Publishers
Are Driving A Full Stack Music Revolution
As
the value of music publishing catalogs have
multiplied, so have the ways in which
forward-thinking companies like Downtown, Round
Hill, Kobalt, ole/Anthem, Primary Wave and
Create Group monetized those catalogs, says
MiDiA entertainment industry analyst Mark
Mulligan.
AGAPE
SONGS launches "Country" Christian
& Gospel music delivery service next Monday,
Oct. 21.
CD
Tex will have a new member in the family
beginning next Monday, Oct. 21 with Agape
Songs. The new delivery service will focus
on the growing "Country" Christian and
Gospel music scene and will deliver singles, eps,
albums, and videos to Radio and Media who
program, review, and feature "Country"
Christian music. For more information go
to www.agapesongs.com
.
One
Music Marketing Trick Every Artist Should Avoid
Marketing
your music is a complex challenge. What works
for one listener or fan could fall flat with
another, and artists will often jump through
hoops and try all kinds of schemes as they fight
against anonymity. While it's good to try a
variety of marketing tricks, there's one every
artist should steer clear of.
How
Does The Money Flow From Music Streaming To
Artists, Music Industry?
Now
accounting for 75% of total music industry
revenue, there's no denying that streaming is
now the dominant form of music consumption. That
said, one question continues to plague the
industry: where is all that revenue going, and
how can artists get their hands on it? Here, we
breakdown step by step where the money is going.
Musicians
Can Launch Their Own Paid Streaming Service with
Waterfall
Legendary
progressive musician Neal Morse joins Michael
Brandvold and Jay Gilbert on the Music Biz
Weekly podcast to talk about Waterfall
Streaming. Waterfall is a new platform that
allows musicians to create their own
subscription streaming service.
YouTube
launches Merchbar partnership for artist
merchandise
YouTube
is rolling out another feature for musicians
with ‘Official Artist Channels’ on its
platform. The company has signed a deal
with Merchbar which will see artists able
to “surface their official merchandise and
vinyl alongside their videos… Fans watching
videos from their favorite artists on their
YouTube Official Artist Channels can now see a
shelf with the artist’s own branded
merchandise and, with a simple click, access the
artist’s merchandise on Merchbar’s
website”.
The
Music Industry is Evolving Faster Than Ever, and
So Are The Scammers
Scamming and shady business practices in the music industry are nothing new. In past decades, labels would buy out record store inventory, payola was rampant, and promoters have long been running pay-to-play shows. At least in those days, the results were tangible: records would be sold, shows would be booked, and radio spins could be heard.
These days, it’s all happening on the internet, and results can’t always be measured so easily.
It's a given that in such a quickly changing industry, the landscape will look completely different in a few years. By then, a lot of the current scams are going to be obsolete, but as the way we consume and market music evolves, so will the scams. Just be careful what you pay for.
4
Steps Songwriters Should Take Now To Prepare For
The Music Modernization Act
In
2018, the Music Modernization Act was passed
into law. Hailed as a harbinger of justice,
songwriters hoped the law would help restructure
the digital music economy in such a way as to
make things more equitable for artists. The
reality is a bit more complicated, but change is
coming, and songwriters will want to be
prepared. Here are four steps they can take to
brace for the coming shift.
Peering
inside Music Twitter
Even
though there is a love/hate relationship here,
music remains key to Twitter. “Judging by the
numbers alone, Twitter is more deeply
intertwined with music than any other
industry,” says Pitchfork. “Four of the top
five – and half of the top 20 –
most-followed Twitter accounts are solo
musicians.”
Apple
Is Officially Shutting Down iTunes — But Song
Downloads Aren’t Completely Dead
iTunes
is officially going away after close to two
decades in operation. The company has moved its
functionality into 3 different apps: Apple
Music, Podcasts and Apple TV. The shutdown
shouldn’t shock anyone. In June, Apple
announced that it was shutting the app down for
good. The company said at the time that
the app was simply too cluttered. Those
with large MP3 libraries collected from the
glory days of iTunes can still listen to their
songs through Music, despite the app’s focus
on music streaming. What’s more, the iTunes
Store still exists for those not subscribed to
Music, so people can still purchase individual
songs if for some reason they do not want to use
a streaming service.
