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How To Optimize Your Apple Music Artist Page

Caleb J. Murphy — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 18:57:43 +0000

Spotify this, Spotify that. It’s all we ever talk about. But we forget that tens of millions of listeners use Apple Music. It’s the second biggest streaming platform in the world, so we indie musicians shouldn’t ignore it. That’s why in this article, we’ll walk through how to optimize your Apple Music artist page.

Why Focus On Your Apple Music Artist Page

As of Q1 2023, Apple Music had 32.6 million subscribers (and probably more as of this writing). Plus, Apple Music pays artists better than Spotify per stream. So if you’re not paying any attention to your Apple Music Artist Page, you’re missing an opportunity to meet listeners where they are.

Your artist page should pull listeners in and help them get to know you better. It could increase the likelihood that they move from casual listeners to super fans.

Claim Your Apple Music Artist Page

The first step is to get access to the Apple Music artist dashboard. To do this, you need to claim your artist page. But before you claim your profile, your music has to have been live on Apple Music for at least 5 business days.

Apple has to “verify your identity or relationship to the artist or band,” so they advise you to give them as much info as possible. This includes sharing info on your digital distributor, your website, and your social media accounts.

Here are the steps to claim your artist page via the web:

Log in to or sign up for Apple Music for Artists
Click “Request Artist Access”
In the search bar, copy/paste your iTunes Store artist page link, or type in your artist name or the name of your release in the search bar to find yourself
Select one of your albums to make sure you’re claiming the right page (must be the primary artist)
Choose your role (Artist) then fill out the application

This process will go faster if you sign into your social media accounts and digital distributor account(s). The more info you give Apple, the faster they can verify it’s you.

How do I grant other people access to Apple Music for Artists?

Once you’ve claimed your Apple Music for Artists page, you can give your team members (like your manager or band member) access to update it.

To grant access to other team members, first download and log in to the Apple Music for Artists app (iPhone only). Then:

Tap and hold your artist icon
Tap Account
Scroll down to Users and click Invite User
Fill in their info and assign them a role(s)
Tap Invite

Personalize Your Artist Page

Once you’ve claimed your artist page and been approved by Apple, you can start customizing your page. To edit all of this info, go to the Artist Content page at the top then click the Artist Profile tab next to your artist name.

Here are the main aspects to focus on…

Add an artist image

The preferred dimensions of your artist image are 2400 x 2400 pixels or greater, 800 x 800 pixels minimum. You can see Apple Music’s full guidelines here.

Fill out the About and Biography sections

How do you get an About page on Apple Music? Well, the About section on your Apple Music artist page is limited to basic info (genre, birthdate, other names you have, hometown) as well as your answers to Apple Music’s predetermined questions. Then the Biography section will be filled with your Q&A answers.

Add Q&As

Answer as many questions as you can (these will appear in the Biography section). This is a chance for listeners to get to know you, so don’t be afraid to open up.

List band members, collaborators, and influences

Have you collaborated with any artists? Make sure to add them in this section. Then list your musical influences, giving the listener more context for why your music sounds the way it does.

Add Your Lyrics

A really cool and convenient feature of Apple Music is that you can directly add your lyrics. In contrast, if you want to get your lyrics on Spotify, you have to use Musixmatch and wait for it to be delivered. (However, Musixmatch offers a time-sync feature while Apple only offers this “at Apple’s editorial discretion”).

To add your lyrics to Apple Music, go to the “Music and Videos” tab next to your artist name. Then hit “+ Lyrics” next to the song to add the lyrics. Check out the guidelines for lyrics here.

List Your Concerts

Apple Music partners with Bandsintown, so any concerts you list with Bandsintown will be viewable by Apple Music listeners.

Your concerts will automatically appear in the Spotlight Search, which lets listeners swipe down on their app’s Home Screen to search for artists, songs, or shows. Your concerts can also show up in Apple Music Guides and Set Lists.

Add Team Members

You may have a team that you want to grant access to your Apple Music, like a manager or band member.

To add team members, download and login to the Apple Music for Artists app (iPhone only), then:

Tap and hold your artist icon
Tap Account
Scroll down to Users and click Invite User
Fill in their info and assign them a role(s)
Tap Invite

Promote Your Music

Apple Music doesn’t have a way to promote your music directly to Apple Music listeners – like Spotify does with Showcases and Marquees.

But they have a page that lets you create “promotional assets” that you can download and share on social media. They’re basically cool-looking images with your artist name, release title, the Apple logo, and “Listen now” in big letters.

Make Sure You’re On Shazam

In case you don’t already know, Shazam is an app that listens to and identifies a song. Apple owns it, so when you use it, it pulls up the identified song on Apple Music.

To get your music on Shazam, just use any Apple-approved distributor and they’ll deliver your music to both Apple Music and Shazam. After your song has been released, you can verify it has reached Shazam by going to the web version and searching for the song or your artist name.

Final Thoughts

In a music industry that is so focused on Spotify, don’t forget to give your Apple Music artist page some love. Claim your artist page, personalize it, add your lyrics, list your concerts, and answer Apple’s Q&A’s. This will make sure you don’t alienate your fans who exclusively use Apple Music.

Apple Music Now Offers College Students a 6-Month Trial — But Only Until September

Daniel Sanchez — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 03:00:46 +0000

Apple Music is helping out students – and hoping to perk its subscription numbers along the way.

Having recently reached 60 million subscribers, the music streaming service has drastically expanded its discount plan.

As part of its Back-to-School special, the Cupertino company has also slashed the price of Macs, including MacBooks, iMacs, and iMac Pros, and iPads, including the iPad Pro. In addition, with any of these purchases, users will receive Beats Solo3 Wireless Headphones.

That’s not all. According to a leaked memo obtained by Appleosophy, university students will receive 6 months of Apple Music for free instead of the usual 3 months.

The media outlet explains,

“Apple also notes that new student plan customers will receive an email within the first 3 months with instructions on how to redeem an additional 3 months free. After the free trial, the promotion converts to a paid subscription.

“To qualify for an Apple Music Student Membership, the student must be a student studying a bachelor degree, post-graduate degree, or equivalent Higher Education course at a University, College (US only) or Post-Secondary School (Canada only).”

Apple has since confirmed the report, writing on its website,

“50 million songs. 6 months on us.

“Get a free 6-month subscription to Apple Music. And a special student rate of $4.99/mo. after the trial ends.”

Eligible students can view the offer here.

The offer follows a big subscriber milestone — but one that still trails Spotify by a mile. Speaking with French publication Numerama, Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, casually revealed that the music streaming service had crossed 60 million subscriptions.

Keep in mind last year CEO Tim Cook officially disclosed a total of 50 million paying subs in mid-May. This means the platform has added 10 million new subscribers in roughly 13 months. Both figures include paying and trial users.

After ten years, Spotify recently passed the 100 million subscriber mark. Recently celebrating its fourth-year milestone, Apple Music now remains solidly behind its rival. That figure will once again rise substantially, though it’s unclear how quickly Apple can close the gap (if ever).

Last week, Apple Music also confirmed the expansion of its summer concert tour series.

Dubbed Up Next Live, featured rising artists would perform a series of intimate performances. Each musician would perform for fans at local Apple stores around the world. These include Milan, San Francisco, Brooklyn, Paris, London, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

Bad Bunny, Daniel Caesar, Khalid, Ashley McBryde, King Princess, Lewis Capaldi, and Jessie Reyez will each give a unique performance for music fans.

Featured image by Apple Music.

Vodafone’s ‘My Muze’ Music Streaming App Quietly Surpasses One Million Downloads in South Africa

Daniel Sanchez — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 22:30:36 +0000

In March 2018, Spotify went live in South Africa.

The company would offer local users a Premium monthly subscription for R5.99, or about $0.42 USD at the time.

The low price only lasted for a short time. Shortly after the introductory offer – good for only three months – Spotify jacked up the price to R59.99, or $4.20 USD per month.

Sounds great compared to countries like the U.S., though South Africa has a high unemployment rate. On average, people earn R20,860 ($1,472) a month in South Africa.

Now, a rival music streaming service has confirmed a new download milestone.

Taking on Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Spotify in South Africa.

Earlier this year, South African telecom giant Vodacom, majority owned by Vodafone, revealed that it has 43.8 million customers in the country – 38.2 million prepaid and 5.6 million contract customers. Vodacom remains ahead of its closest rival – MTN South Africa, which has 26.6 million.

In an effort to take on international music streaming services, Vodacom rolled out My Muze in April. Since then, the company has quickly reached over a million downloads on the Play Store alone. My Muze’s international partners include Deezer, Google Music, and Joox. Users can also use the app’s Recharge section to purchase music tickets and data bundles. Weekly streaming plans start at R9.99 ($0.70) a week.

Spotify has yet to disclose how many subscribers – or even total users – it has in the country. When pressed on the issue, Claudius Boller, the company’s Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), merely said,

“We see the user numbers by far exceeding what we had expected.”

In PR talk, this usually means the real numbers are much, much lower than the company expected.

Back in the UK, Vodafone started a bundling deal with Spotify back in 2013, one that gives users the option to layer Spotify Premium into their plans.

Vodacom’s rationale for launching its own music streaming and download service in the country is two-fold. First, My Muze solidifies Vodafone’s dominance in the country. Second, the service allows the telecom company to diversify its revenue streams.

But Vodacom isn’t the only formidable local competitor. Touting the success of its own music streaming and download service, MTN’s MusicTime! has over 240,000 downloads on the Play Store and the App Store.

Yet, don’t expect My Muze and MusicTime! to completely wipe out international players. According to Ndzalo Mpangana, an analyst at iAfrikan Digital, middle and upper-middle-class South Africans prefer using Apple Music and Spotify. However, thanks to rampant music piracy in the country, MTN and Vodacom may ultimately turn this around among low-income music fans.

Featured image by Chris Eason (CC by 2.0).

Apple Music Dramatically Expands ‘Up Next Live’ With Bad Bunny, Lewis Capaldi, and Khalid

Daniel Sanchez — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 20:50:23 +0000

Apple Music has unveiled the lineup for its upcoming Up Next Live tour.

Scheduled for this summer, Up Next Live – a series of ‘intimate’ performances from Apple Music Up Next artists – will feature Bad Bunny, Daniel Caesar, Khalid, Ashley McBryde, King Princess, Lewis Capaldi, and Jessie Reyez.

Each artist will perform for fans in one city for a single night.

The move just weeks after Apple secured the Up Next trademark for its music streaming service. The Cupertino tech company hatched the documentary series to spotlight Apple Music’s then-growing indie music catalog. Dubbed Up Next, the monthly series would focus on up-and-coming artists.

Apple first placed the spotlight on Ricardo Valdez Valentine, better known as 6LACK.

Promoting the rapper on social media, the company wrote,

“Considering he made his recording debut at the age of four, you could say that 6LACK – pronounced “black” – was born to do this. The singer/rapper transcended the Atlanta underground with last year’s “PRBLMS”, a bold showcase of late-night, R&B-inflected hip-hop.”

Soon, however, Apple Music shifted the documentary series, highlighting only mainstream artists on Beats 1 Radio.

Revitalizing its Up Next series shortly after the trademark filing came to light, the company selected Houston female rapper Megan Thee Stallion as its latest artist. According to Apple Music, Fever showcases the Houston rapper’s “undeniable musical versatility highlighted by her signature rapid-fire delivery and sharp-witted wordplay,” inciting a “finely tuned mix of sweet, sensual, and savage imagery.”

Unveiling its Up Next Live roster, the company will host after-hours performances at local Apple Stores in major cities. These include Milan, San Francisco, Brooklyn, Paris, London, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. The series will kick off on July 9^th with a Bad Bunny performance at Apple Piazza Liberty in Milan.

You can view the Up Next Live schedule below.

July 9^th — Bad Bunny at Apple Piazza Liberty, Milan

July 19^th — Jessie Reyez at Apple Union Square, San Francisco

July 25^th — King Princess at Apple Williamsburg, Brooklyn

July 31^st — Lewis Capaldi at Apple Champs-Élysées, Paris

August 9^th — Daniel Caesar at Apple Covent Garden, London

August 16^th — Ashley McBryde at Apple Michigan Avenue, Chicago

August 23^rd — Khalid at Apple Carnegie Library, Washington, D.C.

Featured image by Apple Music.

Apple Music Lists Five Leaked Songs on Playboi Carti’s Channel

Daniel Sanchez — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 22:32:25 +0000

Last month, an uploader managed to leak an unreleased Playboi Carti song.

Titled ‘Kid Cudi,’ the song quickly reached No. 1 on Spotify’s Viral Top 50 with over 2.3 million streams.

That was all thanks to a high school sophomore.

Speaking about the incident, the high schooler, known only as Kambo, explained how he obtained the song.

“I first made my Spotify account to post songs that aren’t already on Spotify. Before the song came out there was a snippet on YouTube, and it sounded like it would be a hit if it was released. A couple weeks later, the song got leaked and I posted it to my channel not thinking about how big it would get. I posted it on the Playboi Carti Reddit to help the fans find the song.”

Kambo uploaded the song on DistroKid, dropping it on Spotify. Since the incident, the digital distributor has partnered with a content recognition company to prevent further incidents.

Now, a month later, Playboi Carti continues to suffer from more high-profile leaks.

Leaking previously dropped tracks.

For a brief moment, five tracks uploaded onto Apple Music appeared on Carti’s official channel.

‘Butterfly Pill,’ ‘T S—t,’ ‘A and L,’ ‘Hulk,’ and ‘Shortie N Luv’ were uploaded on the rapper’s channel by a user called DJ EightBit. They then appeared on the rapper’s official channel for several hours.

The songs have previously surfaced under different names. These include ‘Molly,’ ‘Toke S—t,’ ‘Arm and Leg,’ ‘Green and Purple,’ and ‘Shawty in Love.’

In a now-deleted Story on Instagram, and begging leakers to “leave me alone,” Carti lamented,

The leaks come ahead of the official release of his upcoming album, Whole Lotta Red.

Out of the five ‘leaked’ songs, only one has enjoyed an official release. As stated earlier, ‘Hulk’ dropped in 2017 as Travis Scott and Playboi Carti’s ‘Green and Purple.’ ‘Shortie N Luv’ first leaked in February 2018. ‘Arm and Leg’ appeared on Carti’s Instagram Live broadcast in 2018. ‘T S—t’ leaked in October 2018.

The rapper gave a preview of ‘Butterfly Pill’ at a performance in Seattle last year.

Featured image by The Come Up Show (CC by 2.0).

Apple Music Selects Megan Thee Stallion as Its Up Next Artist

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 21:11:52 +0000

Apple Music has revitalized Up Next and queued up its latest artist.

Houston native rapper Megan Thee Stallion – real name Megan Pete – has been selected as Apple Music’s featured artist. Her mother, Holly Thomas, had rapped under the name Holly-Wood.

The selection comes following the release of Stallion’s debut album, Fever, via 300 Entertainment. Megan Thee Stallion is currently a third-year health administration student at Texas Southern University.

Her first mixtape, Rich Ratchet, first came out in 2016. According to Apple Music, Fever showcases the Houston rapper’s “undeniable musical versatility highlighted by her signature rapid-fire delivery and sharp-witted wordplay,” inciting a “finely tuned mix of sweet, sensual, and savage imagery.”

Megan Thee Stallion’s relationship with Apple Music first started in August 2018. Ebro Darden, the music streaming platform’s Global Editorial Head of Hip-Hop and R&B, spotlighted her track, ‘Big Ole Freak,’ on his daily Beats 1 radio broadcast. Apple subsequently added Megan to popular hip-hop playlists The New South, The Plug, and The A-List: Hip-Hop. She also went on to appear as a guest on Darden’s show last December.

Fever peaked No. 3 on the Apple Music chart’s in its debut week and still sits in the top 15. She has received over 150 million streams on the platform.

Speaking about the selection, Megan Thee Stallion said,

“I’m so excited to be part of Apple Music’s Up Next program. Apple has been helping me spread my music to hotties all across the world, and now it’s about to get even hotter.”

Nadeska Alexis, Apple Music host, added,

“The fact that Megan Thee Stallion initially captivated us with her freestyles is a testament to the skill and creativity that’s made her music hit so hard. Factor in her slick-talking, rowdy alter-egos with her confident charisma and it’s easy to see that she is a born entertainer.”

Speaking about regularly meeting up with her fans, dubbed ‘Hotties,’ Megan added,

“I love going to each city and getting to hug them and talk to them and twerk with them. Drive the boat with them.”

Featured image by Megan Thee Stallion (YouTube screengrab).

Apple Music Secures Trademark Filing in Canada for Its ‘Up Next’ Documentary Series

Daniel Sanchez — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 18:24:42 +0000

Several years ago, Apple Music officially unveiled a ‘now-forgotten’ mini-documentary series.

The concept was hatched to spotlight Apple Music’s then-growing indie music catalog. The monthly series – dubbed Up Next – would focus on up-and-coming artists.

The first Up Next series placed the spotlight on both the professional and personal upbringing of Ricardo Valdez Valentine, better known as 6LACK. His Up Next biography reads,

“Considering he made his recording debut at the age of four, you could say that 6LACK – pronounced “black” – was born to do this. The singer/rapper transcended the Atlanta underground with last year’s “PRBLMS”, a bold showcase of late-night, R&B-inflected hip-hop.

“The unfiltered personal narratives of his full-length debut, FREE 6LACK, proved that “PRBLMS” was just the beginning. Explore 6LACK’s blossoming catalog, watch his incredible live performance in Atlanta, and get to know him through our exclusive documentary and in-depth interview with Beats 1’s Zane Lowe.”

Promoting the series on Twitter, Apple Music wrote,

“Introducing #UpNext. Music’s Next Generation. A new artist every month. Up first, @6LACK. http://apple.co/UpNext”

Yet, the documentary soon shifted to featuring mainstream artists on Beats 1 Radio.

Now, a new filing shows Apple Music has plans to seemingly ‘resurrect’ the indie-centered documentary series.

Is ‘Up Next’ up next?

Late last week, the Hong Kong Patent and Trademark Office granted the Cupertino company two design patents for Apple Store shelving designs. The filing comes several weeks after the Canadian Trademark Office granted a registered trademark for Up Next – TMA1023538.

Filed in Canada under the Nice Classification System, Apple Music Nice Classes 38 and 41 read,

“Nice Class 38 – Streaming and broadcasting of live and pre-recorded music performances, music videos, music and interviews featuring musical artists via the Internet, streaming and broadcasting of audio and content video via the Internet in the fields of news, sport, comedy, namely live comedy shows, comedic musical performances and comedy movies, drama, namely live dramatic performances and audio recordings of dramatic performances, music, music videos, television shows, and radio and television programming featuring musical artists, transmission and delivery of audio and video content namely, radio broadcasting services, and audio-on-demand transmission services featuring musical artists.

“Nice Class 41 – Entertainment services in the nature of development, creation, production, and distribution of musical artist video documentary series, entertainment services, namely providing music, interviews, live music performances, and videos featuring musical artists, entertainment services, namely, a musical artist video documentary program series featuring downloadable music, live music performances, interviews and music playlists distributed via websites and computer applications across multiple forms of transmission media namely, wireless computer and broadband networks, local area networks, wide area networks, global computer networks, and the Internet.“

Apple Music had first filed its Up Next trademark in the U.S. on October 21^st, 2017.

This prompted Spotify to unveil its own imitation series – Rise. The U.S. granted Apple the trademark – number 5,604,598 – on November 13^th, 2018.

Filed under International Class 38 and 41, the American filing has similar wording to Nice Class 41 in Canada.

“Entertainment services in the nature of development, creation, production, and distribution of musical artist video documentary series, entertainment services, namely providing music, interviews, live music performances, and videos featuring musical artists, entertainment services, namely, a multimedia program series featuring musical artists distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media.

“Streaming and broadcasting of performances, documentaries, music, and interviews featuring musical artists, streaming and broadcasting of audio and visual content featuring musical artists; transmission and delivery of audio and visual content featuring musical artists.”

So far, Apple has yet to officially comment on the trademark filings in Hong Kong and Canada. However, based on the copyright wording, expect Apple Music to soon relaunch Up Next around the world.

Featured image by Apple Music.

Apple Music May Be Worth $15-$20 Billion Alone

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 19:16:50 +0000

Just how much is Apple Music worth exactly?

According to one analyst, Apple’s music streaming platform may be more successful than the Cupertino company has let on.

In a note published yesterday, Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani explored how the company’s shift to its Services division has proven successful.

Giving some backstory into the Cupertino company’s recent litigation – multiple lawsuits against the App Stores, for example, from frustrated consumers and companies – Daryanani explained that “pending litigation and developer frustration [as] likely the greatest threats to Apple Services growth.”

As the company now faces antitrust investigations from the European Union and most recently, the US, some analysts have claimed that authorities may force the Cupertino tech giant to break up.

While the move remains a highly unlikely outcome following years of litigation, other developers may follow Netflix’s lead and force consumers to subscribe outside of the App Store, a move that allows them to keep the 30% cut Apple typically takes for themselves.

Daryanani explained,

“The top 20 App Store apps account for about 18% of App Store revenue, and it’s possible these developers could push to negotiate lower fees. We estimate the App Store contributed about $1.50 to fiscal 2018 earnings per share (about 13%).

“In our worst-case scenario, we assume the App Store developer payout is increased from 70% to 95%, which could drive an about 11% decline in EPS.”

Should the company break up its Services divisions, however, Daryanani explained that Apple Music may have a higher valuation than investors expect.

“Spotify currently trades at about 3.9 times revenue or 263 times paid subscribers,” the analyst noted. “Applying those multiples to our fiscal 2018 Apple music estimates of about $5.1 billion and 54 million subscribers would value Apple Music at $15-$20 billion.”

Currently, the company has a market valuation of around $900 billion.

In another analysis posted last week, Daryanani said investors are focusing too heavily on Apple’s hardware offerings. Yet the company has remained resilient. Thus, shareholders will ultimately reap the benefits in the long run.

“While investors have been hyper-fixated on iPhone unit sales and adoption trends, we think a key positive for Apple is its resilient and recurring free cash flow generation. We expect Apple to return much of the ongoing free cash flow generation back to shareholders.”

Goldman Sachs Says Global Music Revenues Will Reach $131 Billion by 2030

Daniel Sanchez — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 00:45:28 +0000

According to a new report from Goldman Sachs, nearly 1.2 billion people will be paying for music streaming in just 11 years.

The latest report from the investment bank – dubbed ‘Music In The Air’ – comes nearly two years after Goldman Sachs predicted global revenue from paid music streaming alone will hit $28 billion in 2030.

Two months ago, the IFPI reported that global recorded music revenues hit $19.1 billion in 2018, up 9.7% over 2017, thanks in large part to music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and others. So, Goldman Sachs’ global revenue projection doesn’t seem too far-fetched.

The investment bank writes,

“After nearly two decades of disruption, the music industry is undergoing a massive revival. Artists, labels, and publishers are cashing in on the growing popularity of streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music – and consumers are signing up for subscriptions like never before.“

According to the investment bank, live music revenue totaled $26 billion in 2017. Recorded music revenue totaled $30 billion. Publishing revenue hit $6 billion. In total, global music revenue totaled $62 billion.

Updating its projected forecast, Goldman Sachs forecasts overall music revenue to more than double to about $131 billion by 2030.

Breaking that number down, recorded music revenue will reach $80 billion while live music revenue will hit $38 billion. Music publishing will total $12.5 billion.

So, what’s behind the surge? Goldman Sachs writes that millennials and Generation Z music lovers spend more of their annual budgets on music than other age groups. People aged 13-17, for example, now spend $80 a year. Those aged 18-34 spend $163. Overall, people of all ages spend an average of $152 to enjoy their favorite music.

Breaking down the proportion of people who stream music on their smartphones, 18% used music streaming platforms in developed markets last year. That number will more than double to 37% by 2030. In emerging markets, 3% of people streamed music last year on their smartphones. By 2030, that number will reach 10%.

In a stern warning to the music industry, however, Goldman Sachs wrote platforms like Spotify and Apple Music must continue to provide “access to millions of tracks.”

41% of paying users consider this very important. 35% also consider a large catalog fairly important. The group noted that music streaming could lose its appeal if catalogs become overly restricted or if prices go up. Exclusives may also have a market-damaging impact.

You can view the full report here.

Featured image by Jericho (CC by 3.0).

Apple Music Strengthens Its Publishing Division By Poaching a Key Google & YouTube Executive

Daniel Sanchez — Thu, 09 May 2019 17:39:33 +0000

Last year, under its then-new Head of Music, Oliver Schusser, Apple Music quietly unveiled a new global publishing business.

The company promoted Elena Segal – previously Legal Director of iTunes International – to the role of Global Director of Music Publishing. The publishing business aims to assist the industry in developing key songwriters.

Segal currently oversees operations, publisher relations, and A&R. She now discovers up-and-coming writers for the Cupertino company’s music division.

A week later, Apple Music finally opened up its promised analytics platform for musicians and labels.

Then, in October, the company revealed its two-fold strategy to take on Spotify.

Apple Music hired the founders of Asaii, a music analytics startup. The move came a month after the startup abruptly revealed its closure.

Asaii had offered managers and labels an analytics platform for developing artists. Breaking down information from streaming services and social media, the startup promised it could find “the next big Justin Bieber…10 weeks to a year” before the artist’s rise to fame.

The hirings would allow Apple to discover and closely work with the next top indie artists. Apple Music could also improve its music recommendations – its weakest point – thus better competing with Spotify’s machine learning algorithms.

Not content to stop there, the Cupertino company soon acquired Platoon, a creative services firm based in London.

The artist and repertoire (A&R) firm provides a variety of services for artists, including video, audio, and marketing. Platoon also provides tour support, content creation, social media marketing, and global expansion. The firm has closely worked with Billie Eilish, Jacob Banks, and Jorja Smith, among others. Many have signed contracts with major labels.

