Category archives: Music Tech

Spotify Secret Genius Awards 2018 – Full Winners List

Spotify honored behind the scenes music makers at the Secret Genius Awards Friday evening in Los Angeles. Held at the Ace Theater, the award show was hosted by Ne-Yo. This year’s top honors went to Murda Beatz for Producer of the Year (Drake’s “Nice For What” and “Motorsport” by Migos…

This Week In Music Commentary

Picking up the mic for reasons other than singing this week, we have an interview with viral rapping sensation Wynne, an explanation of why posting duplicative content on YouTube is a terrible idea, Neil Young slamming Trump over CA wildfires, and more. Viral Rapper Wynne Talks Lemur Doodles, Espionage, Tierra…

Ethical Streaming Royalties: More For Few Or Fewer For More

In an effort to improve the methods by which royalties are calculated, Chris Castle theorized something known as the "ethical pool". Here he takes a deeper dive, taking a look at a new study on the topic and how it compares more conventional royalty calculations. _____________________________ Guest post by Chris…

Spotify Alums Create Canopy App Offering Recommendations Without Stealing Your Data

Two Spotify alumni involved in the creation of Discovery Weekly, have raised a $4.5 million seed round from Matrix to release an app that offers music, film and other recommendations based on user preferences, but without sharing data with Spotify, Netflix, Facebook or anyone else. The Brooklyn based startup Canopy’s…

Music Modernization Act A ‘Countdown to Modernity’ – Progress Chart For Mechanical Licensing Collective

In this piece, the people at Music Technology Policy provide a chart listing the key events in the necessary path to launch in order for the Mechanical Licensing Collective as needed by the recently ratified Music Modernization Act. _________________________ Guest post by Editor Charlie of Music Technology Policy As best…

Pirate Studios Raises $20M For Self-Serve Music Studios

Pirate Studios has raised $20 million in new finding for its growing network of self-serve high tech music studios. Pirate operates 350 studios in 21 locations in London, New York and Berlin, with plans to grow internationally. The funding will be used to build more music studios in the US…

The S.T.A.G.E.S. Of Email Marketing [PT. 6]

In this sixth and final part of a multi-part series breaking down the ins and outs of email marketing, Cheryl B. Engelhardt focuses on how artists can use their email marketing strategy to actually monetize (or "Sell") their work. _________________________ Guest post by Cheryl B. Engelhardt of the TuneCore Blog…

Spotify (Finally) Launches New Apple Watch App

Spotify has launched a new Apple Watch app which includes improved access and control over music and podcasts, as well as, the ability to connect to speakers or devices. The streamer promises the more improvements ahead including the ability to listen to music and podcasts offline. From Spotify: "Ready to…