Spotify CEO, 2013: “I’m Absolutely Sure That Artists Will Make a Decent Living in the Next Few Years.”

“I’m 100% sure…” A December, 2013 interview with CNN Tech’s Laurie Segall and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. CNN Tech correspondent Laurie Segall: Do you think that one day artists will be able to find a business model, and will really be able to make a living doing what they love and getting their music out […]

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War Erupts Over Whose Shared Music Rights Databases Is Better

Who will launch their shared music database first? The RIAA? ASCAP and BMI? Congress? But most importantly, which would become the authoritative database? Music data, ownership records, and a horde of licenses remain wildly disorganized.  Three weeks ago, Congress proposed a global, centralized music database to ensure that artists get paid on every streaming platform. […]

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Welcome to the ‘Royalty Black Box,’ the Music Industry’s $2.5 Billion Underground Economy

It’s an entire underground economy that nobody likes to talk about.  Especially the people making billions off of it. Delve into the music industry’s sordid past, and you’ll find tawdry details of mobbed-up labels and Soprano-style venues.  Indeed, crooners like Frank Sinatra were notoriously implicated with organized crime.  But the way he explains it, there […]

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Spotify Just Hit 60 Million Paying Subscribers. But Is Apple Music Winning?

Spotify just crossed 60 million paying subscribers.  That’s 2 million subs a month.  Sounds fantastic, but are they really beating Apple? Spotify has just crossed another paid subscription milestone.  And you’re gonna be impressed.  As of this morning, the streaming platform surpassed 60 million premium subscribers, a pace of roughly 2 million new subscribers a […]

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Did Meek Mill and TIDAL Just Scam the Billboard 200?

Tyler the Creator says that Meek Mill and TIDAL inflated streams and took advantage of Billboard’s verification problems. Tyler The Creator has called out Meek Mill and TIDAL for scamming the Billboard 200. He has accused TIDAL of offering free streams to push Meek Mill’s latest album, Wins & Losses, to number 1. Once in […]

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ASCAP and BMI Just Made the Biggest Commitment Yet to a Shared Licensing Database

Last week, Congress offered a plan to create a global, centralized msuic database.  Now, ASCAP and BMI are taking a giant step towards that goal. Last week, Digital Music News reported that Congress re-sparked plans to create the world’s first central, unified music database.  Previous efforts to create an authoritative database have failed miserably.  Music data, […]

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