Category archives: Music Tech

REWIND: The New Music Industry’s Week In Review

In our weekly flip back through the past seven days of music industry news, we check back in on Apple Music for Artists emerging from its beta stage, the indictment of eighteen parties connected with indie label Fast Cash Boyz by a grand jury, the ongoing issue of country radio’s…

A Music Release Strategy For Filling Your Yearly Calendar

Your music release strategy and your social media strategy must go hand in hand, and artists should establish a schedule whereby their fans are engaged and entertained enough by the artist’s online presence throughout the year that they are left eagerly anticipating new content, whether it’s music or merch. ___________________________________…

You Have To Be There: 10 Essential Music Business Conferences For 2019

While early season festivals like SXSW tend to get the most airtime, the second half of the year is chock full with a variety of incredible conferences for those steeped in major music industry happenings. Here Angela Mastrogiacomo looks at ten that are essential to attend. ________________________ Guest post by…

Preventative Health Tips For Touring Artists

While taking your music on the road is the dream of many artists, life on tour – in addition to being an eye-opening adventure – can also be incredibly stressful, and put a significant strain on both your mental and physical health. ______________________________ In this latest piece from MusicThinkTank, contributor…

Apple Music For Artists Exits Beta, Available Free To All With Enhanced Analytics, Shazam

Apple Music For Artists has long lagged behind Spotify and Pandora with the tools and analytics that it offers artists. That changed overnight with the public launch of a toolkit that insiders have been playing with for months. Apple Music For Artists now offers all musicians and their team a…

Thumbnails Provide Free Visibility On YouTube

Video thumbnails are in many ways the billboards of YouTube, allowing artists to capture potential viewers’ attention by offering them a snapshot of video content. Here we look at why creating custom thumbnails is so important, and how to ensure you’re creating images that are optimized for maximum visibility. ____________________________…

Spotify Wants To Enable Fans To Tip Artists

Many sites empower users to make micropayments to creators. China’s Tencent Music already has a massive tip-like program returning revenue to artists. Based on a recent earnings call, Spotify wants to get into this business, as well. Exactly how they’ll do it, however, remains a question, writes music attorney and…

How An Old Game Boosted A 2019 Streaming Hit

This piece explores the marketing genius of the Flappy Bird-esque old-school online game Billy Meets World, launched in conjunction with Lauv’s latest release and engineered to help casually grow the artist’s Spotify followers. ______________________________ Guest post from AWAL We recommend playing Billy Meets World for at least 30 seconds before…

New To Instagram: Creator Accounts, Chat Stickers & More

As per the norm, Instagram has unveiled a host of new features as we reach the halfway point of 2019. Here we explore what some of these new changes are, and how they can enhance your music marketing efforts on the platform. _______________________________ Guest post by Ryan Whitman of The…