Category archives: Major Labels

Day The Music Died In Canada: HMV Bankrupt, Closing All 102 Stores

January 27th is being called "the day the music died" by many Canadians. That’s the day that an Ontario judge approved bankruptcy for Canada’s largest music retailer HMV. __________________________ On Friday January 27th, an Ontario Canada Superior Court of Judge approved placing HMV Canada into receivership. The application was filed…

Music Industry Has Upper Hand As Spotify Faces Soaring Interest Rates, Stock Discounts

Last year when Spotify took on $1 billion in debt, we reported that it did so under terms that forced rate increases if it failed to IPO. Now, those terms could force Spotify to IPO quickly, which leaves the music industry in a strong negotiating position. ____________________________________ Spotify raised $1…

Matador Records Founder Chis Lombardi In Founding An Indie Label, ‘Signing Music You Love’

In this piece Kenny Gates of [PIAS] speaks with Matador Records founder Chris Lombardi, who originally began the label as a hobby, about the label’s origins, and where he things the modern music industry is headed. ______________________ Guest Post by The Independent Echo on [PIAS] You can’t always derive much…

Sony To Re-Launch Monument Records with Jason Owen, Shane McAnally At Helm

Sony Music announced plans to re-launch their venerable label Monument Records, with veteran label execs Jason Owen and Shane McAnally serving as co-presidents. Rounding out Monument Records’ executive staff is Katie McCartney, who will serve as SVP Marketing & Label Operations, reporting directly to McAnally and Owen. Previously with Lyric…

Billboard Finally Adds Streaming To All Genre Charts

In an overdue move, Billboard is finally using consumption methodology – sales + streams – to compute its many genre charts. The trade’s iconic Top 200 has used the combined methodology for some time. _________________________________ Revamped Billboard genre charts will now follow the Billboard 200 formula: 10 digital track sales…

It’s A Streaming World With Vinyl Only Living In, But It’s Living Much Better These Days [Glenn Peoples]

[UPDATED] Streaming and vinyl are two growth areas helping to return the music industry to profitability. But getting your vinyl pressed hasn’t been easy. “You used to not have to worry about manufacturing,” Matthew Johnson, co-founder of Fat Possum Records told Billboard. _________________________________ Image credit: Will Folsom, Creative Commons Attribution…

MusicFirst Coalition Pens Open Letter to Congress

Music industry advocacy group MusicFirst has sent an open letter to Congress setting out their legislative priorities. Members of the coalition include the Recording Academy, the RIAA and the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM). Broadcast radio, copyright law and statutory rates are all covered in an open letter to…

INgrooves’ Bryan Mead Named SVP Artist and Label Relations At PledgeMusic

Bryan Mead has been named SVP Artist and Label Relations at PledgeMusic. He will lead the New York headquartered company’s west coast team. ________________________________ Previously, Mead served as INgrooves Music Group’s Senior Vice President, Label Services and Marketing and was a founding member of Universal Music Group’s Fontana Distribution executive…

Gregg Nadel To Head Elektra Records

Veteran label executive Gregg Nadel has been named as President of Atlantic Record Group’s Elektra Records. Nadel, who has been General Manager of Elektra for the past two years, is a twenty-year veteran of the Atlantic records team and most recently served as General Manager of Elektra, stepping in after…