Gordon
Smith: Consent Decrees Bigger Threat To Radio
Than Performance Royalty.
With
no bill to mandate a performance royalty
introduced in this session of Congress, and
Capitol Hill consumed by Democrats’ efforts to
impeach the president, the radio royalty issue
remains in limbo for the time being. A much
larger immediate threat to the industry has to
do with the Justice Department’s examination
of whether the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees
should be tossed out. It’s an issue that the
NAB is taking seriously.
Musicians
Union Calls For Streaming Residuals
As
the American Federation of Musicians and the
Alliance of Motion Picture and Television
Producers resumed negotiations on Monday,
Musicians across the US held rallies calling for
streaming residuals.
“In
made-for streaming productions, we get about 25%
of what we get from traditional theatrical or TV
film production,” said AFM International
President Ray Hair on Monday. Musicians claim
they have been impacted by the transition to
streaming, and unlike actors, musicians do not
receive residuals for films and television shows
made for streaming services. However, they do
receive residuals for theatrical and TV films
that are re-used on the secondary market.
SoundExchange
Website to Let Artists Search and Claim
Unmatched Recordings
In
a move to bring more transparency and
potentially help reduce black-box royalties,
SoundExchange is updating its website to allow
artists and labels to now see all recordings
currently associated with their accounts, as
well as allowing them to search and claim
recordings in the organization’s pending and
unmatched database. The new features are
expected to be available on the SoundExchange
website in November, according to a "coming
soon" notice on that website. The new
features will reside in the "My
Catalog" section of SoundExchange Direct,
"and marks the most significant update of
our client portal since it was introduced in
2014, according to the agency.
3
Ways To Maintain Your Health On The Road
Unfortunately
for artists, touring tends to draw out some of
their most unhealthy habits, and maintaining
both your emotional and physical wellbeing while
on the road takes a concerted effort. Here we
look at three important ways in which musicians
can maintain good health on tour.
20
Secrets Promoters Use to Book Bands
When
it comes to getting booked, it’s no secret there
are a couple of key ingredients that go into a
venue’s decision to say “yes.” But for many,
what those secrets are, remain largely a mystery.
And the truth is everyone will have a slightly
different process, preference, and method for
booking bands, but if you’re an artist who is
currently struggling to figure out exactly how
to grab the attention of that venue and book
yourself, then you’re going to want to pay
attention.
Booking
The Right Venue For Your Band: What You Must Know
The
success of your music career depends as much on
your marketing savvy as it does your skill as a
musician, and being able to book a venue that's a
good fit for your style of music and level of
success is key.
Music
Industry Will Blitz Lawmakers’ Local Offices
Today.
There
may not be any legislation that would create a
performance royalty for radio in circulation in
Congress, but that doesn’t mean the music
industry has given up its push to see one signed
into law. Today the Recording Academy conducts its
annual district advocacy day featuring local
musicians meeting with lawmakers who are back at
home during the two-week congressional recess.
More
Than Three-Fourths of US Internet Users Are Now
Streaming Music
More
than three fourths of the American internet-using
population over the age of 13 is now streaming
music. That's according to MusicWatch's
audiocensus Q2 2019 report on U.S. music
consumption and listening habits, shared
exclusively with Billboard in advance of
its publication. MusicWatch calculated 183
million Americans over the age of 13, or 77% of
the U.S. internet-using population, are now
streaming. That marks a 14% increase since the
same time last year. Of those users, the report
estimates 125 million are using paid music
streaming subscription services. And while only 68
million of those subscription streamers are
personally paying, that represents a 21% increase
from 56 million just six months prior.
Get
Real Time Stats Via Spotify For Artists App Update
Spotify
recently updated its 'Spotify for Artists' app,
providing artists with an exciting host of new
features, including live listener tracking,
monitoring of milestones, improved profile
management, and more.
