How Fans Are Building A Vibrant Gimme Radio Community

In this piece, Jon Maples explains how the principles and process behind the unique radio streaming app Gimme Radio have given rise to a successful listening platform, home to a vibrant social community. __________________________ By Jon Maples of Gimme Radio from Medium Slack was on fire. Our emergency channel, the…

Amidst Legal Battles in 3 Continents, Spotify Enters High-Stakes Talks with Each Major Label

Spotify remains entrenched in legal battles across three continents.  Will this ultimately hurt the company’s negotiating position? Nearly a year after its IPO, Spotify has reportedly entered into licensing agreement talks with the Big 3 – Universal, S…

Engaging Fans: 5 Tips For Your Next Show

Disappointing live shows are, unfortunately, endemic in the music industry, particularly for bands that are just finding their feet, and a tepid live experience can often leave potential fans regretting their decision to step out. Here we look at five ways you as an artist can effectively engage with an…

Only 1% Of Users Pay For Music In India, says Spotify’s Amarjit Singh Batra

Spotify’s entry into India is filled with opportunities and challenges. YouTube is the country’s most popular music service, with Spottily the eighth player to launch there. But the biggest challenge that Spotify faces in India is one that is shared by all seven of its competitors. Of the more than…

Tools For Managing Music Merch

Being an artist is hard enough without having to manage the mini-department store that is your merch – luckily there are a number of tools out there designed to lessen the headache of keeping up with orders and streamlining sales. _____________________________ Guest post by Tarryn Meyers of Symphonic If you’re…

Vinyl Rakes in More Revenue for the British Music Industry Than YouTube

YouTube continues to pay less than most other streaming mediums, according to the BPI (along with every other music industry trade body). According to a full-year 2018 report from the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), paid streaming revenue ov…

How To Take Responsibility For Archiving Your Music, Data

Recent news that the down on its luck social network Myspace fried a dozen years of media due to a server error should have artists and professionals alike scrambling to make sure they have a multitude of backups for their precious data. _______________________ Guest post by James Shotwell of Haulix…

Facebook Could Be the Future of Social Music, But Isn’t Yet [Mark Mulligan]

In an ere where almost everything is billed as "social," streaming music is a surprisingly outlier. Given music’s power to bring people together, streaming would seem ripe as a social hub. Facebook could fill that void – without ever launching its own streaming service. But, as MIDiA’s Mark Mulligan points…

Song Stories: How Boise’s Treefort Music Fest Grew From A Small Event Into A Huge Success [PODCAST]

Song Stories, hosted by Hypebot contributor Kyle Bylin, explores how music changes people’s lives and impacts the places they live in. This week’s episode features Eric Gilbert, who is the co-founder and director of Treefort Music Fest, a music festival in Boise, IA. The festival proudly shines a spotlight on…

The Awkward Truth Behind Skip Rates

With the ubiquity of music access and a lack of any need for patience, the term "skip-rate" has crept into the modern music industry lexicon, and some new data behind why and when consumers are skipping songs (and thereby not generating revenue for the artist) has many in the industry…