By 2008, album leaks were considered inevitable. Labels not only prepared for the worst, they wholeheartedly expected it, strategizing more about how best to mitigate the negative aspects of a leak rather than to prevent it altogether. Sites like MediaFire, Megaupload, The Pirate Bay, DC++, what.cd, and many more became forces to reckon with as…
SPOTIFY’S DIRECT DISTRIBUTION DEALS: WHAT DO ARTISTS GET PAID?
Spotify got the entire music business talking last week with the news that it has started offering artists the opportunity to directly distribute their material on the platform – without the requirement for a third-party aggregator or record label. So… what’s the deal? Why might an independent artist choose to strike a direct distribution agreement…
THE MILITARY’S “MOLAR MIC” IS STRAIGHT OUT OF MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
If you love the convenience of Bluetooth headsets but don’t want to look like you’re stuck in 2007, you’re in luck: there might soon be a new headset in town. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) just agreed to spend roughly $10 million to start field testing and deploying the Molar Mic, a device that’s similar…
Meet Clairo, the YouTube Star Turning Teenage Awkwardness Into Viral Gold
There are two pairs of high-top sneakers resting on the floor. One is glittery and color-blocked, the other is ratty and worn, straight out of a Ramones album cover. Both belong to Claire Cottrill, who is rifling through a batch of bright outfits inside a Brooklyn photo studio. While applying glitter eyeshadow, the 19-year-old explains…
Paul McCartney, Katy Perry, Dozens More Threaten SiriusXM Boycott Over Music Modernization Act
An all-star lineup of musicians, songwriters, and executives have penned a letter to SiriusXM Radio parent company Liberty Media threatening to boycott the company over its opposition to a copyright law with wide support in the music industry. Paul McCartney, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Katy Perry, Charlie Puth, Tom Waits, Carole King, Carly Simon, Pink,…
Senate Passes Music Modernization Act
UPDATED: After a long and complicated journey, the Senate passed the Music Modernization Act today by unanimous consent, paving the way for improved royalty payments to songwriters, artists and creatives in the digital era. Next, the bill returns to the House for approval of the Senate version, then it will go before President Trump to…
Vinyl Is Bigger Than We Thought. Much Bigger.
Music industry watchers know that vinyl records have been enjoying a resurgence since their near-death in the mid-2000s, and the market continues to grow. But vinyl sales are actually much larger than what industry figures report, because they don’t count used vinyl sales. Now, thanks to some new data, we know that with used sales taken into account, the…
SiriusXM To Acquire Pandora
In a blockbuster deal sure to shake up car audio, SiriusXM announced on Monday that it will acquire Pandora in an all-stock transaction valued at $3.5 billion, creating an industry leading digital audio company with excess of $7 billion in expected pro-forma revenue this year. The companies said both popular services and brands — SiriusXM’s…
SPOTIFY OPENS THE FLOODGATES: ARTISTS CAN NOW UPLOAD TRACKS DIRECT TO THE STREAMING PLATFORM FOR FREE
The game really did just change. Spotify has today launched a new feature which will enable independent artists to upload tracks to the service directly – without any requirement for a third-party aggregator or record label. The feature currently remains in invite-only beta mode – with a few hundred US artists being ushered in –…
The Sounds of Music in the Twenty-first Century (Part 2)
Modern classical music is bedevilled by what might be called the Kandinsky Problem. Modernist painters, writers, and filmmakers had a far easier time finding a wide audience than composers did. Kandinsky creates mob scenes in museums; the mere appearance of Schoenberg’s name on a concert program can depress attendance. Although composers do not deserve blame…
