The prospect of Facebook taking on the likes of Spotify and YouTube in the world of music streaming is no longer a matter of ‘if’ – it’s a matter of ‘when’. Last month, MBW revealed that the social media giant was hiring for a Legal Director of Music Licensing, based at its HQ in Menlo…
Top A&R execs heading to MUSEXPO 2017
This year’s A&R Worldwide MUSEXPO event in Los Angeles will see a raft of leading A&R executives turn out to discuss the key issues affecting the music industry, delivering keynote addresses and taking part in a variety of panel sessions. Among the many topics under discussion will be maximising revenue streams, the ever-evolving nature of…
INSPIRED BY CARPOOL KARAOKE, SPOTIFY INTRODUCES… TRAFFIC JAMS
Apple Music signed a massive deal in order to get the spin-off to the massive dealthat is Carpool Karaoke as a streaming exclusive. What a massive deal that was. Spotify couldn’t get the massive deal that is Carpool Karaoke. So it’s come up with… this. Traffic Jams is a new series launching on Spotify in…
Watch what happens when Spotify gives unknown music acts a big push
Spotify is the equivalent of a music store, stacked with more than 30 million singles. If you pay Spotify $10 a month, you can grab any of the singles you want, whenever you want. But that’s a lot of singles. Who’s going to help you pick through them? Spotify has more than than two…
KOBALT LAUNCHES AWAL APP TO ‘DEMYSTIFY’ STREAMING DATA FOR INDEPENDENT ARTISTS
Kobalt is giving independent musicians another reason to think twice about signing their copyrights away. The company has taken the wraps off its new mobile AWAL App, which offers independent acts a wealth of insights into their performance across Apple Music and Spotify. In addition to up-to-date streaming volume, the app provides information regarding…
Warner Music Launches Fan-Driven, Vinyl-Only Label Run Out Groove: Exclusive
Warner Music Group is officially unveiling its new fan-driven, vinyl-only record label: Run Out Groove. The label’s forward-thinking format calls upon fans each month to determine which of three records — either previously unreleased, out of print, or an entirely new collection compiled from the Warner Music vault — will become available for purchase in a…
A New Strategy For Releasing Music
A new strategy in music releases is beginning to take place, even within the major labels. In almost a return to the early days of records, the single song is king rather than the album, and that requires an entirely new look at the timing of when your material becomes available. The basic premise of…
Geffen Records to Relaunch With Neil Jacobson as President: Exclusive
Geffen Records has had several incarnations over the years, and another one begins today: the storied record label is relaunching with veteran A&R exec Neil Jacobson as president. The move was exclusively announced to Billboard by John Janick, chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M. “Geffen Records has always represented the true entrepreneurial spirit of the music business,” Janick said in a statement….
ASCAP relaunches royalty admin services arm Songwize
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) has relaunched its administration services business, Songwize. The business offers rightsholders such as major and independent music publishers a royalty administration service for digital platforms. It processes and matches performance files and pays royalties in accordance with ASCAP distribution policy and rules, and has been in…
How to Fix Spotify’s Business Model and Save the Music Industry
Wall Street doesn’t care that Spotify isn’t profitable. They care that Spotify doesn’t have a realistic plan to become profitable. That’s a big difference. So how can Spotify become wildly profitable, for decades to come? The answer is to change their relationship with the major content owners: Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music…