Now, Apple Music has doubled down on its publishing division.

Poaching from Google/YouTube.

Boosting its publishing business, the music service has now poached Lindsay Rothschild from Google.

At the Alphabet-owned company, she led songwriter and publisher relations for YouTube. Rothschild also oversaw YouTube and Google Play’s music publishing business development.

At Apple Music, she’ll serve as Head of Creative Services of Music Publishing for North America.

Rothschild marks the second major hire for Apple’s secretive music publishing division. Amidst the music industry’s strife with Spotify over its CRB songwriter appeal, she’ll build stronger relationships with the songwriter community.

Earlier this year, Spotify, Pandora, Google, and Amazon filed an appeal to reverse the Copyright Royalty Board’s 44% songwriter royalties increase on streaming services. Apple quietly supported the ruling, resulting in a giant trump card over its rivals.

Rothschild will also help key creatives and A&R. In addition, she’ll guide rightsholders through the Apple ecosystem, identifying areas of incremental value within music compositions. These include Apple-owned products GarageBand and Logic, among others.

Prior to her stint at Google, Rothschild has also served at Disney Music Group and Warner/Chappell. Described as “having a great track,” she can “speak and understand the language of songwriters.”

Featured image by Apple Music.

Apple Music Caught Taking Down Pro-Democracy Songs in China

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 16:16:51 +0000

A new report has claimed that Apple Music has removed songs celebrating democracy in China. The Cupertino-based company has censored pro-democracy songs ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Crackdown in June this year. It has removed a popular song from Jacky Cheung, which translates to ‘The Path of Man’, featuring politically sensitive lyrics. In the now-removed song, Cheung sings, “The youth are angry, heaven and earth are weeping… How did our land become a sea of blood? How did the path home become a path of no return?”.

Cheung’s song was first released following the government’s violent crackdown of the student-led pro-democracy protests in 1989. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people likely died after the deployment of the People’s Liberation Army. Cheung, who is 57, remains incredibly popular and a separate report states that his concerts help police “round up crooks who turn up”. These crooks, the publication says, can’t “resist the allure of his shows”.

Chinese netizens first reported the song’s removal over the weekend. They also found Tencent Music’s streaming music service, QQ Music, had taken down the Hong Kong singer’s popular track. Unfortunately, Cheung isn’t alone. Buckling under growing pressure from the Chinese government, Apple Music has attempted to curb songs celebrating or promoting the anniversary. Anthony Wong, another Hong Kong singer, has also had his songs removed from the platform. The company took down the songs from his group, Tat Ming Pair, except for one – ‘Do You Still Love Me?’. Apple Music also delisted the works from Hong Kong pro-democracy singer, Denise Ho. Her name and discography no longer appear in any searches on the streaming music service. Wong and Ho have vocally supported pro-democracy protests in the past, including the 2014 Umbrella Movement.

Users can still access Cheung, Wong, and Ho’s music in Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and around the world. According to the initial report, Chinese internet service Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industrial Development (GCBD), a pro-government company, has operated Apple’s iCloud services in the country since February 2018. Apple has yet to issue a statement over the takedowns.

The removal of these songs highlights China’s ongoing censorship of the internet and its increasing efforts to control dissenting voices. The country’s strict internet censorship laws, known as the Great Firewall of China, have been in place for years and have been used to censor anything that could be seen as critical of the government or a threat to social stability. But in recent months, China has ramped up its efforts to control the internet even further.

Last year, the Chinese government introduced new regulations that required internet service providers to verify the real names and national identification numbers of their users. They also banned virtual private networks (VPNs), which allow users to bypass the Great Firewall of China and access censored content. And earlier this year, the government introduced new laws that make it illegal to spread “false information” online.

Critics have accused the Chinese government of using these laws to silence dissenting voices and stifle free speech. Human rights groups have also criticized Apple for complying with the Chinese government’s censorship demands. In 2017, the company removed dozens of VPN apps from its Chinese App Store after the government ordered it to do so.

The removal of pro-democracy songs from Apple Music is just the latest example of China’s attempts to control the internet and silence dissenting voices. It’s also a worrying sign of Apple’s willingness to comply with the demands of an authoritarian government. As China’s influence on the global economy continues to grow, it’s essential that companies like Apple take a stand for free speech and human rights.

Featured image by Apple Music.

Streaming Music Royalties are Even Worse Than We Thought — At Least According to This Indie Label

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 20:56:10 +0000

Indie artists aren’t the only things not earning enough from streaming music services.

Late last month, Digital Music News updated its list of what streaming music services pay.

Thanks to information from third-party websites and actual artists, we ranked these services according to their per-stream rate.

Napster, the king of streaming music payouts, now pays out $0.019 per stream. To meet the monthly minimum wage amount in the US ($1,472), an artist needs 77,474 total plays.

Jay-Z’s beleaguered TIDAL remains a top player. The service pays artists $0.0125 per stream. Artists on TIDAL now need 117,760 total plays to earn $1,472.

Taking third place, Apple Music now pays $0.00735. Artists on Apple Music need around 200,272 plays to earn the US monthly minimum wage amount.

Beating Deezer for the first time, Google Play Music (GPM) per-stream rate stands at $0.00676. Artists will need around 217,752 total streams to earn $1,472.

Falling to fifth place, and still without an established presence in the US, Deezer’s per-stream rate rose to $0.0064, placing it right behind GPM. Artists need 230,000 total plays to earn the US monthly minimum wage amount.

Previously ranked as the service with one of the worst payouts, Spotify reportedly pays $0.00437 per play. That number varies per artist, with award-winning cellist and composer Zoe Keating receiving on average $0.00543 per play. Typically, artists will need around 336,842 total plays to earn $1,472.

Right behind Spotify, Amazon now pays $0.00402. Artists will now need around 366,169 total streams to earn the monthly minimum wage amount in the US. Previously, Amazon paid indie artists $0.0074 per play.

Pandora has historically paid indie artists dismal amounts in terms of royalties. The company now pays $0.00133 on Pandora Premium. Artists will need 1,106,767 total plays on Pandora Premium just to earn $1,472.

Historically, YouTube hasn’t ever been an artist-friendly platform, thanks to its horrendous payouts.

The popular video platform pays artists $0.00069. To earn the monthly minimum wage amount in the US, artists will need around 2,133,333 total plays on YouTube.

Now, The Trichordist has released its list of streaming music payouts.

What one indie label earned from streaming.

Gathering its data from a single source – a mid-sized indie label with an approximately 250+ album catalog which generates almost 1 billion streams – The Trichodist has published its list of streaming music service payouts.

According to the data, Amazon Music Unlimited has the highest per-stream payout rate at $0.01175. An artist would need around 125,277 plays to earn the US monthly minimum wage amount. Amazon’s platform only had a 0.68% share of all the label’s streams, generating 4.04% of all revenue earned.

Napster came next, paying $0.01110 per play. Artists on Rhapsody’s streaming music service would need around 133,818 plays to earn $1,472. The service had a 0.14% share of all streams, generating 0.80% of all revenue earned.

TIDAL fell to third place, paying $0.00927 per play. Artists on Jay-Z’s beleaguered streaming music service would need around 158,792 plays to earn the monthly minimum wage amount. The service had a 0.21% share in the label’s streams, generating 0.98% of all revenue earned.

In fourth place, Deezer reportedly paid $0.00567 per stream. Artists on the platform would need around 259,612 plays to earn $1,472. The French-based service had a 0.91% share in streams, generating 2.6% of all revenue earned.

Google Play Music came behind Deezer, paying $0.00543 per play. Artists would need around 271,087 streams to earn the monthly minimum wage amount. The service had a 1.12% share in the label’s streams, generating 3.08% of all revenue earned.

Apple Music paid indie artists around $0.00495 per stream. Indie artists would need around 297,374 streams to earn $1,472. The service had a 9.95% share in overall streams, generating a significant 24.97% of all revenue earned.

Amazon Prime Music – labeled Amazon Digital Services – came in seventh place, paying $0.00395 per play. Artists would need around 372,658 plays on the platform to earn the US monthly minimum wage amount. The service had a 0.95% share in streams, generating a low 1.90% of all revenue earned.

Spotify came close behind Amazon Prime Music, reportedly paying $0.00311 per stream. At that rate, indie artists would need 472,312 streams to earn $1,472. The service had a whopping 29.22% share of all the label’s streams, generating 48.93% of all revenue.

Among the worst paying services, Pandora ranked in ninth place, paying $0.00155 per play. Artists would need 949,677 plays to earn the monthly minimum wage amount. The service had a 3.86% share in the label’s streams, and generated a dismal 3.03% of all revenue.

YouTube ranked as the worst offender, paying artists a dismal $0.00028 per play. An artist would need 5,257,143 plays to earn $1,472. In terms of all streams for the label, the service had a whopping 48.58% share, generating only 6.99% of all revenue.

The key takeaways.

At first glance, only one streaming music service paid more to the indie label: Amazon Music Unlimited.

The rest paid far, far less than they have to individual indie artists.

Take Spotify, for example. According to independent data, and as explained above, the streaming music giant pays $0.00437 per play. Yet, the company paid the label $0.00311 per stream. Spotify’s streams also accounted for nearly 30% of its billion streams.

Apple Music’s per-stream rate saw an even more dramatic drop for labels. In 2017, the service reportedly paid $0.00783. Last year, that number decreased to $0.00495.

Comparing both services’ payouts to independent labels, The Trichordist explained,

“Apple Music still lead in the sweet spot with about 10% of overall streams generating 25% of all revenue (despite the per stream rate drop). Spotify by comparison has nearly triple the marketshare in streams than Apple Music but generates less than double the revenues on that volume.”

Also, despite multiple denials of the ‘value gap,’ YouTube continues cheating the music industry in terms of fair payouts.

The Trichordist explains,

“The biggest takeaway by far is that YouTube’s Content ID, (in our first truly comprehensive data set) shows a whopping 48% of all streams generate only 7% of revenue. Read that again. This is your value gap. Nearly 50% of all recorded music streams only generate 7% of revenue.”

It also remains unclear how much streaming music services do pay major labels, which presumably take a higher percentage. Yet, from what we can tell, indies receive far, far less than major labels do.

You can view the complete infographic below.

Apple Music Officially Hits 50 Million Subscribers

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 17:34:47 +0000

The busy holiday season pushed Apple Music up to 50 million paid subscriptions.

According to a report from the Financial Times last November, Apple Music had 56 million subscribers.

The financial newspaper dropped that number while discussing the company’s future plans. It remained unclear whether this included paid and trial users, or only paid subscriptions.

Apple has reportedly explored making a sizable equity investment in iHeartMedia. This, wrote FT, would help the Cupertino company beef up its floundering Beats 1 Radio service.

Another option Apple has considered is outright purchasing iHeartRadio’s streaming platform. This would serve as a “relatively cheap way” to reach the service’s 120 million registered users.

Now, following the report, Apple has released its own official subscriber numbers.

50 million and counting.

The Cupertino company has released its first-quarter results.

Apple posted quarterly revenue of $84.3 billion, a surprising 5% decline year-over-year. Quarterly earnings per diluted share totaled $4.18, up 7.5%. International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Underscoring the smartphone’s weakening sales, iPhone revenue dropped 15%. Meanwhile, revenue from all other products and services grew 19%. Services revenue – Apple Music, iTunes, iCloud, etc. – reached an all-time high of $10.9 billion, up 9% year-over-year.

Revenue from Mac and Wearables as well as Home and Accessories grew 9% and 33%, respectively. iPad revenue grew 17%.

During an earnings conference call Tuesday, CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Apple Music officially hit 50 million subscribers over the busy holiday season.

The last official number was 50 million, which included paid and trial users. Apple Music’s latest numbers only include paid subscriptions.

In addition, the Cupertino company has confirmed a new partnership.

Starting Friday, Apple Music subscribers can now access their library on domestic American Airlines flights. They can connect to the airlines’ Viasat satellite Wi-Fi with no Wi-Fi purchase required.

Apple’s partnership with American Airlines underscores Oliver Schusser’s latest strategy.

Under the current Vice President of Apple Music, the company has unveiled partnerships with Amazon and Verizon Wireless. The streaming music service has also finally rolled out on Android tablets.

What’s the Average Length of a Song? It’s Shorter Than You Think

Daniel Sanchez — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 20:47:21 +0000

According to the latest research, the average length of a song is getting shorter by the year.

According to a new report, the average length of a song is now significantly shorter. The average length of a song on the Billboard Hot 100 has decreased by 20 seconds in the past five years. Songs now average 3 minutes and 30 seconds — and are steadily shrinking.

6% of hit songs also averaged 2 minutes and 30 seconds or shorter last year, and sub-3 minute songs are becoming increasingly common.

Breaking down Kendrick Lamar’s albums and songs, Quartz found a steady shift towards shorter tracks. In good kid, m.A.A.d. city, for example, the 5^th track, ‘Money Trees,’ starts in the 19^th minute. But in To Pimp a Butterfly, the 5^th track, ‘These Walls,’ starts in the album’s 16^th minute. And in DAMN., the 5^th track, ‘FEEL.’, starts much sooner, at the 12^th minute.

The average track length on good kid, m.A.A.d city is 5 minutes and 37 seconds. All tracks on Lamar’s album are 3 minutes and 30 seconds or longer. Some tracks even surpass the 6-minute limit, including ‘Money Trees,’ and the 12-minute+ ‘Sing About Me, I’m Dyin’.’ The entire album lasts 68 minutes and 23 seconds.

But Kendrick is clearly shifting to shorter length songs. DAMN.’s average track length stands at 3 minutes and 57 seconds. The entire length of the album stands at 54 minutes and 54 seconds.

This trend also applies to other artists.

Breaking down Drake’s latest albums, Scorpion and More Life, Quartz found the rapper’s songs have become shorter. His albums have also become longer.

Kanye West also follows this trend. His 2016 album, The Life of Pablo, had eight tracks less than 3 minutes long. In contrast, 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy only had two.

Nicki Minaj and J. Cole also followed suit. Squeezing extra songs into Queen, Minaj’s latest album tracks have shortened 11% over Pink Friday. Tracks on J. Cole’s latest album, KOD, have shortened 29% over those on 2014’s Forest Hill Drive’s.

Rappers aren’t the only ones shortening their songs.

Tracks on Eric Church’s Desperate Man have shortened 21% over those on Mr. Misunderstood. Jason Aldean’s Rearview Town’s tracks are also 18% shorter than My Kinda Party.

According to Quartz, low streaming music payouts may have caused songs to decrease.

Spotify, for example, pays major artists between $0.004 and $0.008 per stream. So, every song on West’s newest, shorter album receives the same royalty payment as those on his older works.

Mark Richardson, Pitchfork’s former editor, explained,

“[T]here has never been this kind of financial incentive to make shorter songs.”

So, what should we expect in the near future? Thanks to the rise of streaming music, until artists receive better payment from streaming, we can probably expect longer albums with shorter songs.

Featured image by Pieter Jannick Dijkstra (CC by 2.0)

Verizon Wireless Bundles Apple Music Into Its Unlimited Plans

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 20:06:21 +0000

Apple Music has seriously expanded its partnership with Verizon. Your move, Spotify.

Last summer, Verizon announced an exclusive promotion.

The telecommunications conglomerate offered a new bundle – 6 months of Apple Music. The promotion, which started on August 16^th, was made available to users on Verizon’s high-priced Unlimited plans – Go Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited, and Above Unlimited.

Typically, Apple Music trials for 3 months before requiring a payment.

Verizon’s Unlimited plans start at $75 and go as high as $95 for a single line.

Angie Klein, Verizon’s Vice President of Marketing, hinted that the promotion was “just the first step in an exclusive partnership with Apple.”

Now, both companies have extended their partnership.

Going all in on streaming music.

Starting January 17^th, subscribers on two plans – Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited – will have full unlimited access to Apple Music.

Go Unlimited subscribers will only have a 6-month trial to the service.

Speaking about the announcement, Klein explained,

“When we introduced six months free of Apple Music to Verizon Unlimited subscribers, we said it was just the beginning of a great collaboration between Verizon and Apple to bring music streaming to our loyal customers.”

Hinting that the partnership has proven successful for the conglomerate, she continued,

“Our customers loved the offer, so we’re expanding the value of our Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited plans by including Apple Music at the same plan price. You can stream more of the music you love on the network you deserve.”

Over the summer, the deal initially countered announcements from other major carriers in the US.

AT&T, for example, offers WatchTV, a live TV streaming service, on select &More Premium plans. Users can also select a subscription to a premium video service – HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz – or a subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited or Pandora Premium.

Elsewhere, T-Mobile offers free streaming on Netflix. Sprint bundles both TIDAL and Hulu on higher-priced plans.

Verizon currently has well over 151.5 million subscribers, making it the largest US carrier in the United States. AT&T remains close behind with 146.9 million. Counting subscribers in Mexico, the rival conglomerate has 163.3 million subscribers in North America.

The move is helping Apple Music take on Spotify, which has yet to partner with a US carrier.

Recently, Spotify announced 200 million monthly active users. The streaming music giant has over 87 million subscribers. Apple Music had 56 million global subscribers as of November 2018.

Initially, the decision to partner with Verizon gave the streaming music service access to millions of potential consumers once the six-month trial ended.

Now, with Apple Music bundled in multiple Unlimited plans, it remains unknown whether the service will count these users as subscribers.

Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited cost $85 and $95 for a single line, respectively, before taxes and fees.

How Much Artists Make Per Stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube, Pandora, More

Daniel Sanchez — Tue, 25 Dec 2018 18:12:03 +0000

How much do artists make per stream? Reported per-stream payouts from top music streaming services (updated for 2021; click to enlarge)

How much do artists make per stream on the most popular streaming music services? Here’s a breakdown for Pandora, Napster, Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and more (updated for 2022).

Based on information directly received from artists and indie labels, as well as various published sources, we can rank streaming music services according to their per-stream rate. So how much do artists make per stream? Given extreme variations in payouts, the answer largely depends on the platform involved. Take a look.

Napster remains king of streaming music payouts, but total usage is lower.

With Microsoft’s Groove Music shutting down, Napster became king of streaming music service payouts.

The service had paid $0.01682 per play. According to two sources – Information Is Beautiful and David Crosby – that number has steadily risen. On average, Napster now pays out $0.019 per stream. To meet the monthly minimum wage amount in the US of $1,472, an artist would need 77,474 total plays.

With 5 million paying subscribers, the service loses around $7.00 per user. Unlike its rivals, however, Napster remains a profitable streaming music service.

Jay-Z’s beleaguered TIDAL remains a top player, at least in terms of payouts.

This year, Jay-Z’s streaming music platform, TIDAL, has remained embroiled in multiple controversies. These include accusations of hacking users’ accounts to inflate Beyoncé and Kanye West’s total streams.

Nevertheless, the service had remained friendly to artists. But the service reportedly paid out $0.01284 per stream earlier this year. That number has fallen slightly to $0.0125, according to more recent data. Artists on TIDAL now need 117,760 total plays to earn $1,472.

Jay-Z’s streaming music service reportedly loses $6.67 per user with an annual loss of $28 million.

Apple Music takes third place.

How much does Apple Music pay per stream? Historically, Apple Music has paid artists much better than its streaming music rival, Spotify.

Back 2017, the service paid $0.0064 per stream. By last year, that number had risen to $0.00783. Now, Apple Music has upped its rate further: in April of 2021, the platform announced that its artists would receive a royalty rate of 1 cent ($0.01) per stream.

Artists on Apple Music would need around 147,200 plays to earn the US monthly minimum wage amount.

With Apple closely guarding its user metrics, it remains unclear how much Apple Music loses each year on the service as well as per user.

Deezer falls to fourth place.

Launching several years ago in the US, French-based streaming music service Deezer still doesn’t have an established presence in the country.

Back in 2018, at $0.0056, the service topped GPM in terms of payouts. By 2019, Deezer paid $0.00624. That number has slowly risen to $0.0064, placing it right behind GPM. Artists will need 230,000 total plays to earn the US monthly minimum wage amount.

Deezer recently reported an annual loss of $27 million, losing $1.69 per user. Deezer reportedly has 16 million users, with around 9.12 million – or 57% – paying for the service.

Amazon falls behind.

As with Napster, Apple, and Google, Amazon closely guards its user metrics.

Earlier this year, The Trichordist found Amazon paid indie artists $0.0074 per play. That number has now plummeted to $0.00402, placing it just above Spotify. Artists will now need around 366,169 total streams to earn the monthly minimum wage amount in the US.

How much do artists make per stream on Spotify?

Spotify’s per-stream rate ranks as one of the worst, and it appears to be falling. According to the latest data, Spotify pays most artists between $.003 and $.005 (one-third of a penny to one-half of a penny) for each stream.

Back in December 2019, you may have read our report on cellist Zoe Keating’s receiving a $753 check from Spotify, as compensation for 206,011 streams. Rounding up, the sum represents a per-stream royalty rate of $0.0037 – down from Keating’s 2018 Spotify royalty rate of about $0.0054. Separately, mechanical royalty firm Audiam also suggested that Spotify royalties have decreased despite rising subscriber counts and revenue.

Of course, there are plenty of Spotify alternatives. But as of 2022, Spotify remains the largest streaming music platform worldwide — which means you have little choice but to play ball with them.

Pandora continues to struggle.

Back in 2018, despite having the second-highest amount of total users in the US, Pandora paid artists $0.0011 per play. By 2019, the digital radio service slightly increased that rate to $0.00134. The company has now settled at paying artists $0.00133 on Pandora Premium. Artists will now need 1,106,767 total plays on Pandora Premium just to earn $1,472.

YouTube pulls a U-Turn.

Historically, YouTube hasn’t ever been an artist-friendly platform, thanks to its horrendous payouts.

In 2017, the popular video platform paid $0.0006 per play. By 2019, the company had increased its rate to $0.00074.

But YouTube executives have now pulled a U-Turn, choosing to pay artists $0.00069. To earn the monthly minimum wage amount in the US, artists will need around 2,133,333 total plays on YouTube.

The video platform reportedly loses $174 million each year, with loss per user calculated at $0.17.

So, what’s our advice?

Once again, please don’t ever make a career out of your earnings on the popular video platform. Trust us. You’ll regret it.

Just Like Ping, Apple Quietly Kills Off Apple Music Connect

Daniel Sanchez — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 19:06:49 +0000

Let’s face it – Apple just doesn’t do social. Apple Music executives found that out the hard way – again.

Several years ago, Apple shuttered a highly-publicized feature.

Similar to Last.fm, the iTunes-based social network allowed users to follow people, including artists. They could post comments, set up groups of friends, view custom songs, and find thousands of concert listings.

There was just one problem. Very few had actually used the service.

First launched in 2010, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed the social network’s closure two years later with an interesting spin.

“I think the customer voted and said this isn’t something I want to put a lot of energy into.“

Apple, he added, doesn’t “need to have a social network.”

Other executives hadn’t heeded Cook’s warning.

Now, Apple Music has shuttered another social-oriented feature.

Adieu, Connect. We hardly used thee.

The Cupertino company will remove the ability for artists to post new works on Apple Music Connect.

Artists on Apple Music received the following note.

“We’ve made a few changes to Apple Music that we’d like to tell you about.

“We’re always looking for ways to enhance our focus on artists and help them better connect to fans. So we’ve given Artist Pages an all-new design and added new, personalized Artist Radio.

“Today we’re streamlining music discovery by removing Connect posts from Artist Pages and For You. This means you’ll no longer be able to post to Connect as of December 13, 2018, but all previously uploaded content will still be searchable until May 24, 2019. You can still create Artist Playlists with the latest version of Apple Music.”

Spinning the move, the company has now pushed a new Artist Pages feature. The official support page reads,

“Apple Music in iOS 12 makes it easier to browse an artist’s catalog and discover new music to play. You’ll find the following changes in the new Artist Pages:

“Improved Organization: Artist Pages are now better organized to make it easier to find the music you’re looking for, including Essential Albums and a featured release at the top of each artist’s page.

“Personalized Artist Radio: Every Apple Music artist now has their own radio station. Press [play] at the top of any Artist Page to start listening to music from across an artist’s catalog.”

On the bottom of the post, in very small font, the company confirms,

“Connect posts from artists are no longer supported.”

Apple Music Connect first launched with the service in 2015. This allowed musicians a way to reach out to new fans. Jimmy Iovine, the service’s former Head of Music, promoted the service alongside Drake at WWDC 2015.

Shortly after launch, however, the company all-but-abandoned the feature. Few artists had actually used it.

You can now find the feature in the For You section, below music recommendations and personalized playlists.

Apple Music executives found out the hard way once again. Apple just doesn’t do social.

Featured image by iPhonedigital (CC by 2.0).

Apple Acquires Platoon, an Indie-Centered Creative Services Firm

Daniel Sanchez — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 16:20:37 +0000

Like Spotify, Apple Music is making major moves to scoop up unsigned artists.

Last May, under its new Head of Music, Oliver Schusser, Apple Music quietly launched a new global publishing business.

Spearheaded by Elena Segal, the former Legal Director of iTunes International, the publishing business aims to assist the industry in developing key songwriters. Segal, the company’s new Global Director of Music Publishing, now oversees operations, publisher relations, and A&R.

Then, in October, the company revealed its two-fold strategy to take on Spotify.

Apple Music hired the founders of Asaii, a music analytics startup. The move came a month after the startup abruptly revealed its upcoming shutdown.

The hirings would allow Apple to discover and closely work with the next top indie artists. Apple Music could also improve its music recommendations, its weakest point, thus better competing with Spotify’s machine learning algorithms.

Now, Apple has made another major move.

Welcoming Platoon to the Apple family.

Apple has acquired Platoon, a creative services firm based in London, for an undisclosed sum.

The firm has closely worked with Billie Eilish, Jacob Banks, and Jorja Smith, among others. Many have signed contracts with major labels.

