100 Million Use Paid Music Streaming Services In US [MusicWatch]

Fresh off the release of RIAA revenue numbers MusicWatch shared its year-end numbers assessing the size of the US streaming market and how music listening is evolving. Among the internet using population 13 and older MusicWatch reported a record 165 million streamers in 4Q, based on listening at least one…

Songwriters Can’t Sue Without Copyright Certificate says U.S. Supreme Court, RIAA Cries Foul

In a rare unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that applying for a copyright is not enough to so sue someone for copyright infringement. It currently can take months to receive the formal certificate of registration. In the case between Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation and Wall-Street.com, the…

Childish Gambino Settles Legal Dispute With Glassnote

Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino filed a lawsuit against his former label Glassnote Records last year, alleging the indie label owed him more than $10,000 in streaming royalties. Now, Glover and Glassnote have settled the dispute. Gambino was on the label between 2011 to 2017, including the Grammy-winning “Awaken, My…

SoundCloud Go+ Adds $4.99 Student Subscriptions

SoundCloud is following the lead of its competitors with $4.99/€4.99 per month Student subscriptions to its G0+ premium ad-free on demand streaming music service. SoundCloud Go+ for Students launches in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada today, and in Germany, France and the Netherlands next week. Students…

PledgeMusic Leaving More Artists Unpaid

As the gloomy saga of PledgeMusic’s financial failings drags on, more artists are revealing that that the now infamous crowdfunding site failed to provide them with payment. Here we look at some specific numbers from a variety of artists. ____________________________ Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0 Recently I…

Woodstock 50 Said To Face Financial Woes

With Woodstock 50 scheduled to take place in just six months, event organizers have not released an initial lineup. Woodstock 50, intended to mark the 50th anniversary of the iconic Woodstock Music & Arts Festival, is scheduled to take place from 16-18 in Watkins Glen in Upstate New York a…

7digital, Juke End Partnership After $4.5M Settlement

UK-based 7digital has reached a settlement with Media Saturn’s Juke music streaming service to dissolve their partnership. Under the Agreement, 7digital will be released from all outstanding contracts with the Juke for an immediate payment by Juke of €4,000,000. Juke has aslo agreed to write off all interest payments and…

How To Pull Off A Great Looking Music Video On A Budget

Producing a music video for free simply isn’t going to happen, but creating a great looking, quality product while actually sticking to budget and not leaving your band destitute is significantly more achievable. Here we look at how. ____________________________ Guest post by Gideon Waxman of Soundfly’s Flypaper Making a great…

4 Ways To Prep For The Chaos Of SXSW 2019

With SXSW just around the corner, members of the music industry are scrambling to get their ducks in a row in order catch all the incredible shows they want to see, meet all the people they want to meet, and maybe even grab a bite to eat along the way….

How Smart Speakers Increase The Artist and Fan Divide

"Alexa (Siri, Google) play __________." With tens of millions of song requests being processed daily, what fills that blank matters. "Play That Funky Music" will net you the Wild Cherry hit. Hear that song once and you know the title. But while "Counting Blue Cars" may have been a big…