Music streamer Deezer is soliciting rights holders to test a major change in how streaming royalties are calculated. So-called "user-centric payments" would more fairly compensate low and mid-tier artists, according to its supporters. While not a top tier player, Deezer’s 14 million users would provide an adequate test of the… Continue Reading
While creating a country music playlist on Spotify, country star Martina McBride found that the overwhelming majority of the songs recommended were sung by men and decided to speak out. McBride says she hard to refresh her list of Spotify song recommendations 14 times before it included one women -… Continue Reading
Paying for radio airplay, or payola as it is more commonly known, has been around since the 50s in one form or another, but has recently spiked. This has lead the FCC to request that the RIAA investigate – meaning the industry will, in effect, be policing itself. ____________________________ Guest… Continue Reading
FCC Commissioner Mike O’Reilly has sent a letter to the RIAA asking it to investigate recent reports of payola – the practice of paying radio stations and other music services to play music. The request came on the heels of a Rolling Stone piece that suggested that payola, which some… Continue Reading
[UPDATED] “Old Town Road” may have been the surprise mega-hit of the summer, but the award for most searched lyrics of 2019 globally goes to another newcomer. While the most searched for lyrics of the summer in the US belong to “Old Town Road,” by the end of summer Billie… Continue Reading
The RIAA has released its annual mid-year report and its shows a U.S. recorded music market in strong growth mode. Total revenue grew 18% to $5.4 billion in the first half of 2019. 4 Big Takeaways Streaming now accounts for 80% of recorded music industry revenues The number of paid… Continue Reading
The staff at Seattle ‘s Easy Street Records recently stumbled across an unchased royalty check made out to Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain 27 years ago.The check was from Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) and made out to Kurt D. Cobain of Olympia, Washington. It was dated March 6, 1991, just months before… Continue Reading
Valence Media, the parent company of Billboard and Hollywood Reporter is acquiring Nielsen’s music-related data, software and analytics business, according to multiple reports. Nielsen Soundscan provides the data that power’s Billboard’s iconic music charts. The deal is expected to close later this year at a price in the eight-figure range,… Continue Reading
A funny thing happened last week with the new Tool album" says Coalition Independent Music Stores (CIMS) executive director Michael Bunnell, "indie retail had an old-school moment." "Several stores had well-attended midnight sales on Thursday (it was my store’s first midnight sale in 10 years)," continues Bunnel. "When we returned… Continue Reading
In the wake of a recent Federal Jury verdict which resulted in the songwriting team and label behind "Dark Horse" paying out millions of dollars, Stephen Carlisle takes an in-the-weeds look at just how similar the offending song and the Plaintiff’s track "Joyful Noise" really are. ______________________________ Guest post by… Continue Reading
