This Week’s YouTube Music Charts: Ariana Grande, Ozuna

Ariana Grande keeps her hold at the top of this week’s YouTube Music Charts, Ozuna passes one billion views with “Se Preparó” and “All I Want for Christmas is You” continues climb landing at #13 this week. YouTube Music Highlights Ariana Grande’s “thank you, next” holds onto the #1 slot…

Zoe Keating Shares Spotify, Streaming Earnings 2018

Cellist and composer Zoe Keating has won legions of fans with recordings and performances that use live sampling to create a rhythmically and sonically dense, almost otherworldly sound. To her fellow independent artists, she’s also an inspiration and a thought leader. _______________________________ Snowmelt (EP) by Zoe Keating The centerpiece of…

Indie Artists, Streaming Were Big Winners In 2018 [Mark Mulligan]

Global recorded music revenues will top $18,9 billion in 2018, says MIDiA analyst Mark Mulligan in a year end wrap up. While both major and indie labels are showing strong gains, the biggest growth is among independent and diy artists whose total 2018 revenue will approach $643 million, up 35%…

How One Beat Is Killing Country Music [VIDEO]

Country music has been taken over by snap and click tracks, says music journalist Grady Smith; and it is doing the genre a disservice. "Keep in mind," says Smith "I like a handful of these songs, but the pervasiveness of this exact same beat is suffocating." Grady Smith says he’s…

97% Of Mexico Admit To Music Piracy Even Country Embraces Spotify Premium

Some not-so-swashbuckling new data from an anti-piracy organization in Mexico recently released revealed that a staggering 97% of the population has engaged in some form of piracy, much of it stream-ripping. __________________________ Guest post from Haulix Daily A local anti-piracy outfit in Mexico has released new data that claims 97%…

Spotify Sees $1.5B Tencent Windfall As Stock Hits New Low (NASDAQ: SPOT)

The value of Spotify’s stake in Tencent Music nearly double when the Chinese music streamer went public on the New York Stock Exchange last week. Spotify’s windfall could top $1.5 billion and make the company profitable in Q4. Spotify stock closed at $120.47 Monday, a post-IPO low. In December 2017,…

Jen Danielson To Head Pandora Country Programming

Pandora has named Jen Danielson as Head of Country Programming. She joins after a decade at CMT, where she was most recently Director of Music Strategy. Based in Nashville, Danielson will oversee all programming for country music at Pandora, one of the most popular genres on the streamer. At CMT…

Chartmetric’s 2018 Wrap-Up: Weekly Winners & Pop Stars

Tis the season for end of year wraps, and Chartmetric is digging into data across the major streaming platforms to bring you a comprehensive look at some of 2018’s biggest standout hits. ________________________ Guest post by Jason Joven of Chartmetric Chartmetric data as of Dec 12, 2018 Right about now,…

Moving On Up: Apple Gets Into The Business Of Elevator Music

Although the tinkly, saccharine iterations of current major hits, dubbed ‘Muzak’ is much maligned by those forced to endure it, such watered down covers are a fairly profitable vein of music business, enough so that apple has decided it wants its piece of the pie. ____________________________ Guest post by Bobby…

How Spotify Pre-Save Is Leading A Shift In Digital Music Marketing

Catering to your fanbase is a key part of successful music marketing, and Spotify’s new pre-save option – which gives fans the option of adding as-yet unreleased music their library, allows artists to engage with their listeners early, and ensures listeners don’t miss out on the latest tracks. _________________________________ In…