Taylor Swift Paddles Outside Streaming To Bridge Value Gap

In an effort to close the value gap, Taylor Swift has taken advantage of her industry position and utilized a variety of techniques in the marketing of her albums, making particularly smart use of ‘windowing,’ writes Chris Castle. ____________________ Guest post by Chris Castle of Music Technology Policy There are…

Streaming: The Music Industry’s Match.com

In the case of artist Bob Seger, retail and plays on AM/FM radio are not sufficient for fans, and streaming provides a better way to match fans with the music they might enjoy. Here we look at some of Seger’s numbers to see how streaming has allowed him to access…

Taylor Swift’s "Reputation" Just Topped 1 Million In Sales

Taylor Swift’s new album "Reputation" topped 1 million units on Tuesday morning, less than 5 days after it’s release. More retail outlets are due to report throughout the day. First day sales for Taylor Swift’s new album "Reputation" topped 717,000, according to data gathered by BuzzAngle Music. Swift’s tally is…

LyricMerch Lets Fans Wear The Words From Their Favorite Songs

LyricMech is bringing song lyrics to merch on a massive scale. Remember those lines in songs that say it all, simply and perfectly? Now fans can emblazon these lines on t-shirts, caps, mugs, and even shower curtains – and do it legally in way that also makes money for their…

Taylor Swift Using Dubious Trademark Registrations To Put An End To Sales Of Fan-Made Goods

In an effort to capture maximum Swift Dollars, the popular singer’s legal team has been outdoing themselves by attempting to to copyright multiple key phrases from Taylor Swift’s lyrics, and "swiftly" bringing down the hammer on any unlicensed fan made goods which feature them. __________________________ Guest post by Tim Cushing…

‘Tis The Season, But Are Holiday Albums Profitable?

With November well under way, the sleigh bells are already ringing out, and holiday classics will soon dominate the airwaves, but for all the music played around the holidays, is releasing new holiday music really that profitable for the creator? _______________________ In this recent post to MusicThinkTank, Andrea Balogun looks…

Taylor Swift First Day Sales Top 717K, Tour Announcement Planned [UPDATED]

[UPDATED] First day sales for Taylor Swift’s new album "Reputation" topped 717,000, according to data gathered by BuzzAngle Music. "She’s got a shot at 1.5M for the week given this," says BuzzAngle CEO Jim Ledestri. That makes it the biggest first day release so far in 2017. No Streaming Stats…

Could Your Next Album Be Released On Floppy Disk?

Releasing albums on antiquated formats has become a common occurrence in music industry, but one artist has taken things a step further, releasing their latest album on the long outdated floppy disk. _____________________ Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0 Releasing albums on long outdated formats has gone from…

Shania Twain’s "Come On Over" And Why It Sold Over 20 Million Copies

An icon release of mainstream pop country, Twain’s 1997 release was full of crossover potential, loaded with hook-filled songwriting and produced by a rock legend, the album’s impact on country music is clearly evident, even 20 years later. ____________________________ Guest post by Glenn Peoples, Music Insights and Analytics at Pandora,…

Alex Awards Honor Best In Vinyl – Full List Of Winners 2017

After a 12 year hiatus, the Alex Awards returned this week to honor the best in vinyl record packaging at a ceremony at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit. The Alex Awards was last presented in 2006 when it had been primarily a competition honoring the best in DVD,…