Ed Sheeran Broke Multiple Spotify Records Last Week

Following the release of two highly anticipated new tracks ‘Shape of You’ and ‘Castle on the Hill’ on Spotify and elsewhere last, the music streamer announced that Ed Sheeran had broken a number of records this week. _______________________________________ Ed Sheeran’s record breaking week on Spotify included: Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of…

SoundExchange To Continue To Distribute Most Pandora Royalties To Artists Despite Direct Licensing Deals

Royalties from Pandora’s ad-supported radio service will continue to be paid to artists through SoundExchange, despite recent direct licencing deals with major music companies. The agreement both insures a major income stream for SoundExchange and maintains the performing rights organization’s position as a protector of artists. ___________________________________ An agreement for…

Spotify , Pandora, YouTube Top 10 App Earners In 2016 Proving That Freemium Still Works

A new analysis proves just how dominate a player Spotify is. The study of app downloads and app revenue showed that the music streamer was the top earner both in Apple’s App Store and overall (App Store and Google Play) globally in 2016 ________________________________________ Spotify earned more revenue than any…

High-Res Streaming May Be Getting Closer

Long awaited by many, it appears as though high-resolution streaming could soon become an industry reality, with the three major labels and several prominent streaming companies announce their support for a new higher quality format. ________________________ Guest Post by Bobby Owsinski on Music 3.0 I’ve been predicting for over a…

Pandora Stock Climbs On News Of Major Layoffs

UPDATE 2: Pandora shared some positive news about both subscribers and earnings late on Thursday, after a week in which investors shaved tens of millions of dollars off it valuation. As of mid-afternoon Friday, Pandora stock was up almost 7%, the same percentage of staff who will be getting pink…

SoundCloud Makes Two Executive Appointments

SoundCloud has hired Yahoo VP of Engineering, Artem Fishman as Chief Technology Officer and SVP Engineering. He will report to SoundCloud co-founder and former CTO Eric Wahlforss, who becomes the Chief Product Officer. _______________________________ SoundCloud has hired Artem Fishman as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Senior Vice President, Engineering. In…

Artist vs. Songs: Building An Identity In The Streaming Era (Part II)

Here Nick Susi further explores the impact which streaming culture will have on creators, managers, and others involved in the music business, particularly as the lowered barrier of entry has increased the volume of songs and artists crowding the industry. ______________________________ Guest post by Nick Susi, creative strategist in music…

Pandora Is Worth $700 Million Less Than Just 6 Months Ago, As Stock Slide Continues

Pandora stock dropped for the third trading day in a row on Tuesday after news last week that SiriusXM was "unlikely" to buy the music streaming service. As of Noon, the stock had fallen to $11.93 and was dropping. ______________________________________ Pandora stock continued to fall after a SiriusXM executive threw…

Spotify Creates "Presidents Of Playlists" Position For Obama

Last week President Obama commented that he’s “still waiting for his job at Spotify” to former Swedish ambassador Mark Brzezinzki and his wife Natalia Brzezinski; and today Spotify founder Daniel Ek tweeted to POTUS a very unique job opening for a “President of Playlists” at the music streamer. ________________________________________ "I…

Artist vs. Songs: Building An Identity In The Streaming Era

As 2016 drew to a close, much of the industry animosity targeted at streaming seems to have been replaced with a largely favorable outlook. Here Nick Susi examines the state streaming today and what its long-term impact might be. ___________________________ Guest Post by Nick Susi, creative strategist in music &…