For many bands and artists, branding may simply not be a part of their day to day vocabulary, or if it is, it likely isn’t their number one priority. Here, Angela Mastrogiacomo explains why creating a solid brand is so essential to your career, and how to go about making…
Category archives: Music industry
Merck Mercuriadis’ Hipgnosis Acquires Timbaland Catalog
The Merck Mercuriadis’ Hipgnosis Songs Fund buying spree continues with the acquisition of the catalog of Grammy-winning producer, rapper, singer, songwriter and DJ, Timbaland. The catalog included 108 albums and songs performed by the likes of Missy Elliot (“Get Your Freak On,” “One Minute Man”); Justin Timberlake (“SexyBack,” “My Love”…
BUSINESS OF INDIE: AIM Distro Report • 2 Chainz Goes Indie • Bubba Sparxxx + Symphonic • More
In this new edition of the Business Of Indie, indie trade association AIM issues a major report on the state of independent music distribution, rapper 2 Chainz signs an indie deal, Bubba Sparxxx partners with Symphonic for a new label and much more. Like Hypebot’s More News section, The Business…
YouTube, Merchbar Partner For Artist Merch, Vinyl Sales
YouTube and Merchbar have partnered to bring official merchandise sales to the platform. Merchbar has a similar deal with Spotify. Artists with an Official Artist Channel can now add their merchandise and vinyl for sale alongside videos. Fans watching videos on YouTube Official Artist Channels will see a shelf with…
Meditation App Calm Names UMG Exec Head Of Music
Popular sleep and meditation app Calm and has named its first head of Music, Courtney Phillips, UMG’s former Director of Brand Partnerships. And don’t for a minute that Phillips made is to bring more sleep-inducing instrumental music to the platform. Working closely with Calm’s leadership and content teams, Phillips will…
One Music Marketing Trick Every Artist MUST Avoid
Marketing your music is a complex challenge. What works for one listener or fan could fall flat with another, and artists will often jump through hoops and try all kinds of schemes as they fight against anonymity. While it’s good to try a variety of marketing tricks, there’s one every…
Former Busker Tones and I #1 In 16 Markets with Help From Spotify’s Global Editorial Team
Australian busker-turned-breakout-artist Tones and I, whose single “Dance Monkey” is #1 on Spotify’s Global Chart, is the first Australian to achieve this position. The rapid chart accession of her catchy pop song comes in large part because of the support of Spotify’s global editorial team. As of this weekend, the…
Rock Hall Of Fame 2020 Nominees Include 12 First-timers
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced the nominees for its Rock Hall Class of 2020. 16 artists are shortlisted and of those nine are first-time nominees. Pat Benatar, Dave Matthews Band, The Doobie Brothers, Motörhead, The Notorious B.I.G., Soundgarden, T. Rex, Thin Lizzy and Whitney Houston are…
Remembering Digial Music Pioneer Jay Frank: His Hypebot Articles & Interviews
UMG senior executive Jay Frank, who passed away this week, was a digital music visionary. Frank often understood streaming’s long term effects on artists and the music industry years before the rest of us. To celebrate Jay and share a fraction of his insights, we’ve compiled a sampling of his…
Music Piracy Continues To Dip Dramatically, But The Industry Is Loathe To Admit It Because It Ruins The Narrative [Op-Ed]
In this op-ed, Mike Masnick reveals how better-authorized services have, in contrast to increased legal enforcement, been incredibly effective at reducing online piracy, but that the music industry is choosing to ignore the numbers in favor of a different narrative. ____________________________________ Guest post by Mike Masnick of Techdirt This was…