Platoon’s co-founder, Denzyl Feigelson, has worked closely with Apple for 15 years on other projects. These include the iTunes Store and the annual iTunes Festival in London. Speaking about his role with Apple, he has reportedly described himself as a “music synergist.”

Feigelson will continue leading Platoon’s 12-person team at its Tileyard HQ in London. The firm will also continue operating independently.

Speaking about the deal, a source explained,

“The Apple deal gives Platoon the backing and resources to accomplish its vision and continue its goal to develop original music and visual content – while leaving artists free to sign with who they want and distribute their music where they want.”

Apple Files a Trademark Application for ‘Apple Music for Business’

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 23:25:59 +0000

‘Apple Music For Business’ could potentially streamline blanket licensing for small businesses and retailers.

Several months ago, following Jimmy Iovine’s departure, Oliver Schusser, Apple’s new Head of Music, quietly unveiled a global publishing business.

The business aims to assist the music industry in developing key songwriters.

Now, Apple has a new strategy in mind.

Introducing Apple Music for Business.

Last week, Apple quietly filed an application at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) – Apple Music For Business. The company first filed the trademark in Jamaica on June 1^st.

Currently, Apple doesn’t have a streaming music service directly serving the business crowd. That may change.

The service identification covers the following areas,

“Production of programmed music and video displays for subscribers; audio and video recording and production services for others; music service, namely providing specially programmed background music for retail establishments, public areas, and commercial establishments; providing radio, internet, and satellite music programming by means of telecommunications networks, computer networks, the Internet, satellite, radio, and wireless communications networks; musical, radio, television and video entertainment services, namely, custom arrangement and editing of music, audio and video programs; Custom music programming services.”

To stream music, all businesses must first acquire licenses from performing rights organizations (PROs). In the US, this includes ASCAP, BMI, GMR, and SESAC. The trademark filing signals that Apple may offer a customized streaming music platform for small businesses, retailers, and enterprises.

This would solve a growing problem around the world.

Currently, the music industry loses $2.7 billion from small businesses streaming music without proper licenses. This is due to a lack of education among small business owners and a lack of innovation from B2B streaming services. Most small business owners and low-key retailers believe they can just stream music from their personal accounts.

Apple Music for Business could effectively solve this problem. The streaming music service may include blanket licenses from PROs. Apple’s trademark filing could also apply to music playback, but only for licenses acquired by the business, retailer, or enterprise.

Yet, the trademark filing only suggests what Apple has in mind. This doesn’t mean we should expect Apple Music For Business anytime soon.

Featured image by Kārlis Dambrāns (CC by 2.0).

Apple Music Now Has 56 Million Subscribers

Daniel Sanchez — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 17:57:06 +0000

Apple Music has adopted an “aggressive” strategy to take on Spotify. Looks like it’s working.

Over the summer, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that the company’s streaming music service had reached a new milestone.

In addition to hitting 50 million paid subscriptions, Apple Music overtook Spotify in three key markets – the US, Canada, and Japan. That is, according to Cook.

Thanks to bundling on iOS devices, the company converts paying customers nearly 3 times faster than its rival.

Over the past year, Spotify has had a stable conversion rate of around 0.24%. Apple Music has 0.64%.

Now, the company has posted a new subscription milestone.

Playing catch-up.

To take on the streaming music giant, Tim Cook has adopted a new strategy. According to the Financial Times, Apple Music now aims to gain subscribers from terrestrial radio.

FT adds that the service would’ve dominated the streaming music market long ago. Unfortunately, Apple executives fumbled the launch.

An unnamed senior major label executive explained,

“Apple stumbled out of the gate with an inferior product three years ago. Apple Music did not become this spectacular product like iTunes was.”

The company has apparently learned from its mistake. According to the same executive, Apple has “become more aggressive.”

“They’re getting more serious . . . they’re coming to us with new ideas all the time that they wouldn’t have done two years ago.”

Part of “getting more serious” includes changing the service’s top executives.

Under Jimmy Iovine, Apple Music paid artists millions for exclusive releases. Following Iovine’s departure, however, the company quickly brought in Oliver Schusser to serve as Head of Music. He previously worked at Apple’s office in London.

Under Schusser, the service has quietly added a global publishing business. It’s also unveiled global music charts. In addition, the company has hired Brian Bumbery, a veteran music publicist, to serve as Head of Publicity.

Speaking about the new hires, another major label executive added,

“There’s definitely a changing of the guard.”

In fact, as part of this shift in strategy, the company has started reaching out to other rivals. Next month, for example, Amazon Echo will provide support for Apple Music. The Cupertino company already has its own luxury smart speaker which has underperformed – the HomePod.

Recently, the Financial Times reported on another major move by Apple.

The company has reportedly explored making a sizable equity investment in iHeartMedia. This, wrote FT, would help the Cupertino company beef up its floundering Beats 1 Radio service.

Speaking about Apple’s possible equity investment in iHeartMedia, Midia Research analyst Mark Mulligan explained,

“You have to know how to program, build personalities, and brands. Apple is still on that journey [with Beats 1], and [iHeartMedia] would give them industry IQ on that.”

Another option Apple has considered is outright purchasing iHeartRadio’s streaming platform.

This would serve as a “relatively cheap way” to reach the service’s 120 million registered users.

Spotify hasn’t yet considered going after broadcast radio listeners, explained another major music label executive. That could ultimately tip the global streaming music market in Apple’s favor.

“Terrestrial radio is not the force it once was, but there are millions of people listening to the radio. These radio listeners will inevitably migrate to online services, and they could be herded towards Apple.”

Yet, the Cupertino company’s move to reach out on terrestrial radio comes during a difficult time for its stock.

Following weakening iPhone sales, investors have turned against the company. In addition, the Supreme Court may rule against Apple in an important monopoly class-action lawsuit. This would significantly impact Tim Cook’s vision for Apple to hit $50 billion in revenue from its online services, primarily the App Store, next year.

Nevertheless, Apple will always have one major advantage over Spotify. The company doesn’t need streaming to remain profitable.

As Tim Cook explained in an interview earlier this year,

“[We’re] not in it for the money.”

Apple Music Unveils a ‘Preferred Distribution Program’. Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking?

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 22:36:57 +0000

With its ‘Preferred Digital Distributor’ list, should we expect Apple Music to soon allow direct uploads for artists — or even make a play for a digital distributor?

The Cupertino company has quietly launched its ‘Apple Preferred Distribution Program.’

With the launch of its program, Apple Music has named just three music distributors as its “Preferred Plus” partners – CD Baby, The Orchard, and Kontor New Media.

As partners, the three digital distributors can now offer exclusive features to their clients not available on competitors’ platforms. This includes support for advanced Apple Music and iTunes features, advanced analytics, and early access to both services’ Sales and Trends features.

The Cupertino company bases its programs on several thresholds, primarily size and rejection rate. A qualifying Preferred Plus distributing partner, for example, crosses the threshold of 40,000 songs per quarter, has a low Apple Music rejection rate, and supports basic and advanced customer features.

A ‘Preferred’ distribution partner crosses 10,000 songs per quarter, has a low rejection rate, and supports basic customer features.

(click to enlarge)

Here’s a more detailed look at the various supported features, capabilities, and formats (complete list here).

(click to enlarge)

The move could signal that the streaming music service will follow in Spotify’s footsteps.

Last month, Spotify quietly revealed its own ‘preferred’ digital distributor list. The streaming music giant named CD Baby, EmuBands, The Orchard, FUGA, and Distrokid (notice CD Baby and The Orchard topped both rankings). These distributors tend to cater to indie labels and artists. But the five companies represent a small selection of distributors that can help artists and labels get their music onto the service.

This came after Spotify revealed plans to allow select artists to directly upload songs onto the platform.

Revealing its plans to possibly control the digital distribution chain, Spotify then revealed a minority stake in DistroKid. The partnership will allow Spotify to facilitate its direct-upload feature, as well as distribute to rival services (likely for a fee).

Whether Apple Music will soon allow artists to directly upload their music onto their platform remains to be seen. Certainly there’s been industry speculation in that direction, though nothing has been confirmed (or even suggested by Apple).

One differentiator is that Apple likely has a more robust uploading and ingestion infrastructure, based on its iTunes know-how. According to sources, Spotify has struggled to build its direct-upload functionality, which would explain the Distrokid partnership.

And let’s not forget Spotify’s up-the-ante decision to also allow distribution to rival streaming services alongside its direct-upload offering (also taken care of by Distrokid). That could point to a possible Apple partnership or acquisition involving a rival digital distributor, with Spotify’s tie-up with Distrokid potentially motivating the move.

To be continued…

Featured image by Apple Music.

Apple Is Exploring a Sizable Equity Investment in Bankrupted iHeartMedia

Daniel Sanchez — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 21:09:04 +0000

With an investment in iHeartMedia, Apple could finally catapult its Beats Radio offering into the mainstream. Let’s see how this plays out.

According to a new report, Apple wants a slice of the iHeartRadio pie.

Sources speaking with the Financial Times stated that the Cupertino company has explored a ‘tie-up’ with iHeartMedia. The move would boost its own streaming music service, Apple Music, not to mention the embedded radio station, Beats 1.

Talks come ahead of an upcoming deadline later on this month. The company is still struggling with $20 billion in debt, having filed for bankruptcy protection last March. In that mess, iHeart creditors have reached out to potential investors.

At the end of November, iHeartMedia will present its reorganization plan at a bankruptcy court.

Talks remain in the preliminary stage, so things could move in different directions. But iHeartMedia had reportedly pushed for Apple to take sizable equity stake worth tens of millions of dollars.

Should Apple refuse to enter into a direct investment in the bankrupt radio broadcaster, an alternate plan exists. A source claims the Cupertino company could instead enter into a multi-million dollar marketing partnership. That would give Apple less leverage, but save the company the stickiness of a direct investment.

Both companies refused to comment on the report.

iHeartMedia remains the largest traditional radio broadcaster in the US. The company operates over 850 radio stations in the country.

The Times pointed to an opportunity for Apple to seriously boost its existing music platforms.

“A partnership could see Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio station, which is only available through its apps, make its debut on broadcast radio. Extra distribution would give Beats 1 and Apple Music greater awareness among older audiences who are later adopters of streaming services. A deal would also put the Apple station into more cars or kitchens.”

Apple’s possible investment could allow the company to finally grow Beats 1. According to music industry executives speaking with FT, the Cupertino company launched the always-on radio station to boost subscriptions. Despite having major industry stars and DJs as hosts – Drake, Zane Lowe, Nicki Minaj – Beats 1 “hasn’t attracted the huge audiences the company had anticipated.”

A deal with iHeart could also allow Apple to increase its influence in the music industry. An unnamed industry executive described the potential investment a “power move.”

In recent months, Apple Music has followed Spotify’s footsteps, encroaching into the indie market.

Following its purchase of Shazam, the Cupertino company hired the founders of Asaii. The music analytics start-up broke down data from streaming music services and social media to find the ‘next Justin Bieber’. Asaii’s platform also provides managers and labels an effective recommendation algorithm based on listeners’ preference. Despite Tim Cook’s claims computer-generated playlists drain “the humanity…out of music,” Apple Music could finally compete against Spotify’s recommendations.

In summary, an acquisition in iHeartMedia could prove an effective weapon for Apple in the streaming music wars. Apple Music, friendly to major labels, could become a bigger launchpad for new acts, while building greater hype around new releases.

Featured image by Bhupinder Nayyar (CC by 2.0).

Apple Opens a New Beats 1 Studio in New York

Daniel Sanchez — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 19:23:50 +0000

To broaden its competitive advantage, Apple Music keeps expanding its Beats 1 offering. This time, in Manhattan.

Beats 1 – Apple Music’s always-on streaming radio station – is expanding its footprint into NYC.

The company has opened a studio in the city for its Beats 1 radio team. According to details first tipped by Fast Company, top artists and hosts can visit the studio – located in Manhattan Square – to record a session. They can also broadcast live on Apple Music in over 100 countries, perhaps one of the biggest ‘towers’ in the business.

Expressing his enthusiasm about the new studio, Ebro Darden, said,

“I want this space to represent the sound and energy of New York, and how multicultural this city is.”

Darden hosts Ebro in the Morning, a local radio show on Hot 97, and has also worked on Beats 1.

Calling the studio’s opening a “huge moment,” Zane Lowe, a founding DJ on Beats 1, added,

“We are fully functioning in one of the greatest cities in the world now.”

To mark the occasion, Apple held a major party at the New York studio. Guests included Busta Rhymes, Swizz Beatz, Joyner Lucas, Diana Gordon, Abir, Nina Sky, French Montana, Teyana Taylor, and others.

The company had originally planned to launch its new Beats 1 radio station in the renovated Apple Fifth Avenue store. Per a source speaking with AppleInsider, the store would’ve included a special space for Beats 1 broadcasting. But hosting the radio station at the location ultimately proved problematic.

One issue: people may have swamped the store hoping to catch a glimpse of high-profile artists and celebrities. The Fifth Avenue store could still host ‘high-profile guests’ in the near future. With renovations started earlier the year, Apple has doubled the store space, from 32,000 square feet to 70,000.

Artists already gracing the station include Nicki Minaj, Drake, The Weeknd, Lars Ulrich, DJ Khaled, and others. Apple has existing Beats 1 studios in Los Angeles and London.

Original featured image by Bhupinder Nayyar (CC by 2.0).

Apple Purchases Asaii, a Music Analytics Startup That Can Find “the Next Justin Bieber.”

Daniel Sanchez — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 16:07:03 +0000

Apple’s acquisition of Asaii reveals the company’s two-fold strategy to take on Spotify.

Last month, Asaii, a music analytics program, abruptly announced that it was shutting down.

In an e-mail to customers, the company wrote,

“Asaii will [shut] down operations on October 14, 2018. As of that date, you will no longer have access to our API endpoints, the website, or features such as Asaii Terminal, Recommend, Artist Analytics, and others. We’ve loved watching the artists you’ve signed, marketing campaigns you’ve launched, and love of bringing data into this industry you’ve shown over the past two years.”

The startup had offered artist managers and labels a music analytics platform for developing artists. Breaking down data from streaming music services as well as social media, the company’s technology could purportedly find “the next big Justin Bieber…10 weeks to a year” before they rise to fame.

Now, Axios reports Apple has purchased the music analytics startup for under $100 million. And, the move could help Apple Music better compete against Spotify.

The next frontier of the streaming wars – who can discover the next top artist first?

Apple’s acquisition comes a month after Spotify unveiled a new feature.

The feature allows select indie artists to upload their music directly onto the streaming music service. Planning for a “perfect release day,” musicians can edit metadata with quick and simple edits. Along with “a clear report” of how much they earn per play, artists will automatically receive recording royalties in their bank account. Musicians also won’t face restrictions on frequency, file size, or quantity.

Spotify’s direct upload feature further bridges the gap between indie artists and streaming services. The move came months after the company revealed it would strike deals with indie musicians and management companies. Apple’s acquisition sees the company now competing directly with Spotify for indie artists.

Speaking about the acquisition, Cameron Baradar, founder of The House, the first company to invest in Asaii, explained,

“As the first investors in Asaii, we are incredibly excited by their recent acquisition by Apple where they will have the opportunity to dramatically scale their impact and continue building out their vision for the future of the music industry.”

That ‘future’ clearly involves discovering the next top indie artists. In fact, several Asaii staff members are now listed as Apple employees on LinkedIn.

But, don’t expect Apple to stop there.

Apple Music won’t just focus on working with indie artists. Asaii’s platform also provides managers and labels an effective recommendation algorithm based on listeners’ preferences.

Apple Music could use Asaii’s technology to better recommend music, thus competing with Spotify’s machine learning algorithm. In an interview earlier this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook blasted Spotify’s effective computer-generated playlists, stating,

“We worry about the humanity being drained out of music, about it becoming a bits-and-bytes kind of world instead of the art and craft.”

Apple’s acquisition could mark a reversal — or at least a slight modification — of Cook’s policy.

Featured image by Apple Music.

Chance the Rapper Says Apple Music Once Offered Him $20 Million — But He Couldn’t Take It

Daniel Sanchez — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 17:57:58 +0000

Has Apple Music truly given up on the bane of the music industry – streaming exclusives?

Several years ago, to promote its fledgling streaming music service, Apple engaged in a now-taboo business practice. At least within the confines of the music industry.

In exchange for an undisclosed sum of money, artists would release their works exclusively on Apple Music. At least for a few weeks. Others played a similar game, including Tidal. The Jay-Z upstart housed its own series of exclusives, including Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo and Beyoncé’s Lemonade.

(Keep in mind that Kanye West is now fighting a class action lawsuit over the ultimately non-exclusive album.)

The business practice eventually reached its peak with the release of Frank Ocean’s albums Endless and Blonde. After releasing Blonde, Ocean ripped up his contract with Universal Music Group (UMG), leaving the label for good.

Shortly thereafter, UMG CEO Lucian Grainge stated that the label wouldn’t release any more timed exclusive albums. Former Spotify executive Troy Carter also stated that the unpopular business practice hurt the music industry as a whole.

Exclusive albums have since gone the way of the dodo. Amazon Music may not have gotten the message, however. As part of its ‘Amazon Originals,’ the e-commerce giant exclusively released Awolnation’s 2018 album, Here Come the Runts. Eventually the album made its way onto Spotify, Apple Music, and other platforms.

Meanwhile, streaming platforms are still differentiating themselves with exclusives. Just not those directly involving albums and singles. Just recently, Apple Music has started churning out documentaries for high-flying artists like Ed Sheeran, while also focusing on differentiated products like Beats 1.

Now, one artist has explained how he missed out on a very lucrative streaming exclusive deal with Apple Music.

What could’ve been for Chance the Rapper…

Two years ago, Apple Music approached Drake with an interesting offer.

The Canadian rapper would create his next album and offer it to Apple for a cool $20 million. In exchange, Apple Music would exclusively stream the album for two weeks.

The move apparently proved successful. Apple scored over a million new subscribers, reportedly recovering the money in just sixty days.

But, Apple Music apparently couldn’t successfully court every musician. At least, not on time.

Speaking on The Joe Budden Podcast, Chance the Rapper pushed back against Joe Budden’s accusations he isn’t truly an indie artist. Budden had claimed the rapper’s ‘exclusive’ relationship with Apple has disqualified him.

According to Chance the Rapper, Apple Music had actually offered him $20 million before eventually settling with Drake.

“Drake had a deal with Apple for a long time where he was their main artist, and he put up a couple projects on [Apple Music] for exclusives. And they gave him way more money than they gave me! But I get it, Drake’s a way bigger artist than me.”

Under the deal, Chance would’ve received $20 million in exchange for two exclusive projects. He would’ve dropped Surf and Coloring Book on Apple’s fledgling service. But, the company apparently wanted a “solo Chance project,” which he didn’t have. During that time, he had worked on Surf with his band.

Explaining that he hadn’t really appeared on that album, Chance said,

“So you could understand why they wouldn’t want that… or throw the money that they gave to Drake at that.”

He convinced Apple executives to put Surf on the iTunes Store for free, “the first time they ever did this.” Yet, this undisclosed meeting apparently happened before the launch of Apple Music.

“They told me in the meetings, ‘There’s something that we’re gonna drop that’s gonna be crazy. It’s gonna take the old iTunes library, it’s gonna put that s—t in the trash.’ And it was Apple Music—I didn’t know about that s—t at the time.”

But, why hadn’t Chance the Rapper struck an exclusive deal with Apple Music? He didn’t finish Coloring Book on time.

He explained,

“It was off time, so I got $500,000 and the $500,000 was in the midst of what they called the ‘streaming wars,’ so all these different platforms were fighting to put content on their [platform] for a certain number of weeks first…”

Chance hadn’t uploaded his works on TIDAL and Spotify by this time. Apple executives aimed to keep it that way.

“They came to me, they said, ‘Here’s some money,’ which I used for advertising, ‘and we’ll put you in a commercial, and two commercials during the NBA finals.’ And that was what it was.”

Of course, you can now find Chance the Rapper’s works available on multiple streaming platforms. So, at the end of the day, Chance earned $500,000 for a timed exclusive and Apple Music earned subscribers. A win-win for everyone, right?

Featured image by Julio Hernandez (CC by 2.0).

Canadian Music Organization Proposes a Copyright Tax on Anyone Using More Than 15GB/Month of Bandwidth

Daniel Sanchez — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 17:04:20 +0000

Because the Screen Composers Guild of Canada has failed to update its business model, now, all Canadian users should pay the price — just for using the internet.

The Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) has an interesting – if not draconian – idea.

At a hearing of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, the Canadian music group proposed a new levy. Envisioning a new “internet-light ISP service,” the SCGC would receive extra from the SCGC Copyright Model (SCGC-CM). In short, the SCGC-CM would allow 15 GB of un-levied data per month, and charge extra when users go over.

The 15 GB would enable “ample room for e-mail, commerce, and downloading,” writes the Canadian music organization. Yet, should users pass that amount, the SCGC would forcibly collect a levy “for distribution to copyright holders.”

According to the Canadian music group, music composers no longer receive enough for their work. Streaming and downloading, the SCGC argues, has led to diminished broadcast viewing.

So, what’s their solution? A forced copyright tax on all broadband data in the country for every user, even low-income families.

The SCGC-CM – leveling the playing field, or a desperate move to capitalize on booming streaming revenue?

It’s no secret the rise of streaming services in the global music industry has led to record revenue.

According to Citibank, the music industry in the US alone brought in $43 billion in sales. Major labels and tech companies kept the majority. Artists only received about 12% of that number, according to the study.

To capitalize on the rise of streaming revenue, Chicago’s local government enacted an ‘illegal’ streaming tax without consulting its constituents. Residents and business owners now forcibly pay 9% extra a month on streaming services, including Netflix, Spotify, and Apple Music.

According to the IFPI, digital music revenue – led primarily by streaming – continues fueling the Canadian music industry’s explosive growth. In 2016, digital music revenue accounted for 63% of all revenue. The country ranked as the 7^th-largest music market in the world in 2017.

SCGC members aren’t major stars. They’re smaller players who write music for TV shows. Streaming services – most notoriously YouTube – pay significantly lower royalty when users view their works online.

In fact, signaling out the Google-owned video platform, the SCGC wrote,

“With regard to YouTube, which is owned by the advertising company Alphabet-Google, minuscule revenue distribution is being reported by our members. Royalties from the large streaming services, like Amazon and Netflix, are 50 to 95% lower when compared to those from terrestrial broadcasters.”

Dramatizing the ‘suffering’ of their members at the hands of streaming services (including Spotify and Netflix), the SCGC explains,

“Statistics like this indicate that our veteran members will soon have to seek employment elsewhere and young screen-composers will have little hope of sustaining a livelihood.”

So, to ‘correct’ the value gap caused by services like Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube, the SCGC has proposed the forced copyright tax.

Yet, the SCGC ignores several clear facts about modern technology.

First, for video gamers, the average video game released nowadays can weigh over 50 gigabytes. Want to download the latest and greatest game? Prepare to pay up a hefty amount in addition to your existing internet service and online gaming subscription.

Second, streaming music and video services help you avoid downloading songs and videos beforehand just to enjoy them. And, as the services become more popular and widely-adopted, streaming music and videos may lead users to pass this arbitrary 15 GB limit. So, want to binge watch your favorite videos and shows on Netflix or YouTube? Then, prepare to pay up on top of your existing streaming subscription.

Third, the forced copyright levy would tax users who don’t – or likely haven’t even heard – SCGC’s members’ works.

In fact, showing how out-of-touch the SCGC is from the reality of modern internet life, the group told the committee,

“My own personal experience is that in my family, when you’re downloading and consuming over 15 gigabytes of data a month, you’re likely streaming Spotify. You’re likely streaming YouTube. You’re likely streaming Netflix.”

Yet, the SCGC feels it’s entitled to royalties. Even when their works aren’t streamed.

“So we think because the… companies will not give us access to the numbers that they have, we have to apply a broad-based levy. They’re forcing us to.”

In short, because the SCGC has clearly failed to update their business model into the modern age, every Canadian internet user should pay the price – literally.

Just don’t tell that to this near-sighted Canadian music group. Members of the organization feel the forced copyright levy will help the next generation of screen composers.

“A stable levy derived from consumption at top-tier ISP’s could stem declining performance and reproduction royalties to offer hope of a future livelihood for young screen-composers.”

But, will it? Really?

Featured image by KMR Photography (CC by 2.0).

Americans Listen to 151 Minutes of Music Each Day

Daniel Sanchez — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 00:41:42 +0000

So, just how much music do you really listen to? And, how do you spend your music listening time?

In Audio Monitor US 2018, a joint study on music habits in the US, Music Biz and AudienceNet have found most Americans still listen to more music on the radio. Both organizations surveyed 3,000 consumers in the US aged 16 and above.

On average, Americans spend 151 minutes each day listening to music. Breaking down total music listening share by medium, broadcast radio had a 31% share, down 3% over last year. On-demand streaming made up 27%, up just 1% from 2017. Downloaded music had a 10% total listening share, down 3% over last year, but down only 2% over 2016.

‘Other internet radio’ (Pandora, etc) had a 12% share, up 2% over the past 2 years. Satellite radio had a 7% total listening share, up 1% over the past 2 years. And, a growing number of Americans (5%) now spent more time streaming AM/FM radio stations online, up 2% over last year.

Breaking down total music listening time by age.

On average, older audiences spent the majority of their time listening to music on the radio.

Broadcast radio had the largest share among those aged 45-54 (42%), 55-64 (45%), and 65 and up (45%). Radio had a significantly lower share among younger people – 30% among 35-44 year olds, and a 27% share among 25-34 year olds.

In a warning sign for the medium, just 12% of groups aged 16-19 and 20-24 reported listening to music on the radio.

Unsurprisingly, on-demand streaming music had the lowest amount of listening time among older age groups.

