Judge Voids Prince $31 Million Universal Music Deal

Yesterday a judge voided the $31 million deal to bring a vast catalog and vault of Prince material to Universal Music Group. The request was filed by UMG after the company learned that many of the tracks it had paid for were still under contract with Warner Music Group. ________________________________________…

Polaris Prize Short List 2017" Feist, Leonard Cohen, Weaves + 7 More

The 2017 Polaris Music Prize Short List was announced today. The 10 nominees were narrowed down from the Long List of 40 artists. The award goes to the best album by a Canadian artist, released between June 1, 2016 and May 31, 2017. The Polaris Prize Short List 2017 A…

Thought Pop Music Was The Most Listened To Genre? Guess Again

As a consumer of radio, it’s easy to assume that Pop is the most popular genre in the US, but a new report from BuzzAngle offers up some contrary data, revealing that Hip-Hop is in fact winner, with Pop coming up in second place. ___________________________ Guest post by Bobby Owsinski…

GET BACK: Paul McCartney Settes With Sony/ATV To Reclaim The Beatles Songs

Copyright reversion, or the return of master recordings and publishing to the creators when copyrights ‘run out’, is an issue that is finally reverberating throughout the music industry. In perhaps the most high profile music reversion to date, Paul McCartney and Sony/ATV reached a settlement over the ownership of many…

Spotify Sony Deal With Windowing Confirmed

[UPDATE] Hypebot confirmed late yesterday that Spotify has scored its second new major label deal. The world’s second largest music group has joined Universal Music Group and indie licensor Merlin in completing new multi-year agreements with the top music streamer. ___________________________________________ In addition to confirming that Sony has reached a…

Spotify Has A New Deal With Sony [Report]

Spotify has scored its second new major label deal. according to a new report. Sources tell Billboard that the second largest music group has joined Universal Music Group and indie licensor Merlin in completing new multi-year agreements with the top music streamer. No details of the reported new Sony Spotify…

Why Most Artists Don’t Get A Record Deal

While many musicians starting out may assume such things are inevitable, the reality is that most musicians don’t get offered a record deal, although this often the result of three all too common critical, and avoidable mistakes. ______________________________ In this latest from MusicThinkTank, Tom Hess outlines three common and devastating…

Jay-Z’s New Album "4.44" Still Not On Spotify [UPDATE]

[UPDATE 3] More than a week ago, Jay-Z’s new album "4.44" became available on Apple Music, Amazon and most other streaming platforms, after a week as a TIDAL and Sprint exclusive. As of Monday 7/17, q0 days later, there remains one notable exception, market leader Spotify. _____________________________________ LOver a week…

READY TO GET VERY ANGRY? Google Search Results Now Suggest "Best Torrent Sites"

In a move guaranteed to upset artists, labels, publishers and all rightsholders, Google is now suggesting which are the "best torrent sites" in a graphic carousel at the top of its search results page. Here’s a screenshot: ________________________________________ This Google-curated carousel displays after a search for "torrent sites or "best…

Why The Music Industry Needs Computer Coders

Here Samuel Potts unpacks how the music industry has expanded to include tech companies, meaning that it’s now part of the tech sector, as well as why it needs to remain so and some the obstacles this newly enlarged industry will likely face down the road. ___________________________ Guest post by…