As the Department of Justice begins its termination of 19 decades-old ‘legacy’ antitrust judgements, Chris Castle writes about questions being raised as to what the future holds for ASCAP and BMI, as the Music Modernization Act continues to move forward. ________________________________ Guest post by Chris Castle, Esq. of Music Tech…
Category archives: Major Labels
Billboard, Hollywood Reporter CEO Exits Amid Investigation
The CEO of the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, John Amato has stepped down. His departure comes amid both an investigation into his conduct and a reorganization at the media group, which also includes the Spin brand, after a merger with Valence Media earlier this year. Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk,…
Spotify Blog Post Promotes DIY vs Label Release
The Spotify For Artists blog has published a decidedly anti-record label, pro-d.i.y. article that is certain to anger the streamer’s record label partners. In it, Greg Puciato of the band Dillinger Escape Plan, extols the virtues of self-release after several negative experiences with record labels. _____________________________ The Black Queen Photo…
Artista Records Returns
Legendary label imprint Arista Records has restarted and will be headed by veteran label exec David Massey. Sony has announced that Arista will launch as a “frontline creative center,” alongside Epic, RCA and Columbia. Massey will serve as president and CEO of Arista and will report to Sony Music CEO…
YouTube: Is It The Lyor Show?
In this op-ed, Chris Castle examines Lyor Cohen’s relationship with YouTube/Google, and how he has worked to reconcile his role in their exploitative business model while claiming that he’s working to help artists, as well as whether there’s any merit to his claim. _____________________________ Op-ed by Chris Castle of Music…
Jaden Smith, Zayn Malik Use Instagram As Exclusive New Music Release Platform
By extending the length of videos from 1 minute to ten, and for some users to an hour, and the launch of its ITV video hub, Instagram hoped to unleash the kind of creativity that attracts and retains users. Jaden Smith just used it to exclusively release a new EP….
Top 10 Selling Vinyl In First Half Of 2018: Jack White, Kendrick Lamar and A Few Surprises
Jack White outsold Kendrick Lamar to grab the top spot in the best selling vinyl albums so far this year, according to Nielsen’s 2018 Mid-Year report. White’s "Boarding House Reach" sold 37,000 copies. Here is the top 10: 2018 Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Vinyl Albums 1. Jack White, Boarding House…
Drake Is First To Stream 1 Billion Times In Debut Week
Drake continues to break streaming music records with his fifth album ‘"Scorpion". Tracks from the new release streamed 1 billion streams globally in its first week, Republic Records has confirmed. In the US, the story was much the same. In it’s first week, Scorpion’s US streams easily beat Post Malone’s…
Alleged AFM Mismanagement Costs Musicians Millions In Unclaimed Funds [Find Out If You’re Owed]
The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) is effectively preventing as much as $25 million in royalties due musicians and background singers from being distributed allege Kobalt, Wixen, Sony and a growing group of organizations tasked with collecting royalties. The Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund was sitting on $25 million in…
Grammy 2019 Deadlines and Dates: Submissions Now Open
Submissions for the 2019 61st Annual Grammy Awards are now open. To help navigate the process, we’ve created this quick guide and list of deadlines, dates and links new rules and more information. THE PROCESS RULE CHANGES The Recording Academy is increasing the number of nominees in the big “General…