Just 8% of people aged 65 and older spent time streaming music. That number rose to 11% among those aged 55-64, and 15% among 45-54 year olds. 24% of 35-44 year olds spent time listening to on-demand streaming music platforms.

Music Biz and AudienceNet also found on-demand streaming music has become the new standard among younger generations.

33% of 25-34 year olds listened to streaming music platforms. Among 20-24 year olds, on-demand streaming music had a 49% share. And, a whopping 60% of 16-19 year olds dedicated the majority of their listening time to on-demand streaming.

The YouTube Factor.

So, where do people enjoy streaming music from?

Unsurprisingly, with a 38% share, YouTube emerged as the preferred on-demand streaming platform. Spotify came in second with 28%. Apple Music and Amazon Prime Music had a 9% and 10% average share, respectively.

Among those aged 65 and over that listened to on-demand streaming, 40% used YouTube. Spotify had a 13% share. Amazingly, a whopping 24% reported using Amazon Prime Music. Only 5% used Apple Music. Amazon Music Unlimited and Google Play Music had a 4% and 2% share, respectively. Other net platforms – SoundCloud, Deezer, TIDAL, Napster – had an 11% share.

For those aged 55-64, 44% preferred YouTube. Spotify had a 20% share. 11% preferred Amazon Prime Music. Just 4% used Apple Music. Amazon Music Unlimited and Google Play Music had a 3% and 4% share, respectively. 14% preferred using other net platforms for on-demand streaming.

40% of those aged 45-54 used YouTube. 24% preferred Spotify. 9% used Amazon Prime Music the most. Apple Music had an 8% share. Google Play Music and Amazon Music Unlimited had a 6% and 3% share, respectively. 9% of people in this age group used other net platforms for on-demand streaming.

Among those aged 35-44, 39% preferred YouTube. 24% chose Spotify. 10% used Apple Music the most. Amazon Prime Music tied with Amazon Music Unlimited and Google Play Music in this age group with 6%. And, other net platforms had a 9% on-demand streaming share.

For those aged 25-34, YouTube had a 36% share. 23% preferred Spotify. 11% used Apple Music. Amazon Prime Music had a 9% share. Google Play Music and Amazon Music Unlimited tied in this age group as the preferred on-demand streaming platform with 6%. And, other net platforms had an 11% share.

Interestingly, among younger audiences aged 16-24, at 38%, YouTube tied with Spotify as the preferred on-demand listening.

Apple Music had a 10% share in this age group, followed by other net platforms at 8%, Amazon Prime Music with 3%, Google Play Music with 2%, and Amazon Music Unlimited with 1%.

You can check out the complete report here.

Chart Wars: Apple Music Unveils 116 Global Music Charts

Daniel Sanchez — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 23:45:46 +0000

Apple’s music charts, along with those from its competitors, begs the question – Do we really need Billboard anymore?

In a software update rolled out to some iOS users earlier today (September 7th), Apple Music unveiled a new feature – 116 “Top 100” music charts.

Refreshed daily at 12:00 am PT, the charts will display Apple Music’s most-streamed songs.

Apple Music plans to show two charts to users – the Top 100: Global and the Top 100 for each country where the service is available. Listeners can find both charts under the “Browse” tab. They resemble playlists and albums.

Currently, only users on iOS 12 and macOS Mojave beta have access to the feature.

Ahead of its annual keynote presentation, the feature doesn’t only signal Apple’s plans to take on Billboard’s music charts. The Top 100 also reveals Apple’s plans to dominate the streaming music market worldwide.

Welcome to the ‘Chart Wars.’

It’s no secret that the Billboard charts have a major obfuscation problem. Despite updating its charts at the behest of labels, artists, distributors, and publishers, the charts remain as complicated as ever.

Billboard, which receives its data from Nielsen Music, now weighs paid vs. ad-supported streams (i.e., on Spotify, Deezer), programmed streams (Pandora), and music video streams (YouTube), among other factors.

A complex formula is applied, and out pops a ranking.

Paid subscription streams, for example, count for 1 full value per play. Ad-supported streams represent a 2/3-point value, and programmed streams 1/2-point per play.

In addition, 1,250 paid subscription streams (including free trials) equal 1 album unit. 3,750 ad-supported audio streams equal 1 album unit.

And, the Billboard 200 doesn’t include video streams. But, videos do count towards the Billboard Hot 100 streams. Keep in mind Billboard would also apply the update on its large catalog of charts – Streaming Songs, Rock Songs, K-Pop Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Latin, and Christian, just to name a few.

Make sense?

Clearly displeased with the exclusion, YouTube announced that it would release its own music charts in 44 countries. The easy-to-read YouTube charts would include a Trending chart, Top Songs, Top Artists, and Top Music for the platform’s 1.8 billion+ users. The company also promised it would release more charts later on.

After all, per Stephen Bryan, the platform’s Head of Label Relations, “labels and…the industry already use YouTube to understand what’s hot.” In YouTube’s eyes, the charts would help the industry to provide “the clearest view in what’s happening in music today.”

In a direct swipe at Billboard, Bryan said,

“Billboard is essentially saying the only music fans that count are music fans that have credit cards and are paying for subscriptions.”

Then, another major player, Penske Media Corporation – owner of Rolling Stone and Variety – made a strategic investment in BuzzAngle Music.

Similar to YouTube, BuzzAngle provides easy-to-read music charts. Unlike YouTube, it has countless sorting options, including daily album and song sales, and radio play broken down by market. BuzzAngle’s methodology allows for over 10 trillion combinations of daily individualized reports. These combinations are perfect for albums, songs, artists, labels, and distributors in multiple countries.

But, what does Apple really have up its sleeve?

Apple may want to become a go-to source for music industry rankings. After all, it now claims to control three key markets – the US, Canada, and Japan — at least when measured by premium subscribers. Given that dominance and eventual saturation, who needs a complex Billboard formula?

The company’s foray into music charts follows other recent expansions.

Earlier this year, Apple Music launched a music publishing division. Spearheaded by Elena Segal, the former Legal Director of iTunes International, the company aims to assist the industry in developing key songwriters. Segal, the company’s new Global Director of Music Publishing, now oversees operations, commercial, publisher relations, and A&R.

Spotify, meanwhile, recently launched its own direct deals with artists. The company has reportedly already paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to sign top indie artists. That move has drawn the ire of major labels and publishers already frustrated with the “arrogant” company. And, it’s done so ahead of upcoming contract negotiations.

So, Spotify seeks to control artists before labels can. Apple Music’s new division, however, would work closely with existing publishers that represent songwriters. As it doesn’t rely on a free tier, this may ultimately give Apple Music the upper hand in the streaming music wars.

The industry could ultimately rely on Apple Music to provide key data without worrying about it threatening a reliable and growing source of revenue. With its direct artist signings, top executives can no longer say the same for Spotify.

Featured image by Apple.

Latest Industry: Russell Simmons, Yandex, Apple Music, House of Blues, Hispanic Music Consumption, Disney, More…

Daniel Sanchez — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 06:45:32 +0000

Amidst multiple sexual assault scandals, Russell Simmons quickly sells his home on the Sunset Strip.

Sold for $8.13 million after just a month on the market, the music mogul’s home sits atop the Sunset Strip. Simmons bought the property for $5.9 million 3 years ago. The sale is part of a broader sell-off of valuable assets, and is rumored to be part of an attempt to flee the U.S.

Russia could ultimately block piracy video hub Yandex.

The Moscow City Court has ordered Russian video platform Yandex to remove links to pirated content. The move comes after key television broadcasters in Russia urged the piracy video hub to remove their channels from its ‘TV Online’ service. The platform obliged a few hours before the court order went into effect today, but plans to appeal the ruling.

Greta Van Fleet named Apple Music’s Up Next Artist.

Along with the announcement, the Michigan quartet confirmed the group will release an exclusive short video on September 5^th.

In a press release, Greta Van Fleet, which built its fan base on Apple Music, thanked the streaming music service for its support.

“We are elated that Apple has named us its ‘Up Next’ artist, especially as we are the first band to be given that honor. Apple Music has been very supportive of us from the beginning and we really appreciate this recognition.”

House of Blues Forward Foundation celebrates 25 years.

To celebrate the achievement, the organization has launched the 25^th-anniversary campaign to raise $250,000. With the campaign, House of Blues Forward Foundation aims to accelerate opportunities for the next generation of music industry leaders and innovators. Sponsors include City National, Mastercard, Visa, Oracle, EPAM, and Go Vision.

Hispanics in the US now consume more music than ever before.

In its Descubrimiento Digital, the Online Lives of Latinx Consumers report, The Nielsen Company has found 70% of Hispanics in the US follow their favorite artists on social media, 43% higher than the total population. 44% feel good about seeing celebrities who share their ethnic background.

52% spent an hour or more a day on social media, compared with 38% of Whites. 24% spent 3 hours or more a day, compared with 13% of Whites.

45% use a streaming music service, 5% higher than Whites.

Hispanics also spend 32 hours listening to music per week. 46% of total listening time is on streaming music services, 15% on terrestrial radio, 4% on satellite radio, 14% on a digital music library, 12% from other sources, including on dedicated TV music channels, and 10% from physical copies.

Disney adds over 50 soundtracks to Amazon Music Prime.

The collection, already available on multiple streaming music platforms, includes Moana, Frozen, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, among others. Soundtracks from Disney-Pixar will also appear on Amazon Music Prime, including Coco, The Incredibles, and Toy Story. US and UK Prime members can now access the soundtracks.

Nielsen adds measurement tools for Australian marketers.

Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings will provide marketers in the country with independent and comprehensive cross-device measurement of advertising audiences on YouTube, including those on computer and mobile devices. Marketers will have access to demographics – including age and gender – from the YouTube mobile app. They’ll also see ad reach, frequency, and gross rating points (GRP).

Multiple European music organizations join #EuropeForCreators campaign.

Ahead of a crucial vote on September 12^th, IMPALA, GESAC, CISAC, and SGAE have voiced their support for the #EuropeForCreators campaign. Europe for Creators – a coalition of citizens, creatives, and nearly 250 organizations – has launched a broad-reaching movement to support the Copyright Directive.

Helen Smith, Executive Chair of the Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), said.

“Copyright reform is a fundamental part of Europe’s bid to see more balance in the online world. Unfortunately, the debate so far has been used to drive a false divide between creators and citizens. Now it is time for creators across different sectors to unite and reclaim the narrative.”

The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composer (CISAC) wrote,

“We are calling for Europe to protect the artists and creators who make our culture-and not the global monopolistic tech giants who profit from it. This vote will send a signal about how we value culture beyond Europe to the world.”

Véronique Desbrosses, General Manager of European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers (GESAC), wrote,

“Digital economic powers continue to profit as working artists struggle to make ends meet. The balance between the revenue generated by Internet Platforms and the money they give to the creators who are responsible for their success, is entirely distorted.”

British festivalgoers prefer heading to music festivals abroad.

Surveying over 1,000 festival partners and over 2.5 million users, Festicket, a UK online booking portal, has found festivalgoers who went to music events abroad rose 29% over last year.

Hungary saw a 773% increase in foreign festival visitors. Portugal ranked second with 127%, followed by Spain with 132%, Belgium with 120%, and the Netherlands with 104%.

A whopping 92.5% and 75% of Hungarian and Spanish festivalgoers preferred attending a music festival abroad than one held in their country, respectively.

Crossover Music program launched to help Australian artists make it big internationally.

The music export program claims to use a network of industry specialists to deliver campaigns tailored individually to Australian artists. Crossover Music will then use the exposure to promote artists to international labels, promoters, booking agents, and publishing.

James Adair, an artist manager, Tyler Treves, a radio promoter, and Joe Hay, a license reform consultant, founded the program. Crossover Music will launch at the BIGSOUND conference next week.

A3C will provide $100,000 in services to hip-hop artists.

At its 2^nd annual Creator Complex conference, All 3 Coasts (A3C), a hip-hop-festival, will connect independent artists and producers with creative professionals and company experts to create digital assets and provide insight.

A3C partners will also contribute $100,000 worth of free services and assets to over 500 artists and producers. They’ll get headshots, master music, make beats, record music, write a bio, develop a website, optimize their YouTube pages, audit social media, and add scratches to their records.

The Creator Complex takes place on Friday, October 5^th at the Creative Media Industries Institute at Georgia State University. All official 2018 A3C artists, producers, and DJs can attend the conference for free.

AMG expands its venue portfolio.

Academy Music Group Limited (AMG) has a new lease agreement with Manchester live entertainment venue, Victoria Warehouse. Under the deal, the venue will be rebranded O2 Victoria Warehouse Manchester. AMG has had a long-standing partnership agreement with O2 since 2009.

Sentric Music acquires key stake in Black Rock.

Boutique electronic music publishing company Black Rock Publishing provides artist publishing, neighboring rights representation, and record management services for EDM artists and companies. Under terms of the deal, Sentric Music will maintain Black Rock’s company and brand. Kirsty Lawrence will also join Sentric, retaining her duties as the day-to-day contact for Black Rock’s clients. Black Rock’s label, management, and artist clients can now tap into Sentric’s global resource and infrastructure, including sync and administration services.

CMG announces a key hire.

Stephanie Onder will serve as Marketing Manager at Copperline Music Group (CMG). She’ll manage digital and promotional campaigns for the label’s artist roster.

CD Baby announces a key hire.

Heli Del Moral will serve as the company’s first Vice President of International Development. In the role, he’ll build CD Baby’s business outside of North America and Europe. Del Moral will join the company’s Portland team on September 4^th.

WMG makes a key appointment.

In a newly created role, Alfonso Perez-Soto will serve as Executive Vice President of Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Warner Music Group (WMG). He’ll oversee operations in the three markets, reporting to Stu Bergen, Warner Music Group CEO of International and Global Commercial Services. Perez-Soto previously served as Global Business Development and Chief Commercial Officer of Emerging Markets.

Paul Taylor passes away.

The prolific choreographer and founder of the Paul Taylor Dance Company passed away in Manhattan. He was 88. Taylor launched the modern dance movement, creating 136 dances, including the Aureole, Esplanade, Company B, Promethean Fire, and Beloved Renegade.

Featured image by TYT Interviews (YouTube screengrab).

Apple Takes Legal Action Against Chicago’s ‘Illegal’ Netflix Tax

Daniel Sanchez — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 19:19:41 +0000

Can Apple manage to undo Chicago’s abhorrent ‘Amusement Tax’?

Several years ago, Chicago unveiled a harsh tax on its citizens.

Without consulting the public, city officials imposed a reinterpretation of Chicago’s existing amusement tax. The city would now apply a 9% surcharge for the ‘privilege’ of using streaming internet services.

Dubbed by critics as the Netflix tax,’ a judge later upheld the city’s arbitrary tax, allowing Chicago to apply the surcharge “upon the patrons of every amusement within the city.” Prior to July 1^st, 2015, the Amusement Tax had applied only to paid television programming.

The arbitrary tax has gone mostly unopposed for the past few years. Now, one company has filed a legal challenge. And, it has the money to take the city to bat.

Redefining ‘amusement.’

In a complaint filed Monday at the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Apple made several strong complaints against the city of Chicago.

According to the multinational tech company, the city and its Comptroller, Erin Keane, have knowingly violated the US and Illinois constitutions. With the ‘unprecedented’ imposition of the Amusement Tax, both parties have also violated the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA).

The Amusement Tax, Apple argues, negatively impacts its customers. Calling it “illegal and discriminatory,” the company declares it aims to protect Chicago consumers.

The IFTA, the company continues, doesn’t stipulate the creation or enforcement of Chicago’s amusement tax.

“If Apple does not collect the tax from its customers, it will be directly liable for a tax that the city of Chicago has no power to impose or authority to enforce.”

After all, the city doesn’t charge consumers the tax for purchasing CDs and DVDs at physical stores. So why does Chicago have the authority to charge streaming services, especially those operating outside the city?

Arguing that its consumers enjoy music both inside and outside of the city, Apple also noted that it provides electronic services from servers that reside outside of Chicago.

Through the reinterpretation of the Amusement Tax, Apple argues, the city has overreached its authority.

Most of Apple’s consumers in Chicago enjoy streaming music outside of the city. Yet, Chicago still forcibly collects the tax on all usage. Currently, the city started drawing an extra $12 million a year once it re-interpreted the Amusement Tax.

Apple has listed four causes of action, requesting a declaratory judgment and permanent injunction against the Amusement Tax.

First, the Amusement Tax violates the IFTA.

Signed in 1998, the IFTA prohibits state and local governments from imposing a discriminatory tax on electronic commerce.

As interpreted and applied by Erin Keane, the Amusement Tax imposes a discriminatory tax.

The measure charges for music delivered electronically to paying customers with residential and business addresses in the city. Yet, Chicago doesn’t apply this surcharge to “the privilege of listening to music on automatic amusement devices” within the city.

This double-standard also makes the law illegal.

Second, the Amusement Tax violates the Illinois Constitution as it has an extraterritorial effect.

Under Illinois law, all home-rule ordinances must fall within the limits of the unit. So, a “home-rule unit” – in this case, Chicago – “may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs.”

There’s just one problem. Chicago city officials have imposed the Amusement Tax on citizens streaming music when outside the ‘home-rule unit.’

The Illinois Constitution prohibits such actions. Yet, Chicago continues tacking on the 9% surcharge each month just because consumers live or operate their businesses there. Because of this, Chicago city officials have overstepped their boundaries through the reinterpretation of the Amusement Tax.

By creating an “extraterritorial effect,” the company argues, the city has “subjected Apple to collection requirements even for activities that take place primarily outside” Chicago. In addition, the city has extraterritorially expanded its taxing and regulatory jurisdiction to transaction and business activities outside of Chicago.

Third, the Amusement Tax violates the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.

The Commerce Clause of the Constitution states Congress has the power to regulate commerce among states.

State and local taxes satisfy the Commerce Clause only when they’re fairly apportioned, are applied to an activity with a substantial nexus in the taxing state, don’t discriminate against interstate commerce, and are fairly related to the services provided by the State.

As the Amusement Tax still charges Chicago consumers when streaming outside the city, it violates the Commerce Clause. Because of this, Apple argues a transactional nexus between the city and taxed services simply doesn’t exist. As it’s not fairly apportioned, and not directly related to services provided by Chicago, the Amusement Tax is illegal.

Fourth, the Amusement Tax violates the Federal Due Process Clause.

The Due Process Clause of the 14^th Amendment declares states can’t “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”

A definite link or a minimum connection must exist between a jurisdiction and the person, property, or transaction it wants to tax. A rational relationship must also exist between the tax and the values connected with the taxing jurisdiction.

The Amusement Tax doesn’t only tax Chicago residents and businesses when outside the city. It also imposes surcharges on companies that exist and operate outside the city. Thus, Chicago lawmakers have violated the Due Process of the 14^th Amendment.

You can read the legal complaint below.

Napster Proves That Streaming Music Can Be Profitable

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 06:06:24 +0000

Bill Patrizio, Rhapsody-Napster President and CEO.

Paid only. Lower subscriptions. No IPO. And, a small profit. What could Spotify and other streaming music services stand to learn from Napster?

Last month, Spotify reported a new record in its Q2 2018 financial report.

The Swedish streaming platform had reached over 83 million subscribers worldwide. Between January and June 2018, the company added 2 million subscribers each month. Premium revenue also reached $1.34 billion, up 27% year-over-year.

Yet, the company also revealed that its massive size continues to be its Achilles’ heel.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) totaled $5.40, down 12% year-over-year. So far this year, the company has lost $584 million. And, it remains on track to lose over $1 billion at the end of 2018.

A distant rival, however, has proven that streaming music can be successful — if world domination isn’t part of the plan.

How to turn a profit in streaming music after years of losses, by Napster.

Several weeks ago, RealNetworks shared its Q2 2018 financial results. The company owns a 42% stake in Rhapsody, which bought Napster from Best Buy in 2011. It later rebranded itself as Napster 2 years ago.

In the second quarter of 2018, Napster reported $36.2 million in revenue, down 17.9% from $44.1 million in the same period last year. RealNetworks reported Napster had a gross profit of $9.4 million, up 53.8% year-over-year. Operating income reached $3.9 million, up over losses of $4.8 million in Q2 2017.

Net income reached $2.1 million, up from $7.7 million in net losses in Q1 2017.

For the six months ended June 30^th, 2018, Napster brought in $76.5 million in revenue, down 16.5% from $91.6 million in the first half of 2017. Gross profit, however, rose 47.1% to $18.7 million. Operating income also saw a huge increase, reaching $10.3 million over operating losses of $9.9 million in H1 2017.

Net income reached $6.6 million, up from severe losses of $13.3 million year-over-year.

(cropped to fit)

So, how did they manage it?

RealNetworks doesn’t share any subscriber metrics, making it difficult to confirm how many subscribers Napster actually has. The company last confirmed its streaming music service had 3.5 million subscribers in late 2015. Midia Research reported 4.5 million users in January 2017.

Yet, we know the service has several key points in its favor.

First, Napster doesn’t offer a free, ad-supported tier, unlike Spotify, Deezer, and Pandora. So, it doesn’t have to pay out nor depend on advertising revenue. This may allow it to remain the undisputed ‘king’ in terms of streaming music payouts.

According to our ongoing royalty canvas, Napster reportedly pays artists $0.01682 per stream. In turn, Apple Music pays $0.00783, Amazon $0.0074, and Spotify $0.00397. Pandora and YouTube remain the worst payout ‘offenders’ at $0.00134 and $0.00074 per stream, respectively.

Second, with fewer subscribers, Napster likely has to pay less in operating costs. Spotify, on the other hand, has a growing number of subscribers. Because of this, the company’s operating losses continue to balloon. In Q2 2018, Spotify’s operating losses jumped to $105 million, 7% of its total Q2 2018 revenue.

Third, Napster remains a partial subsidiary of RealNetworks. So, it doesn’t have to depend directly on outside investments to continue operating, unlike Spotify. For the first half of 2018, Napster’s parent company reported $25.6 million in gross profit. Spotify has yet to post a profit after 10 years.

Yet, Napster’s not out of the clear.

The streaming music service’s revenue has fallen substantially in the past several years. That’s due to increasing competition. And this space may exclusively belong to the elephants in the future.

In 2011, the service reported $127.2 million in revenue. That figure grew to $143.7 million in 2012 and fell to $140.6 million a year later. Between 2014 and 2016, revenue exploded to $173.5 million, $202 million in 2015, and $208.1 million, respectively.

Yet, prior to Q4 2018, Napster had failed to turn a profit. Once Mike Davis stepped down as CEO, RealNetworks executive Bill Patrizio took over.

Under Patrizio, the service has now reported 3 straight quarters of profits – Q4 2017, Q1 2018, and Q2 2018.

Aiming low means it will ultimately benefit in the long run.

At the Midem conference in June, Patrizio explained his vision for Napster. The company doesn’t plan to compete directly against Spotify and Apple Music. Instead, it’ll aim for the ‘niche’ market. Namely, offering white-label streaming for global brands.

Patrizio explained,

“Because of the growth and the diversification, we believe other companies – other enterprises – who have a manifest destiny to participate in music, will find the music business attractive and will inevitably make choices about whether to build the business themselves or potentially partner.”

Speaking about Napster’s long-term future, he added,

“The market will still be dominated 80% we believe by those dominant players: Spotify, Apple… We expect it’s going to be a market size of about $7bn, moving towards potentially $20bn or $25bn… and that increasingly leaves opportunity for other players to participate.

“Even a 20% slice of a $20bn market is a $4bn market… and that’s what we’re going to focus on… This is not going to be about just bringing to market the $9.99 product that we have today. This is going to be about innovation, about new forms of experience.”

So far, that strategy has worked.

Apple, in turn, doesn’t have to worry about burning money with its streaming music service. As former Head of Apple Music Jimmy Iovine explained, the company doesn’t depend on streaming to turn a profit. Apple has many more financially successful products, including the iPhone, HomePod, iPad, and services, including Apple Pay. Apple Music remains a way to hook consumers into its walled ecosystem of products and services.

Yet, Spotify doesn’t have anything else but streaming. And, to remain on top, it’ll continue burning through investors’ millions.

Maybe the Swedish streaming music platform could stand to learn from Patrizio’s example with Napster.

Maybe.

Featured image by midem (YouTube screengrab).

Verizon Offers 6 Months of Apple Music For Unlimited Customers

Daniel Sanchez — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 20:59:44 +0000

Will Verizon’s deal solidify Apple Music’s lead in the US?

Verizon has announced an exclusive promotion.

In partnership with Apple, the telecommunications conglomerate has offered a new bundle — 6 months of Apple Music for free. The promotion starts on August 16^th and is available to users on Verizon’s high-priced Unlimited plans – Go Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited, and Above Unlimited.

Typical Apple Music trials last for 3 months, almost without exception. So this offers a powerful extension for potential subs.

The Unlimited plans start at $75 and go up to $95 for a single line. The offer extends to both new and existing Apple Music users as well as Verizon Unlimited customers.

Angie Klein, Verizon’s Vice President of Marketing, hinted that the promotion is “just the first step in an exclusive partnership with Apple.”

So, what exactly do Apple and Verizon have in mind?

Breaking down Apple and Verizon’s long-term play.

The partnership makes sense for both companies.

For Verizon, the deal counters recent announcements from other major carriers.

The 6-month offering may also help the telecommunications conglomerate solidify its market lead.

Verizon currently has well over 151.48 million subscribers, making it the largest US carrier in the United States. Yet, in a recent SEC filing, AT&T has revealed it now has 146.89 million subscribers in the US. Counting subscribers in Mexico, the rival conglomerate has 163.29 million subscribers in North America.

T-Mobile has more than 74.04 million subscribers. Sprint has around 32.12 million. US regulators have yet to reach a decision on their upcoming merger.

