Universal Music Vault Fire Story Could Alter Company’s Valuation

Recently a new story from the New York Times revealed that a major fire in one of Universal Studios vaults had caused the company to lose more than 100,000 of its master tapes, and as a large share of the company may be headed for the auction block, questions are…

Veteran UMG Exec Jeremy Erlich Joins Spotify As Head Of Music Strategy

Veteran UMG exec Jeremy Erlich has joined Spotify as Head of Music Strategy. His most recent post was as Interscope CFO and EVP Business Development. View this post on Instagram I’m very happy to announce that I’m joining Spotify as the Head of Music Strategy. I’ll be responsible for the…

Music Superstars Are Getting Streamed Less

Even as streaming continues to grow in popularity, it seems those top tear artists who were bringing home a disproportionate amount of revenue have seen their play counts slip – something which can only be good news for struggling mid-tier artists. __________________________________ Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0…

Music Credits Database Jaxsta Launches Public Beta

Music credits database Jaxta announced its launch in open beta. Founded in 2015 by Jacqui Louez Schoorl and Louis Schoorl, Jaxsta is a source of official credit information for artists, producers and other members of the music community, according to a statement. Jaxta’s database of official music credit information contains…

Universal Music Archives Fire Appears Worse Than Reported

It is slowly becoming clearer just how devastating a backlot fire at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2008 was to recorded music, and artists and artist managers are openly voicing their fears. According to a report in the New York Times Magazine, part of the lot damaged by the fire housed…

TikTok Passes 120M Montlhy Users In India As Label Talks, Streaming Plans Continue

TikTok now has 200 million registered users, with 120 million using the short video app every month. The milestone comes as the company is in talks with major labels and publishers to launch a music streaming service. ByteDance, the Chinese conglomerate that owns TikTok, could launch its Spotify competitor as…

Led Zeppelin Back In Court Over ‘Stairway To Heaven’

The long argument that Led Zeppelin took a chord progress from Randy California and his band Spirit to create the legendary song “Stairway To Heaven” has not ended, with a federal appeals court again taking up the issue. The court is now considering whether juries should hear sound recordings that…

BMG Production Music Rebrands: ‘Stock music doesn’t suck!’

BMG Production Music, which services film, broadcast, games and advertising has rebranded and launched a ‘Hidden Hit Makers’ initiative to showcase "the greatest tracks you’ve never heard of." The Hidden Hit Makers concept showcases both BMGPM’s creative process and its behind the scenes clients. "Stock Music Doesn’t Suck" Since its…

UMG, AI Firm Super Hi-Fi Partner To ‘Explore The Space Between The Songs"

Universal Music Group has partnered with Super Hi-Fi, an artificial intelligence programming company that delivers song transition, voice-over and artist interview insertion solutions for music service providers. "Today the space between songs is a barren wasteland of dead air and jarring, abrupt transitions. Each time a song changes on services…

Indie Stores Are Being ‘Strangled’ By Major Label Distribution: ‘Things are a complete mess.’

Independent music stores are demanding action from all three major labels over repeated missing and incorrect shipments handled by their primary fulfillment partner Direct Shot Distributing. "We need help right now on this issue or you will begin to see stores fold simply because their supply chain strangled them," says…