In the music business, grizzled industry veterans and young up-and-coming indie stars agree with the Q4 adage that, when it comes to releasing music, it’s best to wait until the New Year is under way. But in an ever-changing industry, does this theory hold up? _________________________ Guest post from AWAL…
Category archives: Indie Labels
Record Labels Evolve To Stay Relevant In Streaming Era [Musonomics Report]
A new report based on almost 50 interviews with top-level executives at major and independent record labels, industry analyst and educator Larry Miller digs into how streaming and the digital age have made record labels an indispensable partner for the most ambitious new, developing and superstar artists. _____________________________ In “Same…
Black Music Execs Are Finally Rising Faster
Black music industry executives are rising faster in 2019, according to Billboard Magazine. “We need to fight for our seat at the table,” one major label senior VP told Billboard’s Gail Mitchell. Over the past eight months, some 20 seats were added to that top executive table. “If you think…
Indie Stores Report 2018 Vinyl Sales +10%, CDs -12.6%
The Coalition of Independent Music Stores polled it ts members on December 2018 sales compared to last year. Despite the rush to streaming, brick and mortar music stores appear to be holding with the help of healthy sales of vinyl, turntables and vinyl accessories. 2018 Indie store charts follow the…
New Hope For Indies As Streamers Move Beyond Mega-Hits
Tucked inside Buzz Angle’s new Music Industry Report 2018 were some stats that should bring a smile to that face of nearly every d.i.y. artist and indie label staffer. Slowly, but very perceptively, consumers are using streaming music services to listen to more than just the mega-hits. While far from…
Business Of Indie: AWAL’s Big Year • Indie Publishers Do Deals • V-Files • Hopeless Top 10 • More
Our regular Business Of Indie roundup includes a look at AWAL’s banner year, some impressive deals by indie music publishers, V-Files aim to be the new Motown, a Hopeless Records Top 10 and much more. Like Hypebot’s More News section, The Business Of Indie is nestled under its own Indie…
Blues Music Awards 2019 Nominees Announced
The Blues Music Awards have announced their 2019 nominees and set a date for the 40th annual gathering. Leading this year with the most nominations is keyboardist Anthony Geraci, who is in the running in six categories. The Boston musician is up for consideration for Song of the Year (“Angelina,…
Nielsen Music 2018 Report: On-Demand Streams Up 49%
Nielsen Music has released it 2018 Year-End Highlights. The survey shows a year of significant overall industry growth, with total album equivalent audio consumption up 23% over 2017, driven by a 49% increase in on-demand audio song streams compared to 2017. A similar analysis of 2018 stats by BuzzAngle Music…
RPM Music Distribution Shuts Down Without Warning
RPM music distribution has shut down without warning. The Concord, Ontario based company whose distribution and one-stop clients include independent labels Concord, eOne, Drag City and Rough Trade. A letter sent to clients by RPM president Paul Herzog reads: "To all accounts, I regret to inform you that RPM Distribution…
2018s Most Memorable LGBTQ Album Covers
While album sales certainly aren’t what they used to be, many artists still utilize these long form collections of music as a valuable format for telling personal stories, something which the album artwork is a huge part of. In this piece, David Deal looks at some of the cover highlights…