Switching gears, despite dubious and misinformed reports signaling the contrary, Apple Music has taken the lead in key streaming music markets – the US, Canada, and Japan. Confirming a recent Digital Music News report, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently asserted during the company’s Q3 2018 report,

“It appears to us that we took the leadership position in North America during the quarter, and we had the leadership position in Japan. So, in some of the markets that we’ve been in for a long time, we’re doing quite well.”

Around the world, however, the streaming music service lags far behind Spotify, 50 million subscribers to well over 83 million. Yet, Spotify has yet to partner with a US carrier, meaning it could very quickly lose much-needed market share.

So, for Apple, the decision to partner with Verizon gives it access to millions of potential consumers once the six-month trial ends.

As Klein explains,

“It gives our customers exactly what they want: Apple’s best-in-class music streaming experience, paired with an unlimited plan tailored to them, on the network they deserve. And now that you can mix and match our unlimited plans, every person in your family can stream worry-free on the unlimited plan they need, without paying for things they don’t – and enjoy all the music they want for six months free with Apple Music with this exclusive offer in the U.S.”

It remains unclear, however, how many ‘Unlimited’ customers Verizon actually has. So, Apple’s partnership with Verizon could ultimately prove to be irrelevant in terms of long-term market share.

The Music Industry Generated $43 Billion in Sales Last Year. Artists Only Received 12% of That.

Daniel Sanchez — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 22:36:39 +0000

Major labels and tech companies now earn billions from artists’ work. Well, here’s a small consolation – at least they get to keep the breadcrumbs.

Earlier today, for the period ended June 30^th, 2018, Warner Music Group (WMG) CEO Steve Cooper revealed that digital revenue – fueled mostly by growing streaming music – now represents 60.1% of WMG’s total revenue. In its Q1 / calendar Q2 2018 report, Sony Music revealed that digital revenue – again, powered mostly by streaming – makes up 63% of its total revenue. Finally, Vivendi, Universal Music Group’s (UMG) parent company, revealed the label generated $1.44 billion in streaming revenue for the first half of 2018.

The Big 3 – Sony Music, WMG, and UMG – now earn billions each year from the explosive rise in streaming music services. Of course, they earn billions more each year from touring, merchandise, and other revenue streams.

This naturally begs the question – just how much do they actually share with artists?

A new report reveals that yes, major labels – and now tech companies – keep a major slice of the music revenue pie. And no, artists shouldn’t expect to make a living from streaming music revenue. Nor pretty much any other music-related source of income.

12% – just shy of a baker’s dozen.

In its recent Citi GPS report, Citigroup revealed musicians received only 12% of the $43 billion generated in sales from their work last year in the US. The figures include CD sales revenue, streaming music, YouTube ads, radio royalties, and concert tickets. That number is up just 5% from 2000.

So, who keeps the money? Tech companies, radio stations, and record labels get the largest share.

Citigroup found that last year, music sales included over $15 billion in ad revenue.

Consumer spending for subscriptions, CDs, and concert tickets also generated over $20 billion.

Of these amounts, labels and publishers received nearly $10 billion. How about artists? Around $5 billion.

Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet co-authored the report.

Speaking about the depressing amount musicians actually receive from their work, he revealed artists don’t receive “their fair share of the economics.”

He started the report to discover whether artists truly receive as little pay as they claim. Bezinet gave a not-so-surprising answer.

“The answer is yes.”

But, does a solution exist?

According to Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw, yes.

All artists need to do is forgo record deals in favor of streaming music services like Apple Music and Spotify.

Citing Spotify as an example, Shaw writes that the company has given young artists “money to support the development of their careers.” Spotify has recently offered direct licensing for indie artists with cash advances (though we haven’t seen any confirmed deals yet).

But that could cause a serious backlash. And Shaw didn’t explain that Spotify’s offer caused an small uproar among the Big 3. In fact, we’ve heard that major label executives have privately threatened to retaliate against Spotify for poaching hot artists, starting at the negotiating table.

Yet, the controversy may not ultimately affect musicians. Speaking about the long-term impact of Spotify’s direct licensing deals, industry consultant Vickie Nauman explained that it could force major labels to give artists “more favorable deals.”

Speaking with Shaw, Nauman also elaborated on why artists receive so little.

“Because the music industry has so many intermediaries – and because the consumption of music is so fragmented across various platforms – the artist captures very little of the aggregate revenues.”

So is streaming truly beneficial?

Independent musicians and artists often share their actual streaming payouts with Digital Music News. In fact, we happily invite them to. And, the answer, quite frankly, is no.

Just look at some notable examples. Zoe Keating, an award-winning cellist and composer, earned just $4,388.93 from nearly 1.2 million streams on Spotify. From about a million streams, David Crosby reportedly earns $4,370 on the same service.

So, no, don’t expect to pay next month’s rent just by embracing Spotify. Nor Apple Music or any other streaming music platform.

Yet, Citigroup’s report underscores a truly alarming fact. Record labels and major music companies continue to rake in billions from artists’ work. And, no matter what their representatives may say, no, musicians still don’t receive their fair share.

And, from the looks of it, they may never receive it. Not anytime soon, at least.

You can check out the complete report here.

Unedited featured image by Joe The Goat Farmer (CC by 2.0)

Latest Industry: The Rolling Stones, Stream-Ripping, Viagogo, Amazon Prime Music, More…

Daniel Sanchez — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 23:07:33 +0000

The Rolling Stones earn $238 million from the No Filter tour.

The Rolling Stones earned $238 million from 28 sold-out shows in the group’s recent No Filter tour in Europe, according to a report from Billboard. Fans purchased 7,802,307 tickets. The tour wrapped up on July 8^th in Warsaw.

Major labels go for the jugular against stream-ripping sites.

Major music labels, including Universal Music Group and Sony Music, have filed a lawsuit against two major stream-ripping sites – FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com. The sites have appeared on RIAA’s ‘notorious’ piracy website report. FLVTO.biz attracts over 94 million visitors a month, and is ranked as the 322nd most popular website in the world.

Has Amazon Prime Music overtaken Apple Music in the UK?

Kantar Worldpanel, an international consumer insights company, has revealed Amazon Prime Music has surpassed Apple Music in total active users. Prime Music had a 3.8% market penetration rate in the four-week period to July 1^st. Apple Music had 2.9%, while Spotify remains in the lead with 11%. The figures are based on a panel of 15,000 consumers, not official figures from the companies.

Spotify sponsors the La Musa Awards.

Spotify has signed on as the title sponsor of the 2018 La Musa Awards. The event celebrates the lives and music of Latin songwriters, composers, and lyricists. The sponsorship includes a dedicated Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame profile page featuring music by inductees and honorees. This year’s honorees include Gloria Trevi, Chucho Valdes, Carlos Rubira, Infante, Fernando Osorio, and KC Porter.

Alan McGee launches new label.

Alan McGee, a veteran Scottish businessman and music industry executive, has launched Creation 23. The singles label has invited artists to submit their work to McGee’s personal e-mail.

Dice continues expanding with another partnership.

Scala, a nightclub and live music venue in London, has teamed up with mobile ticketing service Dice. The move comes after two other venues partnered with Dice – the Islington Assembly Hall and the Soup Kitchen in Manchester.

MVT adds two trustees.

Ellie Roswell, lead singer of British alternative rock band Wolf Alice, and Bengi Unsal, Senior Contemporary Music Producer at Southbank Centre, have joined Music Venue Trust (MVT) as trustees. Roswell has previously shared ideas on how to nurture young talent and Unsal on how small venues provide opportunities for emerging acts. The British charitable organization improves, maintains, and organizes 440 indie and grassroots venues across the UK represented by the Music Venue Alliance.

John Procaccini stops partnership with Frampton to join BASE Hologram.

Music industry veteran John Procaccini, a working partner of Peter Frampton and his band, will serve as Vice President of Touring and Production at BASE Hologram in Los Angeles. The company recently announced a touring hologram of Roy Orbison and a hologram of Andy Williams at a venue in Branson, Missouri.

Speaking on his experience of working with Frampton, Procaccini wrote,

“My past 3 years with the incomparable Peter Frampton, his band and crew, ‘my road family,’ has been a highlight of my professional touring career. Peter is one of the most endearing individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. A consummate professional and incredible human being.”

Aren’t you a little old to sneak out to a heavy metal concert?

Two elderly men reportedly snuck out from their nursing home in Germany to attend Wacken Open Air, a popular heavy metal festival. Police found the men “disoriented and dazed” after the festival shut down at 3:00 a.m., and took them back to their nursing home.

But, please, think of the poor Viagogo employees that defraud millions per day…

Irish senator Marya Byrne has opposed a strict law against ticket scalpers in the country. She said the anti-tout law would harm ticket reseller Viagogo. The company has plans to expand its total number of employees from 150 to 250 in Ireland. Across the UK and Europe, lawmakers have criticized Viagogo for fraudulent and deceptive business practices.

Aerosmith signs with ReignDeer Entertainment.

Aerosmith has ended its 20-year management relationship with Trudy Green and Howard Kaufman and has signed with Larry Rudolph’s ReignDeer Entertainment. Rudolph has managed Steven Tyler’s solo career for 4 years.

Ellen Loo passes away in apparent suicide.

Ellen Loo, a Hong Kong and Taiwanese music star, has passed away. She fell from a high building. Loo was 32 and had suffered from bipolar disorder.

David Stein passes away.

Veteran music manager David Stein has passed away. He was 69. Stein started his career working with promoter Sid Bernstein and later with the Bay City Rollers. He later launched Record Gems, a vinyl and CD selling and buying company.

Featured image by Uli Schmidt (CC by 2.0)

Latest Industry: YouTube Stories, HomePod, BBC Radio, Deezer, BASCA, Pogoseat, More…

Daniel Sanchez — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 20:46:33 +0000

Instagram Stories copied Snapchat. Now, YouTube Stories copies Instagram.

YouTube has reportedly started testing a Stories-like feature on its video platform. According to Android Police, which first spotted the feature, it looks very similar to Instagram Stories’ UI and will likely function exactly the same.

The Big 3 sue Cox Communications.

Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group have filed a lawsuit against Cox Communications. Citing BMG v. Cox, the labels accuse Cox of knowingly contributing to and reaping substantial profits from “massive copyright infringement committed by thousands of its subscribers.”

WMG acquires Uproxx.

Warner Music Group has bought Uproxx Media Group and its portfolio of websites – HitFix, Dime, and Uproxx, but not BroBible. Benjamin Bank, Uproxx CEO and Chief Creative Officer, and Jarret Myer, co-founder and publisher, will maintain editorial independence.

UMG pushes a new playlist on Apple Music.

Universal Music Group (UMG) has launched an exclusive playlist on Apple Music – Peaceful Music. The label, along with composer Max Richter, co-created the 51-track playlist with Apple’s curator team.

Apple’s HomePod gains a substantial market share from Google and Amazon.

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) has found Apple has sold three million HomePods in the US. Between March and June, the HomePod’s market share doubled to 6% and now has a “small but meaningful” share in the smart speaker market. Amazon now has a 70% market share, and Google 24%.

Yet, CIRP warns,

“[The HomePod] took a small share of the market from both Amazon and Google. Still, Amazon has a two-year head start, and Amazon and Google each have a low-priced device that accounts for at least half of unit sales, so it’s not clear how much further Apple can establish itself in the market without a more competitive model.”

Face it – people just don’t want to listen to news shows on the radio anymore.

Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR), a UK audience measurement company, found BBC Radio 4’s Today program has lost 839,000 listeners year-over-year. Radio 5’s Live Breakfast show has lost 337,000 listeners. The BBC spun the news, blaming “a quieter news agenda.” Yet, music and entertainment shows went up. Absolute’s breakfast show added 306,000 listeners and Kiss Breakfast added 42,000.

Murdered drill rapper admitted the genre incited violence.

Prior to his fatal stabbing on Wednesday, drill rapper Siddique Kamara said in a YouTube video,

“You see with the crime that’s happening right now, music does influence it. You’ve got to put your hands up and say drill music does influence it.”

Yet, he also revealed drill music merely reflects the reality of young impoverished black Londoners. Kamara also provided a solution authorities in Britain have failed to implement.

“Knife crime and gun crime has been going on way before drill music … 10 years, 20 years, people were still getting cheffed up [attacked with knives].

“There [are] many ways to solve it – you can bring out youth clubs, you can bring out many other things, invest money in other things to help the community, but you don’t want to do that – you just want to use an excuse with drill music.”

ESNS unveils Europe Talent Awards.

Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS), an annual Dutch dual festival and conference event, has launched the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards. The new prize, which replaces the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBAs), will celebrate “new and upcoming artists from Europe and support them in order to help them develop and accelerate their international careers.”

Will video contests save Vertigo?

Vertigo, a social music app, has unveiled a new feature to attract users –Make the Video Contest. The app promises to pay winners cash, exclusive signed merchandise from artists, and ‘fun perks’ each day for submitting their own ‘unique’ music videos.

“Sshhh…don’ tell anyone what I’m listening to.”

According to a study from Play USA, Colorado, California, New York, Washington, and Nevada ranked as the states that most indulge in ‘guilty pleasure’ music. On Google, listeners searched for cheesy music the most in these states.

Pogoseat announces deal with Ticketmaster.

Pogoseat, a ticketing platform, has announced a partnership with Ticketmaster. The deal allows Pogoseat to use Ticketmaster’s open ticket platform and use its API to provide additional services in the UK and Europe.

Pink cancels Sydney performance.

Pink has canceled her first of nine performances in Sydney due to a respiratory infection. The singer would’ve performed on Friday, August 3^rd. Live Nation will reschedule the performance for a later date.

Pink wrote on Twitter,

“Hi, my Sydney friends. It’s with great frustration that I bring you this news :( Friday’s show will be postponed. I was hoping a couple of days of rest would help me kick this sick, but not at the speed I was hoping for. I appreciate your well wishes and understanding + I’m sorry.”

BASCA announces Board and Committee election results.

The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors (BASCA) has confirmed Crispin Hunt, Gary Carpenter, Issie Barratt, Mark Ayres, Marc Sylvan, Helienne Lindvall, Paul Hartnoll, William Sweeney, and Rupert Hine will retain their seats on the Board. Stephen McNeff will return alongside newly-elected members Martyn Ware, Dru Masters, and Orphy Robinson. BASCA will announce two indie board members at a later date. The professional association will also move to new offices at ‘The Ministry’ in South London.

Hard Rock makes a key appointment.

Hard Rock International has appointed Ken Blaustein to the newly-created role of Director of Music and Artist Relations. He’ll oversee music programming, artist and lifestyle partnerships, industry relations, experiential activations, data integrations, and the development of original content offerings.

Eshan Shah Jahan joins Symphonic Distribution.

Symphonic Distribution, a label services and distribution company, has hired Eshan Shah Jahan as Head of Product. He previously served 11 years at The Orchard, most recently as Senior Vice President of Product Engineering. Jahan will work in New York.

Spotify’s Andrea Ingham joins BuzzFeed.

Andrea Ingham, Spotify’s former National Director of Sales in Australia and New Zealand, has joined BuzzFeed as the company’s first Vice President of Business Partnerships. She’ll oversee brand partnerships and legal advertising solutions.

Lionsgate signs with UMPG.

Lionsgate has signed a long-term agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). The publisher will represent Lionsgate’s music publishing properties worldwide. Both companies will also work together to create in-house opportunities by using UMPG’s songwriters and catalog of songs in Lionsgate’s film, television, and digital projects.

Featured image by Pictures of Money (CC by 2.0)

Latest Industry: UMG, SOCAN + SODRAC, iHeartRadio, Radar Radio, Apple Music, Paradigm, Cherry Glazerr, More…

Daniel Sanchez — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 20:03:00 +0000

UMG is earning nearly $8 million — a day — from streaming.

Vivendi, Universal Music Group (UMG) parent company, has revealed Universal Music Group’s labels generated $1.44 billion in streaming revenue for the first half of 2018. That translates into roughly $7.9 million — a day. UMG labels also generated $447 million from physical formats, down 19.1% year-over-year. Downloads plummeted 25.9% to $287 million.

SOCAN and SODRAC agree to consolidate.

The Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) has acquired the Society for Reproduction Rights of Authors, Composers, and Publishers in Canada (SODRAC) in a non-monetary deal. The combined group will license, track, and distribute royalties for both performing and mechanical rights.

Radar Radio reveals millions in losses following its decision to stop broadcasting.

Radar Radio, a London urban station accused of sexual harassment and fostering a toxic work environment, has published its financial accounts for 2017.

The station reported £1.3 million ($1.7 million) in losses. Radar Radio also has £4 million ($5.3 million) in debt, owed mostly to MASH Holdings Limited. In addition, the company’s filing reveals over £500,000 ($656,254) in closing costs, with £270,000 ($354,377) in redundancies as well as £230,000 ($301,878) in fees related to the decision to stop broadcasting. Radar Radio closed down last April following public accusations from DJs Pxssy Palace and Ashtart Al-Hurra, among many others.

Woman assaulted at Foo Fighters concert.

Chicago police have confirmed a man sexually assaulted a 23-year-old woman at a Foo Fighters concert; the woman followed the woman into a port-a-potty. Police have yet to find the man, described between 40 and 50 years old and about 5’9”.

iHeartRadio flat-out copies a popular Spotify feature.

iHeartRadio has introduced Your Weekly Mixtape. Refreshed every Monday, and just like Spotify, the feature includes 30 to 75 songs based on the stations and artists users stream.

In an attempt to pass off the Spotify-esque feature as ‘unique,’ Chris Williams, iHeartRadio’s Chief Product Officer, explained users will know and love the songs.

”We want to make sure they’re getting a playlist they can sing along to.”

YouTube makes a strong push for original programming outside the US.

In an attempt to boost subscriber numbers, YouTube will work on original programming for international markets. The company will develop shows for consumers in France, Germany, Mexico, and Japan. YouTube has already released original programming targeted at consumers in South Korea and India. Susanne Daniels, the company’s Global Head of Original Programming, explained the new shows will include music documentaries, reality series, talk shows, and scripted series.

Apple Music doubles down on ‘exclusive’ documentaries, but will it work?

Apple Music will release an exclusive documentary on Kesha next month. The documentary will focus on the making of her newest album, Rainbow.

DotBlockChain Media signs a deal with Exactuals.

DotBlockchain Media (dotBC), an organization seeking to address the music industry’s data and royalty accounting issues through blockchain, has signed a deal with Exactuals, a payments and metadata company. dotBC aims to verify metadata intended for input into the blockchain, with Exactuals’ ‘RAI’ helping to validate information or improve on incomplete or deficient data.

Cherry Glazerr details the sexism the group faces in the live concert industry.

American rock band Cherry Glazerr has outlined the sexism the group has faced from stage managers and staff. In a lengthy post on Facebook, the band wrote,

“The amount of sexism that my band and sound engineer / tour manager face on the road is simply unreal sometimes. It’s outrageous. We walk into a venue and people look the other way. They treat us with open hostility. They ignore us, call us names. The amount of names our FOH has been called besides her own name, or at least, “your front of house” is unbelievable – Miss, Missy, “The Lady”, sweetie. It’s simply disgusting. We’re ignored, hated. It feels so awful when the stage manager looks at us and scoffs, looks the other way when we come in through the door. They ask us what we’re doing here, why are we here? Who are we? We’re the band that you hired…”

Sean Paul blames the music industry for Demi Lovato’s relapse.

Jamaican rapper Sean Paul has blamed the music industry for Demi Lovato’s overdose. Speaking with the Daily Star, he claims drug abuse is rampant among artists, including himself.

“The music industry in itself is very excessive. We’re always working in studios, performing, traveling, and sometimes you feel you need a break and the break is to go towards things that don’t give you a break.”

Istanbul Jazz Festival celebrates 25 years.

52,000 fans attended the 25^th annual Istanbul Jazz Festival. 450 artists performed in 27 stages around the Turkish capital.

Kylie Minogue, Gareth Malone, and Ella Eyre join BBC Music Day.

The BBC has confirmed Kylie Minogue, Gareth Malone, and Ella Eyre have joined BBC Music Day. The fourth annual event will take place on September 28^th.

Jermaine Dupri announces brief North American tour.

Jermaine Dupri has announced the So So Def 25^th Anniversary Cultural Curren$y Tour. Xscape, Jagged Edge, Bow Wow, Anthony Hamilton, Bone Crusher, Youngbloodz, Dem Franchise Boyz, and J-Kwon will join Dupri. The tour kicks off in Washington DC on October 4^th and wraps up in Los Angeles on November 2^nd.

J. Cole announces guest stars for KOD Tour.

J. Cole has announced Jaden Smith, Earthgang, and Kill Edward will join his upcoming North American KOD Tour. They join special guest Young Thug. The tour kicks off in Miami on August 9^th and wraps up in Boston on October 10^th.

Andrea Ingham exits Spotify.

Andrea Ingham, Spotify Australia and New Zealand’s National Sales Director, has left the company. She had joined the company in 2015 to lead its local sales division. At Spotify, Ingham had driven ad sales revenue and strategy. She most recently led the launch of Spotify House, which identifies key consumer listening habits through the company’s streaming intelligence services.

Jay Brown joins MedMen’s Board.

Roc Nation co-founder and CEO Jay Brown has joined MedMen Enterprise’s Board of Directors. The twenty-year music veteran joins Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, Melissa Etheridge, and Damian Marley in promoting the cannabis company.

Paradigm announces two key promotions.

Paradigm Talent Agency has promoted Kristin O’Neill and Nate Sokolski as music agents. Both will be based out of Beverly Hills. Paradigm promoted seven staffers as agents last month – Joshua Finn, Q’Marth Ghaemi, Mary Izzo, Jake Atterman, Jeff Mangialardi, Hilary Jacobs, and Ethan Neale.

Sam Mehran passes away.

Sam Mehran, member of short-lived English band Test Icicles, has passed away. He was 31. Zak Mering, Head of GunkTV, Test Icicles’ label, wrote,

“RIP Sam Mehran. You will be sorely missed and loved by many forever. The most talented musician I’ve ever had the pleasure of being close friends with. I know you’re in a better place, brother. You will not be forgotten”.

Ray Cooper passes away.

Ray Cooper, former Co-President of Virgin Records America, has passed away. He was 69. Cooper is credited with the success of the Spice Girls and U2, among others.

Featured image by Pictures of Money (CC by 2.0)

Google Spent More Than $36 Million to Scuttle Article 13 & the Copyright Directive

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 01:39:52 +0000

Just how far is Google willing to go to avoid paying artists what’s fair?

Several weeks ago, the European Union Legal Affairs Committee ruled on a controversial measure. Dubbed Article 13, internet tech giants – including Facebook, Google, Microsoft – would have to install “effective technologies” to ensure content creators, artists, and authors receive fair pay for their work online. The committee approved the initiative. It heads to the European Parliament for a vote.

Now, the search giant wants to do everything in its power to bury the initiative. And, it has the funds to do so.

According to UK Music, Google has spent over €31 million ($36 million) on lobbying European Union members against Article 13.

The European Union’s Lobbying Transparency Register has confirmed that in 2016 alone, the search giant spent €5.5 million ($6.5 million) to “try and influence policy decisions.” Google paid eight consultancy firms, including McLarty Associates, MUST & Partners, and MKC Communications. 14 Google staff members have also worked on EU policies.

Google’s lobbying initiative hasn’t stopped there. The company has also lobbied the European Parliament through 24 other organizations, including OpenForum Europe. According to Michael Dugher, head of UK Music, the 24 organizations have spent €25 million ($29 million) to lobby EU member countries.

But, why does Google fear Article 13?

Simple.

Under the ‘Directive on Copyright in the Digital Services Market’ (Article 11 for journalists along with Article 13 for the music industry), platforms that host user-generated content (UGC) would have to obtain music licenses. It would also prevent further ‘safe harbor’ provisions. Basically, the Copyright Directive would finally place websites like YouTube and Vimeo on par with streaming music platforms. They would have to pay higher royalties when hosting videos featuring copyrighted music.

Article 13 would also force the platforms to introduce content recognition systems. These would block UGC that infringes on existing copyrights. Social media websites, including Facebook and Twitter, would likely also have to install the systems.

Simply put, the measure would end YouTube’s historic exploitation of ‘safe harbor’ loopholes in the European Union. Google would now have to pay the music industry royalties for user-generated content featuring copyrighted content.

Mass Hysteria – “Article 13 means the end of memes, remixes, and ‘Internet Freedom.'”

Critics have argued that Article 13 would ‘censor the internet.’ Comedian Stephen Fry, for example, has argued that the vote would outright ban meme sharing on social media. Users could no longer create and share remixes and other unique content online.

On Twitter, he warned his followers,

“#Article13 threatens EU creators, leaving us vulnerable to censorship in copyright’s name. Don’t believe the creepy pretence that it’s there to protect © holders. It’s about putting power in the hands of media corporations. We can stop it!”

Of course, he – along with other critics – didn’t provide proof to support these claims.

Crispin Hunt, Chair of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors, has fought back against the ‘censorship’ claims. On Twitter, he wrote,

“It’s not about censorship at all. That’s a lie propagated by SV to manipulate the public to keep on giving their creativity for SV to monetize it. Article 13 only means that when someone uses someone else’s work to make $ they (the platforms not the user) pay the creator. Ace.”

Hunt also slammed Fry for spreading false information.

“Stephen Fry is one of those copyright millionaires he can afford to give away his work – several million others can’t. We want culture to have value online.”

Dugher also refuted the claims. He wrote,

“Some absolute rubbish has been written about the EU’s proposed #copyright changes. Among the most ludicrous is the claim it will mean the end of memes, remixes + user-generated content. This is desperate + dishonest.”

He added the Copyright Directive will “protect rightsholders in the digital age.” Tech firms would finally have to pay artists the true value of their works.

“To put it bluntly, we in the music industry want to stop firms like Google-owned YouTube ripping off creators and fairly reward them for the use of their work.”

