Category archives: Music

UMG Attempts To Block O-Town’s Trademark Application Over Its Motown Label

In a recent move, Universal Music Group has thrown down the copyright tire spikes, attempting to block the MTV era group O-Town from applying for a trademark, alleging the band’s name is too similar to UMG’s Motown. _______________________________ Guest op-ed Timothy Geigner of Techdirt It will surprise nobody to hear…

10 Ultimate Industry Quotes From Notable Musicians

After working as a successful musician for a time, you’re bound to accrue some valuable insights into how the machine that is the music business operates. Here we look at some profound one-liners from several renowned musicians on how to navigate a treacherous industry. ___________________________ In this latest post to…

5 Big Music Business Stories You Missed While On Vacation Last Week

Even as you were having some much-deserved rest a relaxation last week, others toiled on, making big decisions and cutting big deals. To bring you up to speed before you’ve even finished your first cup of coffee, here are the 5 Big Music Business Stories You Missed While On Vacation…

NMPA Backed Mechanical Licensing Collective Wins Battle To Administer Music Modernization Act

The US Copyright Office has named the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) as the official entity tasked with licensing and administering rights under the new Music Modernization Act (MMA). The MLC was backed by many major industries organizations including National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), and…

TOP POSTS: This Week’s Most Read Posts On Hypebot

This week, the most frequently read articles on Hypebot covered Borchetta’s pushback against Swift, how Big Machine Records inadvertently promoted a label services deal, Spotify’s shutting down of free direct distribution, and more! How The ‘Spotify Sound’ Is Changing Music Borchetta Bites Back: Taylor, ‘It’s Time For Some Truth’ And…

Unified And Together: How Diverse, Inclusive Is The Music Industry?

In part one of this two-part analysis, Ben Gilbert speaks with a variety of people working within the music business, in an effort to assess the state of diversity and inclusivity within the industry right now, and whether or not it’s representative of society as a whole. ______________________ Guest post…

Defining ‘Indie’ As A Genre: What Is It Anyway?

The term ‘indie’ is often tossed around when describing a certain genre of music, but what does it actually mean? Back in the day, it referred to an artist who was unsigned, but with major labels acts still retaining the ‘indie’ moniker, what does the term actually suggest? Here, Chris…

Tidal Adds Interactive Credits

Music streamer Tidal has added added interactive credit pages designed to spotlight the creators behind the music including background singers, lyricists, producers and mixing engineers. Tidal says this is just a first step in "creating an ecosystem where all contributors to the music making process are highlighted." The streamer says…

Streaming Takes Fans Beyond The Hits. Empowers Music Discovery

As artists continue to one-up each other across all metrics, it seems the music industry one percent are giving way to a broader swathe of artists, making for an at least somewhat more egalitarian music industry. __________________________ Guest post from AWAL Records are breaking left and right. As artists one-up…