5
Tips for Coping When Your Songs Are Rejected
I
read a post on Facebook by a songwriter who had
decided to give up pursuing his dream of writing a
hit because he had not gotten a song recorded
after three years of trying. He felt beaten down
and no longer trusted his abilities. My guess is
that almost every songwriter, recording artist,
and others working toward a career in the arts has
felt similar feelings. The ability to withstand
rejection—and even grow stronger from it—is
crucial if we are to stay on the path to success.
Let’s look at some ways to cope with the
inevitable disappointment and frustration that
comes when our songs are turned down by artists,
producers, publishers, record label executives,
and other industry pros.
How
To Successfully Pull Off An Influencer Marketing
Campaign In The Music Business
While
many may think of influencer marketing as a fringe
industry reserved for celebrity elites, it has in
fact permeated into the mainstream including,
perhaps not surprisingly, the music business. In
this piece, we break down how to successfully run
an influencer marketing campaign as a music
industry insider.
GM
will roll out a Alexa Auto to millions of car
models next year
General
Motors announced that it is rolling out a new
Amazon Alexa experience for multiple car makes in
the first half of 2020. Models of Chevrolet,
Buick, GMC, and Cadillac from 2018 and newer will
be getting access to Amazon’s voice AI support
in this move. Cars, trucks, and crossovers with
compatible infotainment systems will get the
update, which the press release noted is the
broadest rollout of Alexa Auto to date.
Business
For Band Members
You
may have spent thousands of hours practicing your
instrument and perfecting your singing tone, but
musical talent is only one element that factors
into your success as a band. Band members need to
develop business skills, too, when it comes to
marketing, promoting, and networking. Whether
you’re seeking out your next performance
opportunity or are engaging with fans to build
anticipation around your upcoming album release,
you’ll need some business skills to be a
successful musician.
Four
Trends Rocking The Audio Business.
Kurt
Hanson opened RAIN Summit Dallas with a flashback to
radio’s past: a newspaper ad for Radio Shack from
the 1980s. As a lead-in to how much the industry has
changed, he noted that most gadgets in the ad did
things that can now be performed on a smartphone…
or on a laptop, tablet, smart watch or a growing
catalogue of new devices. Hanson focused his State
of The Union address on four trends impacting the
audio business in 2019.
How
Fender Focused On 3 Trends To Build A Winning Future
Focused Strategy (And Avoid Gibson's Mistakes)
Fender
has soared while Gibson and other instrument
manufacturers have faltered despite both facing a
shifting and uncertain marketplace. The reason for
Fender's rise, according to Keith Jopling of
consultancy MIDiA has been a trend-driven
future-focused strategy driven by a new CEO and CMO
along with former Warner Music digital executive
Ethan Kaplan.
The
Tricky Business Of Balancing Dreams, Expectations In
The Music Business
When
it comes to cultivating a career in the music
business, it's important to give your all in
investing your creative energy. On the flip side of
that, however, it is also necessary to keep your
expectations reasonably low, lest the inevitable
setbacks which you will face leave you demoralized
and burned out.
Spotify
For Artists App Gets A Makeover, Real-Time Stats
Spotify
for Artists is releasing a
revamped app for both iOS and Android today. The new
app rolling out this week includes a refreshed
design, a new “home” tab with access to
resources, personalized artists milestone updates
and expanded real-time stats for both current
listeners and new releases.
5
Big Takeaways From IFPI's Music Listening Report
2019
IFPI,
the global recorded music trade organization, today
released its Music Listening 2019 report, which
surveys how music consumers 16-64 engage with
recorded music across 21 countries. Here are 5 big
takeaways.
The
Love Of Listening To The Radio While Driving Not
Dead
Listening
to music in the car has been a favorite past time of
travelers as long as radios and cars have existed,
and while many believe that recent technological
advancements might have reduced this practice, a
passion for music and radio on the road remains.
Music
Sharing On Socials Has Never Been Easier
Where
listeners are discovering music has always been a
driving question in the industry and, perhaps
unsurprisingly, the current answer appears to be
social media. Here we look at how music is being
shared between social media and streaming platforms.
