Five Tips for Saving Money Between Gigs and Royalty Checks
What's the one thing all musicians and songwriters have in common when it comes to their income? Fluctuation. Whether you have a chart-topping hit, are in the middle of a successful tour, or are seeing some royalties appear for the first time – rest assured, your monthly income is likely to change. It may go up, and it may go down – for career musicians and songwriters, this is pretty much a given and a standard way of life. And it’s not a bad thing, provided you are prepared and plan accordingly. The good news is there are ways to set yourself up for success and make sure you are consistently saving for the future and not caught off guard when there is a pause or break between paychecks.
Sirius XM Earnings: Results Remain Weak Despite Efforts to Transform Business
It undoubtedly takes time to see results, but we still fear the competitive headwinds are too great. Sales metrics remained weak at Sirius XM Holdings SIRI in the first quarter. The firm lost another 303,000 self-pay SiriusXM subscribers, average revenue per subscriber continued its descent, and the firm again cited a weak advertising market. Total sales were down 4%, while adjusted EBITDA was down 3%.
Why it matters: The company has been pulling numerous levers to recharge its business, including better SiriusXM subscription options and aggressively pursuing advertising opportunities. It undoubtedly takes time to see results, but we still fear the competitive headwinds are too great. The bottom line: We maintain our $30 fair value estimate. The firm lacks a moat, in our view, and we don’t think the business can grow, but it still generates sizable free cash flow—some of which gets returned to shareholders—and it has a clear runway to expanding free cash as investment ebbs.
SXSW Undergoes Major Leadership Changes
In a major leadership reorganization at South by Southwest, Jenny Connelly, the executive vice president of product and technology at SXSW parent company PMC, was elected by the SXSW board to lead the long-running film, music and technology festival with the title director in charge. (PMC is also the parent company of Variety.)
Connelly has overseen digital and technology strategy and execution at PMC since 2017, and previously spent seven years as an executive at Live Nation. Her new position at SXSW was announced during a town hall meeting on April 25. Connelly replaces SXSW president Hugh Forrest, who has departed the company.
When An Arrangement Isn’t Working (and What to Do About It)
Some of the culprits that can derail a production— including wrong tempo, key, or instrumentation—and how to address them in real time. You can hear the finished work in your head, and yet weeks go by and your song-in-progress just isn’t happening—one day it seems too fast, the next day it’s too slow, or the bass part is too busy, the guitars are too shrill, and so on. Rather than waiting for the arrangement to miraculously fix itself, there are times when it makes more sense to try an alternate approach. Here we consider some of the culprits that can prolong the production process—including problems with tempo, key, instrumentation, as well as the mix itself—and how to effect changes in order to get the ball rolling again. Having trouble hitting all them high notes? It’s not a good sign when you can’t comfortably sing your own song—therefore, ensuring you’re in the correct key should be priority one. This can sometimes be a little tricky, particularly if the melody has a lot of range—for instance, you might be in a lower register during the verses, then have to jump an octave for the chorus. A splash of reverb can add some extra dimension to an otherwise arid recording, but it can also turn the whole thing into a big wet mess if you’re not careful. Never apply a single layer of effect to the entire work; instead, use the channel effect-send controls to tailor the amount of reverb going to each track—say, less effect or none at all on bass or bass drum, more for voices, horns or strings.
More here.
US Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission launch public inquiry into live music business
The US Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have jointly launched a public inquiry to identify “unfair and anticompetitive practices and conduct in the live concert and entertainment industry”.
The two government agencies are inviting members of the public to submit comments and information on “harmful practices and on potential regulation or legislation to protect consumers in the industry”. The Agencies said on Wednesday (May 7) that they will use the information in their preparation of the report and recommendations directed by Donald Trump’s Executive Order on “Combating Unfair Practices in the Live Entertainment Market”.
Trump issued the Executive Order (No. 14254) on March 31. It directs the Attorney General and the FTC to “ensure that competition laws are appropriately enforced in the concert and entertainment industry.”
The Executive Order also directs the FTC to “rigorously enforce the Better Online Tickets Sales Act, 15 U.S.C. 45c.”
Willie Nelson, Who Turns 92, Still Going Strong As He Sets Out on New Tour
Age continues to be nothing but a number for Willie Nelson, who celebrates his 92nd birthday today, April 29th. No further proof is needed than his exhaustive touring schedule, launching with his annual “Outlaw Music Festival Tour” on May 13th in Phoenix, Arizona.
The 36-date tour will once again be co-headlined by Bob Dylan. They will perform alongside a rotating all-star lineup featuring Billy Strings, Wilco, Sheryl Crow, The Avett Brothers, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Waxahatchee, and more. Other artists appearing on select dates of the “Outlaw Music Festival Tour” include Turnpike Troubadours, Lucinda Williams, The Red Clay Strays, Madeline Edwards, Trampled by Turtles, and Lake Street Dive, among others.
