Spotify Wants To Enable Fans To Tip Artists

Many sites empower users to make micropayments to creators. China’s Tencent Music already has a massive tip-like program returning revenue to artists. Based on a recent earnings call, Spotify wants to get into this business, as well. Exactly how they’ll do it, however, remains a question, writes music attorney and…

How An Old Game Boosted A 2019 Streaming Hit

This piece explores the marketing genius of the Flappy Bird-esque old-school online game Billy Meets World, launched in conjunction with Lauv’s latest release and engineered to help casually grow the artist’s Spotify followers. ______________________________ Guest post from AWAL We recommend playing Billy Meets World for at least 30 seconds before…

5 Techniques For Maintaining The Fans You Made On Your Last Tour

Assuming your latest tour wasn’t a complete disaster (or maybe even if it was), chances are you acquired a few new friends along the road. So how do you turn these fresh fans into repeat customers? Here we look at five ways of keeping new listeners engaged. ___________________________ Guest post…

New To Instagram: Creator Accounts, Chat Stickers & More

As per the norm, Instagram has unveiled a host of new features as we reach the halfway point of 2019. Here we explore what some of these new changes are, and how they can enhance your music marketing efforts on the platform. _______________________________ Guest post by Ryan Whitman of The…

SXSW 2020 PanelPicker Voting Is Open

Your votes can help choose which panels should grace the stage at SXSW 2020. Voting now will help keep your favorites near the top of the list. "PanelPicker connects us with the thousands of creative professionals, experienced experts and informed consumers that make up the global SXSW community. This interface…

‘Apple Digital Masters’ Launches As Apple Music Tests HI-Res Streaming At No Extra Cost

Apple Music has announced the launch of ‘Apple Digital Masters,’ which brings its “Mastered for iTunes” offering into its global streaming catalog. 75% of the Top 100 tracks in the U.S. and 71% of the Top 100 globally offered in the hi-res streaming format. Hi-res tracks across Apple Music have…

Music: Not All About The Artist

The modern music studio is about more than just the musician, and for those looking to pursue a career in the music business, much of what happens in a recording studio is as much thanks to the team of engineers behind the console as the person in front of the…

LiveXLive Revenue Grows, But Losses Continue

LiveXLive Media, the live music and entertainment streaming service, announced record revenue for Q1 2019, but the startup is still bleeding cash. The company posted revenue of $9.5 million for the quarter, up from $7.6 million in the same period in 2018. LiveXLive attributes the improved revenue to strong subscriber…

AM BRIEF: Apple Music Unveils ‘Digital Masters’ • Capital Congress • Sonos Losses Narrow • Earbuds • More

THURSDAY 8.8.19
Music Business News From Around The Web
Updated continuously under the More News tab

Payola At Radio Never Went Away, says New Report

Broadcast radio has been rocked by at least two payola scandals in the 1960s and again in 2004. But payola – the illegal practice of paying to be played on the radio – is still rampant in the US, according to multiple reports. ___________________________________ “Everyone knows it’s there,” Allen Kovac,…