Neighboring Rights Is Broken. Can the Independent Alliance for Artist Rights Fix It?

Discussions about ‘neighboring rights’ are rarely uplifting ones in the music industry. A number of performance rights organizations have earned some nasty reputations, particularly in Europe.  But once royalties are being remunerated between countries…

SoundCloud’s Monetization Contract Has a Nasty Indemnification Clause — But Does It Matter?

Somebody read the fine print on SoundCloud’s new Premier monetization program. For many emerging artists, this probably won’t be a dealbreaker.  But there are a few land mines in SoundCloud’s user agreement for its just-launched monetization program. T…

Spotify Opens the Floodgates on Its Playlist Submission Feature. Beta Users Had a 1-in-7 Chance of Getting Added.

Spotify’s playlist submission platform is officially out of beta. Spotify is unleashing yet another direct-to-artist feature this morning, this time for playlists.  Several months ago, the company released the submission tool as a beta feature within S…

A Simple Invoicing System Can Save You from Getting Stiffed by a Club

How to sign, seal, and deliver an invoice — and then get paid. Play enough live shows, and you’ll get stiffed on at least one.  Or, confronted with any variety of funny business, unexpected disagreement, or lower-than-expected payment. Unfortunately, t…

SoundCloud Expands Its Monetization to ‘Hundreds of Thousands of Eligible Artists’

Now that Spotify is opening its platform to all music artists regardless of their label representation, SoundCloud is also stepping up its artist-friendliness. The company has announced some changes surrounding its ad monetization options.  SoundCloud …

T.I. Teams Up With Beat Fever to Launch Dime Trap Virtual Listening Party

Launching an album, garnering streams and engaging music fans is a feat in today’s day and age. Especially when you’re competing with dozens of other album launches, radio time and the coveted banners on streaming services. The following article comes …

Tips for Touring Musicians: 10 Simple Ways to Take Care of Your Body on the Road

Musicians are on the road almost constantly these days, which means they can’t always live healthily. But it’s not a 0-sum game. Here are a few pro-tips for taking care of your body. It’s easy when living the rock star lifestyle to put your health on t…

Steven Van Zandt: ‘Streaming Is a Disaster for Artists. A Disaster.’

Legendary musician, rock n’ roll curator, and actor Steven Van Zandt says the rise of streaming has been seriously detrimental to artists. The rise of streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, and Pandora has worsened…

Want to Sign Up for Spotify’s Free Distribution?

Spotify just announced a new beta feature that enables independent artists to upload their music directly to Spotify.  Here’s how the registration process works right now. The action is happening through the ‘Spotify for Artists’ serv…

CD Baby Responds to Spotify’s Free Direct Upload Announcement

CD Baby is easily one of the largest DIY digital distributors in the world.  So how do they feel about Spotify’s direct upload agenda? If you’re a digital distributor — especially a DIY digital distributor — you may have cause for concern r…