Earlier this week, and in a surprise ruling, the Council of State ordered the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) to return a €1 million ($1.1 million) fine to Viagogo. The London-based secondary ticketing platform had vehemently denied it remains leg…
Category archives: Feature Story
APRA AMCOS and PPCA Set Up “Easy” Public Performance Licensing System — Just Don’t Read the Fine Print on “Scalable” Fees
Doesn’t APRA AMCOS’ new ‘simple licensing system’ merely fix a problem the Australian music industry itself has created? So, why the celebration? Australian music rights organizations APRA AMCOS and PPCA have unveiled a new single public performance l…
Tidal Rolls Out Detailed Credits to Highlight Producers, Songwriters, Sound Engineers, and Musicians
TIDAL has launched a new interactive credit page to highlight various non-performing roles. Songwriters, producers, sound engineers, and session musicians can now be credited for their work. That’s another step beyond the typical ‘artist, song, album’…
The Ghosts of Fyre Festival Visit Belgium: VestiVille Organizers Face Criminal Charges After Last-Minute Festival Cancellation
Two organizers of the VestiVille festival are still in Belgian jail after the festival’s last-minute cancellation. Comparisons are already being drawn to the Fyre Festival debacle. Promoters of VestiVille advertised that huge names like Cardi B, ASAP R…
Weird Al Drops Michael Jackson Parody Songs After ‘Leaving Neverland’ Documentary
Weird Al Yankovic is in the middle of his 2019 North American tour — with a very noticeable setlist alteration. The “Strings Attached” tour features a full symphony orchestra and no Michael Jackson-inspired songs. Yankovic rose to fame through parody s…
Spotify Abruptly Shuts Down Its Direct Upload & Distribution Plans — Artists Have 30 Days to Transition
Spotify is slamming the brakes on its ambitious direct upload and distribution plans. Spotify’s ambitious expansion into artist distribution is now being abruptly shut down. According to an email sent to artists participating in its beta-stage launch, …
Scott Borchetta Responds to Taylor Swift’s Character Assassination: ‘It’s Time For Some Truth…’
It’s been an event-filled weekend for Big Machine Label Group founder Scott Borchetta. Leading into the weekend, Borchetta finalized the terms of a $300 million-plus sale of Big Machine Label Group to Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings (more on that deal …
iHeartMedia Withdraws Its Estimated $1.5 Billion Public Offering
iHeartMedia has withdrawn its IPO in favor of a NASDAQ listing. Instead of the expected IPO, iHeartMedia has received approval from NASDAQ to be listed and traded on the stock exchange. The Class A stock is expected to be listed on July 18th, and its s…
Surprise! Spotify Hands Over Your Personal Information to Major Labels When Using ‘Pre-Save’
Spotify currently doesn’t have the best reputation right now. This year alone, the company has gone to war with songwriters over much-needed royalty payments, lost multiple high-profile executives, destroyed its relationship with Warner/Chappell and Wa…
Nielsen: Streaming Reaches Over Half a Trillion Streams & Box Office Success Drives Music Sales
Nielsen has unveiled its 2019 Music Mid-Year report for the United States. Breaking down the study, music streaming services reached over 507 billion on-demand streams. This comes following singles and albums from Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Halsey,…