The music industry is undergoing a major resurgence as measured by all indicators except one, according to an extensive study published by Citi GPS. Left behind are the musicians, whose creations make the rest of the music industry possible, but who are receiving less than 12% of the annual revenue….
Category archives: streaming
Calling ‘Bulls**t’ On Tim Cook’s Anti-Spotify Rhetoric
Apple CEO Tim Cook clearly had Spotify and its algorithmically driven playlists in mind when he said: “We worry about the humanity being drained out of music, about it becoming a bits-and-bytes kind of world instead of the art and craft.” But are Cook’s anti-Spotify comments fair? "Bits-and-bytes" music is…
Audius Raises $5.5M For ‘SoundCloud On The Blockchain’
Audius has raised a $5.5 million to use blockchain and cryptocurrency to assure that artists are paid fairly. It’s a pitch made repeatedly by numerous startups in recent months, but Audius now has the capital to actually move this game-changing concept forward. _____________________________ Music tech startup Audius has raised a…
How Much Money Will That Playlist Placement Make Me?
Accurately assessing just how much revenue you’ll be able to pull down from a playlist placement can be difficult to determine, but with some careful analysis, Chris Robley at least shows us how to make an educated guess. _______________________________ By Chris Robley of CD Baby form their DIY Musician blog…
CEO Tim Cook Is OK That Apple Music Loses Money, Slams ‘Bits-And-Bytes’ Streaming
“We’re not in it for the money,” says Apple CEO Tim Cook about the tech giant’s loss leader Apple Music service. While these are enough to concern Daniel Ek, it is Cook’s dismal of ‘bits-and-bytes’ streaming that the Spotify CEO will likely find the most upsetting. “I couldn’t make it…
Major Labels Team To Sue YouTube Music Ripping Sites
Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony Entertainment filed a lawsuit last Friday against two Russian music ripping websites, FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com. Ripping music from YouTube and other streaming sites is now the most pervasive form of music piracy. According to Billboard, the sites allow users to rip audio from videos…
iHeartRadio Passes 120 Million Users
iHeartMedia may be bankrupt, but radio still lives… online at least. iHeartRadio says that it has surpassed 120 million registered users, adding another 10 million listeners over the last few months. Beyond its radio and music streams, iHeart attributes the growth to the addition of 20,000 podcasts, including 750 iHeartRadio…
SoundCloud Adds Mobile Feature Spotify Lacks: COMMENTS
SoundCloud is relaunching a popular feature – comments from its mobile apps – alongside a new user experience in iOS and Android. It’s a feature that every music service should have, and is missing from Spotify and Apple Music. Commenting is a core social feature on SoundCloud, with millions of…
WMG Sells All Spotify Stock, Pays Artists, Labels $126M
Warner Music Group has sold its entire holdings in Spotify stock for $504 million and will begin payments to artists and labels this month, the company announced on an earnings call Tuesday. "In February 2016, we were the first major to announce a policy to share proceeds from equity in…
Apple Music Adds ‘Friends Mix’ Discovery Playlist
Apple Music has added Friends Mix, a new discovery playlist. Updated every Monday, it gathers 25 songs that the user’s friends on Apple Music are listening to. The Friends Mix joins the Apple Music’s algorithmic Favorites mix, Chill mix and New Music mix. Users can find Friends Mix in their…