A New Strategy For Releasing Music

As the music industry continues to change, so too must the strategy for releasing music. With the single once again more important than the album, artists and labels both big and small are having to reevaluate when to make their material available, and in what capacity. ______________________ Guest post by…

Drake’s "More Life" Just Broke Record For Single Album Streams In U.S.

[UPDATED] Drake’s "More Life" just broke the record for the number of streams from a single album in one week in the U.S., according to Nielsen Soundscan. The previous record was set by Drake’s last album "Views", with 245 million streams. "More Life" has shattered that number with 385 million…

Growth Slows In Italy’s Recorded Music Market

While streaming and vinyl were both bright spots for the sector, growth in Italy’s music market appears to have stalled, growing by just 0.4% in 2016. Overall, the market was worth €149m in 2016, according to figures collected by accounting firm Deloitte for trade association Federation Industria Musicale Italiana, (FIMI)….

Teaser, Pseudo and Lyric Videos Need To Be Part of Your Content Strategy [Music Biz Weekly Podcast]

John Andosca from Hitmanmusic.net join Michael Brandvold and Jay Gilbert on this week’s Music Biz Weekly podcast to explore the importance of teaser, pseudo and lyric videos in your content strategy. John has worked with artists ranging from Drake to Ariana Grande to John Cougar Mellencamp. ____________________________________ Related articles David…

Music Publishing Update 3.24.17: The Drake Effect

By now you’ve probably heard–or at least heard about–the momentous latest release from hip-hop artist, Drake, More Life. Drake describes the work not as an album or mixtape, but "a body of work bridging the gap between major releases," a playlist of sorts. The work features 22 tracks of varying…

5 Things Record Labels Look For

While producing quality music is certainly important, and a big part of record labels taking notice of your music, getting a label deal requires more than that. Here we review the five essential things labels consider before offering an artists a deal. _______________________ In this post on MusicThinkTank, Joe Pacheco…

Drake’s "More Life" Is The New Normal In Streaming

Like Ed Sheeran days before, Drake has shattered multiple streaming records with the release of his 20 track "playlist" More Life. But with this release, Drake is also rewriting longstanding rules of how new music is released, marketed and consumed, says MIDiA’s Zach Fuller. ____________________________ A guest post by MIDiA’s…

7 Reasons Why Spotify Finally Has Real Leverage Negotiating With The Major Label Groups

Spotify is reportedly getting close to finally signing new deals with the major labels; and if those same sources are correct, it will be at a lower per stream royalty rate. How did Spotify go from pariah to partner deserving of a sweetheart deal? ______________________________ Spotify is rumored to be…

WMG Launches ‘Streaming First’ Record Label

Warner Music Group has launched a new imprint, Artists To Watch Records, that will identify singles with the potential to become global streaming hits; and the record company already has its first success story. __________________________________ Overseen by Kieron Donoghue, Warner Music VP, Global Playlists Strategy & Curation, the new ‘streaming…

It’s All About ‘Location’ For Pandora Trendsetter Khalid

Here we explore the newfound success of R&B/soul singer Khalid, as well as the persistence of the theme of geographical location in his music, with much of the music on his debut album American Teen centering around the border city of El Paso Texas. ______________________________ Guest post by Emily Blake…