Apple Music Has 15 Million Subscribers, Gets Total Design Makeover

Apple Music now has 15 million paid subscribers, Apple announced during the company’s World Wide Developer Conference today. The too confusing Apple Music app also got a complete design makeover. ________________________________________ Apple Music has been "redesigned from the ground up" just one year after launch. The new app will be…

In Defense Of The Digital Album

As the popularity of playlists grows, and music consumption habits gradually change in favor of the single, many artists are gravitating away from full-length albums, something which could have negative consequences for both artists and fans. ______________________________ Guest Post by Heather Willensky on Medium What’s the best band you discovered…

We’re Live Tweeting Today’s Apple #WWDC Announcments At 1PM ET + Thanks For Helping Us Surpass 52,000 Twitter Followers

First, thank-you for helping us amass more than 52K Twitter followers (52,626 to be exact). We’re live tweeting all the announcements live during today’s Apple WWDC conference starting at 10AM PT/1PM ET. Join us @hypebot. We’ll also post the music announcements right after the keynote. In the meantime, here’s what…

Preview Of Today’s Apple Music Announcements

The marquee announcements at today’s Apple’s World Developers Conference (WWDC) will be about Siri and iOS 10. But thanks to some well informed leaks, we know a lot about today’s important music related developments, as well. _________________________________________________ Just a year after launch, Apple Music is getting a major design overhaul….

MON. BRIEFING: Microsoft Buys LinkedIn For $26.2B • Apple #WWDC Today • Berklee Launches Major Royalties Initiative • More

MONDAY 6.13.16 Music Business News From Around The Web We’ll get our first look at Apple Music’s makeover, but will it be enough? We’re live tweeting today’s announcements starting at 1PM ET via @hypebot. Updated continuously under our More News

Rhapsody / Napster Restructures, Laying Off Staff, Closing San Francisco Office

[UPDATED] Rhapsody and Napster are reportedly closing their San Francisco office and laying off staff in a broad restructuring effort, as the company fights to find profitability in the increasingly competitive streaming music sector. __________________________________________ Rhapsody is closing its long time San Francisco office and laying off staff, according to…

Do Freemium Music Services Actually Offer Greater Revenue Per User Than Radio + Sales?

Many in the music industry seem to long for a simpler time when free ad-supported radio was used as a mechanism for selling records, but was the revenue from that model that much greater than the freemium streaming which we see today? ____________________________________ Guest Post by David Touve on Rockonomic…

Everything Wrong With The Spotify/NMPA Settlement

Following the filing of a class action lawsuit against Spotify, the popular streaming service announced that it had reached a landmark deal with the NMPA which it quickly tried to get publishers and songwriters to sign on to, a deal which is rife with problems, says the respected Future Of…

Radiohead’s "In Rainbows" Is Now Available On Spotify, As Rebel Band Embraces Music Streaming

Just day’s after learning that Radiohead’s newest album "A Moon Shaped Pool" would be available on Spotify June 17th, their breakthrough release "In Rainbows" arrived on the streamer. It’s a surprising turn for a band that has been vocal over its concerns about streaming. But the real surprise is the…

Spotify Won’t Ever Sell To Apple, Google, Microsoft Or Amazon Says CEO Daniel Ek

Spotify investors hoping for a big pay day better hope that the music streamer has a very successful IPO. That’s because CEO and founder Damiel Ek says that he’ll never, ever sell out to one of the internet giants that might have the cash to afford to buy. ____________________________________ At…