Record execs are just like the rest of us, right? No really. Not even close. In a “recognition of British music’s significance to the UK," Lucian Grainge, the chairman and CEO of UMG, was recently knighted by Prince William. (Click for the full photo.) “It is with enormous pride that…
Category archives: Major Labels
Tiny Caribbean Nation Threatens To Allow The Biggest Wave Of Piracy Since Napster and Pirate Bay
For music, video and intellectual property pirates to thrive, they need a safe haven. Fortunately for musicians, labels and other content creators, no nation wants to take on that role and risk being an outcast from the global economy. That could change if a tiny Caribbean nation follows through on…
Sony’s Obermann Moves To WMG As Chief Digital Officer, EVP Biz Dev
Warner Music Group has hired Sony’s Ole Obermann to oversee the company’s global business development, with a focus on new digital revenue opportunities and streaming. Obermann joins WMG after a decade with Sony Music Entertainment, most recently as EVP, Global Digital Partner Development and Sales. As a member of WMG’s…
Checkmate: Frank Ocean Goes Independent
After ditching Def Jam and successfully releasing his latest album Blonde independently it seems rapper Frank Ocean has chosen to fully strike out on his own. Here we look at what implications this decision has for today’s industry as a whole. ___________________________ Guest post by Erin M. Jacobson from Forbes…
The Weeknd Breaks Spotify Single Day Record With More Than 33 Million Streams Every 24 Hours
[UPDATED] Spotify has shared that as of November 26th, The Weeknd is the artist with the most streams on Spotify in a single day. The artist’s top 5 tracks have a cumulative 1.6 billion plays on the music streamer. While thus far, the Spotify PR team failed to attach a…
Record Labels Shift From Promoters To Storytellers As Power Fades
In this piece, David Emery remarks on record labels’ directional shift towards promoting and selling artists "stories" as their power and influence in the music industry begins to fade. ____________________________ Guest post by David Emery, VP Global Marketing Strategy for Kobalt Label Services I was talking recently with someone I…
Busting The Myth That Artists Don’t Need Record Labels And Producers
While there has been a significant amount of hype over the past few years regarding self-releasing tracks and producing and marketing one’s music independently, the truth is that there remains a great deal that record labels can still do for artists that can’t do as well on their own. ________________________…
Trade Group Files Suit Against Azoff’s Global Music Rights On Behalf Of 10,000 Radio Stations
[UPDATED] When Irving Azoff launched Global Music Rights, he promised to battle what many see as too low payments from Pandora, YouTube and other free music streamers, and an impressive group of songwriter’s signed on. But a group representing 10,000 U.S. radio stations, say Azoff’s tactics are “anti-competitive." _____________________ By…
Stream Metallica’s New Album ‘Hardwired…To Self-Destruct’ Free On YouTube
After years of being a very vocal critics of free music, first on Napster and more recently on Spotify, Metallica has now reversed course and fully embraced the practice. On Friday, the release day for their new album "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" the band made every song and an accompanying video…
How Many Counterfeit CDs Is Amazon Selling?
While it’s difficult to get an exact number on such things, it seems as though Amazon has been doing a tidy trade in counterfeit CDs of late, with third party merchants now ripping albums off platforms like YouTube and reselling them in a physical format. __________________________ Guest post from Chris…