It’s hardly a secret that the future of music commerce lies in streaming, but the numbers continue to bear this out in ways that can’t help but become cause for reflection. According to industry experts, over 100,000 tracks are now being uploaded to streaming platforms each and every day. This jaw-dropping figure was most recently cited by Sir Lucian Grainge, Universal Music Group’s CEO and Chairman, who mentioned it will addressing attendees of the Music Matters conference in Singapore. There’s a lot that could be said about the scale of music streaming today and how it has empowered the independent creator to directly reach consumers. But as Music Business Worldwide points out, Grainge argued that this milestone arguably makes the label a more important part of th...
It’s hardly a secret that the future of music commerce lies in streaming, but the numbers continue to bear this out in ways that can’t help but become cause for reflection. According to industry experts, over 100,000 tracks are now being uploaded to streaming platforms each and every day. This jaw-dropping figure was most recently cited by Sir Lucian Grainge, Universal Music Group’s CEO and Chairman, who mentioned it will addressing attendees of the Music Matters conference in Singapore. There’s a lot that could be said about the scale of music streaming today and how it has empowered the independent creator to directly reach consumers. But as Music Business Worldwide points out, Grainge argued that this milestone arguably makes the label a more important part of th...
The electronic music community is constantly evolving with new sounds every week, as artists become more innovative with their compositions. EDM.com’s weekly “Playlist Picks” series highlights the top releases in the genre, helping uncover the latest tracks that will soon dominate the dance music scene. EDM.com Top Hits ACRAZE – Believe (feat. Goodboys) Rêve – Whitney Galantis – Runaway (U & I) [Subtronics Remix] Festival Hits 2022 HI-LO – LOKMOTIF Scroll to Continue Recommended Articles Subfocus & Dimension – Ready To Fly Chee – Spangled Electronic Avenue ORIKO & St. Levi – Together MitiS & Amidy – It’s All You Au5 & EMME – Another Way These tracks can be accessed on the EDM.com Top Hits Play...
The electronic music community is constantly evolving with new sounds every week, as artists become more innovative with their compositions. EDM.com’s weekly “Playlist Picks” series highlights the top releases in the genre, helping uncover the latest tracks that will soon dominate the dance music scene. EDM.com Top Hits ACRAZE – Believe (feat. Goodboys) Rêve – Whitney Galantis – Runaway (U & I) [Subtronics Remix] Festival Hits 2022 HI-LO – LOKMOTIF Scroll to Continue Recommended Articles Subfocus & Dimension – Ready To Fly Chee – Spangled Electronic Avenue ORIKO & St. Levi – Together MitiS & Amidy – It’s All You Au5 & EMME – Another Way These tracks can be accessed on the EDM.com Top Hits Play...
Spotify is vowing to remove racist, anti-semitic and other hate content from its platform following a new report that says music from a number of white supremacist acts is “prevalent” on the streaming service. The report, published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Thursday (Sept. 22), found a total of 40 white supremacist acts hosted on Spotify, violating the platform’s rules against “dangerous content.” According to the report, “extremist” musical sub-genres encompassed by these artists include Fashwave, electronic music that espouses white supremacist ideology; Rock Against Communism, a sub-genre of punk that promotes racism and antisemitism; and National Socialist Black Metal (NBSM), a sub-genre of metal that espouses fascism and white supremacy. The ADL noted that several of thes...
The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version of the newsletter is published online. With the help of ratings juggernaut Joe Rogan, Spotify topped SXM Media — just barely — in Edison Research’s Q2 2022 podcast network rankings, covering April 1 to June 30, after taking the runner-up position the previous two quarters. The streaming company has made Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, a cornerstone in its efforts to expand the audio platform beyond its music roots. If Rogan’s role was to help make Spotify a podcast leader, he accomplished his mission. “Rogan is not the only reason they’re no. 1, but he’s the main reason,” says Edison Research president Larry Rosin. For all the c...
All eyes have been on Ayra Starr since late last year. The impressive vocalist – who was born in Cotonou, Benin, and raised in various neighborhoods such as Abuja and Lagos in Nigeria – made an impression outside of the African continent with her daring debut album 19 & Dangerous upon its release in August 2021. But now, she’s ready to take the world by storm as Spotify’s next RADAR Global artist, which the company announced Thursday (Sept. 15). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Spotify added Starr (real name Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe) to its marquee global emerging artist program, which will feature her on the RADAR Global playlist and spotlight her in special content, including a mini-documentary about her upbringing and come-up ...
Spotify is the king of music streaming — but its lead is dwindling. YouTube generated over $6 billion to the music industry in the 12 months ended June 2022, the company announced Tuesday (Sept. 13). That was a 50% increase from the last figure YouTube reported, $4 billion over a 12-month period, in June 2020. Reaching the $6 billion milestone raises the question of when — if at all — YouTube might surpass Spotify in terms of value to rights holders and creators. “We want our twin engine of ads and subscriptions to be the #1 contributor of revenue to the industry by 2025,” wrote Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music, in a blog post on Tuesday. That won’t be easy, but it isn’t impossible. Consider how fast YouTube has grown since Cohen joined the company from Warner Music Group (where ...
The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version of the newsletter is published online. Music industry executives at publicly traded companies are paid well – but they’re not the only ones. As Billboard reported in the inaugural Money Makers list of music’s highest-paid executives and stockholders at publicly traded companies, 10 business leaders earned nearly or more than $9 million in 2021. Of those, most of their compensation came from stock awards and stock options, not base salary or performance bonuses. For example, only 5% of SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz’s $32.6 million total compensation came from a guaranteed salary. As is common practice among publicly traded corporations, SiriusXM tied most of Wit...
Kang Hyo-won, Yoon Seok-jun (aka Yenzo Loon) and Kim Shin-gyu are hardly marquee names in the music business, but they accounted for three of its five largest paydays in 2021, according to Billboard Pro‘s inaugural Executive Money Makers ranking — a breakdown of executive compensation and stock ownership at publicly traded companies. All three are valued members of HYBE, the South Korean entertainment giant behind BTS, Tomorrow X Together, NewJeans and other K-pop acts, and in 2016, their efforts turning the company into a global success were rewarded with stock options that netted them the equivalent of tens of millions of dollars when the company went public last year. Stock options are often used to incentivize and reward employees when a company is privately held. In a statement to Bil...