Why I Ditched Music Streaming Services (For Now) And Bought A 1-800 Number

Here one innovative music biz self-starter explains how successfully he eschewed traditional streaming service in favor of an incredibly old-school marketing tactic using, drum roll, the telephone. __________________________ Guest post from The One 800s A lot of you must be wondering, Why the hell is Josh trying to get me…

Pandora Adds In-App Voice Control

[UPDATED] Pandora has added Voice Mode, a native smart assistant that allows listeners to control its mobile streaming apps using voice commands. While most music streaming services can be controlled via third party voice apps like Alexa and Google Assistant, only Pandora and Amazon offer it within their own app….

Average Spotify Subscriber Pays $5.50 Per Month And Falling. That’s Less Money For Artists, Labels

The average price that a Spotify subscriber pays in dropping, and that has artists and record labels worried. Despite a stated price of $9.99 USD / €9.99 EU , the actual average price paid global is just $5.50 per month and falling. Spotify prices vary from country to country based…

5 Tips For Preparing To Release New Music [Podcast]

In this new episode of the Music Biz Weekly Podcast, Michael Brandvold and Jay Gilbert discuss an article that Jay wrote for Soultracks.com, 5 Basic Tips: Preparing to Release New Music. "Let’s assume that you’ve recorded great music. Pick a focus track. Ask people you trust which song it should…

Tidal Responds To Criminal Investigation Report

Tidal has responded to reports that Norwegian criminal justice unit Økokrim has opened an investigation into hundreds of millions of possible fake streams that benefited new releases by Kanye West and Beyonce. In a statement today, Tidal denied that they are even a suspect in the probe: “Tidal is not…

Criminal Probe Opened Over 320M Fake Streams On Tidal

Official Norwegian criminal justice unit Økokrim has opened an investigation into hundreds of millions of possible fake streams on Tidal that benefited new releases by Kanye West and Beyonce. Økokrim, The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, is Norway’s central unit for fighting economic and…

Dead & Co. Add Live Recordings To Spotify, Apple Music

Dead & Company, the stadium selling, John Mayer fronted Grateful Dead offshoot, is releasing two years of recording of its live shows to Spotify, Apple Music and other streamers. Live audio for these recordings was mixed and remastered by Dead & Company’s Front of House Engineer, Derek Featherstone, and the…

Record Labels Evolve To Stay Relevant In Streaming Era [Musonomics Report]

A new report based on almost 50 interviews with top-level executives at major and independent record labels, industry analyst and educator Larry Miller digs into how streaming and the digital age have made record labels an indispensable partner for the most ambitious new, developing and superstar artists. _____________________________ In “Same…

YouTube Music Poised To Replace Google Play As Android Default Audio Player

A look at the under the hood of a recent YouTube Music app update shows strong evidence that Google may be about to make it the default music player within its Android operating system. The move could help catapult YouTube Music from also-ran to top tier music streamer. Apple guaranteed…

Spotify Passed 200 Million Active Users At End Of 2018

[UPDATED] Spotify passed 200 million monthly active at the end of 2018, Dustee Jenkins, Spotify Head Of Global Communications shared during an interview at CES yesterday. Jenkins promoted the streamer’s push into podcasts and shared that podcast listeners also consume more music than average on the platform. Spotify had 191…