Sign this, and you sign away some of your rights. Early last month, Digital Music News broke the story of a broad-reaching agreement between Spotify and music publishers to resolve tens of millions in unpaid royalties. That agreement, forged by major publishing organization NMPA, would involve a one-time, $5 million penalty payment by Spotify as well […]
Continue Reading-
Introducing the Unskippable YouTube ‘Bumper Ad’
YouTube has just announced the addition of another ad. And you will watch it. Yes, it’s another YouTube ad, like there weren’t enough already. But this one is entirely different: YouTube is calling its latest addition a ‘bumper ad,’ which will last six-seconds and can’t be skipped. Google designed these new ads for smartphone users (roughly […]
Continue Reading -
Why Those Celebrating Bitcoin’s “Death” Are Missing The Point
Although many are gleefully claiming that the cryptocurrency Bitcoin can now be officially declared as dead, it’s initial failure could simply be a minor setback in the technology’s slow but steady march towards ubiquity. ___________________________________ Guest Post by George Howard on Forbes Mike Hearn, one of the original members of the Bitcoin development team, recently […]
Continue Reading -
Alliance Entertainment Becomes Biggest Physical Wholesaler in the U.S.
5/18/2016 The negotiations between Alliance Entertainment and Anderson Merchandisers, previously reported by Billboard, has produced a purchase agreement whereby Alliance Entertainment will acquire the music assets and business of ANconnect LLC, a subsidiary unit of Anderson. The deal makes Alliance the largest physical wholesaler in the U.S. — and, with Target, one of the two biggest physical music accounts. The […]
Continue Reading -
The Best Way To Live Stream To Multiple Platforms: Joicaster
As live streaming continues to become an increasingly important part of an artist’s digital presence, services like Joicaster are making it easier for said artists to place their video on multiple streaming platforms simultaneously. ___________________________ Guest Post by Bobby Owsinski on Music 3.0 Live Streaming is becoming an important part of an artist’s social repertoire, but until now […]
Continue Reading -
Adele Doesn’t Hate Streaming, She Just Uses It Strategically. “When We Were Young” Now On Spotify, Other On-Demand Services
After keeping her new “Adele 25” album purposely on-demand streaming music services, today Adele released her new single “When We Were Young” to Spotify and other on-demand streaming music services. It’s a well timed move that will help her stay at or near the top of the charts. After dominating the music charts for weeks, […]
Continue Reading -
Merch Makeover: How To Double Your Sales Overnight
Merch not selling as much as you’d like? The following article offers a series of tips for how to change your merch display so as to maximize customer engagement, as well as some ways to plug your new album from stage without coming of as too sales-y. _________________________________ Guest Post by Chris Robley on The DIY Musician […]
Continue Reading -
Behind The Scenes: The Making Of Four Different DIY Music Videos
Just because a DIY artist doesn’t have the backing of a major label does not mean they aren’t capable of producing a high-quality and engaging music video. Here we look at four such independent efforts and hear from the artists featured in each one. ____________________________________ Guest Post by Chris Robley on The DIY Musician Between CD […]
Continue Reading -
Alabama Shakes, Bon Iver Atty John Strohm Sees “More Opportunities Than Ever” For Indie Musicians [INTERVIEW]
Former indie and major label musician (The Lemonheads, Blake Babies) turned music attorney John Strohm who represents, among others, The Alabama Shakes and Bon Iver shares his optimistic vision for the future of streaming and the music business in general. ________________________________ Guest post from Songspace The last 15 years have been a wild ride, but the dust is finally starting […]
Continue Reading -
Royalty Hikes Forces Small Webcasters To Shut Down Hurting Indie And Niche Musicians
The webcasting platform Live365 was forced to shut down owing to the CRB’s new royalty rate hike, which dramatically increased the amount webcasters are required to pay artists and songwriters. ____________________________________ Guest Post by Bobby Owsinski on Music 3.0 A number of issues seemed to have doomed thousands of small webcasters who use the Live365 […]
Continue Reading -
5 Important Things You Should Ask If You Want To Have A Successful Music Career
When it comes to having a career in music, asking yourself the right questions, like how to create superfans or make a living as an artist, are hugely important to being successful, and asking yourself the wrong ones can just as easily derail an otherwise promising career. _________________________________ In this article from MusicThinkTank, Tom Hess poses five […]
Continue Reading -
Five Questions For Berklee’s John Kellogg, Author Of “Take Care of Your Music Business”
Here entertainment lawyer and assistant chair of Music Business/Management at Berklee College of Music in Boston, John Kellogg Esq, answers five questions ranging from how to advance one’s career, to the ins and outs of a 360 deal. _______________________________ In this recent interview on MusicThinkTank from Cyber PR, Ariel Hyatt sat down with John Kellogg to pick his brain about […]
Continue Reading -
RIAA Finally Adds Streaming To Gold, Platinum Album Certifications
Almost every corner of the music industry is changing to accommodate the rapid shift from music purchase to streaming. To that list add the RIAA, who have finally added music streams to the equation that calculates Gold and Platinum Album awards. In a long overdue change, the RIAA is revamping its methodology to include on-demand audio and […]
Continue Reading -
The Key To Effective Rehearsals And Being Prepared For Your Next Gig
Musicians are a scattered bunch. I know you agree with me. Don’t lie. I think some of them just glide through life with this “things are bound to happen!” mentality. I mean, optimism is great and all but you know what’s better? Actually being in control of what’s going to happen. Do you know how you can get more […]
Continue Reading -
How To Release Music As An Independent Artist (Infographic)
Hi, my name’s Josh. I’m a rapper/producer from Atlanta, GA, and a music business graduate from Loyola University of New Orleans and I was asked to do a presentation for Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO on How To Release Music As An Independent Artist. It’s mostly from an EDM/Rap perspective, but I figured […]
Continue Reading -
The Internet Killed The Record Deal: Launch Your Album On Your Own
Saying you need a record deal to launch an album these days is like saying you need a desktop computer to visit the Internet. Twenty years ago people would not have believed that you could have every song in the world in the palm of your hand or on your television, but here we are. […]
Continue Reading -
Six Steps To Successful Songwriting: 45 Tips From 45 Famous Songwriters (And One Not So Famous)
My ongoing music blog has carried the overarching moniker of IT ALL STARTS WITH THE MUSIC for some time now. It’s a lofty notion, touched with just the right amount of vagueness to seem proverbial. Recently, however, I’ve had to take that notion off the shelf and boil it down to its granular form. The […]
Continue Reading -
SoundExchange To Audit Pandora, Music Choice, Univision, Others
In an effort to make sure that rightsholders and artists are being fairly compensated, SoundExchange has announced plans to audit some of the digital music companies which pay it royalties and multiple sport leagues have plans to audit several multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs). _______________________________________________ Guest Post by David Oxenford on his Broadcast Law Blog In the last week, copyright […]
Continue Reading