Net Neutrality Central To The Streaming Economy, Here’s Why

In the wake the recent flare-up of the net neutrality debate, we’re take a close look at what net neutrality means for the streaming economy, and what effect Ajit Pai’s alterations would have on music streaming as we currently know it, both in the US and abroad. _____________________________ Guest post…

Believe, TuneCore Deny Sale To Sony

Believe Digital and its TuneCore division have not been sold to Sony, as widely reported based on a story in the Nikeii Asian Review, according to the company’s CEO. An approximately $400 million price tag had been put on the supposed sale. ____________________________________________ Reports that “we have concluded a deal…

Amazon Is Now 3rd Largest Music Subscription Service [Mark Mulligan]

Although it has often been overshadowed in the competitive world of music streaming, Amazon seems to be stepping into the light, with recent data showing Amazon music to be the second most widely used streaming app, and is the third largest subscription service globally. _________________________________________ Guest post by Mark Mulligan…

Her Job Is To Curate Official Spotify Playlists Of New Artists [VIDEO INTERVIEW]

Athena Koumis is an editor at Spotify, and her job is to curate "Fresh Finds" and other official Spotify playlists. "My day revolves around listening to music.," says Kormis. "My particular focus is emerging music, new artists, trying to help them grow and find spots for them to expand their…

Oh Canada! Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Shares His Spotify Playlist

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has released an official Spotify playlist featuring his current favourite tracks. His PM Mix includes contemporary and classic songs from Canadian artists including Drake, Of Monsters of Men, Blue Rodeo, k.d. lang, The Tragically Hip, R.E.M., Robbie Robertson, Cœur De Pirate, and more. Listen: Related…

Chance The Rapper Declares "SoundCloud is here to stay," Debuts Track With Young Thug Exclusively On Streamer

After reading multiple reports that SoundCloud was just weeks from running out of cash, Chance The Rapper tweeted, "I’m working on the SoundCloud thing." The tweet led to a call between the hugely successful indie rapper and SoundCloud co-founder Alex Ljung followed by a surprise major track release. ____________________________________ After…

Steve Knopper Discusses His Updated Book “Appetite for Self-Destruction" [Podcast]

This week co-host of Hypebot’s Music Biz Weekly Podcast Jay Gilbert flies solo. He’s joined by guest Steve Knopper who it a Rolling Stone contributing editor and the author of "Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age," which was just re-release in an…

Chance The Rapper Is Working On A Plan To Save SoundCloud

Details are non-existent, but the message came from the man himself. "I’m working on the SoundCloud thing," wrote the hugely successfully Chance The Rapper, on a day when reports of the music streamer’s impending demise dominated music industry news. ____________________________________ Chance The Rapper is working on a plan to save…

8 Step Guide To Getting On A Playlist

While many articles may offer up ‘hacks’ to getting featured on a playlist, doing so usually requires hard work over a period of time. Here we look at an eight step guide for organically getting your music onto a streaming service and, hopefully eventually, featured on a prominent playlist. _______________________…

Google Debuts New Release Radio

Google Play Music has added New Release Radio, which serves up new releases based on the user’s your personal tastes. New Release Radio joins Spotify’s Release Radar and other streaming efforts to help fans unearth new music and deep catalog in an ever growing library of 40 million tracks. ___________________________________…