How Proper Metadata Improves Your Music’s Chance Of Success
Think of metadata as a kind of SEO (search engine optimization) for your music. The information you provide helps DSPs like Spotify, Apple Music, etc. better understand your music on a deeper, more specific level, which in turn helps them better recommend your music to fans who enjoy similar genres. Not only that, but imagine if someone is trying to remember the name of your song, but all they can recall are a couple lyrics and maybe your artist name… if you’ve provided in-depth metadata to describe your track, their search will be easy.
If not, they may never find your song… or use that momentum to stream the rest of your music either. All because they couldn’t find that one song. That’s why accurately providing things like the genre, lyrics, mood/theme tags and more all play a huge part in how easy or hard it is for anyone, not just existing fans, to find you online. These details, among many others, ensure your music is as discoverable as possible to both the independent masses and the big league
DSPs.
Report: over 1.5m Americans now work as ‘digital creators’
Advertising-industry body the IAB has published its latest data on the US creator economy, as part of a wider report on the digital sector.
“Back in 2008, internet-driven employment made up just 3 million jobs. Today, that number has grown to more than 28.4 million,” it noted in its summary.
“Digital creators and social media influencers — who generate content and build audiences for a living — now account for more than one in 10 full-time internet-dependent jobs in the U.S.”
And there’s more: “Today, the full-time equivalent of more than 1.5 million Americans work as digital creators — a number that has multiplied nearly eightfold since 2020. While the traditional media sector is expanding at roughly 5% annually, the creator sector is now growing at five times that pace.”
NMPA says Spotify’s Q1 growth due to ‘undercutting of songwriters’
The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) says Spotify‘s financial gains in the first quarter of 2025 come at the expense of songwriters in the US, due to the streaming service’s decision to reclassify its Premium subscriptions as “bundles”.
On Tuesday (April 29), Spotify reported it had reached 268 million premium subscribers in Q1 2025, adding 5 million net paying users since December and exceeding its own guidance by 3 million subscriptions.
Total quarterly revenue in Q1 rose 15% YoY at constant currency to €4.190 billion ($4.4 billion), while Premium/subscriber revenues grew 16% YoY at constant currency to $3.968 billion. The streaming company also posted a record-high quarterly operating profit of $535.6 million.
The statement continued: “Their 15% revenue growth is largely due to their undercutting of songwriters through their domestic bundling scheme.
“This strategy bundles music with audiobooks in order to devalue songs and pay a much lower royalty rate to songwriters.
The Importance of Navigating Day Jobs for Songwriters
(Cliff Goldmacher)
Day jobs, while initially not as attractive as our dream job of being full-time musicians, are a first and critical step in the right direction. When we know we want to write songs for a living, we become impatient to do it and don’t want to do anything that doesn’t further that goal. Taking a day job can often feel like a step backwards. It is better, however, to keep moving forward even if part of moving forward means finding a way to keep the lights on that doesn’t directly relate to our songwriting. I’m not a big believer in the “starving artist” approach as it often introduces stress into the equation. In my experience, stress and creativity tend not to work well together. While it’s difficult to be patient when you’re passionate about your songwriting, it’s critical to take the long view if your goal is to have a sustainable career as a songwriter. While there are a few exceptional individuals that are successful as songwriters right out of the gate, the rest of us need to take a deep breath and figure out how to keep body and soul together on our long journey to songwriting success. One of those first and essential steps is a day job. However, by giving that work a little more conscious consideration, you could be paving the way for rewards years and even decades down the road.
Radio Group Cumulus Media Officially Delisted from NASDAQ After Repeatedly Dipping Below $1
Radio group Cumulus Media is set to be delisted from the NASDAQ after repeatedly dropping below $1 and rapidly burning through cash.
Prominent radio broadcasting group Cumulus Media is set to be delisted from the NASDAQ Global Market after a notification of noncompliance with the exchange’s listing rules. The company, which reports annual revenues of $827 million, operates with a significant debt burden of $797 million. According to data, it has rapidly been burning through cash. Cumulus opted not to appeal the decision, and the delisting takes effect at the start of business on May 2, 2025.
That said, Cumulus Media has already secured a spot on the OTCQB market tier, operated by OTC Markets Group, to ensure seamless trading of its Class A common stock. Shares will trade under the same ticker, CMLS, starting May 2.
SoundExchange And The NAB Reach A Deal On Non-Subscription Rates For Commercial Broadcasters
SoundExchange and the National Association of Broadcasters have announced an agreement on non-subscription rates for commercial broadcasters, along with details of other royalty payments.
According to the agreement, the per-performance non-subscription rate will increase from the current rate of $0.0025 to $0.0028 in 2026 and will rise by a fixed amount of $0.0001 each year through 2030, when the rate reaches $0.0032.
Additionally, the agreement shortens reporting and payment deadlines to 30 days after the end of the month, down from the previous 45 days. Other provisions reduce and cap late fees assessed to broadcasters during audits at 1% per month, starting from when the audit is first noticed through the issuance of the final audit report.
The current late fee rate of 1.5% per month for all other payments remains unchanged, although late fees on underpayments discovered during an audit will now be capped at 75% of the total amount the auditors determine is owed.
The negotiations also resulted in a new requirement for licensees to provide access to performance data held by third-party vendors, beginning January 1,
2027.
