Music Business
Alan Walker Declines to Renew Trio of Early NCS Releases, Citing Desire to Take Ownership of His Music
The topic of artists striving to regain ownership of their music—after signing it to a label—has been pushed to the forefront in recent years. With the barrier to entry to promote one’s music at an all-time low, artists are more comfortable than ever with the previously daunting prospect of going independent and taking this responsibility into their own hands. Alan Walker is the 115th most-streamed artist in the world on Spotify at the time of writing. However, six years ago when he signed a trio of songs to NoCopyrightSounds (NCS) this was hardly the case. NCS is currently one of the largest digital music labels on YouTube with over 31 million subscribers. The platform has been instrumental in breaking the careers of unheralded artists over the years, including Walker. With suc...
Disney Music Group’s Mike Daly Shares the Secret to Making a Hit Single on The What Podcast
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Radio Public | RSS This week on The What Podcast, the weekly show that takes a deep dive into the world of music festivals, Brad and Barry talk with Mike Daly, Executive Director of A&R and Music Publishing at Disney Music Group, about what exactly guys in his line of work do. The What Podcast originally launched in 2018 as a way for two Bonnaroo veterans to talk about the thing they love in life the most: Bonnaroo. Over time, the podcast has evolved to cover the rest of the North American festival landscape and touring industry as a whole. Related Video In between dissecting lineups and discussing the latest headlines, you’ll also hear interviews with artists, such as Radiohead’s Ed O...
Spotify Launches “Loud & Clear” Initiative Aimed At Increasing Transparency
A new data-driven initiative from Spotify called Loud & Clear aims to provide increased transparency around the economics of streaming. “Questions and concerns about artist income from streaming have been around for over a decade, and in many ways, we feel we’ve been too quiet on the topic,” the streaming site reads. “Our aim with this site is to provide a valuable foundation for a constructive conversation.” The new initiative tackles both the macro- and micro-economic picture, starting first by broadly informing readers on the impact of streaming to the music industry as a whole, and then breaking down the mechanics and stakeholders within Spotify’s business model. In many ways, Loud & Clear reads like a direct rebuttal to music rights holder organiz...
SoundCloud to Launch “Fan-Powered” Royalty Payment Model
SoundCloud is putting artists’ revenue in the hands of their fans. Today, the streaming platform announced a new royalty payment system in which each listener’s subscription or advertising revenue is distributed among the artists to which they listen, rather than being pooled to every artist of the platform. The music streaming service says the “fan-powered royalties” model “levels the playing field for independent artists by tying payouts to fandom” and claims the system will allow artists to grow a deeper connection with their most dedicated fans, and give those fans the opportunity to “directly influence how their favorite artists are paid.” SoundCloud adds the move was inspired by feedback from independent artists. Michael Weissman, Chief Executive Officer of SoundCloud, issued a state...
Nigel Godrich, Lupe Fiasco, Massive Attack, Dee Snider, More Slam Spotify CEO
Thom Yorke once compared Spotify to “the last desperate fart of a dying corpse” and, these days, the streaming company is sure earning the reaction of one. Last week, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek suggested the secret to higher Spotify payout rates is more output from musicians. Since then, everyone from… Please click the link below to read the full article. Nigel Godrich, Lupe Fiasco, Massive Attack, Dee Snider, More Slam Spotify CEO Nina Corcoran You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Spotify CEO To Artists: “You Can’t Record Music Once Every Three To Four Years And Think That’s Going To Be Enough”
In many ways, Spotify and other similar streaming services have been a godsend for music lovers who want to access anything and everything at a moment’s notice. However, since its launch in the late 2000s, Spotify has also earned a shady reputation due to its meager streaming payout rates for artists. According to a recent report, a mid-sized indie label earned just $0.00348 per stream. Many major acts have slammed the Swedish company for failing to properly support musicians, including Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, who once likened Spotify to “the last desperate fart of a dying corpse.” In a turn of events that probably shouldn’t surprise anyone that’s even vaguely familiar with the music industry, Spotify doesn’t think it’s doing anything wrong. In fact, the streaming company believes i...
