Spotify Adds Personalization To Curated Playlists and That’s Great News For Artists, Labels

Some official Spotify playlists will now be personalized based on a listener’s taste. For those playlists, no two will be the same. So while not the same as a permanent playlist placement, all music now has a much better chance of getting heard by the right listeners. What does all…

Ex-Apple Exec To Lead Soundcloud Subscription Push

SoundCloud has hired Anthony Gabriele as SVP, Subscriptions & Marketing. Gabriele was head of subscription marketing at Apple where he helped grow Apple Music to over 50 million paid subscribers. In the newly created role, Gabriele will lead the growth and expansion of SoundCloud’s Listener and Creator businesses, in addition…

ASCAP Elects New Board Of Directors

ASCAP has released the results of its biennial election for the Board of Directors and named the twelve writer and twelve publisher members elected to serve on the Board for a two-year term beginning April 1st, 2019. In addition to ASCAP President and Board Chairman Paul Williams, the writer members…

Has Race To The Bottom Begun? JioSaavn Cut Prices 75% To Battle Spotify, YouTube Music

Leading Indian music streaming platform JioSaavn has cut the cost of its annual ‘Pro’ subscription by 75%. The move comes just weeks after Spotify and YouTube Music launched in India. Previously, JioSaavn charged $14.49 or Rs. 999 for a full year of Pro, now it’s just $4.34 or Rs. 299…

Reunion Tour! Bands, Breakups and Contracts

The vast majority of successful bands usually end up going through some kind of personnel change, sometimes to the point of having no original members at all. So what are the legal ramifications of these switcheroos and breakups? Prof. David Philp explains. _______________________________ Guest post by William Paterson University Professor…

Article 13 Copyright Directive Is Approved Ending Safe Harbor For YouTube

The European Union gave its final approval to the Article 11 and 13 Copyright Directive designed to update copyright law in Europe for the online age. Members of the European Parliament voted 348 in favor and 274 against. Google, YouTube and others in tech say that the rule, which requires…

50+ Music Companies File Copyright Suits Against ISPs Charter, Bright House

More than 50 major music companies have joined to file separate lawsuits against ISP providers Charter and Bright House for not doing enough to stop copyright infringement. Each suit could result in more than $1 billion in damages. Universal, Sony and WMG are joined by dozens of major music publishers…

New Pinterest Stats Show Why It Shouldn’t Be Ignored

An SEC IPO filing share stats that serve as a reminder of just how popular the ‘visual search engine’ is and why it should not be ignored by any serious marketer. The highlights and how to use the platform to market music: 265 million monthly active users that’s up from…

Neighboring Rights: What They Are, Why They’re Important

The concept of neighboring rights parallels that of performance rights. Where performance rights reference the right to perform a composition, neighboring rights reference the ability to publicly perform the sound recording. So, why are these neighboring rights so important to artists and independent labels? _____________________________ Guest post by Randi Zimmerman…

How to Sing A Happy Tune At Tax Time: Musician’s Guide

While tax season is commonly a source of dread for most Americans, working as a musician carries with it some unique tax implications, both when it comes to paying on what you earn, and in terms of what you’re allowed to deduct. In this piece, we hear from some of…