When
a major overhaul to music copyrights
became law last fall, the biggest
immediate impact on radio was that songs
recorded before Feb. 15, 1972 would no
longer be exempt. That means stations
playing songs that predate that cutoff
are now required to pay royalties on
those spins whenever those tracks are
streamed online. But DC law firm
Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth cautions:
Not so fast.
Apple
has included Siri support for Spotify,
Pandora and other third-party music and
media apps in the upcoming iOS 13. A new
developer tool, SiriKit for Audio, now
makes it possible for iOS audio app
developers to integrate Siri’s search
and play feature.
The
global recorded music business brought
in $19.1 billion in revenue in 2018,
according the IFPI. By 2030, that number
will grow to $45 billion, with streaming
expected to represent $27.5 billion of
the total, according to a new Goldman
Sachs analysis.
Access
to worldwide distribution and marketing
has changed the game for the music scene
in general and our scene specifically.
Streaming and social media have knocked
down barriers that have long kept us
regionalized. …but just because the
playing field is bigger now, doesn’t
mean it’s any easier.
Pitching
songs to bloggers and other gatekeepers
is hard enough on its own, and
unfortunately its the just the first
step. If you really want to make a
splash with your latest release, it's
important that you go by the following
steps.
Music
only represents 5% of the content
uploaded to YouTube, but it represents
20% of the total views on the platform.
Because music videos are shorter in
length than the average YouTube video,
music is the platform's most profitable,
according to a new study by Pex.
The
US Copyright Office has been lagging
behind the times for awhile now, but is
finally beginning to catch up, with some
exciting "innovations" such as
online copyright registration system,
making it much easier for artists to
officially register their work.
In
this followup piece, Hugh McIntyre
examines what exactly an artist needs to
include in the second half of their
press release, the portion which
actually contains the information you're
trying to communicate about your band.
Living
in the age we are, many musicians may be
tempted to invest their time and money
solely in digital promotion, but
eschewing more archaic forms of
promotion like vinyls, shirts, and
stickers in favor of targeted social
media ads and playlist promotion can
sometimes backfire. Here we look at why
old school formats and promotion
strategy still have some value.
The
U.S. Justice Department will review two
consent decrees originally reached in
1941 with the American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers
(ASCAP) and Broadcast Music, Inc (BMI)
to establish how the organizations,
which license approximately 90% of music
in the United States, must operate.
Apple
has announced that it is closing iTunes
and replacing it with three new apps:Apple
Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV Apps.
While this doesn’t (yet) mean the end of
the iTunes Storeit is a major development
for Apple. In fact, in many ways, it
reflects the way in which Apple is
becoming ever more later a follower. The
great unbundling process has been going on
across digital services for years, with
Apple the tech major to cling closest and
longest to a unified app experience. Now,
just as Facebook, Google and Amazon have a
suite of specialist apps, so does Apple.
Unbundling is a natural part of the
digital cycle, giving users the ability
have dedicated user experiences that serve
specific needs well rather than many (at
best) no so well, (at worst) poorly.
Far
too many artists who release brilliant
music are ultimately unaware of how the
system works when it comes to collecting
royalties on said music, and consequently
run the risk of getting ripped off. Here
we offer a straightforward guide to
understanding how digital royalties work.
As
with many high-stress creative industries,
burnout plagues the music business, and
has brought down many an aspiring young
artist - but it doesn't have to be that
way! Here we look at how to avoid fizzling
out and giving up.
Being
an independent touring musician might
seem like a dream job for many. But the
truth is that it’s not quite as
glamorous as it’s made out to be, and
the early stages of touring for an artist
or band can be tough and grueling.
The
fees aren’t great, and if you’re lucky
to sell out of merchandise while
on the road, that might just be your
biggest source of income for the tour. In
order to maximize your earnings you will
need to minimize your spending. As the old
English proverb says: “look after the
pennies, and the pounds will look after
themselves.” Instilling good spending
habits will allow a band to continue to
grow while being financially sustainable.
Metadata
sounds like one of the smallest, most
boring things in music. But as it turns
out, it’s one of the most important,
complex, and broken, leaving many
musicians unable to get paid for their
work. “Every second that goes by and
it’s not fixed, I’m dripping
pennies,” said the musician, who asked
to remain anonymous because of “the
repercussions of even mentioning that this
type of thing happens.”
As
Amazon and Google’s music streaming
services continue to gain traction with
their proprietary smart speakers, a new
study explores how these two are impacting
the leaders of the pack, Spotify, Pandora
and Apple Music. In its poll of 2,000 U.S.
consumers, CivicScience found that the
latter three should be “at least a bit
concerned.”
Do
you find your Facebook posts getting less
and less traction? You're not alone and
this time, more than the latest change in
algorithms is to blame. User engagement
with Facebook is declining and that trend
is likely to continue, according to a new
report from eMarketer.
As
an artist, the number day to day demands
you face in writing, touring, practicing
etc. can make it challenging to carve out
time to speak with music journalists, a
frustrating and often dead-end endeavor.
So how do you know when it's time to take
the plunge and hire a publicist to do it
for you?
