Spotify’s splashy direct listing is next week. But are investors buying into something second-best? Last month, the Wall Street Journal published a surprising report. According to the newspaper, this summer, Apple Music, not Spotify, …
Category archives: music streaming
94% of 18-24 Year Olds Use YouTube On a Regular Basis
Americans now use YouTube more than any other social network — by a huge margin. According to a study published two weeks ago, only 3% of channels on YouTube will ever break the US poverty line. And a German researcher discovered that …
Now There’s a Spotify ‘Equalizer’ Algorithm That Balances Female and Male Artists
There’s more than meets the eye in Smirnoff’s new “global gender equality” campaign with Spotify. As part of its “Equalizing Music” global campaign, vodka brand Smirnoff has announced a partnership with Spotify. …
Spotify’s Top Hip Hop Playlist Programmer Is Leaving — a Day After the IPO Filing
A number of high-ranking executives have suddenly departed Spotify. Hip hop playlisting extraordinaire Tuma Basa is the latest. The influential curator of Spotify’s popular Rap Caviar playlist has just left the building. Tuma Basa joined Sp…
Bad News for Indian Streaming Music Companies: Amazon Prime Music Just Went Live
Amazon Prime subscribers can now enjoy more — starting with music. This is an exciting time for Amazon Prime subscribers in India. After a soft launch of Prime Music and the Echo family last November, Amazon Prime is officially pushing…
Sirius XM Radio Has 32.7 Million Subscribers — Less Than Half That of Spotify
Is Spotify single-handedly dismantling indirect opponents like Sirius XM, too? And then I realized something. I don’t listen to the radio anymore. Actually, I don’t even listen to satellite radio anymore. Why is that? Enter Spotify, whose…
Spotify Is Dramatically Changing the Rules for Remixers — Here’s the First Big Change
Spotify just made a huge change for remixers on its streaming service. The music streaming giant stated in a blog post that remixers will now receive credit for their remixes by having the streams count towards their monthly listeners. While this only…
The US Government Is Forcing Streaming Services to Pay Songwriters 43.8% More
A new ruling from the US Government requires that streaming music services raise their royalty rates for songwriters and music publishers. Here are the details. The United States Copyright Board (CRB) held hearings from March to June of 2017 to deter…
Spotify Investor Says Streaming Will Quadruple by 2025 — Any Questions?
Spotify has paid $5 billion to rights owners so far. Is that number about to become much, much bigger? Last year, Spotify says it had paid out $5 billion for music rights to publishers, labels, and collecting societies. That was back in September, an…
China Is Banning All Hip Hop — Unless the Lyrics Support the Communist Party
As part of a cultural crackdown on dangerous Western influences, China has taken a strong stance against hip hop and rappers in the country. Thanks to the popularity of Chinese rap singing competition The Rap of China, hip hop has blown up in the count…