Music Licensing
TikTok Is Testing Ground for New Singles — Why Labels Love It (and Some Artists & Writers Don’t)
Artists have previewed unreleased songs at live performances and with radio stations for decades, but thanks to the rise of TikTok and a handful of successful DIY social media campaigns — Lil Nas X’s heavily teased and memed efforts for “Old Town Road” on Twitter and Triller is an early example — the practice has become de rigueur for artists. And not everyone thinks it’s good business. What started as a low-cost method for unsigned talents to casually test audience reaction and build up streaming service pre-saves to their songs is now the norm for even household names hoping to break their next hit before committing to a release date on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. The Billboard Hot 100 contains ample proof of the method’s success: SZA earned her first solo...
Aerosmith to Unveil Previously Unreleased Recordings Under New Deal with Universal Music
Aerosmith have inked a new deal with Universal Music Group, bringing the legendary band’s entire recorded output and personal archives under the umbrella of one label. UMG announced the news today (August 23rd), offering details on the massive licensing deal. Universal is now the home of the band’s complete catalog. The label will also spearhead all future audio-visual projects and merchandising. Perhaps most importantly for fans, the deal gives UMG access to the band’s “Vindaloo Vaults” — the personal archives of Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer and Brad Whitford. They will each help curate their own collections, and the archival material will be used in future releases to offer up previously unreleased music, rare photos, video footage, artwork, journals, setlists, and ...