As
with so many industries, networking is
paramount to finding success in the music
business, regardless of what area you may
be operating in. Here we look at ten rules
for effectively conducting yourself that
will help you make connections and be
remembered.
Apple
has been slapped with a federal class
action lawsuit by customers alleging that
information linked to their iTunes
purchases was sold by Apple to various
third parties. The plaintiffs argue that
this was done in violation of their own
individual states’ privacy laws and are
seeking an excess of $5 million in
damages.
Obviously
streaming services are everywhere.
Algorithmic playlists are everywhere, the
album as we know it is falling apart and
the forces of the universe are taking
hold. Songs are getting dramatically
shorter over time. When you ask, “What
did technology do to music?” this is
such a concrete thing to point to. Songs
have decreased in length by over 30
seconds over the past 18 years.
The
battle against stream-ripping – sites
that allow users to grab permanent
downloads of temporary streams – has
been ongoing for a few years now, of
course. The major stream-ripping operation
YouTubeMP3 was forced offline in 2017
after the RIAA went legal, but there are
plenty of other sites offering the same
service.
An
electronic press kit (EPK) — sometimes
also called a digital press kit
— is essential for making a strong
first impression on promoters, bookers,
media, and other music industry
professionals.You can think of it as your
interactive artist resume, where anyone
interested in your music can find all the
information they need in one place. You
can use your EPK to help you get more
press, more gigs, and come across as a
serious artist.
Apple,
Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Pandora are
all named in a lawsuit filed by the estate
of Harold Arlen—the composer of “Over
the Rainbow” and numerous classic
songs—for selling “unauthorized
recordings” of some of his most famous
works. According to Forbes, the lawsuit says
the companies are involved in a “massive
music piracy operation” involving 6,000
pirated recordings.
If
there was still any doubt in your mind that
you didn't need to be signed to a major
label in order to succeed in the music
industry, wonder no longer, as new data
reveals just how much of market share indies
have gained in recent years.
Every
songwriter wants to develop their own voice,
but not everybody knows how to go about
doing it. Here are some tips from BMI’s
Creative team about finding, and knowing
what to do, with inspiration.
While
many artists view crowdfunding as their
ticket to music industry success, recent
events like the PledgeMusic train wreck may
have them second guessing the concept. That
said, crowdfunding can still be effective if
you know what you're doing. Here, we look at
the truth behind five commonly believed
crowdfunding myths.
Royalties
are the life blood of the music business,
and a huge reason so many artists aspire to
make it big. The right song, registered
correctly, can pay your bills for the rest
of your life if you’re lucky. The problem
is that music royalties are complicated, and
many artists don’t know where to register
to collect all the royalties they may be
owed. Here are the 5 places you need to
register to ensure you’re being paid
properly:
With
the internet, it’s very fast and can be
instantaneous. Blogs are looking for
information quickly and efficiently. We’ve
released MP3s on a Monday and by Tuesday
there are internet radio stations streaming,
blogs posting, and people sharing it all
over the social networks. So when you
talk about an online PR campaign that’s a
whole different beast.
While
the wonders of technology have made it
possible for every artist, big or small, to
seek out and find an international audience,
too often this potential leads band and
performers to neglect their more accessible
local audience.
As
a DIY musician, it can feel like you need to
be doing everything at once, but the reality
is that having your fingers in too many pies
can leave you stretched a little thin. Here
Chris Robley explains the value downsizing for
DIY artists, and how they can get ahead by
doing less.
Streaming
music giant Spotify is ready for more. After
acquiring three podcasting companies for
around $400 million last year, it is now
looking to prevail in that space. Spotify’s
Finance Chief Barry McCarthy tells The Wall
Street Journal, “Many of the metrics we see
related to growth and user engagement have
convinced us that podcasting is going to be at
least 20% of content streamed on the
platform.”
The
way that I like to describe what a music
producer does is that a music producer is to a
recording as a director is to a movie. In
other words, the producer is responsible for
everything from the musical arrangement
decisions all the way to working with the
vocalist and session musicians to make sure
they’re giving their best performances and
providing the songwriting client with the
sound and feel they’re looking for in their
song. For songwriters with little or no studio
experience, working with a producer is a great
way to assure that you’ll end up with a demo
that you can be confident will measure up to
music industry standards. Below are a few
things to keep in mind if working with a
producer is in your future.
Email
has established itself as the frontrunner when
it comes to music PR, but the more people
figure this out, the more crowded inboxes are
getting, making it that much more critical
that you up your email marketing game. Here we
look at some some of the fastest ways you can
improve what you're sending out.
Ask
someone in the music industry how to sell a
new single, and you’ll get rambling answers
that go on for days — but ask them how to
sell a single that was released 25 years ago,
from an artist who’s only ever put out one
five-track LP and since faded deep into
obscurity, and you’ll get far fewer ideas.
Thanks to the discovery-led nature of music
streaming, however, older music is, for the
first time, ripe with new opportunities.
Record companies just have to be nimble enough
to find them.
