Someone forgot to tell Taylor Swift that music in general and albums, in particular, don’t sell anymore. By Friday’s release date, her first post-Big Machine release "Lover" will have sold over 1 million copies, according to new label Republic. “The anticipation of this album is extraordinary, with pre-sales quickly approaching…
Category archives: Major Labels
Apple Music Launches Shazam Chart Of Hot Songs Chart From New Artists
Apple Music has added the "Shazam Discovery Top 50" chart and playlist designed to "unearth up-and-coming songs from breaking artists." The music industry has become increasingly focused on early identification of emerging artists and their growing importance in driving revenue growth. Apple acquired Shazam in the Fall of last year….
This Week In Music Commentary
This week in music commentary, we heard opinions on just how much a college education is worth in the modern music industry, whether or not major labels’ major earnings will last, and what CD Baby founder Derek Silvers has to say to the good people of Cyber PR. What’s It…
That Time Keith Richards Discovered Muddy Waters Painting The Ceiling Of Chess Studios
Host to countless legendary artists, Chess Records has become an iconic fixture of reverence in the music industry, so it should come as no surprise that some of music’s biggest icons would cross paths in unexpected ways there, as in this peculiar interior decorating incident involving Muddy Waters and The…
Up To 25% Of CDs Sold On Aamzon, eBay Are Counterfeit, says RIAA Study
Amazon and eBay are facilitating the sales of thousands of counterfeit CDs each day, according to a new study by the RIAA. The rampant sale of counterfeit CD was first revealed in 2016 studies conducted by both the RIAA and A2IM. In 2016, The Association of Independent Music issued a…
Bobby Owsinski Looks At Apple Music For Artists
Although Apple Music has consistently taken home the gold for paying artists the most per stream, but was coming up short in other artist services. In an effort to close that gap, the platform is now launching its ‘Apple Music for Artists’ feature, giving bands valuable insights into their audience….
Major Labels Earn $16K Every Second From Streaming, But Will It Last?
Major labels are now pulling down over $16,000 per second in streaming which, while an impressive number, is somewhat tempered by the fact that the growth of streaming itself seems to be slowing down. ______________________________ Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0 Yes, you read the headline right. The…
Tencent Music Reports Revenue Growth As UMG Acquisition Talks Continue
With Tencent in open talks to acquire a 10-20% stake in Universal Music Group, its Tencent Music’s earnings report is receiving additional scrutiny. Late Monday, the Chinese streaming service posting record Q2 revenue of RMB5.90 billion ($859 million), an increase of 31.0% year-over-year. Net profit for the digital music platform…
SoundExchange To Power Global Podcast Music Licensing
SoundExchange and SourceAudio have partnered to license music for podcasts. Podcastmusic.com, a digital music marketplace for podcasters, will now have access to SoundExchange creators and offer licenses for label and publisher-owned music. The collaboration will enhance Podcastmusic.com’s current database of 700,000 production and music bed tracks by providing a global…
Apple Music For Artists vs. Spotify For Artists: A Side By Side Comparison
Late last week Apple Music For Artists exited beta and became available to any artist with music on the platform. Since this is Apple’s overdue answer to Spotify For Artists, we wondered how the two platforms compared. Veteran music marketer Jay Gilbert, the co-founder of Label Logic, has been using…