50 Out of the Top 50 SoundCloud Artists are Rappers

SoundCloud has been struggling to differentiate itself.  Maybe rappers are doing it for them. SoundCloud is notorious for birthing big-time rappers.  But the platform may be going full-blown hip-hop, thanks to rappers who have doubled-down on the servi…

The FCC Just Shrunk the Music Industry

The FCC just murdered net neutrality.  And that’s probably bad news most of us in the music industry. If you’re Apple, Amazon, or Google, this doesn’t really affect you.  In fact, the dismantling of net neutrality will probably help p…

Report Confirms That Spotify’s Valuation Has Increased To Well Over $19 Billion

In nine months, Spotify’s valuation has grown over an additional $6 billion.  So, why are investors so worried? Just three months ago, private trading in Spotify shares have valued the company at around $16 billion.  Earlier this year, the company was …

Pandora Just Created a Spotify Freemium Monster

To push users towards a premium subscription, Pandora Radio takes a page out of Spotify’s book. So, the end of the year has come.  You’ve lost several high-profile executives.  After failing to turn things around, your CEO and co-founder stepped …

Spotify Says the Government Should Protect Them from Apple & Amazon

Have Apple and Amazon truly abused “their advantaged position?”  Spotify and Deezer believe so. Just last month, Spotify Deezer, SoundCloud, and other platforms teamed up to form a powerful lobbying group.  Underscoring the power of music streaming in …

Less Than 180 Days Until TIDAL Runs Out of Cash

Jay Z has 99 problems. We now know that TIDAL running out of cash is one of them. 2017 hasn’t been a good year for Jay Z. First, his latest album, 4:44, didn’t appear on Billboard charts.  The same week as the rapper’s highly-anticipated release, DJ Kh…

Why I Recently Deleted My SoundCloud Account

The following comes from Savvy Musician Academy, a proud partner of DMN committed to educating a brand-new class of successful musicians. You might be thinking to yourself, “What the heck? Why would you do that?” After all, there are 175 MILLION SoundC…

Mixcloud’s Most Popular Genre in Every US State

Classic Rock, EDM, Reggae, Hip Hop?  Here’s Mixcloud’s list of the most popular genre in every US state for 2017. With the year coming to an end, major streaming music platforms have released listeners’ favorite artists for 2017. Ed Sheeran becam…

Spotify Officially Names a Nike Executive to Its Board of Directors

Spotify is officially luring a well-known Nike executive to its board of directors. Earlier this year, we reported some major upheavals at Spotify’s board of directors.  Longtime board members Sean Parker, Klaus Hommels, and Pär-Jörgen Pärsson al…

10 Things I’d Love to See In YouTube’s ‘Remix’ — But Probably Won’t

1. A patronage system. No, not a desperate plea to go somewhere else — i.e., Patreon — to please make this YouTube video worth something.   How about a direct contribution button underneath the YouTube video itself?  And a great payment system (backed …