As and independent artist, your time, energy, and money are all limited, meaning you can’t afford to play too many shows that don’t in some way help you build your career. Here we look at the sort of characteristics which a career-building show has, and how to recognize a good…
Category archives: Music Business
As on-demand streaming loses its novelty, music needs personality
[UPDATED] With the exception of the occasional flashy exclusive, its harder for the average streaming music users to tell the services apart. So, to combat user fatigue and spur growth, Slacker Radio has added both curation and personality; and CEO Duncan Orrell-Jones makes a strong case that most users want…
CHANGES @ Caroline • SoundCloud • UMG • East Coast Ent. • Stagelink • WME • Nimblestick
Marni Halpern has been appointed to the new post of SVP Promotion for Caroline – the Independent Services and distribution division of Capitol Music Group. She moves from RED Associated Labels. MORE: • Booking agency EastCoast Entertainment has named longtime agent Mark Letson a partner with the agency. Letson is…
Understanding Streaming Music Income
In this piece we look at the details of streaming music royalties, how they’re determined, and why the initial parameters which we once used even as recently as in the time of downloading, no longer apply in the streaming era. _______________________________ Guest Post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0 In…
Spotify Reportedly Prepping July Launch In Japan
After months of speculation, Spotify finally appears to be gearing up for a July launch in Japan. Apple Music and several local companies have already launched there, but found the country’s usually tech savvy consumers slow to adopt paid streaming. __________________________________________ According to ITU News, record label sources have indicated…
Sorry Not Sorry: Indie Musician Sues Bieber, Skrillex For Copyright Infringement Over A Sample They Didn’t Use
Indie artist Casey Dienel, who releases music under the name White Hinterland, recently filed a lawsuit against the Bieber/Skrillex dream team, claiming that the song "Sorry" uses a sample stolen from her 2014 release "Ring the Bell." The evidence, however, seems a bit shaky. ____________________________________________ Guest Post by Mike Masnick…
UPDATED: WMG Acquires Pioneer Playlister, Repackager X5 Music For A Reported $25 Million
UPDATED: Wringing new profits from old catalog is one of the real positives of digital music’s long tail, and studies have shown that streaming, in particular, can generate income from deep catalog. That’s the motivation behind today’s WMG acquisition of X5 Music. ___________________________________________ Warner Music Group has acquired pioneer music…
THU. BRIEFING: Chrysalis Records Goes Indie • WMG Acquires X5 • New Apple Music Tech Issues • More
Thursday 6.2.16 Music Business News From Around The Web Old school record execs bet there’s room for a smart indie label and a major label group buys a smart playlister. If there’s a pattern here… Updated continuously under our More News
Top YouTube Trends For 2016
As social marketing continues to become more visually focused, we’re looking at some of the top YouTube trends of 2016 so far, as things like live streaming and VR become increasingly popular among viewers. ______________________________ Guest Post from Fanbridge As we’ve mentioned before, social marketing has grown more visually focused…
When Rappers Are Affected By White Fragility [Talib Kweli Greene]
In this essay, Talib Kweli Greene takes on the complex issue of how ‘white fragility’ affects rappers, as he walks us through Twitter battles and unfounded accusations of racism from fellow hip-hop artists Remedy and Diabolic. ________________________ Guest post by Talib Kweli Greene Let’s deal with the facts. Hip-hop was…