People who love to buy music have a new place to hang out online. San Francisco-based Bandcamp launched new features Thursday that make the direct-to-fan service a bit more like a social network. Bandcamp users can now follow artists, follow other Bandcamp users and explore the music collections of other people. And because Bandcamp is…

The good people over at Rap Rehab took the time out to chop it up with Zach Quillen, indie star Macklemore’s manager. They talk 4 things you can learn for their rise. All you indie artists should be paying close attention. 1. Apply the 80/20 rule to your social media strategy. Rather than create a profile on…

Last week the Nielsen Company and Billboard released their annual year-end report on music sales. And for industry watchers, it was seven pages of pure statistical deliciousness. (Chart from Statista) The boldface highlights have already been trumpeted. As measured by Nielsen SoundScan, overall music sales reached an another all-time high, with unit sales increasing 3.1%…