This
Chart Shows What Streaming Services Are Paying
(Maybe)
While
everyone in the music business wants to know what
the various streaming services are paying out to
artists, the number of variables involved in
determining the actual amount are so many that it
can be difficult to get any more than an educated
guess. Here we look at a chart that outlines, with
some accuracy, what each platform is paying.
Live
Nation Is Officially Under Investigation by the U.S.
Department of Justice
The
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed that
it is investigating whether Live Nation has been
violating a consent decree that it has been required
to follow since merging with Ticketmaster nearly a
decade ago.
The
consent degree forbids Live Nation from keeping
concerts and tours from venues that do not use
Ticketmaster for ticket services. It also
prevents the company from retaliating against venues
that engage one of Ticketmaster’s competitors.
NMPA
Asks DOJ to Amend Consent Decrees to Allow Publishers
to Selectively Withdraw Digital Rights From Blanket
Licenses
The
National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) came
out swinging in its comments to the Department of
Justice’s ASCAP and BMI consent decrees reviews,
arguing it should allow publishers to selectively
withdraw digital rights from blanket licenses. In
theory, the benefit of partial withdrawal would allow
higher all-in royalties, including performance rights
in direct digital deals, while allowing the publishers
to remain in the blanket license for the general
licensing of performance rights to tens of thousands
of retail outlets, bars, hotels and clubs around the
country — a logistics nightmare that would be almost
impossible for each publisher to do on its own.
Amazon
Rolls Out High Definition Streaming Audio Service.
Amazon
Music introduces a new subscription tier, Amazon HD,
which boasts more than 50 million songs in High
Definition, and millions of songs in Ultra High
Definition, the highest quality streaming audio
available.
The
new subscription plan runs $12.99 a month for Amazon
Prime members, $14.99 a month for Amazon customers or
an additional $5 a month for current Individual or
Family Plan subscribers. New subscribers to Amazon
Music can receive a 90-day free trial, and current
subscribers can try Amazon Music HD at no additional
cost for 90 days.
The
Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) Requests $66.25
Million In Funding — Just to Get Started
So,
how much does it cost to get a mechanical licensing
collection agency off the ground?
That
would be $37.25 million before the agency
opens its doors, and another $29 million to get
through the first year. All in, the
as-yet-unformed Mechanical Licensing Collection (MLC)
is asking the U.S. Copyright Office to green-light a
whopping $66.25 million — just to get off the
ground.
YouTube
takes bought views out of its music charts and stat
brags
YouTube
last week announced it was changing the way it
calculates its music charts and other official music
stats so that any views that are the direct result of
paid advertising on the video platform will no longer
be counted.
This
was all outlined in a blog post that begins by
bragging that YouTube charts are now “an
indispensable source for the industry and the most
accurate place for measuring the popularity of music
listening behaviour happening on the world’s largest
music platform”.
5
Ways To Use Instagram Properly To Promote Your Band
When
it comes to using Instagram (or really any social
media) to promote your music, it's important that you
develop an engaged community of fans, not just a
passive audience, vaguely aware of who you are. Here
we look at five key techniques for properly promoting
your band on Instagram.
Is
Playlist Streaming Hurting The Artist?
Since
streaming became the new norm, overtaking CD sales and
now paid downloads of artists music, it’s now become
more evident how streaming and music playlists are
actually hurting artists and devaluing who’s behind
the music. But does anyone care?
Creative
Ways To Strengthen Your Band Image
Most
musicians either start or join a band because they
love music and they want to share their talents with
the world. It’s nice to think about all of the perks
and exciting things that can come with a successful
music career, but ultimately, most musicians aren’t
entrepreneurs. So, what can you do to strengthen your
band image and get noticed by new fans? How can your
band identity stand out and get recognized even when
you’re surrounded by heavy competition and a
musician-saturated market? Turns out, there are
quite a number of ways.
US
Recorded Music Business Grew 18% in First Half of
2019: RIAA Mid-Year Report
In
the first half of 2019, the U.S. recorded music
business grew 18% to $5.4 billion at retail, according
to the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA)
mid-year report. That overall growth is up from a 10%
increase reported in last year's mid-year analysis and
continues the trend of double-digit growth driven by
subscription streaming that began in 2016. In the same
report last year, streaming made up for 75% of total
industry revenues, showing a 6.7% uptick in the
format's overall dominance to the current 80% market
share reported here.