English singer/songwriter Billy Bragg also voiced his support for Article 13. With the measure’s passing, YouTube’s ‘value gap’ would finally disappear.

“YouTube, which has 1.3bn users, paid £650 million ($858 million) royalties to music companies last year compared to the £4.3bn ($5.7 billion) returned by streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Music, which have fewer listeners.”

European Union members will meet on July 5^th to hold a vote on the Copyright Directive.

Featured image by Bloom Energy (CC by 2.0)

Latest Industry: ¡Viva Latino!, Sony Music, Prince, Sony/ATV, Viagogo, SoundCloud, LANDR, More…

Daniel Sanchez — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 00:14:13 +0000

Spotify announces headliners for ¡Viva Latino! concert series.

The all-powerful playlist continues to evolve beyond streaming. Accordingly, Spotify has just announced its ¡Viva Latino! live concert series, produced by Cardenas Marketing Network (CMN). ¡Viva Latino! playlist regulars like Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny, Becky G, Jowell & Randy, and Natti Natasha will perform. The tour kicks off on Thursday, August 23^rd in Chicago. Spotify will announce additional cities and performers at a later date. The tour follows other playlist-based concert treks, including a recent jaunt for Rap Caviar.

Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine owe $25.25 million in royalties.

A California jury has ruled against Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, finding that they owe a former Beats business partner $25.25 million. The jury spent three days in deliberation.

Sony Music acquires Raymond Gubbay; DAEG buys DEAG Classics from Sony Music.

Sony Music has acquired shares in Raymond Gubbay, a classical music events promoter in the UK. The deal sees German promoter DEAG releasing its shares in Raymond Gubbay in exchange for 49% of DEAG Classics from Sony Music Germany.

MelodyVR rolls in more European countries.

MelodyVR has launched in eight more markets – France, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, Austria, and Belgium. Using the VR-loaded app, users can see live performances from Tokio Myers, UB40 featuring Ali, Astro and Mickey, Kaiser Chiefs, and Tom Walker.

AXS launches a capped tickets marketplace.

AXS has launched an online market in the UK, AXS Marketplace. The company will cap the resale of concert tickets at 10% above the original value price.

Prince Estate signs deal for 35 catalog albums.

Prince’s estate and Sony Music Entertainment have signed an exclusive distribution agreement, which today become official. The deal includes 35 previously released album titles from the singer’s catalog, including 1999, Diamonds and Pearls, and Sign O’ the Times. Legacy Recordings will distribute the catalog.

Gloria Estefan joins brothers Ozzie and Will Areu.

Gloria Estefan has joined Areu Bros. Studio. She will serve as a partner and executive team member. Estefan will create and package content across all platforms including music, television, film, and short-form content.

Lakeith Standfield’s freestyle goes homophobic.

Actor Lakeith Stanfield has apologized after posting a video of himself freely rapping with homophobic lyrics. He had said,

“That’s some gay s—t… F-g, I don’t really like to brag, but I’m straight, rich.”

The Kinks will reunite.

Kinks frontman Ray Davies told the BBC that the group will reunite to record a new album. The Kinks split up over twenty years ago.

Can YouTube Music conquer the Australian market?

Australian market research firm Roy Morgan has published a new report. Spotify remains Australia’s most popular music service and website with 2.2 million unique visits in four weeks, a 9% increase over a year ago. SoundCloud had 1.3 million unique visits. Apple Music and Google Play Music had 400,000 visits each in the same period. YouTube drew in 15.2 million visitors, representing 75% of the country’s adult population.

Hipgnosis Songs Fund to seek yet another IPO.

The Hipgnosis Songs Fund, a specialist investment company set up by Elton John’s former manager, will renew its quest to launch an IPO. The company hopes to raise £200 million ($264 million) on the London Stock Exchange. The Hipgnosis Song Fund canceled its listing last year to conduct “further due diligence.”

Ed Sheeran replaces fans’ invalid tickets.

Ed Sheeran has imposed strict entry rules for 18 UK gigs. The artist hopes to stop Viagogo from reselling invalid overpriced tickets. Accordingly, Kilimanjaro Live has reportedly replaced up to 10,000 fans’ invalid tickets. In the UK, Viagogo faces legal action for failing to comply with consumer protection laws.

Sony/ATV signs deals for Bob Marley and Leonard Cohen’s catalogs.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has signed deals for its Neighboring Rights division to represent the recording catalogs of Bob Marley and Leonard Cohen. The music publisher also added Jamie Scott, Big Shaq, Kojo Funds, Elderbrook, and Bob Ezrin to its Neighboring Rights roster.

Peloton acquires Neurotic Media.

Peloton, a fitness technology company, has acquired digital music white label service Neurotic Media. Founder Shachar ‘Shac’ Oren will become Vice President at Peloton and will retain his role as CEO and President of Neurotic. Neurotic Media will continue to operate as a standalone company.

LANDR signs deal with HFA’s Rumblefish.

LANDR, an AI platform for musicians, has signed a deal with HFA’s Rumblefish. The move will allow artists on LANDR.com to obtain licenses for cover tracks.

DJ Carisma jumps ship and joins TuneIn.

Cathleen Robertson, best known as DJ Carisma, has joined TuneIn. She will lead Hip-Hop/R&B curation and artist relations. Robertson spent the past two years at KRRL/Los Angeles (Real 92.3) serving as a Music Director.

Manners McDade announces a promotion and two key hires.

Manners McDade, a UK publisher and composer management company, has promoted Harriet Moss to Managing Director. She will oversee the company’s creative strategy across sync, A&R, and creative services worldwide.

In addition, Jenna Fentimen (Wake the Town) and Clare Everson (Warner Music UK) have joined the company. Fentimen will serve as Music & Composer Producer and Everson as Sync Executive.

Republic Records hires Ken ‘Duro’ Ifill.

Republic Records has hired Ken ‘Duro’ Ifill as Senior Vice President of A&R. He will identify, sign, cultivate, and introduce new hip-hop, rap, urban, and R&B talent.

SoundCloud desperately grasps for young listeners.

A new study from consumer measurement firm Verto Analytics has revealed leading streaming music services – Spotify and Apple Music – have a large advantage among younger listeners. 48.5% of all users aged 18-24 stream their favorite music on Spotify. 34% use Apple Music and 18% listen on SoundCloud.

27% of users aged 25-34 stream music on Spotify and 26.5% used Apple Music. SoundCloud had a 25.5% share.

Featured image by lylejk (CC by 2.0)

YouTube Views Will Now Count Towards the UK Singles Chart

Daniel Sanchez — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 17:39:30 +0000

The Official Charts Company won’t count ‘spam’ YouTube music video plays. So tough luck, Chris Brown.

The Official Charts Company (OCC) has announced it will now include music video plays from YouTube in its UK Singles chart. The move comes after the Google-owned company launched its paid subscription service in the country last week.

Starting this Friday, video streaming data from various video platforms will also be counted. This includes music videos on Spotify, Apple Music, and TIDAL. The OCC will count individual plays and downloads.

Speaking on the need to overhaul the charts to include video plays, Martin Talbot, the company’s CEO, said,

“This is a significant step for the UK and ensures The Official Chart continues to be the most comprehensive and trusted chart in the UK, bar none. Consumption of recorded music via more than 15,000 retailers, download stores and streaming services of all kinds contribute to the weekly chart countdown.”

On YouTube, all official music videos views will count, regardless of the uploader. Labels will have to file a claim using the platform’s Content ID for infringing content. The Official Charts Company, however, won’t count plays from user-generated content featuring the music.

Also, Vevo-managed YouTube channels count. Plays on vevo.com don’t.

Talbot also added that the change won’t significantly alter the UK Singles chart.

“This isn’t going to be a handbrake turn. We’re not going to suddenly see dozens of songs in the Top 20 that weren’t there before.”

Prior to announcing the change, the OCC ran internal tests. Songs with viral videos “only received a small upgrade to their chart position.” Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America,’ for example, benefitted from the change.

In a separate change to the charts, paid audio streams will also count more than ‘freemium’ ones.

Currently, 150 song streams count as a sale. That will drop down to 100 paid streams as a single sale. 600 freemium plays count as a single sale.

Talbot explained that the changes will benefit artists who limit access to their new songs behind a paywall.

“Premium subscribers tend to access new music quicker. We found in our test charts that new music would enter maybe one place higher than before.”

He added, however, that fans can’t “spam” their favorite artists. After playing a song ten times within 24 hours, the OCC won’t count subsequent streams. So, Chris Brown’s failed attempt to game the Billboard Charts won’t work in the UK.

Record labels and BBC Radio 1 have approved the changes. The OCC will release its first chart with video plays included on July 6th.

The company has also released a video with Dua Lipa announcing the changes. You can watch the video below.

Featured image by The Official Charts Company (YouTube screengrab).

Latest Industry: Festival Harassment, Jimmy Wopo, Fyre Festival, Vkontakte, Jay-Z+Puma, More…

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 00:55:29 +0000

Nearly half of all female festivalgoers are sexually harassed.

According to a new study from YouGov, nearly half of all female festivalgoers faced unwanted sexual behavior at events. Surveying 1,188 male and female festivalgoers in the UK, 22% faced assault and harassment. The most common forms were forceful dancing and verbal sexual harassment. Only 1% of women and 19% of men reported harassment to staff members.

Don’t expect to find the tickets you’re looking for on Viagogo — even if they’re advertised.

An ITV news investigation has found Viagogo advertises tickets it doesn’t have. Undercover footage shows a Viagogo employee sent to buy Ed Sheeran tickets from scalpers at a recent concert. Sheeran had previously banned the company from selling tickets to his performances.

Vkontakte reports 1.5 million subscribers.

Former Russian piracy hub Vkontake has reported 1.5 million subscribers to its legal streaming music service. While small, the legitimate service is high compared to others in the country. And breathtaking (if true) for a notoriously pirating site.

Jimmy Wopo gunned down.

Prominent Pittsburgh rapper Jimmy Wopo – real name Travon Smart – was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in the city’s Hill District. He was 21. Wopo’s murder came hours after unknown assailants killed XXXTentacion. Wopo’s manager – Taylor Maglin – confirmed the Pittsburgh rapper’s murder on Facebook.

Alda Events acquires Amsterdam Music Festival.

Dutch promoter Alda Events has acquired a 100% stake in Amsterdam Music Festival from fellow promoter ID&T. Alda Events has organized the event for five years in partnership with ID&T.

Billy McFarland trial postponed.

A federal judge has ruled that Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland will have to remain in jail for another month. His initial sentencing has also been pushed back to July 26th. He awaits sentencing on charges of duping investors. Last week, federal prosecutors hit McFarland with new wire fraud and money laundering charges.

Jay-Z will serve as a consultant for Puma.

Puma Basketball has named Jay-Z as Creative Consultant. He will help in directing art design and the overall concept of the brand.

Virgil Abloh gets own show on Apple Music.

Designer and DJ Virgil Abloh has announced his own show on Beats 1 Radio. Recorded in Paris, the show debuted Monday, June 18th.

TIDAL has the most tracks on any streaming platform, and Amazon the least.

According to a new report from Mac Observer, TIDAL has the largest song library in the world. The Jay-Z owned service has 50 million tracks. Apple Music reportedly has 45 million and Spotify 35 million. Amazon Prime Music has the lowest with just 16 million tracks.

Dr. Dre will produce a Marvin Gaye biopic.

Dr. Dre has started work on a film about Marvin Gaye — and the family has granted approval. He has also secured the rights to Marvin Gaye’s music catalog, including ‘What’s Going On’ and ‘Sexual Healing.’

Metallica donates prize money to charity.

Metallica has confirmed that they will donate the monetary portion of their Polar Music Prize to three charities. 50% will go to Stockholm City Mission, which focuses on helping the homeless people in the city. 25% will go to the World Childhood Foundation, which prevents the abuse of vulnerable children. The remaining 25% will go to the Afghanistan National Institute of Music.

ASCAP will honor Migos.

Migos, an Atlanta rap group, will receive the ASCAP Vanguard Award at the 31st annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards. Quavo, Offset, and Takeoff, members of the group, will attend the ceremony. Previous honorees include Kendrick Lamar, Dua Lipa, Diplo, and the Beastie Boys, among others.

Lauryn Hill announces major artists for her upcoming tour in North America.

Lauryn Hill has announced guest stars for her North American tour. NAS, M.I.A., Santigold, A$AP Rocky, SZA, Big Boi, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, Dave East, Jo Mersa Marley, Talib Kweli, Bambaata Marley, Shabazz Palaces, Patoranking, TierraWhack, Protoje, Kelela, Victory, Raury, and Iman Omari will join Hill on the North American run of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill World Tour 2018. The tour kicks off July 5^th in Virginia Beach. It ends on October 5^th in St. Louis.

Sigrid announces tour.

Sigrid, the BBC Sound of 2018 winner, has announced a new tour in the UK and Ireland. The five-date tour kicks off November 4^th in Birmingham and ends November 12^th in London.

Kylie Minogue will headline BBC Radio’s music festival.

Kylie Minogue will headline BBC Radio 2’s Live in Hyde Park Festival. Other artists confirmed for the festival include Carrie Underwood, All Saints, Rita Ora, Lenny Kravitz, Band of Love, and Manic Street Preachers. The event takes place on September 9^th.

Spencer Lee named MD of Asia Pacific at peermusic.

Independent music publisher peermusic has appointed Spencer Lee as Managing Director of Asia Pacific. Lee will assume responsibility for territories including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Featured image by Silver Blue (CC by 2.0)

We Asked a Search Analytics Company to Tell Us the Most Popular Music Services

Daniel Sanchez — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 21:27:55 +0000

What are people really looking for?

Spotify gets the most attention — and paying subscribers. But if search analytics can predict the future, YouTube, Amazon, and Apple are just getting started.

YouTube Music hasn’t even launched yet. And Spotify has more than 70 million paying subscribers. But when it comes to search, YouTube is already winning.

For years, YouTube has easily been the biggest music platform. And a big part of that success is coming from search traffic. In fact, the search data indicates that this may be YouTube Music’s game to lose.

We asked search and SEO analytics firm SEMRush to do a deep-dive on music platforms and services, particularly on the streaming side. Here’s what they discovered.

Breaking down search volumes for the most popular music provider in the US between February 2018 to April 2018, YouTube had 2.24 million unique search requests. Amazon Music and Apple Music took the second and third spots with 823,000 and 368,000, respectively. Despite CEO Roger Lynch’s lofty claim about the digital radio service “No. 1” position in the market, Pandora only had 246,000 unique search requests.

Surprisingly, Spotify took the last spot with just 110,000 searches.

At first glance, this appears to be great news for Google’s upcoming streaming music platform, YouTube Music.

After all, with now over 1.4 billion users on its popular video platform, how could Google possibly fail to line up millions of subscribers? But here’s the bad news for Google. When people look for music listening apps, they don’t search for YouTube very often. In fact, according to SEMRush, under brand music app searches, music fans typically search for Amazon.

The Amazon Music app had 27,100 unique searches in the US. Pandora fared slightly better this time with 14,800 searches. YouTube took third with 12,100, followed by Spotify Music with 9,900 and Apple Music with 4,400.

In a large number of cases, people prefer to use apps from reputable companies over untrustworthy third-party apps.

The analytics firm found that users preferred searching for “free music apps” over “download music apps.” So, what’s the difference?

Well, searching for “free music apps” will pull up well-known music apps, including SoundCloud and Pandora.

Searching for “download music apps” instead will pull up relatively obscure third-party apps. These apps are usually stuffed with ads and malware, making users wary of installing them.

Looking at the research, ‘free music apps’ from reputable companies and streaming platforms had a consistently stronger search volume.

Compare that to the waning popularity of sketchy third-party music downloader apps. Just two months ago, unique searches reached just under 30,000.

Data scientists also found that searches for music apps featuring offline functionality have actually grown in popularity.

Under this search category, you’ll find Spotify, Google Play Music, Apple Music, and Microsoft’s now-defunct Groove Music.

iPhone users were also more likely to search for (and subsequently use) streaming and download music apps over those on Android devices.

Latest Industry: All the Lils, British Exports, Apple Music, iHeartMedia, Ticketfly, SESAC, APA Nashville, More…

Daniel Sanchez — Fri, 08 Jun 2018 22:29:55 +0000

Maybe I should change my name to Lil…

Today’s fun fact: more than 8,000 artists have names that start with “Lil,” according to new statistics from Spotify. Of the platform’s 1,000 most streamed tracks, 33 are from “Lil” artists – Lil Wayne, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, and Lil Kim.

Apple introduces a ‘pre-add’ mechanic for new albums.

Apple Music has quietly added a ‘pre-add’ feature for upcoming albums. Users can find soon-to-be-released fare under a new category – “Coming Soon.” Enabling the feature will automatically download a selected album once it drops.

Court approves iHeartMedia’s request for more financing.

The US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas has approved a post-bankruptcy petition for financing, allowing iHeartMedia to pay off some asset-based loan financing. The company may borrow up to $450 million. The new loan takes “superpriority status” ahead of other creditors. They’re also protected against actions from pre-petition creditors, including foreclosure.

British artists account for one out of every eight albums purchased worldwide.

Albums from Ed Sheeran, Rag’n’Bone Man, Sam Smith, and The Beatles led strong British music exports this year. According to BPI, one in every eight albums purchased around the world was by a British artist or group. UK artists accounted for 12.9% of all music purchased or streamed last year.

Ticketfly confirms the damage – 27 million accounts hacked.

Ticketfly, a ticket distribution service, has confirmed that a hacker has stolen personal data on 27 million accounts. The digital intruder accessed personal information, including full names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers. If it’s any consolation, Ticketfly also confirmed that the hacker didn’t steal credit and debit card information associated with the compromised accounts.

BBC 1Xtra Editor Ryan Newman joins Apple Music.

Apple Music has poached Ryan Newman from the BBC. He previously served as Editor of 1Xtra, a flagship hip-hop and grime station at the network.

FIFA Bans Yulia Chicherina over politics.

FIFA recently banned rock/pop singer Yulia Chicherina from performance at Fan Fest in Rostov-on-Don. The group cited Chicherina’s public support for a pro-Russian rebel group in Eastern Ukraine. “Any military, religious or political topics are strictly forbidden at FIFA events,” FIFA declared.

SESAC teams with Christophe Beck to launch a new mentorship program.

SESAC has committed $1 million to help promote women and people of color in the film scoring industry. Composer Christophe Beck will serve as Adviser and Coordinator for “SESAC Scores: The Beck Diversity Project.” The five-year mentorship program will support underrepresented composers. Beck previously worked on Frozen and Ant-Man.

Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment rebrands itself.

Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment has rebranded as BSE Global to reflect its overseas expansion. The company has also opened a new headquarters at the Industry City commercial space in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Cass Scripps sues APA Nashville.

APA Nashville agent Cass Scripps – agent for country stars Clint Black and Corey Smith – has filed a lawsuit against his company. He claims that two APA Nashville executives created an “intolerable workplace” to force Scripps out of the company while keeping his clients. He had worked with the company since 2012 and abruptly quit several weeks ago.

Ralph Santolla passes away.

Heavy metal guitarist Ralph Santolla has passed away from a heart attack in Tampa, Florida. He was 48. Santolla had performed with Deicide and Sebastian Bach. He is survived by his mother Sue Santolla-Rocha and his son Dorian Angelo Santolla.

George Thorogood will receive the 2018 B.B. King Award.

The Montreal International Festival will honor George Thorogood with the 2018 B.B. King Award. The fifth recipient to receive the award, Thorogood succeeds Charlie Musselwhite, Taj Mahal, James Cotton, and B.B. King.

Featured image by Mark Kent (CC by 2.0)

Shawn Mendes Is Officially the Biggest Artist on Apple Music In 2018

Marsha Silva — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 19:27:20 +0000

Shawn Mendes has been named the biggest artist on Apple Music this year — thanks to more than one billion streams.

Shawn Mendes’ recently-release, self-titled album was smashing records immediately after its release. The artist had the largest first week for a pop album on Apple Music this year so far.

Released on May 25th, the new Shawn Mendes album was accompanied by a collection of bonus material on Apple Music. That included a Beats 1 interview with Zane Lowe, an exclusive live concert Q&A session, customized playlists, and more.

On June 4th, the singer’s third album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 charts, making this his third effort to do so. Not only is this Mendes’ biggest sales debut, but he’s also the third-youngest solo artist ever to achieve three No. 1 albums, according to Billboard.

The singer has now surpassed 1 billion global streams on Apple Music, making this is a massive milestone. Even more impressive, Mendes is just 19.

The previous record holder for most-streamed pop album of 2018 was Justin Timberlake’s Man Of The Woods, which launched in February. There have been a few other record-breaking stories related to Apple Music this year, most recently with rapper J. Cole breaking the record for most album streams in the first 24 hours in the United States.

Before that, Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy set a new record for first-week streams by a female artist on Apple Music, beating Taylor Swift’s Reputation.

Apple Music reportedly has over 50 million users total. The figure combines those paying for the service and anyone on a free trial. The last specific paid count sat at 40 million in April, compared to 71 million listeners paying for Spotify.

Mendes continues his successful week with a week-long residency at The Late Late Show With James Corden. He’ll also be playing music festivals in the U.S. this summer before going on his self-titled international arena tour next spring.

Apple Music for Artists Launches in Beta – Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 01:09:45 +0000

Rap group Naturally Born Strangers

Apple Music has opened a platform for artists to track their stream counts, demographics, and other critical data.

Last week, Apple made a pretty interesting move.

To attract songwriters to its platform, Apple Music launched a global publishing business. The company promoted Elena Segal – previously Legal Director of iTunes International – as the platform’s Global Director of Music Publisher.

But that was just the beginning. Now, Apple Music has finally opened up its promised analytics platform for musicians and labels.

Inside Apple Music for Artists, by Apple.

Apple Music for Artists has officially entered into beta.

According to the website, the platform provides “everything you need to understand your music’s impact across Apple Music and iTunes.”

On a dashboard, artists can see their total plays (30 seconds or longer) on Apple Music, radio spins in Apple Music Radio, song purchases from the iTunes Store, and total album purchases.

In addition, the platform automatically identifies milestones and all-time bests via a feed.

Artists can find out where listeners discover their music, including the names of the playlists. Furthermore, they can see the demographics of their top listeners along with a global view. The platform geotargets data from all 115 countries where Apple Music and iTunes operate.

All users have to do is click and zoom in on countries and cities to see more.

Yet, most users will find one major limitation. Only several thousand artists have received private beta access to the platform.

After signing up, interested artists can request artist access. They’ll search for their name or paste their iTunes Store artist page link. Users will also see the following message.

“Complete this form to reserve your spot in the Apple Music for Artists beta. We’re rolling out access this spring, and you’ll be notified as soon as it is available to you.”

In short, prepare to wait.

With the beta launch of its platform, Apple has clearly stepped up its efforts to move away from iTunes. In fact, Apple Music for Artists aims to not only make streaming data much more transparent for artists and labels, but for the entire music industry as well.

Of course, Apple Music and Oliver Schusser won’t stop there with its new analytics platform.

A recent job listing hints at the company’s plans to launch a new global division. Apple reportedly wants to “enable data-driven conversations between Apple, labels, artists, and the broader industry.” The perfect candidate for the position will “define and drive a clear strategy for Apple Music charts, including official charts for music and podcasts.”

You can check out Apple Music for Artists here, still in Beta.

Featured image by The Come Up Show (CC by 2.0)

Apple Music’s Web Player Now Streams Entire Songs – No iTunes Needed

Daniel Sanchez — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 00:55:00 +0000

With Apple Music now compatible with embeddable widgets, the Cupertino-based company takes yet another step back from iTunes. Here’s why that’s a great thing.

Several months ago, Digital Music News shared some pretty interesting news.

Sources inside the company confirmed that Apple would shut down iTunes in ‘early 2019.’ Specifically, internal roadmaps showed that the Cupertino-based company would phase out the service on (or around) March 31^st, 2019.

The news makes sense. Just a week earlier, Jimmy Iovine, the former Global Head of Apple Music, said that the company would shut down when “people stop buying.” Just a single financial quarter later, we found out that Apple now makes more money from its Services division. Last month, Services revenue totaled $9.2 billion in revenue. This includes, of course, Apple Care, Apple Pay, the App Store, and cloud-based services.

Even more interesting, during its Q2 2018 earnings call, CEO Tim Cook didn’t mention iTunes music downloads – not once. Separately, we’ve heard projections of music downloads slipping 40% year-over-year by Christmas.

Now, the company has taken a step back from iTunes once more. And, this will ultimately help Apple better compete in the streaming music market.

Finally, stream Apple Music from your web browser… sort of.

Ahead of the company’s WWDC presentation, a single user on Reddit noted a feature previously unseen on Apple Music. The company had “accidentally enabled” streaming from its web player. Users could now listen to full tracks from embeddable widgets after signing in.

Apple confirmed the news today at its WWDC conference. The company has updated its MusicKit developer software. So, web developers can now allow music fans to stream their songs, albums, and playlists on embeddable music players.

This marks the first time that music fans can listen to complete tracks without needing iTunes. Previously, users with Apple Music subscriptions had to launch iTunes after 30 seconds. These embeddable widgets now sport sleek sign-in buttons.

Image shared by The Mac Observer

The feature, however, remains inconsistent for the most part. Some users have reportedly had success streaming tracks on the widgets. Others haven’t. They’ve reported only streamed 30-second samples, despite having an active subscription to the service.

So, what does this mean for the future of iTunes?

Simple. Apple won’t have to depend on the service any longer.

In the near future, users on Apple Music will likely stream full tracks on browsers sans embeddable widgets. Keep in mind that competitors, including Spotify and Deezer, have already enabled this feature years ago.

This, in turn, will allow the streaming music service to better compete in countries where people don’t frequently use Apple products – something the service needs to ultimately dethrone Spotify worldwide.

