Kobalt Label Services has launched the first Apple TV official artist app. Specifically designed for the latest version of Apple TV, the app is for British rock band Placebo, who signed their catalogue for digital services to Kobalt in January….

Spotify has confirmed the appointment of George Ergatoudis in the newly-created position of Head of Content Programming for the UK. In his new role at Spotify, based in London, George Ergatoudis will be responsible for leading Spotify’s in-house music curation strategy and content programming for the UK….

Universal Music Publishing Group chairman and CEO Jody Gerson announces a pair of deals today (Dec. 15). The company has signed Demi Lovato for global publishing and has entered into a joint venture with Safehouse Publishing, a division of Safehouse Records, which is co-owned by Lovato, Nick Jonas and their manager, music exec Phil McIntyre….

Howard Stern on Tuesday announced he has re-upped  with satellite radio firm Sirius XM Radio, where his contract was set to expire at the end of the month, for another five years on the air….

On December 7, the rock world rumbled with Rush drummer Neil Peart‘s revelation that he planned to back away from touring. Three days later, Fred Jacobs, president of Jacobs Media and generally regarded as the creator of the classic rock radio format, wrote a blog post asking if other acts should follow Peart’s lead and quit before they risk “damaging their legacies.”…

“Different year, different partner.” That is an accurate description of the industry maneuvering behind Apple Music’s new relationship with Taylor Swift and the pair’s just-announced exclusive on a 1989 tour documentary….

  The US Copyright Royalty Board is set to decide the new webcasting rates this week – a moment which will cost Pandora, or the music business, hundreds of millions of dollars. To understand why, we need to worth through some rather bamboozling maths. MBW will do our best….

Of course. It’s video. Ever since Apple Music was announced at WWDC in early June, we’ve been asking the same question: in a world of locked-down and heavily protected copyrights, how is Apple going to get closer enough to artists to garner a significant business advantage? Now we know….

Stalwart streaming music service Rhapsody has grown its subscriber base by 45 percent over the last year, and now has nearly 3.5 million global subscribers in 34 countries, the company announced on Monday. Rhapsody was able to grow despite increasing competition in the streaming market by the likes of Apple Music, Tidal and YouTube….

As the sun began to set on Chicago’s Soldier Field, the positive vibe was palpable as more than 70,000 fans — most of them clutching American Beauty roses — settled in for arguably the most highly-anticipated shows of 2015: the Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well 50th anniversary concerts….