PledgeMusic Issues Statement On Late Payments To Artists With Vague Promise To Do Better In 90 Days

PledgeMusic has issued a statement attempting to calm the fears of the growing number of artists who are experiencing late payment or non-payment after their crowdfunding campaigns were completed. “It is our expectation that payments will be brought current within the next 90 days’” the company said in a statement….

Patreon Says 3M Patrons Are Paying Creators $500M A Year On The Platform

Patreon has announced that there are now more than 3 million patrons supporting more than 100,000 musicians and other creators. The fan patronage platform is on track to pay creators half a billion in 2019 alone. In the last year, the number of patrons around the globe increased from 2…

THU. BRIEF: Soundcloud Founder Exits • Pitchfork Paywall • Dubset Direct MIx Distro • Songtrust + Audiomack • More

THURSDAY 1.24.19
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Why Subscriptions Matter To Musicians [Jack Udell]

As subscription based services begin to occupy an increasingly large section of the market, artists are wondering how they can better get in on the action. Here we look at why a subscriber base would be so valuable to artists, and some of the challenges in creating an artist-specific subscription…

RealNetworks Takes Control Of Napster Music Streaming Service For Just $1M Up Front

RealNetworks has doubled its stake in Rhapsody International, which operates the Napster music streaming service. RealNetworks now owns 84% of Napster and will operate it as an independent subsidiary. The transaction values Napster at less than $140 million. Bill Patrizio will continue to be Napster’s CEO, and Rob Glaser will…

PledgeMusic Payment Problems Continue, Lefsetz Weighs In

Late payments to artists after their campaigns are completed on PledgeMusic continue 8 months after they began. Now powerful music industry pundit Bob Lefsetz has weighed in, after a call from veteran manager Ron Stone. "If you don’t have the money, you shouldn’t be taking new clients,"wirtes Lefsetz. Hypebot first…

WED. BRIEF: iHeartMedia Bankruptcy Exit • Oscar Music Surprises • UMG Adds Epic Rights • Napster • More

WEDNESDAY 1.23.19
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CD Baby, SACM Partner To Empower Independent Mexican Artists and Composers

CD Baby has partnered with SACM, Mexico’s only Performance Rights Organization. As part of the alliance, SACM has named CD Baby as their “preferred” distributor, and CD Baby will offer free submissions for SACM members to all digital music services. photo (l-r): Arturo Peěrez Courtade (SACM), Heli Del Moral (CD…

Making Free Pay: The New Data Battle Ground [Mark Mulligan]

From Spotify to Xbox Live and the New York Times, 2018 is the year that paid subscriptions took hold. But the nasty truth is that most consumers still won’t pay, as evidence by the100M who prefer Spotify’s free tier. "This means ad-supported strategies are going to play a growing role…

Music Groups Use New Australian Copyright Law To Skewer Stream Ripping Sites

After Australia recently amended its copyright laws to feature some subtle but important language changes, there was immediately concern that this alterations would be a target for abuse. The new provisions are now being used by music groups to shut down stream ripping sites which, though it may seem good…