The RIAA Investigating Payola Is Like The Fox Guarding The Henhouse
Payola, or paying for radio airplay, has been with us since the 50s in one form or another. It’s visibility seems to ebb and flow, but it’s been on the rise again recently with various exposes (especially this one last month in Rolling Stone) showing that it’s alive and well. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been alerted to this and in response has asked the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) to investigate these allegations. It’s another example of asking an industry to police itself, which of course, never happens because it’s then operating against its own self-interest.
What
It Means To Make It In Music Today
Whether
you're working to be a performer or producer, everyone
wants to 'make it' in the music business, but as the
entertainment landscape shifts along with cultural and
technological advancements, what exactly does that
success look like?
How
To Use Spotify Ad To Promote Music (And How Not To)
n
this piece, Brian Hazard of Color Theory walks us
through his recent experience with the updated Spotify
Ad Studio to promote his music, following a
particularly disappointing initial foray using the
marketing tool when it was first released.
Jammber
Acquires TuneRegistry To Create D.I.Y. Music Rights,
Royalty Platform
Jammber
has acquired TuneRegistry for an undisclosed sum. The
acquisition turns Jammber into a self-service
end-to-end music rights and royalty administration
platform that allows artists and rightsholders to
retain 100% of their copyrights and royalties.
The
Rise of the Vertical Music Video (9:16 format)
Last
fall, 28-year-old Chloe Johnson was going through a
breakup when Billie Eilish dropped her mournful single
“when the party’s over.” “That song just
stuck,” the New York–based marketer told me. After
that, Eilish’s music became the soundtrack to
Johnson’s life: She played it on her phone during
her commute on the train, at work on her desktop, and
when she got home at night. She shared it with her
dad. She made an Instagram fan account. “Then, one
day, I went to switch a song, and all of a sudden I
see this little thing moving on my screen,” Johnson
said. “And I’m like, What is that?”
Sony
Unveils First Streaming Compatible Walkman with MQA
Support
The
Walkman is arguably the most well-known portable music
device from the 80s and 90s. Its dominance was only
supplanted by the arrival of the iPod and .mp3
dominance. Now Sony is looking to continue that legacy
with the Sony Walkman NW-ZX507. The Sony Walkman
NW-ZX507 is a hi-res audio device capable of up to
384kHz/32-bit playback. It can stream music over WiFi
using an Android app with music streaming services
baked in. The device also features 64GB of storage
plus a microSD slot for downloaded music.
Musicians,
Fans Demand That Ticketmaster Stop Using Facial
Recognition at Concerts
Musicians
and fans alike are demanding that Ticketmaster stop
utilizing facial recognition technology at concerts.
Last
year, Ticketmaster announced that they would begin
using facial recognition devices to admit
ticketholders, who wouldn’t need to present a
physical or digital ticket. Live Nation,
Ticketmaster’s parent company, revealed that
they’d partnered with Blink Identity, a brand that
develops cameras and software that identify
individuals’ faces. (Like GPS, this technology was
initially created by and for the government.)
BMI
Keeps Record Streak Going With 7% Jumps in Revenue,
Payouts
BMI
is raking it in. A year after breaking records for
collections and distributions, the performing rights
org hit the repeat button on both markers again,
reaching $1.283 billion in revenues and nearly $1.2
billion in payouts to writers and publishers over the
fiscal year ended June 30.
How
To Get The Most From Your Music Email Marketing
While
social media is certainly accessible and easy to use
as a marketing platform, the barriers to entry are so
few that the marketplace has become a bit clogged. For
this reason email, while old school, has seen
something of a renaissance owing to its ability to
actually break through and reach potential
More
Signs of a Streaming Music Slowdown
For
months, we’ve been pointing to a streaming music
plateau in wealthier, developed nations of Europe as
well as the United States. Now, there’s more
evidence to support the idea that a streaming plateau
is ahead — at least among the consumers that
have the most money to spend.
