A Surprisingly Interesting Dive Into Classical Music Metadata

Many digital service providers have been criticized for their failure to properly populate the metadata for their classical music. This article breaks down how such metadata works, and what standards need to be followed in order to ensure that DSP’s classical content remains up to snuff. __________________________________ Guest Post by…

Musikki Raises $1 Million, Launches Exclusiph Music Image Platform

Porto and London based music tech startup Musikki, has just raised $1 million USD from Portugal Ventures, the biggest venture capital fund in Portugal. Musikki ,which provides B2C and B2B services for the music industry has also launched a new image service, Exclusiph. ______________________________________________ Musikki has launched Exclusiph, an image…

This Startup Used A Chatbot To Sell $1M In Vinyl Records In 8 Months, Scores $3.5M Investment

Chatbots – "a computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the Internet" – are all the rage in tech circles. Mark Zuckerberg says they’ll transform Facebook, and an 8 month old startup has used one to sell $1 million in vinyl records. Online vinyl store, The…

Rhapsody, Napster Report Usage Growth

On the heels of Rhapsody International’s appointment of Mike Davis as its first CEO, the company announced new stats showing the highest consumer engagement in the company’s history. _______________________________________ Music streamer Rhapsody and it’s international brand Napster say that the combination of recent product innovations and global partnerships have pushed…

Spotify Acquires CrowdAlbum To Enhance Fan Engagement, Tour Promotion

Spotify has smartly decided that products that are good for artists and fans are also good for Spotify. Now, joining the Spotify team that built Fan Insights analytics and Concerts show recommendations, is the newly acquired crew from CrowdAlbum. _______________________________ Spotify has acquired CrowdAlbum for an undisclosed sum. Launched in…

Apple Music Has 13 Million Subscribers, Adding 2 Million In 2 Months

Apple delivered a rare weak earnings report on Tuesday, sending its stock down 8%. But amidst the disappointment, was some very positive news on the music front. Apple Music has added 2 million paying subscribers in the last 2 months. ______________________________ Apple Music has more than 13 million subscribers, Apple…

Inside The Taylor Swift Anti-Piracy Battle: Regulatory Filing Reveals UMG’s Massive Effort To Block Pirates

Few musicians or labels are fans of music piracy. But with Taylor Swift’s decision to keep her music anticipated album ‘1989’ off streaming music services, UMG, her label’s distributor, became particularly concerned and hatched a plan to fight it. ______________________________ A Universal Music Group filing with the U.S. Copyright office…

Future Of Music Coalition CEO Casey Rae On The Value Of Universal Data Standards [INTERVIEW]

In this interview, the people at Songspace sat down with Future Of Music Coalition CEO Casey Rae to discuss his take on the value of data standards and transparency in streaming, and his excitement at blockchain tech’s potential. _____________________________ Guest post by Songspace on Medium The last 15 years have…

Artist Images: A New Chapter In Revenue

Here long-time industry entrepreneur Kevin Arnold writes about how the direction of his company, OpenAura, marks a shift in the music industry, with revenue being earned from artist’s images, something has traditionally been free, instead of from their music. _______________________________ Guest Post by Kevin Arnold on Medium This week my…

Why The Music Industry Needs Fewer Lawyers, More Innovators [CD Baby CEO Tracy Maddux]

Here CD Baby CEO Tracy Maddux weighs in on the recent wave of litigation which has swept through the music industry, suggesting that the recent string of lawsuits against companies like Spotify and TIDAL discourages innovation in the industry and sets a poor tone for the future of digital music….