How To Craft An Effective Spotify Audio Ad For Your Music

With the new Show.co’s Ad Builder tool, artists can easily create an ad capable of reaching Spotify’s massive listening population, with targeting based on the geography and genre interests of listeners. Here Chris Robley outlines some key tips for actually recording and producing these audio ads. __________________________ Guest post by…

Recorded Music Revenue Grows 9.7%, Streaming Up 34% Worldwide says IFPI

The global recorded music market was up 9.7% in 2018. That’s the fourth consecutive year of growth, according to the recorded music industry trade group IFPI’s Global Music Report 2019. Total revenue for 2018 was $19.1 billion. Streaming revenue grew 34% and accounted for 47% of global revenue, driven by…

TUE. BRIEF: Pandora To Test Interactive Ads, Playlist Diversity, Symphonic & Reservoir To Nashville, More

TUESDAY 4.2.19
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Apple Becomes A Media Company, Pivots To Subscriptions [Mark Mulligan]

As iPhone and hardware sales slowed, Apple has sought new revenue streams; and like it has with Apple Music is shifting to a revenue strategy based more on content and subscriptions. It will be a difficult and expensive journey, says MIDiA analyst Mark Mulligan’ that will reshape the entire digital…

What Musicians Need To Know About Spotify’s Personalized Editorial Playlists

Spotify has recently been testing the waters with its new personalized editorial playlists, a kind of hybrid between curatorial and strictly algorithmic playlists. Here Chris Robley outlines what artists need to know about this new listening format entering the streaming arena. ___________________________ Guest post by Chris Robley of DIY Musician…

Kobalt Revenue Up 25%, AWAL Grew 50% In Last Fiscal Year

Kobalt has reported strong growth for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. Revenues at the global indie publisher and label services firm rose 25.3% year-over-year to $402.1 million. Gross collections were up 30% percent to $494 million. AWAL, the company’s recorded music and label services division, grew 50% during…

Alison Bonny Is Leaving Spotify And I’m Sad

Alison Bonny is leaving Spotify after eight years as Communications Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Bonny joined when Spotify had just a million subscribers and exits as it passes 200 million active users. The respected executive also spearheaded many of the streamer’s international launches. I’m not prone to…

“Old Town Road” Was #19 On Country Chart, Then Billboard Decided It Wasn’t Really A Country Song

Lil Nas X scored a crossover country hit when his cowboy-themed rap song “Old Town Road,” debuted at #19 on the Billboard country chart. The Billboard decided to pull the song from a country chart after determining it wasn’t a good fit for the genre. In a statement to Rolling…

Amazon Music To Be 2019’s Fastest Growing Music Streamer

Amazon Music will be the fastest growing music service in the US this year, according to a new analysis, crossing 35 million monthly listeners in 2019. That trend will continue through 2023. eMarketer predicts a growth rate for Amazon of 17.7% year over year. Earlier this week, eMarketer’s data dive…

BMG Reports Strong ‘Organic’ Growth

Bertelsmann’s indie music subsidiary BMG marked its 10th year in 2018 with significant growth in revenue and profits. BMG reported that overall revenue for 2018 was up by 7.5 % to €545 million / $613 million USD. BMG attributed the revenue to “organic growth” and noted the benefits of the…