The
Supreme Court is allowing consumers to pursue an
antitrust lawsuit that claims Apple has unfairly
monopolized the market for the sale of iPhone
apps. New Justice Brett Kavanaugh is joining the
court’s four liberals Monday in rejecting a
plea from Cupertino, California-based Apple to
end the lawsuit over the 30% commission the
company charges software developers whose apps
are sold through the App Store. The lawsuit was
filed by iPhone users who must purchase software
for their smartphones exclusively through
Apple’s App Store.
On
the day that Uber went public, NMPA head David
Isrealite used the IPO to fire the latest salvo
in the escalating battle the pits music
publishers and songwriters against Spotify and
other music streamers.
ASCAP
and BMI — the two largest performing-rights
societies in the U.S., which represent the vast
majority of film and TV composers and
songwriters — will both hold their annual
film-music awards dinners this Wednesday. And
it’s leaving the many would-be attendees who
have to make a tough choice between the two
humming an unhappy tune.
Texas'
music business and music education account for
almost 97,000 jobs, $4.1 billion in annual
earnings and $9.6 billion in annual economic
activity, according to the latest report from
the Texas Music Office.
The
Texas Music Office started commissioning reports
on the state of the industry in 2015 to shine a
light on the success and growth of Texas'
renowned music scene. From production companies,
music-related media, recording services,
performers and everything required for live
events, the Texas music scene is alive and
rocking.
Independent
artists have exploded thanks to streaming, and
labels like Universal Music Group, Sony Music
Entertainment and Warner Music Group are
starting to get in on the act
A
songwriter recently posed an intriguing
question: what can we do when we have a strong
idea for a song, but realize that the song
we’re writing is not turning out nearly as
well as we hoped? How do we change direction?
How can we switch gears when we have grown
accustomed to our melody, groove, chord
progression, and lyric?
In
a keynote address at the MusicBiz Nashville
conference's opening day Sunday, the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier said that the
time is ripe for the music industry to try and
reach for some long-sought goals, such as earning
royalty payments for artists from terrestrial
radio. But he cautioned that it would need to
happen, like the recent Music Modernization Act
(MMA), through industry consensus.
In
the music industry, the climb up the ladder of
success is an especially grueling one, and it
can be frustrating, afters years of recording
and performing, to still not be getting what
feels like appropriate recognition for your
music. Here, we look at some important factors
to consider when it comes to getting your music
noticed.
Nearly
three-quarters of independent musicians have
experienced “stress, anxiety and/or
depression” in relation to their work, a new
study has found. The survey found 73%
of the population had faced negative mental
health issues, with anxiety and depression
topping the list of symptoms. Among those aged
18-25, the numbers are even worse, with 80% of
respondents in that age range having experienced
negative mental health effects stemming from
their music careers.
The
American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers (ASCAP) says in 2018 its collections
grew 7.26% to $1.227 billion in the year -- up
from $1.144 billion in 2017. Overall, the PRO
noted that its total distribution to members and
publishers topped the $1 billion mark for the
second year in a row.
While
Bruno Mars may be the great unifier, Coleman
Insights offered some additional insights into
its Contemporary Music SuperStudy, that tested
the most consumed songs of 2018. Younger demos
lean toward hip-hop/R&B as a musical
preference, while 35-plus music fans listen to
pop and country. Radio listeners like county and
hip-hop/R&B but streamers prefer
hip-hop/R&B while shunning country.
rtist
and music discovery on Spotify were among the
topics covered during Monday's earnings call.
With CEO Daniel Ek sharing some stats that show
that the despite the fact that 40,000 new tracks
are uploaded daily, more artists than ever are
being discovered on the platform than ever
before.
According
to a new study from Pew Research, Twitter usage
in the US seems to have peaked at around 22%,
with most of its content dominated by an even
smaller percentage. Here we look into more of
these numbers and what it means for artists and
musicians on the platform.
YouTube
creators can expect to see a more
balanced copyright claim process on
the platform soon, as well as continued
efforts from the company against copyright
directive Article 13, now renamed Article
17. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki shared
these priorities and more
in a quarterly letter to
creators.
How
to fairly compensate creators as consumption
becomes dominated by streaming is the subject of
vigorous debate. But a new model dubbed 'creator
support' is gaining traction because it will pay
many artists more with minimal impact on the wider
royalty pool, says MIDiA's Mark Mulligan.
UPDATED:
Spotify's monthly active users grew 26% over the
last year to 217 million at the end of 2018, the
streamer reported on Monday. Now in 79 countries,
a February launch in India added 2 million to its
global total. Overall, Spotify posted a smaller
first-quarter loss of $158 million vs $189 million
for the same period last year.
How
U.S. consumers access television could reach a
milestone in 2019. A new report from Convergence
Research Group predicts that 4.56 million TV
households will cut the cord this year, meaning
that for the first time, the number of households
using streaming services could surpass those
watching traditional pay TV.
Less
than a week after the online giant launched its
first fully free music streaming service, MBW has
caught wind of the company’s next big plan to
challenge the likes of Spotify. We understand that
Amazon is currently in discussion with various
large music rights-holders regarding the upcoming
launch of a high fidelity music streaming platform
– and that at least one major record company has
already agreed to license it.
