Apple Has Acquired Shazam [OFFICIAL]

Apple has acquired Shazam, the company confirmed on Monday. The deal for the music and audio recognition app is reported to be worth $400 million. Shazam had been valued as high as $1 billion, had previously raised $143 million from investors including Kleiner Perkins and music groups Sony, Universal and…

Why Playlists Matter More Than Ever

Although things like blogs and radio can still do a lot for bringing music to the attention of consumers, there has been a massive shift in the power of playlists, which are positioning themselves as the dominant source of music discovery. ___________________________ Guest post by Patrick McGuire of the TuneCore…

Shazam Is To Apple As The Echo Nest Is To Spotify [Mark Mulligan]

From Mark Mulligan of MIDiA: Shazam finally found a buyer: Apple. Ever since its affiliate sales revenue model crumbled with the onset of streaming (there’s no business in an affiliate fee on a $0.01 stream), Shazam has been trying to find a new business model. It doubled down on providing…

What Is SoundScan and How Is It Used?

SoundScan, a tracking platform owned and operated by Nielsen, allows artists to get a close and detailed look at how their music’s sales are performing on a week by week basis in both retail and non-traditional marketplaces. ________________________________ Guest Post by Ta’Rikah Jones of Symphonic Blog Have you ever wanted…

How Will Soundtrap Acquisition Change Spotify? The Industry?

Here we look at the implications of Spotify’s recent purchase of Swedish cloud-based collaborative creative space Soundtrap as the streaming giant looks to increase the breadth of its offerings by providing consumers with more than just streaming in advance of it’s anticipated IPO. ________________________________ Guest post by Tyler Lyon of…

Apple To Acquire Shazam For $400 Million [REPORT]

Apple is reportedly days away from acquiring music and audio recognition app Shazam for a $400 million. The startup, which had been valued as high as $1 billion, had previously raised $143 million from investors including Kleiner Perkins, DN Capital and IVP, as well as, Sony Music, Universal Music and…

Spotify Playlist Push: What Artists Really Need To Know

In this article entrepreneuring musician Brian Hazard gives his review of the service Playlist Push, a paid service designed to get your music on Spotify playlists. ________________________ Guest post by Brian Hazard of Passive Promotion My Spotify numbers are weak compared to my other social stats. I hover around 1200…

Full Text Of Spotify, Tencent Announcement

I n a deal certain to cause concern among labels and music publishers, Spotify, China’s Tencent Holdings and its subsidiary Tencent Music today announced joint equity investments that strengthen their bargaining power exponentially. RELATED: Spotify, China’s Tencent Announce Deal That Strengthens Their Negotiating Power Exponentially Here is the full text…

YouTube Planning New Spotify Competitor "Remix" [REPORT]

YouTube is planning a March launch of a music service internally dubbed Remix, according to a new report. The move comes amidst increasing calls for YouTube to return more revenue to creators and rightsholders, and will be the streamer’s third attempt at getting users to pay. _____________________________ Google’s YouTube is…

Amazon Music Unlimited Adds 28 Countries

Amazon Music Unlimited, the third most popular music streamer in the US, is expanding to 28 new countries, mostly in Europe and and South America. ________________________________________ Since first launching in the US in October of 2016, Amazon Music Unlimited has expanded to the UK, Germany, Austria and Japan. Today it…