[UPDATED] Spotify and Universal Music Group have completed a new licensing deal. The music streamer, which is under month to month agreements, must still get Sony, Warner Music and indie licensor Merlin on board before it can IPO. ____________________ Spotify and Universal Music have finalized a new multi-year licencing deal…
Category archives: Major Labels
Full Text Of The Spotify, Universal Licensing Announcement
Spotify and Universal Music Group have finalized a new licensing deal that includes for two week album windowing for select releases. Full text of the official announcement: ____________________________ Read our analysis here. Spotify and Universal Music Group announce global, multi-year license agreement April 4, 2017 Spotify, the leading global music…
Mitch Glazer To Helm RIAA When Cary Sherman Retires Next Year
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has announced that Mitch Glazier will helm the major label trade association after current Chairman and CEO Cary Sherman retires in January 2019. Glazier, currently SVP at the RIAA, has been named President of the organization in the interim. Before joining the RIAA,…
2016 Was A Year Of Progress For Music, says RIAA’s Cary Sherman
Cary Sherman, RIAA Chairman and CEO, analyzes their new report showing how much the music business grew and advanced in 2016. But is also highlights how far it has to go; with streaming paying too little to artists and a music business operating at half the size it once was….
Are UMG, Labels Encouraging Spotify’s 50 Million Free Users To Become Pirates? [UPDATED]
[UPDATED] With today’s news of a Spotify, Universal Music Group deal that includes two week windows that make some album releases available only to paid subscribers, this article which we published yesterday is all the more poignant. In it, Ross Pruden, points out that windowing and other exclusives encourage Spotify’s…
Warner Music Group Sells Music Distributor Zebralution To Management, Indie Label Investors
As part of a divestment package negotiated way back in 2012 with Impala and Merlin, Warner Music Central Europe has sold digital distributor Zebralution back to its founders and a small group of indie music industry executives. _________________________________ Warner Music Central Europe has sold Zebralution GmbH to a consortium of…
ACM Awards Winners 2017 – The Full List: Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett and More
Last night the Academy of Country Music Awards Winners aired its 52 nds edition last night on CBS. Jason Aldean was named Entertainer of the Year. This is the second consecutive win for Aldean in this category. ____________________ Miranda Lambert won Female Vocalist of the Year for the eighth consecutive…
Streaming Now Generates More Revenue For Music Industry Than Downloads, Physical Combined
Double digit growth in streaming in 2016 meant that Spotify, Apple Music and their competitors now account for 51.4% of all U.S. music revenue. Digital downloads were 24.1% in 2016 and physical was 21.8% of total revenue. This marks the first time since 1998 that the industry has posted back-to-back…
WMG Launches Fan-Driven, Vinyl-Only Label Run Out Groove
Warner Music Group has launched Run Out Groove, a fan-driven, vinyl-only record label. Initial offerings include Echo & The Bunnymen, Golden Smog, MC5, Secret Machines and Solomon Burke. _______________________________ Each month, WMG’s new vinyl only label Run Out Groove has fans vote on the label’s next high-quality vinyl pressing, chosen…
My Song Stories: Brian Popowitz of Black Box [INTERVIEW]
Music shapes our identities and changes our lives. It brings back our memories and stirs up our emotions. My Song Stories asks music professionals and indie artists questions about the songs in their libraries. Today, Brian Popowitz, the General Manager of Black Box, a music marketing agency, shares the artists…