After his song "Cold Little Heart" earned a prominent spot on HBO’s new Big Little Lies, Michael Kiwanuka saw a massive jump in his music’s popularity. Here he discusses how TV placement can help artists whose music may not fit with traditional radio, and the important relationship between a well…
Category archives: Streaming & Cloud
Artificial Intelligence Is The Future Of Music and Here’s Why
During the course of 2016, the music industry saw double digit growth for the first time since 1998, something for which they have artificial intelligence, and its use by platforms like Pandora and Spotify, to thank. _________________________ Guest post by David Deal of Superhype The music industry finally has some…
Pandora Is Now Talking To Private Equity Firms In Search Of Cash
Earlier this week, we learned that Pandora had asked the major labels for cash or better royalty rates. After receiving what is reported to be a tepid response from UMG, WMG and Sony, the music streamer is now talking to private equity firms in search of cash. ________________________________ Pandora is…
The Reason That YouTube Pays Artists So Little
After a rough financial decade, the music business is finally seeing some appreciable revenue growth, and it’s showing no signs of stopping. YouTube, however, doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo and continues to pay artists a minimal amount. Here we look at why this is. __________________________ Guest post by…
How Pandora Helped Ed Sheeran, Lorde, Lana Del Rey and The xx Gain Momentum Before Their New Album Release
When Pandora listeners hear a new single, they create stations based on that artist’s music and hear more of that artist. That’s gold when the single preceded a new album, explains Pandora’s Glenn Peoples. _______________________________ By Glenn Peoples, Music Insights and Analytics at Pandora As long as there will be…
Major Layoffs At Slacker Radio [UPDATE]
UPDATE: Slacker has laid off a major portion of it’s staff, Hypebot has confirmed. In a statement (below), the company’s CEO said that "approximately 25%" of the staff had been let go. Earlier in the day, a source familiar with the music streamer put the total layoffs at 50%. The…
Fans Have A Growing Willingness To Actually Pay For Music [MusicWatch]
Music fans are showing a growing willingness to actually pay for music, and that is helping to drive the current growth in the recorded music industry. In fact, the value of those fans grew 11% last year driven by tens of millions of $10 per month on-demand subscriptions, according to…
A Look At Just How Fast Streaming Music Is Growing [CHART]
It’s no secret that music streaming is exploding. For the first time last year, the record labels made more money from streaming than from the sales of digital downloads and physical good combined. This chart chronicles music’s streaming explosion.
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The Future Of Windowed Streaming Exclusives [Bas Grasmayer]
Last week, Universal Music Group and Spotify announced a deal would soon be taking place between the two companies. One component of the deal gives UMG the option of withholding certain content from Spotify’s free users for a period, raising some interesting questions surrounding windowed streaming releases. _____________________________ Guest post…
Indie Labels Report Struggle With ‘Whack-A-Mole’ Digital Takedowns, 30% Have Given Up Trying [SURVEY]
A survey conducted by A2IM (American Association of Independent Music) and Future of Music Coalition (FMC) confirms that independent labels are struggling to deal with unauthorized use of their recordings and videos. ____________________________ A new study by A2IM and Future of Music Coalition asked independent labels of all sizes about…