Google
“Laughing” at $10 Billion Spotify Pricetag, Sources Say
Yes,
Google is kicking the tires on Spotify. But
they’re outright ‘laughing’ at a price tag of $10
billion, which is what both investors and major
labels are hoping to draw. “[Google might] buy it
for a few billion, max.,” a source close to the on-again,
off-again discussions told Digital Music News this morning.
Your Online Community
Your station has a website. Your morning show has a Facebook page.
Your company even has its own web design team and a separate "digital media" department.
Woooo hooooo! Does your station do anything, anything at all, to encourage a real community online?Is there a way for your listeners to engage with each other on your site?
Facebook
Introduces 'Save' Feature
Facebook
has introduced a new feature enabling users to save
posts, links and, yes, the music that comes up in
their newsfeed.
Copyright
Alert System to Launch in U.K., Warning Potential Infringers
People
in Great Britain suspected of pirating copyrighted
material online will soon be getting a light slap on
the wrist.
Mark
Cuban’s Soundwave Wants to be “The Instagram of Music”
Soundwave
has actually been around for a year, but has just released a
complete redesign on iOS and Android. What sets this app
apart is the ability to automatically aggregate everything
you listen to, like Last.fm does. It can track music
played from the device’s library, as well as music
streamed in apps like YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud, Pandora,
Rdio, 8tracks, and Deezer.
The
Google Exec Who Said ‘You Cannot Devalue Music’ Is Now
Trying to Revalue Music
Late
last year, Google Play Music All Access executive Tim
Quirk declared that devaluing music was absolutely impossible.
“I meant what I said very literally,” Quirk told
an audience at the Future of Music Summit. Now, nine months
later and out of Google, Quirk is launching Freeform
Development, a startup that will help artists earn
more money first by gaining exposure, then by pushing fans
to unlock content (ie, ‘gamification’).
Artists
have been asking Facebook why they have to pay to reach
their existing fan base. Now, Facebook is giving artists a
new set of tools to interact with their fans, if you’re
famous enough to have a verified page.
How
To Reach The Best Music Business Contacts. Period.
Imagine
that you no longer feel like you’re sitting and waiting
for something to happen. You’ve invested time, energy, and
probably a good amount of cash into your music but you
can’t help but feel like you need to do something to get
noticed. Why aren’t more of the right people finding you?
Why does every time you sit down to do some work end with
clicking away mindlessly on the next BuzzFeed list?
TuneCore
Pays Out $33.2 Million to Artists in Second Quarter
TuneCore
announced Wednesday it paid out $33.2 million in
digital music royalties in the second quarter, up
18.4% from the same period in 2013 but down from
$34.1 million in the first quarter.
Breaking:
Over 600 Indie Labels Sign the Fair Digital Deals
Declaration
The
Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) has launched a Fair
Digital Deals Declaration. WIN has been heading the battle
against YouTube’s streaming service contract for indies
Our
Best Bet for Screwing Up Copyright Reform? More Government
Intervention
By David Israelite -- A recent guest post by Craig
Havighurst on Billboard.biz-included an idea that is perhaps
the best way to screw up copyright reform – ongoing or
even increased government intervention in dictating to
songwriters how much they should be paid for their creations
16-Point
Band Website Assessment Checklist
When
reviewing websites for musicians, we generally break down
the reviews into 3 categories:Design,
Organization &
Navigation, Content.
For each category, there are
certain key things that we look out for. We’ve decided to
share our checklist so bands can assess their own websites!
So here’s our 16-point band
website assessment checklist to measure how your website is
doing.
SoundCloud
Nearing Deal with Major Labels for Pieces of Its Pie
SoundCloud
is going fully legit, with the company rumored to be selling
the three major labels a 9-15% total stake, according to
sources cited by Bloomberg. The deal has yet to be announced
due to certain parties being closer than others in signing,
Bloomberg's sources say. The deal would make it possible for
the audio streaming company to continue letting its users
stream music from the majors under licensing deals that
would form a part of the overall deal.
What
They Really Mean: The Musician's Guide to Industry Speak
You
email your heart out to target industry people and you are
probably used to not getting many responses. This is
the life of a hustling artist. Don’t hate it – embrace
it. I always tell my bands – if you feel like you’re
doing it wrong, you’re not! You’re doingsomething proactive;
therefore you’re doing it right.
What
The Number Of Facebook Likes Says About Musicians
Size
matters. Numbers matter. Facebook Likes are a quick,
one glance indicator of status. It’s not the be all and
certainly doesn’t translate directly to downloads, streams
or ticket sales, but it’s the first stat anyone will seek
out.
Besides
the acknowledgement that Garth Brooks is about to announce
a major tour and that he has signed a record deal with
Sony Music Nashville to release his new album, the
big news from the country superstar's press conference for
music retail and consumers is that his album will be
coming out sometime in November, close to Black Friday --
and that his music will finally be available digital.
Vinyl
Sales Up 38 Percent In 2014
4.0
million LPs have been sold this year in the US alone,
according to stats shared this morning by Nielsen Soundscan.
That’s a 40.4 percent increase over
the same period last year, when sales reached 2.9 million
units. In 2013, LP sales grew 30.4 percent
year-over-year.
Swimming Upstream
Since
releasing my first digital album back in 2002,
technology has played a crucial role in the
distribution of the music I create. At that time, CDs
were still the way folks listened to music but sales
were definitely well in decline. Napster had scared
the crap out of the music industry and was shut down for
good. Mp3s were all the rage and there were
these things called iPods that were changing the way
people consumed their favorite songs and albums.
YouTube
Re-Negotiating with Indies Following Outcry
YouTube
has softened its posture in negotiations on a new streaming
music service with indie label trade bodies following an
uproar in the past weeks over several provisions in the
proposed contract, according to a report from the Financial
Times.
SoundScan
Mid-Year: Albums Down, Stream Equivalents Nearly Double,
Vinyl Continues Gain
While
digital streaming revenue growth continues to offset the
decline in digital album and track sales, the music industry
still has the same problem it has wrestled with for over a
decade: physical music's decline is outpacing digital's
growth.
Lawsuit
Against Warner/Chappell Music Claims 'Happy Birthday'
Belongs to Public Domain
In
the late 19th century, a schoolteacher named Patty
Smith Hill and her sister Mildred Hill
composed the first version of a tune that would become
internationally famous. In fact, "Happy Birthday"
has been cited by the Guinness Book of World Records
as the most recognized song in the English language.
Soundrop
Expands into Digital Marketing With Show.co
Soundrop
is one of the most prominent Spotify apps, and is also now
available through Deezer. Soundrop provides artists
with a unique way to engage with their fans and allows
listeners to collaborate on playlists.
9
Reasons Your Band Isn’t Getting Press
When
was the last time you read a show preview or album review of
a band that discussed the actual music: the song structure,
guitar tones, harmonic and melodic choices, drum tones, the
pocket, innovative syncopation, varied time signatures,
sonic flourishes, unusual studio techniques that they HEARD
in the recording and not told by the press release?
Why
Did Google Buy Songza? Probably Not Because of Beats Music
