UNIVERSAL LEADS $6M FUNDING ROUND IN MASS APPEAL
Universal Music Group (UMG) has led a Series A funding round for New York-based Mass Appeal, whose footprint in urban culture straddles a magazine, TV, film and a record label. Additional investors on the $6 million round of funding include Evolution Media, Jon Jashni (Raintree Ventures), Charles King (Macro), Michael Kassan (MediaLink), Usher, Steve…
Amper raises $4M to use AI to write music
Amper, a startup that offers AI-powered music composition, is announcing that it has raised $4 million in funding. The round was led by Two Sigma Ventures, with participation from Foundry Group, Kiwi Venture Partners and Advancit Capital. Amper previously raised funding from Brooklyn Bridge Ventures. You might not expect a film composer like Drew Silverstein…
‘The Art of Listening’ explores how we experience music
“The Art of Listening” is a new documentary film that puts it all together with instrument makers, musicians, recording engineers/producers, and we the people who listen to music. This sort of thing about the art of sound has been attempted many times before, but these films always struck me as superficial and rather lame. But…
Spotify Hits 50 Million Paid Subscribers, Lifting Music Industry
Spotify has surpassed 50 million subscribers, extending its lead over rivals Apple Music, SoundCloud and Google as the world’s largest paid music streaming service. The service, owned by Stockholm-based Spotify Ltd., has been growing at a breakneck pace. The company said it had 30 million subscribers less than a year ago, and 40 million subscribers…
Snap may get music where Facebook and others failed
The last social network to truly “get” music was MySpace — unfortunately, they didn’t get much else. Today’s biggest player, Facebook, doesn’t “get” music — and artists still don’t really use it. Even though they have the biggest audience and market cap in the space, they are a Menlo Park, Calif.-based company with a Silicon…
‘IT’S EASY TO LOOK AT LABELS WITH ROSE-TINTED GLASSES. THAT’S NOT THE REALITY.’
Chance the Rapper isn’t the only independent artist smashing through the mainstream music scene on his own terms. London rapper Stormzy is currently fighting for a UK No.1 with his self-released debut album, Gang Signs and Prayer. He performed with Ed Sheeran at the BRIT Awards last week, where he was nominated for British…
Can Music Exec Lyor Cohen Bridge the Divide Between YouTube and the Music Industry?
One February afternoon, Lyor Cohen shows me around the soundstage at YouTube Space LA. The new facility, located on the site of what was once a Hughes Aircraft plant for building helicopters, is one of nine that parent company Google has built around the world to encourage the creation and evolution of user-generated programming. For…
Musician’s Guide To Setting And Achieving Goals [Cyber PR]
Ask yourself: Is now the time I want to make a difference for my musical career? And if so – what difference and how? Think of goal setting as if you were driving in a foreign place – You wouldn’t get where you expect to go without a clear set of directions. Goal setting is…
SOUNDCLOUD LAUNCHES $4.99-A-MONTH FULLY ON-DEMAND STREAMING PRODUCT
SoundCloud has become the first major music streaming company to launch a $4.99-a-month, ad-free, fully on-demand service – but there’s a catch. The company has today announced that its paid-for tier, SoundCloud Go, will now be available for the budget price (or £5.99 in the UK). That’s because it’s true premium product will now…
