The RIAA has released its annual mid-year report and its shows a U.S. recorded music market in strong growth mode. Total revenue grew 18% to $5.4 billion in the first half of 2019. 4 Big Takeaways Streaming now accounts for 80% of recorded music industry revenues The number of paid…
Category archives: Major Labels
Record Store Finds Uncashed Kurt Cobain 27 Years Old Royalty Check
The staff at Seattle ‘s Easy Street Records recently stumbled across an unchased royalty check made out to Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain 27 years ago.The check was from Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) and made out to Kurt D. Cobain of Olympia, Washington. It was dated March 6, 1991, just months before…
Billboard Parent Valence To Acquire Nielsen, Soundscan [REPORT]
Valence Media, the parent company of Billboard and Hollywood Reporter is acquiring Nielsen’s music-related data, software and analytics business, according to multiple reports. Nielsen Soundscan provides the data that power’s Billboard’s iconic music charts. The deal is expected to close later this year at a price in the eight-figure range,…
$45 Tool CD Gives Indie Record Stores Unexpected Boost
A funny thing happened last week with the new Tool album" says Coalition Independent Music Stores (CIMS) executive director Michael Bunnell, "indie retail had an old-school moment." "Several stores had well-attended midnight sales on Thursday (it was my store’s first midnight sale in 10 years)," continues Bunnel. "When we returned…
Katy Perry ‘Dark Horse’ Verdict: End Of The World Or Hand In The Cookie Jar?
In the wake of a recent Federal Jury verdict which resulted in the songwriting team and label behind "Dark Horse" paying out millions of dollars, Stephen Carlisle takes an in-the-weeds look at just how similar the offending song and the Plaintiff’s track "Joyful Noise" really are. ______________________________ Guest post by…
Ariana Grande Files $10M Forever 21 Lawsuit For Misappropriating Her Likeness
Ariana Grande has hit clothing and fashion retailer Forever 21 with a $10 million lawsuit alleging that the company used her likeness in advertising without seeking Grande’s permission. According to Reuters, a complaint filed in Federal Court in accuses Forever 21 and Riley Rose, the daughter of the company’s founder,…
Blink-182 Exits BMG For Columbia Records: Is The Major Label Exodus Now A Revolving Door?
Is the much-touted exodus by established artists from major labels to indies and artist services firms about to become a revolving door? It’s too early to call it a trend, but former major label act Blink-182 has now exited BMG and inked a deal with Sony Music’s Columbia for their…
1 In 4 Albums Sold In US Last Week Were Taylor Swift’s Lover
Taylor Swift’s Lover sold 679,000 copies in the week ending Aug. 29th, according to Nielson Soundscan and Billboard. That is 27% of the total of all albums sold in the U.S. last week. Overall, 2.487 million total albums sold last week in the US across all formats of albums: CDs,…
Songwriters Could Actually Catch Break As DOJ Weighs In On “Stairway To Heaven” Case
Songwriters have been going through a rough time in the courtrooms of late, often losing out on cases more often as the result of song’s ‘feel’ than its actual melody. That could be changing however, with the Department of Justice weighing in (as it rarely does) on case between Led…
Taylor Swift’s Lover Passes 3 Million Equivalent Sales
Team Taylor made sure the superstar was everywhere last week and their efforts are paying off. Taylor Swift scored the top-selling album of 2019 less than 48 hours after release, but that was just the beginning. Tracks from Lover have been streamed almost 650 million times on Spotify as of…