improvement over the version passed by the House of Representatives earlier in the year. The following comes from Mitch Stoltz, sen…

Ticketmaster Is Working Hand-In-Hand With Scalpers, Undercover Investigation Reveals

A new undercover investigation from CBC News and the Toronto Star has revealed what customers have long-suspected: Ticketmaster is working hand-in-hand with scalpers. Back in July, the CBC sent reporters undercover to Ticket Summit 2018 in Las Vegas, w…

YouTube Rolls Out Monthly Memberships to Smaller Content Creators

YouTube makes another play to keep creators’ hard-earned Patreon and Twitch cash. Several months ago, YouTube rolled out a new feature for content creators in beta. In an attempt to cash in on creators’ sponsorships on Patreon and Twitch, the video pla…

Spotify Faces Legal Action Over Discriminatory Workplace Practices

If proven true, what kind of workplace culture has Spotify encouraged? A former sales executive, Hong Perez, has filed a lawsuit against Spotify and Brian Berner, its US Head of Sales.  The company allegedly fostered a discriminatory and hostile work e…

Exclusive: A Last-Minute Sirius XM Deal Assured the Music Modernization Act’s Approval

Some last-minute horse trading helped to secure the Music Modernization Act’s approval in the Senate, according details shared exclusively by Sirius XM. Sirius XM Satellite Radio didn’t get everything it wanted in the Music Modernization Ac…

Can Listening to Music on the Job Actually Boost Your Productivity?

According to Accountemps, music listening at work increases productivity.  Yet, not everyone agrees. According to a new study published by Music Biz and AudienceNet, on average, Americans listen to 151 minutes of music each day. Now, a separate study h…

U.S. Senate Passes the Music Modernization Act In a Unanimous ‘Hotline’ Vote

The Music Modernization Act has officially passed the U.S. Senate, thanks to a unanimous fast-track vote. The ‘hotline’ voting process is designed to fast-track the bill without a formal debate.  The trick worked, with ‘unanimous cons…