Just take a look at India. After nearly three years on the market, the company’s streaming music platform only has a 0.1% market share. A big part of the reason for that is Android, which has overwhelming smartphone dominance in India.

Ditto for music fans in South Korea. Android devices currently have a 73.3% market share in the country. iOS devices – mainly iPhones and iPads – only have a 26.5% market share. That explains why – despite launching there two years ago – Apple Music tied with Samsung Music with a 4.6% market share.

Featured image by Apple.

Latest Industry: The Canadian Question, Kendrick Lamar/SZA, eOne Music, Childish Gambino, Pollstar, More…

Daniel Sanchez — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 20:27:09 +0000

Sean Stevenson, eOne Music’s new EVP and General Manager, Music

Should streaming music and online video services pay to fund domestic content?

Broadcast regulator CRTC has considered new levies on Netflix and Spotify to fund Canadian content. In a new report, the commission recommended that the government consider having online video and music services pay for the creation of – and better promote – domestic content.

An unapologetic EDM YouTuber makes a homophobic comment.

EDM producer Pogo, best known for remixing Disney movies with an electronic music twist on YouTube, has come under fire for a recent homophobic rant. In a short video dubbed Why I called my channel Fagottron, he explained,

“I came up with Fagottron because I’ve always had a very thorough dislike of homosexuals. I’ve never liked grown men acting like a 12-year-old girl.”

Pogo has since defended his comments.

“It’s the Andy Kaufman in me. I enjoy perplexing people. Fagottron really was just a way of saying Prickotron or Dickotron where I grew up. Some of my best friends and supporters are gay and it’s nothing I even think about.”

Childish Gambino’s ‘This Is America’ goes Platinum.

The RIAA has officially certified Childish Gambino’s single, ‘This Is America,’ as Platinum. The track has over 1.3 million track equivalents sold in the US, with over 2.6 million worldwide.

Michael Giacchino commemorates NASA with new work.

Star Trek composer Michael Giacchino has written a concert work to celebrate the 60^th anniversary of NASA. He calls the 11-minute work ‘Voyage.’ According to Giacchino, it describes “what’s going through your mind when you wake up on the morning of a launch, going out to the pad, being buckled in, waiting for launch, blasting off, weightlessness, reaching your destination, and coming home.”

“It’s my version of that story, having talked to friends who have either done it or designed the equipment to do it — what all that means, emotionally.”

Apple Music may have 90 million subscribers in two years.

According to a new report, Apple Music will likely have 90 million subscribers by 2020. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates that the service will bring in revenue of $6.7 billion.

Amazon, Netflix, and Apple Music fail to gain traction in India.

Amazon, Netflix, and Apple Music continue to struggle in India. The companies face strong competition from market leader, Hotspot. Owned by media conglomerate Star India, the service boasts a 69.7% share of the country’s on-demand video streaming market.

Despite charging less than its competitors, Apple Music only has a 0.1% market share. This is due to the overwhelming demand of Androids in India. As iPhone users are more likely to subscribe to the service, the streaming music platform’s tiny market share isn’t very surprising.

LiveXLive invited to the LD Micro Invitation Investor Conference.

LiveXLive Media will present at the 8^th annual LD Micro Invitation Investor Conference on June 4^th-6^th at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Robert Ellin, the company’s Chairman and CEO, will hold one-on-one meetings with institutional investors.

Americans more likely to use music to choose a travel destination.

According to a new study, one-third of millennials in the US use music to choose a vacation destination because the local music “inspired them.” Online travel agency eDreams found that 40% want to attend a music festival abroad. One in four Americans would also travel to another country to watch their favorite artists perform. The survey interviewed 13,000 respondents in eight countries – the US, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Sweden.

Lily Allen announces tour and lambasts the music industry for failing to act on sexual discrimination.

Controversial English singer and songwriter Lily Allen has announced her UK and Ireland tour for December 2018. The five-date tour kicks off on December 11^th at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre. She’ll wrap up on December 17^th at London’s Roundhouse.

In addition, the contentious singer recently lashed out at the music industry. The culture of music – “geared around alcohol or drugs” – has prevented the #MeToo movement from hitting the music industry.

Pollstar moves to Los Angeles and lays off “just about everyone.”

Oak View Holdings will move Pollstar’s Fresno headquarters to its Los Angeles office. Founder Gary Bongiovanni will also leave at the end of June.

According to a source, the company has also laid off many staff members. The layoffs primarily affect the graphics department, executive staff, and subscription sales, or as one source said, “Just about everyone.”

Sean Stevenson joins eOne Music.

Multinational record label and distribution company Entertainment One (eOne) has hired Sean Stevenson as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Music effective June 5^th. He’ll oversee marketing, sales, digital, and general management. Stevenson will report to Chris Taylor, eOne’s Global President of Music.

Greg Marchant joins Madison Entertainment.

Madison Entertainment has hired Greg Marchant as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. The music industry veteran had previously served as COO of Knitting Factory Entertainment.

Omaze announces the launch of its music practice and three key hires.

Omaze, an online fundraising platform, has announced the launch of its music division. In addition, the company has announced three key hires to form a tri-city team – Scott Graves in New York City, Susan Banks in Nashville, and Andrew Cook in Los Angeles. All three will serve as Senior Directors of Music Business Development.

Live365 announces agreements with SOCAN and Re:Sound.

Live365 has secured licensing in Canada from SOCAN and Re:Sound to cover Live365 originating broadcasts. As a result, the company has removed the sitewide geo-block, making streaming available to listeners across Canada. Live365 will open its mobile apps and other distribution in the coming weeks.

BuzzFeed teams with Hyundai for new music tour.

BuzzFeed has reportedly planned to enter the live concert industry. The online news publication will launch Kamp Kona, a three-city music tour sponsored by Hyundai. EDM musician Dan Deacon will headline the tour. BuzzFeed will offer attendees a look at Hyundai’s Kona vehicles. Kamp Kona kicks off in Santa Fe on June 9^th, makes a quick stop in Los Angeles on June 16^th, and wraps up in Marfa, Texas on June 23^rd.

Nothing But Thieves announces UK tour.

Nothing But Thieves, an English alt-rock band, has announced its biggest UK tour to date. Tickets for the five-city, fourteen-date tour go on sale on June 8^th at www.livenation.co.uk.

Ghost show ends in tragedy.

Swedish heavy metal band Ghost was forced to end its show in Milwaukee early. An unnamed fan had collapsed in the pit. EMTs performed CPR on the man for 15-20 minutes. The fan died at a local hospital a short time later. On Twitter, the group expressed condolences for the man’s family.

“Tonight, in Milwaukee there was a medical emergency with one of our fans. We decided not to continue out of respect to him and his family. Ghost and all who work with us ask that you please send the family your thoughts, prayers and respect their privacy during this time.”

Songwriters Hall of Fame announces additional performers and presenters.

The Weeknd, Jason Mraz, Fantasia, and Brandon Victor Dixon have been added to the list of performers and presenters for this year’s Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony. They join Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, Leon Bridges, Stephen Dorff, Chad Elliott, Bob Gaudio, Nora Guthrie, Keith Stegall, and Steve Wariner. The ceremony will take place at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on June 14^th.

Kendrick Lamar tour prices drop following SZA’s exit.

According to secondary market ticketplace TickPick, the average purchase price for Kendrick Lamar’s tour has dropped 20% from $107 to $80. The reason? SZA’s absence in upcoming shows.

Foreseeing further potential price drops, Jack Slingland, TickPick Director of Client Relations, said in a statement,

“It remains unclear if SZA will continue to perform despite her damaged vocal chords. If she were to miss the remaining dates, it would likely continue to drive prices down. It is similar to what happens with ticket prices to sporting events when the star player is injured and removed from the lineup.”

Featured image by Sean Stevenson/eOneMusic

Latest Industry: Metallica Never Forgets, Norway vs. TIDAL, Cisco vs. YouTube, Drake, Pier 17, More…

Daniel Sanchez — Mon, 14 May 2018 20:49:10 +0000

Kirk Hammett expresses his disappointment over the Napster fight.

Kirk Hammett, Metallica’s lead guitarist, has expressed his disappointment in other bands for failing to step up against Napster 18 years ago. Naming the incident one of the biggest regrets in his career, he told The Word of Wheeler podcast,

“If there’s anything thing I regret, I regret that no one else supported us during that Napster time. I don’t even know if you can call it a regret. Maybe it’s more of a disappointment. I was very disappointed that other musicians who saw our point, they supported us in ways that were less inconvenient to them.

“We stuck our necks out there. At the end of the day, I’d like to say what we were doing had some merit – some truth to it. From that point on, everyone who cares has seen the music industry go on this total downward spiral.”

Over 30,000 rightsholders file a complaint with Norwegian police against TIDAL.

Norwegian songwriters, composers, and music publishers have filed a complaint against Jay-Z’s streaming music service, TIDAL. Last week, Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) published a damning report about the service. In conjunction with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s Center for Cyber and Information Security, DN found that TIDAL had massively inflated Beyoncé and Kanye West’s numbers, leading to massive payouts for both artists.

Tono, a Norwegian performance rights organization representing 30,000 rightsholders, stated that the streaming manipulation claims against TIDAL were “strong” and “apparently credible” as they filed the complaint with police in the country. In a statement, the PRO said,

“We have to protect the interests of the rights holders for whom we work, but we also believe that a complaint is in the interest of Tidal which says the data has been stolen and manipulated.”

Cisco pulls ads from YouTube.

Cisco has just pulled all of its online ads from YouTube, based on fears that its brand would appear alongside objectionable content. Taking a veiled swipe at the video platform’s past controversies over sensitive content, Cisco’s Chief Marketing Officer, Karen Walker, wrote in a blog post that the company doesn’t want its ads to “accidentally end up in the wrong place, such as on a streaming video with sensitive content.” The company, however, will continue to upload videos on YouTube.

Scott Maclachlan joins Warner Music Australasia.

Warner Music Australasia has appointed Scott Maclachlan as Senior Vice President of A&R. As cofounder and director of Saiko Management, Maclachlan has developed artists like Lorde and Sol3 Mio. He will report to Niko Nordström, President of Warner Music Australasia and will divide his time between the company’s Auckland and Sydney offices.

Vincent Bolloré now owns over 24% of Vivendi.

Billionaire investor Vincent Bolloré now owns more than 14% of Vivendi — right before a possible announcement related to a UMG IPO. Our full coverage here.

R. Kelly’s reps defend the singer while he puts on a provocative show.

Representatives for R. Kelly have hit back against Spotify’s ‘ban’ of the troubled R&B singer’s music. In a statement, they said the singer has “never been accused of hate,” and Spotify is merely engaging in a “smear campaign.” Amidst the controversy, R. Kelly put on a very provocative show in North Carolina. He reportedly grabbed a fan’s cell phone and put it between his legs. Kelly also invited another fan on stage to wipe his face, tongue, and crotch with a towel. Separately, Apple Music and Pandora have also joined the #MuteRKelly campaign.

Drake announces a new tour with Migos.

Drake has announced the Aubrey and the Three Amigos Tour to support his upcoming album, Scorpion, releasing in June. Alongside Migos, Drake will embark on a 41-date tour across North America. Produced by Live Nation, the tour kicks off on July 26^th in Salt Lake City. The Aubrey and the Three Amigos Tour will end on November 17^th in Atlanta.

Israel wins the Eurovision contest.

Israel has won the Eurovision contest with Netta Barzilai’s song, ‘Toy.’ The annual competition, held in Lisbon, featured 43 countries competing for the top prize. Barzilai, a 25-year-old singer, had previously won Hakokhav Haba, Israel’s version of American Idol.

The Howard Hughes Corporation unveils its full artist lineup for the Pier 17 Rooftop Concert Series.

The Howard Hughes Corporation, in partnership with Live Nation Entertainment, has announced the full artist lineup for the inaugural Pier 17 Rooftop Concert Series in the Seaport District in New York City. The full lineup includes Amy Schumer, Kings of Leon, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Trevor Noah, deadmau5, Bebe Rexha, Hunter Hayes, and Paul Anka, among other performers.

Dido signs with BMG Music.

Ahead of her fifth studio release, Dido has signed with BMG Music. BMG will release the new album worldwide in early 2019. She previously had a longstanding record deal with Sony Music.

Featured image by whittlz (CC by 2.0)

I’m an Award-Winning Cellist and Composer. Want to See My Royalties?

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 20:49:44 +0000

So, how much does Zoe Keating make from streaming?

Every now and then, Digital Music News covers what real artists make from streaming platforms.

One artist last year, for example, made just €403.27, or $470.47, on Spotify from 122,364 total plays. Last June, after fans streamed another artist’s songs 4.3 million times on the platform, TuneCore only sent a check for $5,078. And, one more artist, after reading a separate piece on average per-stream payouts for 1 million plays, couldn’t get paid despite hitting 100,000 streams.

Canadian-born cellist and composer Zoe Keating has her catalog available on multiple streaming music platforms. The recipient of the 2009 Performing Arts Award, she recently reached out to Digital Music News to share her royalties. Today, we’ll rank the streaming platforms from the best to worst reported per-stream rates.

Using RouteNote as her distributor, Keating earned the most from Amazon Prime Music. At a per-stream rate of $0.0663649, Keating earned $1,265.38 from 19,067 streams on the platform.

Microsoft’s defunct Groove platform, labeled here Xbox Music, had the second highest per-stream rate at $0.0319997. Keating scored $502.94 from 15,717 plays. TIDAL, labeled here Wimp, paid $0.0162451 per stream. She received $354.42 from 21,817 streams.

Deezer, Spotify, and Prime Music ranked as the streaming music platforms with the lowest per-stream rates. Deezer paid out $0.0048416 per play. After just 20,460 streams on the French-based music streaming platform, she earned $99.06. Keating also made $0.0038015 per stream on Spotify. After 1,154,513 total streams, she received $4,388.93. Surprisingly enough, Amazon Music (most likely Music Unlimited) paid out much lower than Spotify and Prime Music. At $0.0037711 per stream, Keating netted just $167.31 from 44,366 plays.

Using CD Baby as her music distributor, Zoe Keating received significantly lower rates.

At $0.018873 and $0.0118831, Amazon Premium and Tidal had the highest per-stream rates, respectively. Napster’s service, labeled here Rhapsody, also had a notably higher payout rate. At $0.0090479 per stream, Keating scored $50.65 for just 5,598 plays. Apple Music had a decent per-play rate of $0.0078276. After 29 streams, she earned 23 cents. Interestingly, Zoe Keating had a higher per-stream pay on Apple Music through her record label. At $0.0098949, she earned $6,214 after 628,000 plays.

Along with YouTube, Spotify and Amazon Prime ranked as the services with the lowest per-stream rates once again. At $0.0039 per stream, she earned $5,654.58 after 1,449,887 plays on Spotify. Amazon Prime’s per-play rate plummeted to just $0.0034152. After 140,943 plays, she received just $479.81, much less than what she had earned through RouteNote. YouTube paid her $2.47 for 865 plays at an unsurprising $0.028497 per-stream rate. Relatively unknown internet radio service 8Tracks came in dead last with a per-stream rate of $0.0004045. Keating earned $0.82 from 2,027 plays on the service.

Despite falling digital download rates, iTunes and Bandcamp downloads, along with Amazon MP3, proved a great source of income for Keating.

Proving the company’s statement of skyrocketing income last year, Bandcamp paid significantly higher per download. Keating earned $5,849.76 from just 879 downloads. From 7,450 downloads on iTunes, she scored $14,600. For 258 MP3 downloads on Amazon, she received $656.96.

Under performing rights income, Keating earned $36,929 from ASCAP. She also netted $3,557 from Pandora via SoundExchange. For advertising share via YouTube CMS, Keating scored $1,504.

You can check out the full report here.

Featured image by It’s The Roop (YouTube screengrab)

Latest Industry: Live Nation, SoundCloud, Apple Music, Amazon Alexa, YouTube, Guitar Center

Daniel Sanchez — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 19:37:07 +0000

A neural network on what you love to listen to.

Music Audience Exchange (MAX) has unveiled its Artist Matching Engine. The platform’s data model uses neural networks to map music tastes onto the demographic, psychographic, geographic and behavioral attributes of music listeners. Ford is among the first brands to leverage the platform’s insights. The Artist Matching Engine is the result of a 3-year project from a team of engineers & data scientists.

Goodbye, third-party ad serving on YouTube. In Europe, at least.

YouTube will close access to third-party ad serving and pixel tracking globally. This comes a month before the European Union’s privacy regulation, dubbed General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into effect. A memo obtained by AdExchange reads,

“YouTube will no longer support third-party ad serving on reserved buys in Europe beginning May 21, and it will assess whether to extend that policy globally.”

Advertisers who don’t use DoubleClick Campaign Manager will have to “retraffic their ads” by May 21st to avoid “any downtime in delivery.”

Going to the movies.

Michelle Slavich, a high-ranking communications executive at Google, has joined Warner Bros. Pictures. She will serve as the Executive Vice President of Global Publicity and Strategy. Slavich oversaw entertainment PR and corporate communications at YouTube.

‘Strong-arming’ Iowa.

Live music advocates in Iowa have taken a stand against Live Nation. The company plans to open two music venues in Des Moines’ East Village. It partnered with Christensen Development, a local company, to propose a $12 million to $15 million renovation of the Argonne Armory. Live Nation and Christensen Development would create two theaters holding 2,000 and 800 people, respectively. In light of a recent government investigation into Live Nation’s ‘strong-arm business tactics,’ city music leaders and entrepreneurs have strongly opposed the plan. Dan Green, Director of the 515 Alive Music Festival, said,

“These guys will control everything. They’ll control the tours. They already control the ticketing. It creates a complete monopoly.”

Taylor who?

Cardi B has obliterated a streaming record previously held by Taylor Swift. The rapper’s newest album, Invasion of Privacy, has racked up over 100 million streams on Apple Music. It set a record for first-week streams by a female artist on the service, more than double the record previously held by Taylor Swift’s Reputation. Invasion of Privacy has now become the fifth most-streamed album on the platform, surpassing The Weeknd’s Starboy and Ed Sheeran’s Divide.

Even more exclusives on Apple Music.

Australian EDM producer Flume has announced two new music documentaries exclusively on Apple Music. According to 9to5Mac, the first documentary, Flume: When Everything Was New, will likely focus on his rise to fame. The second, Sleepless: The Story of Future Classic, may document Flume’s career and his involvement with indie label, Future Classic. Both documentaries will drop on April 20th.

“Alexa, hear all of my conversations, please.”

Amazon has patented a “voice sniffing” algorithm. The patent describes listening in to conversations and building a profile of consumers’ likes and dislikes. The company may use the patent on its Echo speakers. In a statement, Amazon immediately dismissed rumors of invading users’ privacy.

“We do not use customers’ voice recordings for targeted advertising. Like many companies, we file a number of forward-looking patent applications that explore the full possibilities of new technology.”

$100 million in revenue. $74.5 million in losses.

SoundCloud has filed its 2016 financials through Companies House in the UK. While the company’s revenues rose 88.9% to €50.3 million ($62 million), net losses also grew 45.7% to €74.5m ($91.9 million). Cost of sales, which include royalties, increased by 135.9% to €36.1 million ($44.5 million).

Fruit Punch Music – Basically Spotify for kids.

Fruit Punch, Inc. has announced the world’s first streaming music platform made just for children. Dubbed Fruit Punch Music, the app lets families access a huge library of ad-free parent-approved ‘appropriate’ music. Kids will have access to dozens of stations ranging from Pop to Country, Alternative Pop to Disney. They’ll hear songs from artists including Maroon 5, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and The Temptations. Parents can sign-up for a free 7-day trial. They can then pay $3.99 a month or $24.99 a year to continue using the app.

Blockchain music payments – merely overly inflated promises without a proven foundation.

Blockchain startup Soundpruf will offer a web and mobile software application built on blockchain technology. It will aggregate every user’s music listening portfolio and pay artists and listeners in cryptocurrency for streaming sessions via Spotify or another streaming music platform. Yet, how exactly the application will work as well as payout rates remain unknown.

Avoid threats to your music business.

INgrooves, a distribution and marketing company, has launched a new data-mining tool. It will help labels sift through and make sense of copious amounts of information flowing from digital services to music suppliers. The tool is aimed at making it easier for clients to spot marketing opportunities and potential business threats. All labels currently distributed by INgrooves can access the tool through their personal portals on the company’s website.

Not dying anytime soon, apparently. But, yeah, it probably will.

In a statement to The Sun, Apple has denied that the company will shut down iTunes. The company had reportedly sent a letter to music industry partners titled ‘The End of iTunes LPs.’ In it, Apple reportedly stated that it would phase out iTunes by March 31st, 2019.

Following in Gibson’s footsteps?

This is looking familiar: Guitar Center has announced the expiration and final results of its previously announced exchange offer and consent solicitation. The company had offered to exchange its existing 9.625% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2020 for 5% Cash/8% PIK notes due 2022. The Unsecured Notes have a $325 million aggregate principal amount outstanding. Meanwhile, sales forecasts for the once-solid retail giant are sinking — for reasons that sound similar those being experienced by Gibson Guitar.

Featured image by Mike Prosser (CC by 2.0)

Latest Industry: TuneIn, SoundCloud, Blockchain, CD Baby, Pandora, Apple Music

Daniel Sanchez — Thu, 29 Mar 2018 15:07:09 +0000

Truly gritting entertainment.

Artist manager Arthur Penhallow Jr., formerly of Punch Enterprises and C3 Management, has founded True Grit Management. Based in Austin, Texas, Penhallow has also acquired booking agency CTK Entertainment, now rebranded True Grit Talent Agency. Penhallow Jr. has previously worked with Kid Rock and Bob Seger.

[True Grit Management]

Slam your way into the industry.

Founded by a group of producers and DJs, Slam Academy has announced its Music Industry Program. Scott LeGere, former head of McNally Smith’s former Music Business Department, will teach the program. It will introduce students to marketing and promotion, covering concepts from copyright to emerging revenue sources.

[Slam Academy]

Tokens with a POP.

POP Network, a blockchain-based peer-to-peer video sharing platform, has announced its Partnership Program. With the Partnership Program, it hopes to encourage content creators to join the POP Network as early participants. It will feature selected content on the platform in its launch this summer. Creators can earn compensation and tokens organically through sharing content on the platform.

[POP Network]

Alexa, give me my TuneIn.

TuneIn has announced TuneIn Live, a new live audio subscription experience for Alexa. With TuneIn Live, Alexa customers in the US can use voice commands to subscribe and listen to premium content from TuneIn. They can access live MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL games, premium news, talk shows, and more.

[PR News Wire]

This Baby can now pre-save.

CD Baby’s Show.co has announced its new Spotify Pre-Save Campaigns feature. Free to all CD Baby artists, it automatically rolls over newly released albums to save upon its release. According to the press release, it’s similar to the beloved iTunes pre-sale links, but for a new streaming reality.

[Rock Paper Scissors]

Pandora: Now more like Spotify.

Chris Phillips, Pandora’s Chief Product Officer, has announced Personalized Soundtracks. Similar to Spotify’s custom playlists, Pandora’s personalized soundtracks will use its Music Genome technology to create playlists based on what you listen to. It remains in the testing phase. Once launched, you’ll find this feature in the app inside the ‘Browse’ tab of the ‘Featured Playlists’ section.

[Pandora]

Welcome back, ‘Music Exclusives.’ Thanks for bringing video into the mix.

Apple Music has announced that it will officially introduce an extensive catalog of exclusive music videos to its platform. In addition, it will regularly debut new, exclusive music videos.

[Music Business Worldwide]

Schedule your releases.

SoundCloud has announced Scheduled Releases. Offering artists more control and convenience, this feature enables them to set a specific time and date for release. It’s available only for SoundCloud Pro Unlimited creators.

[SoundCloud]

Feel the future in North Carolina.

Moogfest, an annual four-day futuristic music, art, and tech conference, has announced its second wave of artists and keynotes. Kelala, KRS-One, Mouse On Mars, Jon Hopkins, Little Boots, Shabazz Palaces, and Waajed are scheduled for the festival. Moogfest will take place in Durham, North Carolina this May 17th-20th.

[Billboard]

Enjoying Indie Week.

A2IM has announced its keynote speakers for A2IM Indie Week. Tamara Hrivnak, Facebook’s Head of Music Business Development and Partnerships, and Kevin Liles, CEO of 300 Entertainment, will speak at the event. This year’s Indie Week will take place June 18th – 21st.

[A2IM]

Featured image by Soundcloud

99% of All Music Streaming Comes from Just 10% of Available Songs

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 18:39:14 +0000

Researchers at BuzzAngle Music can probably guess what you’ll stream on Spotify and Apple Music.

So, how popular were streaming music platforms last year?

In the US, audio streaming consumption exploded 50.6% over 2016. Subscription streams also made up 80% of all audio streams, up from 76% in 2016.

In total, researchers at BuzzAngle Music found that people consumed 377 billion streams. Meanwhile, digital album and song sales, as well as physical albums continued their slow decline into obscurity. Vinyl sales, however, grew 20.1% and comprised 10.4% of all physical album sales.

But, did you know that 99% of those 377 billion streams were from the top 10% of 2017’s most-streamed tracks?

Less than 1% of streams accounted for all other music. According to BuzzAngle Music, people readily prefer to stream the most popular releases each year over most other songs. Rather than solve this discrepancy, music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music have only helped to fuel it.

All of which raises the question: with more people only streaming songs from popular musicians, how exactly will indie music survive?

Can music platforms geared towards indie artists solve this glaring disparity?

In stark contrast to BuzzAngle’s report, Bandcamp reported that digital album sales grew 16% over 2016. Track sales increased 33% and merch 36%. Led by vinyl at 54%, physical sales also exploded. CD sales grew 18% and cassettes 41%.

Revenue from 3,500 indie labels on Bandcamp also skyrocketed 73% over 2016. Last year, all-time payments to artists through the online music distribution platform reached $270 million.

