Staying In Love With The Craft Of Songwriting

As with so many creative arts, songwriting can often be an incredibly frustrating experience, and it can be easy for you to lose your inspiration and forget your love of the craft when compositional process grinds to a halt. Here we look at how to rekindle the fire and maintain…

Soundcloud Adds Virtual DJ Integration

Soundcloud has added Virtual DJ so that Soundcloud Go+ subscribers can use the streamer’s 200 million track catalog in their live DJ sets. Soundcloud announced a similar partnership with Serato’s DJ Pro 2.1 or DJ Lite 1.1. Here is how the new integration works. Download and log in to Virtual…

‘You Have Used Us,’ Spotify Secret Genius Songwriters Tell CEO Daniel Ek [Full Letter]

Nile Rogers, Frank Dukes, Teddy Geiger and Babyface Edwards were among the dozens Spotify Genius Award nominated songwriters who signed an open letter to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek over the streamer’s decision to challenge a US Copyright Royalty Board ruling that guaranteed songwriters a 44% increase in streaming royalties. Google,…

8 Inspirational Books For The DIY Musician’s Shelf

The ability to learn and grow is one of the most valuable skills a DIY musician can cultivate, and while there are certainly an abundance of online resources, one can’t overlook the informational and inspirational value provided by the old school resource of books. __________________________ Guest post by Angela Mastrogiacomo…

Despite Streaming’s Growth, Music Industry Remains Half The Size It Was In 1999

While paid streaming subscriptions have, in many circles, been billed as the savior of the music industry, the reality is that the business is still operating at a severely reduced capacity since the devastation visited on it in the early days of digital. __________________________ Guest post by James Shotwell of…

Major Labels Want Millions, But TikTok Says No

The three major label want millions in payments for the use of music on two hugely popular short music video apps, TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin. Deals between UMG, Sony, WMG and the Chinese owner of the apps, ByteDance, expire this spring, But after months of talks, the two…

How To Grow Your Mailing List At Your Next Show

Whatever platform you use, staying directly in touch with your fanbase in the form of e-blasts is critical to selling your music, but this is only effective if you have list to send them to. Here we look at some key tips for connecting with your audience and building your…

Lykke Li Announces All-Female Music Festival

Lykke Li has announced a festival featuring females and female-identifying acts in conjunction with her YOLA mezcal brand. YOLA Fest will be held at Los Angeles’ Historic Park June 6th and feature Courtney Love, Charlie XCX, Cat Power, Cupcakke, Megan Thee Stallion and Ambar Lucid. A portion of the proceeds…

PledgeMusic Goes Silent

PledgeMusic has not offered an update to the hundreds of musicians and thousands of fans affected by the crowdfunder’s inability to pay creators the funds that fans had pledged. Even the rumor mill is almost silent. As the week’s drag, on it seems increasingly unlikely that anyone is ready to…

Spotify Adds Streaming Conversion Metrics To Ad Studio

Spotify has added streaming conversion metrics to Ad Studio.The useful new metrics allow artists and labels to track how each listener responded when they hear ad on the streamer. Spotify Ad Studio launched in 2017. The self-service ad platform can target fans and fans of similar artists with a $250…