Spotify Songwriter Town Hall Charm Offensive: Go Ahead, Make My Day [Op-Ed]

In an effort to combat some of the negative press it’s been receiving over its efforts to keep down songwriter royalty rates, Spotify is planning to hold a series of "town halls" where songwriters can air their concerns, a tactic the streaming company tried in 2014, with less than ideal…

Songtradr Adds $12 Million To Fund Global Growth

Music licensing platform Songtradr has completed a Series B capital of US$12 million to support acquisitions, growth and product development. This round brings Songtradr’s total funding to date to $21.5 million. Billing itself as the only fully-automated, open marketplace for music licensing with over 400,000 artists and catalogs from 190+…

Songs By Jay-Z, Nina Simone, More More Added To National Recording Registry

The Library of Congress announced Wednesday (March 20) that songs performed by Jay-Z, Cyndi Lauper, Neil Diamond and Nina Simon are among 25 recordings being inducted to the National Recording Registry. This year’s selection includes: Jay-Z’s Blueprint album, Lauper’s “She’s So Unusual,” Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” Simon’s “Mississippi Goddam,” Earth, Wind…

BUSINESS OF INDIE: Chess Club Records • Big Hit Entertainment • Prima Classic • Ditto • More

In this week’s edition of the Business Of Indie, Chess Club Records adds an investor and new distribution, BTS propels Big Hit Entertainment, indie label Prima Classic launches, Ditto adds a management division and much more. Like Hypebot’s More News section, The Business Of Indie is nestled under its own…

5 Excellent Free Software Options For Creating Music At Home

The ubiquity (and quality) of available home recording software has dramatically lessened the cost of DIY recording, but with so many options available, it can be difficult to know exactly where to begin. Here, we breakdown five of the best. ____________________ Guest post by Evan Zwisler of Soundfly’s Flypaper The…

Could You Be Making A Record Almost No One Will Hear?

You can pour your heart and soul into a record and create some of the best work of your life, but creating good music in no way guarantees anyone will hear it. Here we look at five common pitfalls artists make when releasing new music, and how can avoid making…

NMPA, Downtown, Ole, Peer, Others Sue Peloton For $150M In Song Infringement

The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has filed a lawsuit against exercise equipment and streaming giant Peloton on behalf of members Downtown Music Publishing, Pulse Music Publishing, ole, peermusic, Ultra Music and others. The lawsuit alleges infringement of more than a thousand musical works and seeks damages of more than…

The Recording Industry Is Growing, So Why Do We Need Article 13? [Op-Ed]

With Article 13 just weeks away from becoming law both sides are ratcheting up to support or fight the copyright directive. Mike Masnick sits firmly in the later cap and asks why the restrictive legislation is need at a time of explosive growth in the music industry. ________________________________________ By Mike…

The Art Of Spending Your Music Money (Part 2)

In part two of this five part series on how to effectively allocate money in the correct places in order to benefit your music career, we look at a visual framework for self-investment, and how artists can use it as a series of checks and balances when developing their business….

Songwriting Workflow: What One Month Of Daily Releases Taught Me

What’s it like to release a new composition every day for a month? Composer Martin Fowler recently took on this challenge (and then some), working to release new music everyday for an entire month. Here he documents his experience, and what he learned from it. ____________________ In this latest from…