With streaming revenue showing a massive increase in comparison to previous years, the major three record labels are rejoicing at their annual haul. A big part of this income still draws from physical sales however, and as these old-school revenue streams continue to thin to a trickle, will streaming be…
Category archives: Retail & Vinyl
11 Proven Band Merch Ideas To Create Excitement, Sales, Fan Loyalty
Although physical sales of music may have dwindled over the past few years, merchandise remains an exciting and lucrative aspect of the music industry, generating billions of dollars every year. Here we look at eleven true and tested types of merch that get fans excited, while providing artists with a…
Owning Music Is Important – Vinyl Can Help
With the rise of the digital age, music has ceased to become something we own as much as something we rent. One format, once thought of as obsolete, is shifting this new balance, however. Here we look at why ownership of music is still important, and how vinyl is making…
Bankrupt RPM Distribution Owes $6.7 Million To Labels
Following the sudden closure of Canada’s largest independent vinyl distributor RPM last month, details surrounding the company’s bankruptcy have begun to emerge. A sworn statement filed by RPM president Paul Herzog in Ontario court reveals the company owes $8.9 million CND / $6.7M USD in liabilities. The majority of the…
Secretly Leaves Warner Music’s ADA, Signs With AMPED
Independent music label and distribution company Secretly has parted ways with Warner Music Group’s indie arm ADA, and entered into a US distribution partnership with Florida-based AMPED. AMPED, is part of Alliance Entertainment and it its client labels include AWAL/Kobalt, Believe, Empire, IDOL, Lindsey Stirling, Mad Decent, Merge, mTheory, SM…
HMV Rescued From Bankruptcy By Sunrise Records
UK HMV record store chain has been saved from bankruptcy by Doug Putman, who also runs the Canadian music retailer Sunrise Records. Sunrise also took over 70 HMV retail locations across Canada early in 2017, growing the Sunrise footprint from 12 to 82 stores overnight. The core HMV brand, 100…
Cassette Sales Still On The Rise
When streaming began to dominate music consumption, many industry insiders believed all physical forms of media would soon die out, but it appears that vinyl wasn’t the only format to prove these people wrong, and that cassette tapes have see something of a renaissance of late. _______________________ Guest post by…
Live Albums: Lost Art Or Underutilized Asset? [Jake Udell]
Here Jake Udell explores how the live album, a format which has a fallen a bit by the wayside in recent years, was utilized by breakout artist Freya Ridings with hugely successful results. ___________________________ Guest post by Jake Udell of Art of Manager Live albums… Are they a lost art……
Is Printing, Selling Physical CDs Still Worth It?
While there is a lot of nostalgia surrounding the CDs and CD buying culture, the manufacturing costs and associated complexities of creating them leave a lot of more contemporary artists wondering if, in the digital age, CDs are really worth it at all. _______________________________ Guest post by Brad Pack of…
PledgeMusic Pays Fastball 50%, As Others Exit Platform
Last week, Bob Lefsetz brought the plight of the many artists that have not been getting paid on time by PledgeMusic for the last 6 months to a broader audience. Now Fastball, Bob ‘s posters boys for PledgeMusic transgressions, report that they received a little over half of the money…