On Friday evening, MBW broke the news that Warner Music Group had signed a renewed global licensing deal with YouTube – via an oddly downtrodden internal memo from WMG boss Steve Cooper. “[Our] experiences during these negotiations were proof positive of the acute need to clarify ‘safe harbor’ provisions under US and EU copyright legislation,” it read….

In the first seconds of DJ Khaled’s 2015 music video for “Gold Slugs,” you notice that the record producer is casually drinking a Four Loko (an almost unsettlingly saccharine, caffeinated alcoholic beverage notorious for its ability to cause blackouts) with lunch, the first of many signs that the video exists in a reality far from…

  A subscription to the premium on-demand streaming service’s top tier offering typically weighs in at $9.99-per-month. But in a fresh promotion, new users to the service can sign up to three months of access for just $1. The discount mirrors similar promotions run by Spotify at various points in the last few years, which have helped…

  Will.i.am was shopping a reality show to TV networks when he met Apple Music guru Jimmy Iovine on the office terrace where Iovine likes to do his biggest deals alfresco. The two go way back; Iovine signed the musician when he was running Interscope Records. The music legend loved will.i.am’s idea, a Shark Tank-style competition…

  I’m almost sorry to write about the music industry again. But you should keep reading, even if it isn’t your favorite subject. Technology plays a central role in the attention economy’s transformation we are witnessing these days. Thus, Spotify’s acqui-hire of a blockchain developer team isn’t only interesting with regards to the streaming industry. It…