"Kobalt has been the poster child for the changing of the guard in the music business," writes MIDiA analyst Mark Mulligan. But it’s on a path to become much more as "next-generation label… plotting a course to becoming a next generation-major." __________________________________ By Mark Mulligan of MIDiA from his Music…
Category archives: Indie Labels
Symphonic Distribution Expands To China
Independent music distributor Symphonic has expanded its reach to China via partnershipd with Tencent, NetEase and soon, says the company Alibaba.The new deals were spearheaded by indie rights powerhouse MERLIN. Content can be placed on Chinese music serives NetEase Cloud Music, Xiami (Alibaba), QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo (Tencent Music…
Artists Are Increasingly Rejecting Record Deals
Some record executives are starting to sweat, as the music industry morphs into one where the climate is significantly more favorable towards a DIY way of doing business and many artists are eschewing traditional label deals in favor of doing things their own way. _______________________________ Guest post by Bobby Owsinski…
2019: The State Of Sampling
In this piece, the team at Tracklib took a deep dive into the state of sampling in 2019, breaking down who’s sampling what, the rationale behind it, what the preferred software (and hardware) is, plus some of the past year’s most prominent sampling moments. __________________________________ Guest post by Oskar of…
Orchard Co-Founder Scott Cohen Joins WMG As Chief Innovation Officer
[UPDATED] Scott Cohen, co-founder of The Orchard, has joined Warner Music Group in the newly created position of Chief Innovation Officer, Recorded Music. Cohen exited the Sony owned indie distributor earlier this year. The move has been rumored for weeks. Cohen is charged with helping to chart a long-term course…
Kobalt Is Raising Another $100 Million Funding Round
Music services and music publishing company Kobalt is raising a new round of funding that could top $100 million. The new funding comes just a year after Kobalt closed a round that valued the company at $800 million. Kobalt founder and CEO Willard Ahdritz has confirmed the round, without divulging…
Childish Gambino Settles Legal Dispute With Glassnote
Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino filed a lawsuit against his former label Glassnote Records last year, alleging the indie label owed him more than $10,000 in streaming royalties. Now, Glover and Glassnote have settled the dispute. Gambino was on the label between 2011 to 2017, including the Grammy-winning “Awaken, My…
How To Pull Off A Great Looking Music Video On A Budget
Producing a music video for free simply isn’t going to happen, but creating a great looking, quality product while actually sticking to budget and not leaving your band destitute is significantly more achievable. Here we look at how. ____________________________ Guest post by Gideon Waxman of Soundfly’s Flypaper Making a great…
Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book’ Passes 1.5B Spotify Streams
Three years after the release of ‘Coloring Book,’ Chance the Rapper surpassed 1.5 billion streams on Spotify as of March 1st. ‘Coloring Book’ was released in May of 2016 and became the first streaming-only album to chart the Billboard 200 and win a Grammy, according to Chart Data. I just…
Blues Foundation Names 2019 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees
The Blues Foundation has today (March 1) announced the 2019 inductees to the Blues Hall of Fame. Among this year’s honorees are Pee Wee Crayton, Moe Asch, Booker T. & the MG, Aretha Franklin, Count Basie, Ida Cox, Muddy Waters, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Bessie Smith and Elmore James. The…