With Chinese internet giant Tencent in serious talks to acquire a 10-20% stake in Univeral Music Group, UMG CEO and Chairman Lucian Grainge reached out to his staff with details. Here is the full text of his letter: ____________________________________________ MORE: Tencent In Talks To Acquire Up To 20% Of UMG…
Category archives: Major Labels
Country Radio’s Gender Gap Continues: Men Top Billboard Chart 9X More Than Women
For three weeks in December of last year, not a single song on the country chart was sung by a women. A Billboard study showed a rapid decline from four songs by women in the Top 20 in December 2015, three in December 2017 and none in December 2018. Where…
Island Records, Urban Development Partner To Support Early Stage Artists
Island Records and Urban Development have announced a partnership that will give early stages musicians access to development funding, mentoring and industry expertise. The partnership is being headed up by the non-profit Urban Development’s founder and director Pamela McCormick and Island Records UK’s Urban Division president Alex Boateng. Speaking about…
Apple Music Relaunches Flagship Alt Playlist As ALT CTRL
Apple Music has relaunched its flagship alternative playlist as ALT CTRL. Formerly known as The A-List, the refreshed global playlist spotlights new music from across the alternative genre, hand-picked by Apple Music curators. The playlist art for ALT CTRL will feature a different artist each week, timed to new releases…
Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ Breaks Record For Most Weeks At #1 On Streaming Chart
Move over Post Malone, Miley Cyrus, The Chainsmokers and Drake, Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, has broken yet another record, this time for the most weeks atop the Streaming Songs charts. The song nabbed a 17th week at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs tally…
Katy Perry, Capitol Records Must Pay $2.78M In ‘Dark Horse’ Song Damages
A jury found that Katy Perry, her collaborators and Capitol Records must pay $2.78 million in damages after it was determined that her 2013 hit “Dark Horse” copied a Christian rap song. Perry herself was hit for just over $550,000, with Capitol Records responsible for the vast majority of the…
Do Bands Still Need To Be Signed To ‘Make It’?
Time was that getting a record deal was the number one priority for any unsigned band with any ambition, as the backing of a label was necessary for artists to fund their marketing and play bigger, better shows. Times have changed however, and while a many successful artists continue to…
Jury Rules That Katy Perry’s ‘Dark Horse’ Copied Christian Rap Song ‘Joyful Noise’
A jury found Katy Perry liable for copying the underlying beat of Marcus Gray’s 2008 Christian rap song “Joyful Noise” for her hit single “Dark Horse” in a unanimous decision handed down this week in Los Angeles federal court. Also found liable were Perry’s “Dark Horse” collaborators Lukasz Gottwald (Dr….
Spotify Has New Deals With 2 Majors
UPDATED: Spotify has completed deals with two of its major-label partners in what were expected to be contentious licensing renegotiations. EK did not elaborate as to which of the two – Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group Sony Music Entertainment and perhaps indie licensing giant Merin – had signed new…
The Curious Timing Of Corporate Bio Book ‘Spotify Untold’
Currently only available in Swedish, Spotify Untold recounts the "hero’s journey" of Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. Chris Castle explores the curious timing of the book’s release and its correlated US book tour. __________________________ Guest post by Chris Castle of Music Tech Policy You may have seen the book reviews of…