Twitter Invests $70 Million In Soundcloud

Two years ago, Twitter wanted to buy SoundCloud. Now it has settled for taking a $70 million stake in the music company as part of what appears to be a strategic partnership that could bring more audio to the social platform. ___________________________________________ Twitter has invested $70 million in SoundCloud, both…

UPDATE: Apple’s Trent Reznor Says YouTube Was ‘Built On Backs Of Free Stolen Content,’ Google Responds

UPDATE: Apple execs usually prefer to extol the virtues if their products rather than criticize competitors. But Nine Inch Nails front man and Apple Music product design exec Trent Reznor took the low road when asked about Google’s You Tube. Now Google has responded. ____________________________________________ In a Billboard interview, Apple…

Pandora Promotes Discovery With 9 Curated New Music Stations

Spotify offers impressive data driven Discover Weekly personal playlists that deliver both old and the new music, and Apple just promised to offer a similar daily product this Fall. Music discovery on streaming is hot; and it’s coming to Pandora. _____________________________________________________ Pandora today added 9 curated weekly playlists of newly…

Emerging Tech Offers New Opportunities For Artists [Cortney Harding]

As newer tech like drones and VR increasingly infiltrate mainstream culture, the potential for branding partnerships between artists and the companies behind these technologies could be good news for musicians in search of further revenue streams. By Cortney Harding For 15 minutes a day every day this week, viewers on…

Rendezville Web App Creates Affordable Option for Small and Medium Festivals

If you’ve ever hesitated to download yet another app, you’ll understand why Rendezville founder Joseph Tzeng chose to create his new festival and conference schedule as a web app. That means that festival goers don’t need to download an app to dive into performance schedule, photos, music, videos, bios and…

Bandzoogle, GigSalad Partner To Help Artists Get Booked

Live concerts is the largest source of income for most artists, but getting gigs is hard work. Simplifying and democratizing the booking process is the goal of startup Gig Salad, and Bandzoogle has partnered them to add key booking tools to it’s popular musician web site builder. ______________________________________________ Bandzoogle has…

Virtual Reality Meets Music

As virtually reality continues to permeate various channels of entertainment media such as video games and movies, its infiltration of the music industry has been more subtle, although the technology is becoming more common in music videos and some underground circles. ________________________________________ In this new piece from MusicThinkTank, Simon Davies…

WED. BRIEFING: Apple Music Redesign • Music Distro Bankruptcies • Vinyl Pressing • Berklee Rights Initiative • More

Tuesday 6.14.16 Music Business News From Around The Web Yesterday’s big news was Apple Music’s redesign. It’s an improvement, but weren’t we all hoping for more? Updated continuously under our More News

TuneCore Artists Earned $42 Million Last Quarter, Up 16%

TuneCore artists earned $42 million in the first quarter of 2016, up 16% from the same quarter last year. Revenue from music streaming services like Spotify, TIDAL, Deezer and Rhaposdy has grown significantly, according to the digital music distributor. More new TuneCore stats: TuneCore artists have earn more than $689…

Music Industry Is Not Ready For The Blockchain

Although the blockchain technology used for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum is often hailed as a potential savior for the music industry, getting the industry to embrace and integrate such technology may, as yet, not be feasible, says Bas Grasmayer. _________________________ Guest Post by Bas Grasmayer The blockchain cannot…