One could argue that, like editing, music criticism isn’t a job; it’s a sickness. How many people do you know who, with very little prompting, will go on for several minutes or paragraphs or longer about an artist or album? Relatedly, as you may have heard, music critics take lists really seriously — especially year-end…
Why SoundCloud CEO Kerry Trainor Thinks ‘Being First’ In Music Is Big Business
Is Internet culture lucrative? The answer remains bleak for any industry. Some of recent history’s most culturally powerful companies — Tumblr, Vine, Twitter, Reddit, even YouTube — have operated in the red since their founding, and have struggled to sustain themselves as businesses. Music streaming is no exception, and SoundCloud was dangerously close this year…
SONGS Music Publishing President Ron Perry to Take Over Columbia Records Jan. 2
With SONGS Music Publishing sold to Kobalt today, Ron Perry, minority owner and president, is on his way to head up Columbia Records. Sources say Perry was already the front-runner for the job, with a signed deal to helm the storied label to happen contingent upon SONGS being sold. With that now official, Perry will take…
The music videos from 2017 that we most need you to watch
Welcome to a very special installment of the beloved Verge column One Video, with Kaitlyn and Lizzie. Every week of 2017 — or, technically, since February 3rd, when we had the idea — we’ve been sifting through the slew of music videos that hit the web and selecting the one (or occasionally two, or occasionally…
Songs, Music Publisher of Lorde and Diplo, Bought by Kobalt
Carianne Marshall, left, Matt Pincus and Ron Perry of Songs Music Publishing, which is selling its assets to a rival music publisher, Kobalt. In a closely watched music deal, one upstart is buying another for the rights to a catalog of fresh pop hits like Lorde’s “Royals” and the Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face.” Songs…
The Year in Charts 2017: Ed Sheeran Is Top Artist, Kendrick Lamar’s ‘DAMN.’ Rules Billboard 200
Following a male-dominated year on the charts, the year-end top 10 rankings of the overall top artists, Billboard 200 albums & Billboard Hot 100 songs are all populated by men. For the first time since 1984, the entire top 10 of Billboard’s 2017 year-end top artists ranking are all men. Ed Sheerancloses out the year…
YouTube’s new music streaming service reportedly launching next March
YouTube’s new music streaming service is set to launch next March, tentatively with the name Remix, according to a Bloomberg report. The news confirms an earlier report from The Verge published back in July, in which YouTube’s music head Lyor Cohen revealed that the company had plans to combine its YouTube Red video subscription service…
Sources: Apple is acquiring music recognition app Shazam
As Spotify continues to inch towards a public listing, Apple is making a move of its own to step up its game in music services. Sources tell us that the company is close to acquiring Shazam, the popular app that lets people identify any song, TV show, film or advert in seconds, by listening to…
Building Your Team I ASCAP EXPO 2017
http://www.ascap.com/expo Regardless of your position, surrounding yourself with valuable, knowledgeable collaborators is an absolute must. But when there are thousands of worthy candidates flooding today’s market, choosing your team can be a paralyzing prospect. At the 2017 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO, this expert panel of music industry professionals opined on how to build the…
See Spotify’s Most Streamed Music of 2017
Spotify just released its year in review numbers, and — unsurprisingly, given the dominance of blockbuster hits like “Shape of You” — Ed Sheeran has emerged as the platform’s most popular artist. The Brit-pop juggernaut is followed by three stars of hip-hop and R&B — Drake, The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar — with EDM duo…
