In this flip back through the past week’s music industry news, we revisit the play gap in men’s vs. women’s performance on the charts, Spotify’s impressive showing over other streamers when it comes to installs, how Billie Eilish and her brother are redefining pop music from a tiny bedroom studio,…
Category archives: Music industry
Baidu, a Former Chinese Piracy Search Hub, Prepares Music-Related Projects
Can Baidu win over the music industry? Several years ago, in an attempt to cut down on piracy around the world, the US Trade Representative (USTR) placed Baidu, a top Chinese search engine and tech giant, on its annual “notorious markets” list. Accordi…
Amazon, YouTube Just Launched Free Music Services But Neither Is A ‘Spotify Killer’
Amazon and YouTube each just launched free music streamers. Like Spotify’s free tier, both offer free ad-supported music. But despite the media hype, their goals are very different than Spotify. Spotify’s free tier offers on demand access to 40 million tracks across almost every platform imaginable. Whereas YouTube and Amazon…
Breaking Down The Gender Play Gap: Men vs Women’s Performance On Music Charts
While a recent Billboard headline proclaiming wome…
Convergence In Music Industry as Managers Become Labels, Distributors Become Marketers and More
In this piece, Jake Udell reflects on the how music companies are increasingly converging to become the same thing as they try to wear a growing number of hats in an effort to remain relevant in a rapidly changing industry. _____________________________ Guest post by Jake Udell of Art of Manager…
Why Music And Tech Can Never Be Separated
In 2019, music and technology have become more linked together than ever, with new tech advancement now part and parcel of every aspect of the music industry. In this piece, Patrick McGuire explores the historical context for this, and what happens technological change is put at odds with artists’ values….
Amazon Launches Free Ad Supported Music Service
Amazon Music customers in the U.S. who do not have a Prime membership or subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited can now listen to a free ad-supported selection of top playlists and stations for free with Amazon Music on compatible Alexa-enabled devices. It is expected that Amazon’s free music service will…
Fresh Off Its $230 MM CD Baby Acquisition, Downtown Ties With Cowboys & Pirates
Downtown Music Publishing has entered into a joint venture with Cowboys & Pirates, an independent publisher. DMP says the collaboration will focus on developing new songwriters and producers within the hip-hop community. As part of the joint ventur…
SoundExchange Payments Up 16.2% In Q1 2019
SoundExchange distributed $220.7 million in payments to more than 185,000 payees in the first quarter of 2019. This represents a 16.2% increase in distributions and 17.3% increase in payees over the first quarter of 2018. In 2018, SoundExchange distributed a record $953 million in sound recording performance royalties to artists…
How A Songwriter In His 60s Broke (Back) Into The Music Business
In this piece, Chris Robley examines how musician and songwriter Daniel Antopolsky fought his way back into the music industry and began building a career in his 60s and on into his 70s – no small feat in a business which is less than favorable to the older set. _______________________________…