Apple Music Set To Receive A Facelift

Although the service has certainly been picking up users, Apple Music has received some complaints about its less-than-stellar interface. It looks like this is about to change, however, with Apple set to give its streaming service a much needed facelift, in hopes of catching up with Spotify. ____________________________ Guest Post…

SFX Owned Beatport Ends Auction, Will Shut Down Streaming, News, Events Divisions This Friday

Bankruptcies are always messy and the SFX reorganization is already proving to be messier than most. After announcing and then extending an auction for one of its more desirable divisions, Beatport, today the struggling EDM conglomerate dramatically shifted gears. _____________________________________ SFX today suspended the auction for Beatport and announced that…

Has Record Store Day Peaked?

Record Store Day has been massive success over the past few years, with 2016 being no exception. There is some concern within the industry, however, that this particular commercial phenomenon may have peaked. __________________________________________ By Bobby Owsinski on Music 3.0 Since 2008, Record Store Day every April has been a…

A Post-Download Era: What Happens When Apple Kills The iTunes Store

Streaming is edging out downloading as the primary means through which listeners consume music, but many artists still depend on this legacy format for critical revenue, raising the question: What happens when Apple shutters the iTunes store? ______________________________ By Mark Mulligan of the Music Industry Blog When new formats race…

Live Nation Lists 150 Major Artists Offered In $20 Ticket Sale

Live Nation is launching its second annual $20 ticket sale to nearly 1,000 summer amphitheater shows by 150 artists. The concert giant released more details today, and says that while most of the sale is for lawn seats, full-priced seat sales also significantly increased last year during the promo. A…

Mastering Band Promo: A Step-By-Step Daily Routine

As in independent musician, it can be easy feel stuck when working against the forces of the industry. In order to combat this, it’s important to establish a daily routine that keeps you productive. _____________________________________ Guest Post by Sophie Chernin on Soundfly’s Flypaper One of the worst things about being…

Spotify’s Latest New Release Excuse Is Invalid [David Lowery]

Spotify and the NMPA have recently claimed that, for most new music being released, the owner is unknown. Here David Lowery looks at why this argument is implausible. ________________________________ By David Lowery from The Trichordist The latest excuse from Spotify (which strangely is being echoed by David Israelite (NMPA CEO)…

Lauryn Hill’s Facebook ‘Apology’ For Being 2 Hours Late, Playing Just 40 Mins: "Challenge is aligning my energy with the time"

Some apologies are just better left unsaid. Lauryn Hill wrote an open letter on Facebook after arriving over 2 hours late to a show in Atlanta. She then followed her late arrival with a concert of less than 40 minutes. _______________________________________________ “I don’t show up late to shows because I…

Merchbar May Hot Music Merch Chart: Dave Matthews, Alabama Shakes, Foo Fighters, More

Dave Matthews Band fans are raising their DMB Flower Series Pint Glasses to celebrate DMB’s 25th Anniversary. Cheers to Dave Matthews Band for 25 years of rock n’ roll magic and landing the number one merch item this month. Alabama Shakes, a Merchbar favorite, is coming in strong with a…

Spotify’s 10 Most Viral Tracks: US, Canada, UK, Global

The most viral tracks on Spotify, based on the number who shared it divided by the number who listened from 4-29-5/5 on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter & Spotify. UNITED STATES 1. Clement Bazin, "With You" (Nowadays Records) 2. blink-182, "Bored to Death" (BMG Rights Management (US) LLC) 3. DJ Shadow featuring…