3 Artists Utilizing Cassettes As Performance Instruments

While many music consumers may feel that the day of the cassette has come and gone, here we look at three different artists who are cashing in on this antiquated audio format’s nostalgic clout and using tapes in their performances. ______________________________ Guest Post by Steph Colbourn on Soundfly’s Flypaper When…

What’s Happening At Beatport Post SFX Bankruptcy

Following its recent bankruptcy, SFX Entertainment has been forced to put its subsidiary (and dance music industry giant) Beatport up for auction. Here we speak with the people at Beatport about the current state of the newly independent company and where it’s headed in the future. _____________________________ Guest Post by…

The Inevitable Unbundling Of Streaming Music Platforms

One of the obstacles to successfully monetizing streaming stems from the challenge of getting a more casual music listener to shell out $10 a month for extra music they don’t especially want, but by offering a greater variety of payment tiers, more fans might be willing to pay for streaming….

Rhapsody, Napster Launch The Listener Network Designed To Make Music More Social

Improving music discovery on a virtual jukebox with millions of songs, is a major focus for all streaming services. Those that get it right, like Spotify has with Discover Weekly, stand the best chance of attracting and retaining users. Rhapsody/Napster has unveiled its effort which cleverly combines machine learning with…

#SXSW 2016: PledgeMusic, Noisetrade Chronicle A Whirlwind Week

Even before yesterday’s big announcement, it’s been a momentous month at PledgeMusic including a trip to SXSW. Here Benji Rogers, Mike Fordham and Derek Webb share impressions of this years fest, and the opportunities to be found at a music industry event of this scale. _______________________________ Guest post from PledgeMusic…

PledgeMusic’s NoiseTrade Adds Email4Stream To Free Artist Toolkit

Even before their recent acquisition by PledgeMusic, NoiseTrade has been one of my favorite direct to fan services, both for music marketing and as a fan. I’ve seen how well it has worked for some of the artists we work with at Skyline Music including 10,000 Maniacs, Darlingside and Caitlin…

YouTube Set To Release Live Streaming App

Facebook is getting headlines this week for upgrades to its live video app; now YouTube is throwing its hat into the ring with the new YouTube Connect, and while its still an industry leader in many ways, this new app may be too little too late. __________________________ Guest Post by…

Indie Music Fans Spent $4.3 Million On Bandcamp Last Month

It’s another big day for direct to fan music commerce. This morning, PledgeMusic named a new CEO, signalling future expansion; Bandzoogle announced a major upgrade and now the usually tight lipped Bandcamp shared some stellar sales figures and new stats. ___________________________________ The current lament is that fans won’t pay to…

Streaming Won’t Kill Downloading, Here’s Why

While many may be under the impression that illegal downloading has fallen by the wayside with the rapid rise in popularity of streaming, the reality is something quite different, and while most in the industry continue to demonize this practice, the people at Muzit see it as an opportunity. _______________________________…

Bandzoogle Upgrades DIY Musician Website Platform With Powerful Theme Customization Tools

Musician website builder Bandzoogle has released a new set of design customization tools that improve how users create a custom, professional-looking website and music store, without hiring a web designer. The new technology gives Bandzoogle users much more control over the look of each page element when building their websites,…