Bandcamp also noted the problems of streaming platforms exerting control over what music fans listen to.

“Allowing the distribution of an entire art form to be controlled by so few has troubling implications… The streaming giants exert tremendous influence over what music gets heard, and must primarily serve their most important supplier, the major labels. The result is that independent labels, and especially independent artists, are far less likely to be discovered on those platforms.”

As a music fan, what can you do?

On an article posted on Pitchfork, musician and writer Damon Krukowski has an idea. Individual tracks on popular playlists on these services lack information, especially for some indie musicians. So, why not fill in the gaps and tell others who performed, wrote, and published the track?

Krukowski recommends using Discogs and Bandcamp, as well as visiting music publications and blogs. Citing Bill Gates’ famous 1996 phrase that “Content is King,” Kurkowski added another oft-forgotten Gates phrase.

“For the internet to thrive, content providers must be paid for their work.”

Featured image by Paul Hudson (CC by 2.0)

Jimmy Iovine May Not Be Leaving Apple, After All

Daniel Sanchez — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 19:46:01 +0000

Jimmy Iovine is about to mint hundreds of millions of dollars. But does that mean he’s leaving Apple?

According to reports from multiple media outlets, Apple Music chief Jimmy Iovine will reportedly leave the company in August.

Hits Daily Double first reported on the executive’s upcoming departure last week. Sources speaking with Billboard added that his August departure was “likely timed to his shares fully vesting.”

Iovine had previously admitted that he didn’t know what he would do after Apple Music. Speaking on a Goldman Sachs report predicting massive streaming music revenues in 2020, he said,

“I’m 64 years old. I have no idea [what I’m doing next]. There’s just a problem here that needs some sort of solution, and I want to contribute to it. Goldman Sachs may think it’s solved, but I don’t. We’re not even close.”

It remained unclear who would replace Iovine at the company.

According to multiple sources, however, Jimmy Iovine may not step down after all.

Variety has reported that the Apple Music executive has yet to make a decision.

Iovine had led Beats by Dre alongside longtime business partner Andre Young (aka, Dr. Dre). Both had founded the headphone manufacturer in 2008. Apple purchased the company in 2014 for north of $3 billion.

Under the deal, the Cupertino-based company would pay $2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in stock. According to Variety, with a 19% average rise over three years, the stock’s value will be worth $700 million in August. That’s a handsome payout, though it doesn’t necessarily mean that Iovine (or Dre) will jump ship.

Following Apple’s acquisition, Iovine played an active role in the consumer electronics company. Iovine is credited with the successful launch of Apple Music, with the streaming music platform now boasting over 30 million users. Championing the paid-only subscription approach, his philosophy clashed with competitor Spotify’s ‘freemium funnel’ streaming music model.

The upside is that Apple’s paid-only approach allows higher payouts to artists and improved streaming monetization. And that’s backed by the data. In a report last year, the RIAA noted that music creators receive over $12 for 1,000 streams on Apple Music. On Spotify, they receive around $7.50.

Neither Iovine nor Apple Music have yet to comment on the reports.

Featured image by iamOTHER (YouTube screengrab)

Apple Music Faces a Class Action Lawsuit Over Unpaid Royalties

Daniel Sanchez — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 19:00:06 +0000

An indie musician claims that Apple Music has streamed his music and failed to pay mechanical royalties.

Yesterday, independent musician Bryan Eich filed a class action lawsuit against Apple Music. Eich claims that the company failed to obtain compulsory mechanical publishing licenses for his work. He owns the publishing rights to two albums, Devil in Disguise and Sleeping By A Wire, spanning 18 tracks.

In documents obtained by Digital Music News, Eich wrote that Apple Music (formerly Beats Music) failed to serve him a Notice of Intent to Obtain Compulsory License (NOI). That’s a pre-requisite for securing a mechanical license, though it’s a step that most streaming providers failed to take (including Spotify).

The Cupertino-based company then allegedly engaged in a “systematic process of infringement.” Eich brought the lawsuit on behalf of himself and “a putative class of independent artists.”

So, yet another mechanical lawsuit?

Eich has accused the streaming music platform of readily stealing royalties from multiple musicians from December 17^th, 2014 to the present.

First, Eich claims that Apple Music distributed tracks and albums without first serving the proper NOIs. In the class action lawsuit, he stated that aggregators like TuneCore and CD Baby submitted most of their catalog of tracks and albums for Apple’s approval process. This includes the works of multiple indie musicians like himself.

He wrote,

“Plaintiff is informed and believes… that there are thousands of class members… those class members can be readily obtained from defendant’s database files and records.”

He claims that the “Putative Class can be readily located and notified of this action.”

Speaking about himself, he wasn’t made aware that Apple Music (known as Beats Music then) ultimately ingested his music for streaming. CD Baby had submitted Eich’s catalog in 2014. Apple then made his catalog available for streaming without his knowledge — though it’s not clear what Eich was really thought was going on (after all, distributors like CD Baby are contracted to put music into platforms like Apple Music).

Without providing specifics, Eich accused the Cupertino-based company of “engaging in an illegal scheme to reduce its royalty obligations” to himself and the Putative Class.

Second, the company is accused of deliberately deleting streaming information to avoid paying out royalties. Naming himself and the “Punitive Class,” Eich claims that Apple Music listed the streaming royalties as “$0.000000.”

He wrote,

“This obviously means Defendant has failed to include and/or change the revenue owed for streams.”

Under the first claim for relief, Eich accused Apple of willingly infringing on content owned by multiple musicians.

“Defendant has, without a ‘mechanical’ license from Plaintiff or Putative Class, reproduced and distributed… copyright compositions.”

“Defendant’s predatory conduct was clearly intentional… Defendants knew its actions constituted infringement each time it failed to serve an NOI or make a royalty payment.”

Without providing evidence to support the accusation, Eich added that Apple Music “altered documents to cover its illegal activity.”

Under the second claim for relief, Eich stated that Apple Music deliberately failed to pay any royalties.

“As described herein, Defendant systematically shorted the publishing royalties owed to Plaintiff and Putative Class.”

According to Eich, Apple Music altered the streaming reports “years after… to hide the infringement.”

To conceal the infringement, Apple Music allegedly failed to serve Eich a “Monthly Statement of Account” and an “Annual Statement of Account.” He added that the “laundry list of frauds, and misdeeds, perpetrated…shocks the conscious.”

Eich stated that he notified Apple Music twice about the failure to issue NOIs on August 11^th, 2017. However, the company continued streaming his catalog. The company’s legal department also failed to respond to Eich’s claims.

Eich has asked the court for up to $150,000, but not less than $30,000, for each “willful infringement.”

You can read the entire lawsuit below. Note that Eich only submitted the certificate of registration for his albums. The lawsuit doesn’t contain any actual evidence of Apple Music or Beats Music streaming his album. In addition, you also won’t find Bryan Eich’s albums on the popular streaming music platform.

Featured image by North Charleston (CC by 2.0)

If Apple Music Had a Free Tier, Would it Really Have 400 Million Users?

Daniel Sanchez — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 18:27:27 +0000

Would Apple Music be the biggest streaming platform if it offered a free tier?

In an interview with Billboard, the head of Apple Music shared some interesting news.

In just two years, Jimmy Iovine confirmed that Apple’s music streaming platform now has “well over” 30 million subscribers. Yet, would the number have been higher had the platform offered a free, ad-supported service like Spotify?

Much, much higher?

How did Spotify become #1? Two words: free tier.

Spotify has 60 million subscribers, making it the most popular music streaming platform. It reached that number after nine years.

Apple Music accomplished half of Spotify’s numbers in just two years.

According to Mac Rumors, though, the Swedish platform is growing faster than Apple Music thanks to their ad-supported service.

Spotify bombards users on its free tier service with ads to upgrade. Apple Music doesn’t do the same — at least outside of a limited free trial.

Writer Mitchel Broussard explained,

“Spotify has continued to grow faster than Apple Music thanks to the former streaming service’s free tier that allows users to listen to music interspersed with advertisements, which Apple Music does not have.”

Iovine may also share Broussard’s sentiments. According to him, back in May, Apple’s music platform would have had 400 million users. He also admitted that a free, ad-supported service would havve also made his job much easier.

“And I’ve put my money where my mouth is: Beats Music didn’t have a free tier. Apple Music doesn’t have a free tier.”

So, why doesn’t Apple offer a free tier like Spotify? Iovine explained that quite simply, premium subscriptions get musicians paid. Free services don’t.

The numbers back up his claim.

Subscriptions are where the money’s at.

In the on-demand video market, Netflix reigns supreme. Last April, the service crossed 100 million paid subscribers. Like Apple Music, Netflix doesn’t offer a free, ad-supported service.

In April, Ooma published a report showing that paid music streaming platforms generate six times more revenue than ad-supported streaming.

In 2016, paid subscription streaming brought in $2.479 billion in revenue. This represents a huge jump from 2015’s $1.159 billion.

In fact, last year, streaming helped generate $7.7 billion in net revenue for the music industry. In addition, it accounted for 51.4% of US music revenue in 2016.

Paid subscriptions get artists paid.

Napster doesn’t offer a free, ad-supported tier. At $0.0167 per play, the platform ranked as the streaming platform with the highest artist payouts. The company has 5 million paid subscribers.

Like Napster, Tidal also offers higher artist payouts at $0.011 per play. At $0.0064 per play, Apple Music ranked third.

The team at Information is Beautiful found that platforms with free, ad-supported tiers paid artists the least.

Spotify and YouTube ranked as the most popular music streaming platforms. Spotify pays unsigned artists $0.0038 per play and YouTube pays $0.0006, according to the data set (which includes DMN figures).

Ooma published similar findings. They noted that revenue from ad-supported services only brought in $469 million.

So, what can Apple Music do to overtake Spotify?

According to Iovine, a paid subscription allows Apple Music to develop a “special” platform for music lovers. Speaking about the platform’s long-term plans, Iovine said,

“I believe we’re in the right place, we have the right people and the right attitude to not settle for what exists right now.”

While the numbers support Iovine’s pro-musicians argument, the truth is that the service still falls behind Spotify. Spotify has over 140 million users worldwide. Apple Music only has 30 million.

Because of convenience, this writer has also recently signed up for a Spotify Premium subscription. Apple Music may have a more reputable name. Yet, as a frequent traveler, Spotify’s service is simply easier to use and less restrictive than Apple’s music platform.

To gain more users, Apple has launched original series on its music platform. Yet, with their videos constantly receiving dismal reviews, should Apple get used to being number two?

1 in 5 iOS Users Listens to Apple Music

Daniel Sanchez — Fri, 08 Sep 2017 16:47:32 +0000

Millions of people use Apple Music on iOS devices. Now, Apple is planning to dramatically increase that number — and squeeze Spotify in the process.

Apple may convince you to spend up to $1,200 on an iPhone 8. They also may rope you into an Apple Music account, one that will cost hundreds of dollars over the next few years. It’s all part of a package that’s seriously starting to gel.

In a new study published by Music Watch, Apple Music is the most popular paid subscription service among iOS users. However, Spotify Premium ranks as the platform with the most listening hours.

Before analyzing the report, it’s important to note that Music Watch didn’t provide the total number of iOS devices sold. Apple reported last year that they’ve sold one billion iPhones worldwide. They’ve also sold 308 million iPads and 100 million iPods.

Unsurprisingly, more users prefer the platform’s native music streaming service.

During the first half of 2017, one in five iOS users listened to Apple Music. At 21%, this number jumped 8% over the same period last year.

Spotify remains popular on iOS devices, though the platform is losing steam. During the first half of 2016, 10% of users on the platform used Spotify Premium. MusicWatch noted that while both services saw significant listener gains, Spotify only grew 3% in 2017.

More people engage through Spotify Premium (at least for now).

While one in five iOS users listen to Apple Music, others actually stream more music through Spotify Premium. Music Watch found that Spotify had the highest share of listening hours among iOS users.

Spotify Premium had a 32% share of music listening hours. Apple Music came in second with 23% and Amazon Prime Music/Unlimited finished third with 13%. Pandora Plus or Premium came in last place with 11%.

All other paid streaming platforms combined accounted for 21%. This includes Tidal, YouTube Red, Napster, Slacker, and Soundcloud Go.

So, Spotify users on the iOS platform spent 40% more time listening to music than Apple Music subscribers. But why? MusicWatch hinted at one possibility. Simply stated, Spotify Premium may be offering better engagement features that iOS users like. Yes, they’re doing a better job than Apple on its own platform.

That’s a tough pill for Apple to swallow. But with a possible Apple Music/iCloud bundle on the horizon, the company may have the opportunity to better engage with newer listeners. That is, if they can convince them to spend $1,000 on a new iPhone.

You can more information on Music Watch’s study here.

Image by Philip Brookes (CC by 2.0)

Why I Quit Working at Apple Music

Paul Resnikoff — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 20:40:46 +0000

photo: Guenther Dillingen

Apple Music is growing faster than Spotify. In fact, it might be bigger in 1-2 years. But maybe it’s not all peachy on the inside?

If you get a job offer from Apple, you might want to take it. This is a company with a storied history, billions in the bank, and lots of benefits. Indeed, it’s one of Silicon Valley’s top places to work, alongside other heavyweights like Facebook and Google.

So why are some high-profile executives jumping ship?

People move around, especially superstars. But the departure of high-profile executive Bozomo Saint John earlier this month raised a few eyebrows. The charismatic Saint John wowed WWDC crowds last year, and took the edge off the ‘dad jeans’ profile of Apple’s brass. Sounded like a needed jolt, except that Saint John just hailed a ride to Uber.

Uber over Apple? You see where I’m going here.

Now, there’s an unexpected departure at Apple Music. Just this morning, we’ve learned that Apple Music artist relations executive David Allen is jumping ship. The former Gang of Four bassist structured relationships and deals for the Apple expansion, and is a longtime artist advocate. Throughout, Allen aimed to improve artist earnings and transparency.

Maybe that was part of the problem. Now, Allen is going back to his former employer, North, Inc. The creative agency is apparently working on a new music project, and tapped Allen to helm the initiative.

“I want brands to license music directly from artists that are as authentic as their brand.”

All of which potentially offers a shot to start something from scratch. And finally fix a legacy of artist compensation problems. “I’ve spent more than two decades working in both the music and tech industry, and I want to use what I’ve learned to level the playing field for musicians by creating revenue streams that go directly to the artist,” Allen said. “I want brands to license music directly from artists that are as authentic as their brand.”

Of course, Apple Music is mostly about licensing via intermediaries. And those intermediaries, in turn, tend to keep the lion’s share of the profits. Indeed, the ‘big three’ major labels are notorious for squirreling artist royalties, and even hampering the financial growth of streaming platforms.

+ Today In Music Industry Jobs: Spotify Boots Sean Parker

It’s a corporate picture that frequently leaves creators out, and may have informed Allen’s decision. “It made perfect sense to collaborate with Dave on our vision of bringing bands and brands together in a new context,” said North Creative CCO Mark Ray. “Our ambition is to develop, with integrity and soul, new revenue models between artists and brands.”

“Dave, like North, has music in his DNA.”

In Just Two Years, Apple Music Has Reached 27 Million Paid Subscriptions

Daniel Sanchez — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 15:32:23 +0000

In just two years, Apple Music has hit 27 million paying subscribers. It took Spotify more than 7 years to reach the same mark.

Last December, Apple proudly announced that their music streaming service, Apple Music, surpassed 20 million subscribers. Now, half a year later, the service has 27 million paid subscribers.

The paid subscription numbers came as part of this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Held at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, the Cupertino-based company also announced several new features for their streaming service.

Users who upgrade to iOS 11 can create profiles and share music with their contacts. In addition, Apple has added a “friends are listening to” section. This allows users to check what people they follow have listened to (as well as liked).

There’s also an “Up Next” list. This feature will let users’ friends select the songs Apple Music plays next. Spotify has already offered subscribers similar features.

Apple will also allow developers to build apps with the music streaming service. Nike and Shazam are among the companies who have already taken advantage of this new feature.

Apple Music’s 27 million still lags far behind Spotify. Three months ago, the Swedish streamer hit 50 million paid subscriptions. However, this came nearly nine years after the service first launched in late 2008. Apple Music has achieved 27 million paid subscriptions in just two years.

The news comes as multiple sources have confirmed a high-profile exit.

Top Apple Music executive Bozoma Saint John has resigned from the company. Saint John was well-liked among her colleagues. Insiders told Billboard that her exit may harm the company’s professional image. A charismatic figure, Saint John was among the few high-ranking black female executives in the company. Well-regarded for her presentation sills, she walked on-stage to demo Apple Music’s new user interface at last year’s WWDC.

Saint John and the Cupertino-based company have yet to issue a statement regarding her departure. Saint John previously worked at Pepsi for three years as the head of music and entertainment.

Image by Mark Deerkoski (CC by 2.0)

Failure, or Opportunity? Just 3% of Apple Users Are Subscribed to Apple Music

Daniel Sanchez — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 20:56:43 +0000

Matteo Artizzu (CC by 2.0)

Is that a failure, or an opportunity? Maybe Apple Music is barely getting started.

In a note to investors, RBC Capital Markets’ Amit Daryanani wrote that Apple would have to grow revenues from its services division by 18% over the next four years. While the numbers may sound high, Apple’s services division has grown 21% annually over the last five years. Daryanani’s prediction comes from Apple Service revenue over the past several years.

Image by RBC Capital Markets

However, Apple Music and iTunes have maintained a low gross margin at 15%.

Image by RBC Capital Markets

According to Daryanani, App Stores, iTunes, Apple Music, AppleCare, and the Apple Update Program have largely contributed to the division. The Cupertino-based company has earned strong revenue in the services division thanks to strong consumer loyalty and “synergetic benefits.”

Image by RBC Capital Markets

Daryanani’s growth numbers may face a significant impact from the “super cycle” between iPhone 7 and 8. Last June, Credit Suisse correctly calculated a “muted” and “modest” upgrade cycle for the iPhone 7. Instead, Credit Suissie and analyst Kulbinder Garcha foresaw strong numbers for the 2017 iPhone. They believe the iPhone 8 will successfully court new users and accelerate upgrades among existing iPhone users.

The rumored “cord-cutting” iTV launch also contributed to Daryanani’s estimates.

The App Store will keep bringing in strong services revenue for the division, per Daryanani’s estimates. It may bring in 85% of gross margin estimates. Apple Pay has proven a success among consumers, as the service may hit at 80%. Yet, digital downloads numbers keep falling, as the service may only bring in 25%.

However, since Apple released its music streaming service, Apple Music, it has only reached a 3% install base. 97% of core Apple users have yet to purchase a paid subscription since its launch two years ago.

Image by RBC Capital Markets

Instead of considering Apple Music’s streaming service as a failure, Daryanani called Apple’s service “a very underpenetrated opportunity.” He also highlighted the dismal numbers as a “very attractive opportunity for user growth.”

RBC Capital Markets increased its Apple stock price target to $155 thanks to successful Apple service performance. The “super cycle” will also lead the Cupertino-based company to year-over-year revenue growth.

What could harm Apple’s estimates in the long run? Daryanani listed “execution stumbles,” “greater-than-expected iPod cannibalization,” and “channel conflicts or execution” as theoretical factors.

Daryanani’s estimates led to surging stock prices last week. However, Daryanani failed to lay out a game plan on how the company will increase overall subscriptions. Apple Music has yet to capitalize on appealing to its established user base to increase their paid subscription numbers.

Meanwhile, Spotify has recently surpassed 50 million paid subscribers, jumping 20 million in just one year. Yet, Apple Music only launched two years ago and sports 20 million paid subscribers. Spotify reached the 50 paid subscribers mark after 10 years.

Numbers aside, the bigger question in investors’ minds is: wow will Apple Music continue establishing a strong presence and get high paid subscription numbers? Should it worry about first place, or should the service conform to a strong second, behind Spotify?

Apple Music Refuses to Stop Industry-Killing Exclusives

Paul Resnikoff — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 04:56:52 +0000

Image by Thomas Galvez (CC by 2.0)

What happens when you throw $500,000 in a musician’s face? Well, they usually take it. But that doesn’t make it healthy for the music industry or music fans.

And so we had another giant bombshell over the weekend. Chance the Rapper received $500,000 from Apple for making Coloring Book an iTunes and Apple Music exclusive. We know that because the rapper told us that.

Here’s what he revealed:

“I never felt the need to correct folks on my relationship with [Apple] but now that more people have tried to discredit my independence,” Chance the Rapper tweeted. “I wanna clear things up.

“[Apple] gave me half a mil and a commercial to post Coloring Book exclusively on Apple Music for 2 weeks.”

“That was the extent of my deal, after 2 weeks it was on SoundCloud for free. I needed the money and they’re all good people over there.

“I feel like if I didn’t clear it up people would keep trying to discredit all the work we did to make Coloring Book what it became.”

Apple hasn’t responded. But you can believe what you want. We’re gonna go with Chance the Rapper.

And $500,000? Tidal couldn’t afford that. Spotify is strapped to the hilt. And Apple has billions in a savings account. Guess who wins that one?

If you’re Chance the Rapper, you’re also a big winner, for obvious reasons. And nobody can fault an independent rapper for taking the cash (especially when he then gives one million dollars to help a failing Chicago public school system).

But there are two giant groups that aren’t winning here: music fans, and the music industry. In fact, both are getting the serious shaft.

Music fans, because the music they want isn’t available where they want it. So, after subscribing to a competitor like Spotify, they are effectively punished for supporting the music industry.

And the music industry, because pissed-off fans feel slighted by the system and start going back to piracy. That could be the Pirate Bay, or maybe an increasingly-vilified YouTube downloader. Either way, the money bleeds out of a growing streaming music infrastructure, and into a piracy channel that is absolutely, positively guaranteed not to pay royalties to anyone.

Apple, you’re being a douche. Exclusives make you look short-sighted and selfish. The music industry hates them. Music fans hate them. In fact, everyone except Apple Music subscribers and the artist you’re paying hates them.

People aren’t going to quit Spotify to get a Chance the Rapper album. They’d rather steal it. Instead, use the $500,000 (or $5 million) to invest in a competitive feature, a budding artist career, or a sound fidelity enhancement.

Let users decide which services wins based on features, not industry-killing exclusives. And watch the streaming music space grow even faster than it is right now.

There’s room for more than one winner.

Tidal Flounders While Apple Music Reaches a New Subscriber Milestone

Daniel Sanchez — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 16:03:22 +0000

Image by Apple

Apple Music reaches 20 million subscribers. Tidal keeps floundering. Should Spotify consider their “no-exclusives” policy?

Apple released their latest numbers for Apple Music, and the news is good. In just 18 months since launch, Apple Music has crossed 20 million paid subscribers. In September, the Cupertino company reported 17 million. This marks an impressive 15 percent jump in just three months.

In addition, Billboard reports that 60% of subscribers have not purchased iTunes Music Store content. Over 50% of users live outside of the United States. This includes Canada, China, South Africa, Japan, Russia, Brazil, and India.

SVP of Internet Software and Products told Billboard,

“It’s been quite a year. We were thrilled to see that we could take [artists’] passions and drive them all the way to No. 1. Chance the Rapper, who we put on Apple Music exclusively, hit the top 10 on the Billboard charts [based on streams alone], and I can’t recall that being done before.”

The music streaming service’s gamble on exclusive contracts seems to have worked. Cue said,

“They work really well for everybody concerned — they’re great for the label, they work for the artist and for us.”

So, does an “across-the-board” promotion policy work?

“It’s really about launching things. Sometimes it makes sense to do that.”

Apple Music is now just under half of Spotify’s total paid subscribers. In September, Spotify announced that their service counts with 40 million paid subscribers. However, the Swedish music streaming service first launched in 2008. Apple picked up 20 million paid subscribers in just 18 months. This is also bad news for Jay Z and Tidal. The company reported back in May barely 3 million subscribers. Tidal has followed a similar “exclusive-only” deal with Kanye West and Beyoncé. The strategy, in addition to offering high-fidelity music, appears to have failed. Tidal has yet to announce current paid subscriber numbers.

Fun Fact: Amazon Delivers More Streams Than Apple

Daniel Sanchez — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 14:29:15 +0000

Stream image by Tim Bustin, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC by 2.0)

The music streaming wars may soon ramp up with the entry of a well-funded Amazon music streaming service. Last week, a German coder found that there were hints about the service in their Music mobile app for the Fire TV. The service will be named Amazon Music Unlimited. But will users respond? How much weight will the online shopping giant put behind their music service?

We’ve seen hints about offering Amazon Prime users a discounted monthly price. They’ll also receive unlimited song uploads to their Cloud. It seems Amazon is ready for a fight.

…more streams than Apple.

In an interview with Larry Blanc, Martin Goldschmidt said that Amazon actually has more streams than Apple. Goldschmidt is the CEO of Cooking Vinyl Group, a global music powerhouse. The subject came up when Blanc spoke first about how sustainable the freemium model could actually be. According to Blanc, Spotify is currently out of contract with all three major music companies.

Goldschmidt responded to Blanc’s statement by saying that Spotify has had a good year so far. There’s also a potential IPO in the works due to come out soon. The big two in the streaming music service space are Apple and Spotify.

According to Schmidt, Apple has been building strongly. Yet, despite not having an official music streaming service, Amazon is making a big play. The reason they could make a strong impact in the music service is because of their well-established user base. Schmidt said,

“In the U.S. market, even though they haven’t launched a proper streaming service yet, Amazon actually has more streams than Apple. When they launch their new service they have this incredible customer base that they can market to in the same way that Apple does. That could be a very big play. And a lot of those customers don’t pay for music. You are talking about 80% or 90% of Amazon customers don’t pay, and they are going to try to monetize that.”

There’s still no official confirmation from the company about their music streaming service. However, if and when Amazon Music Unlimited is released, the company looks to stand on sure footing.

No, Kanye West, Apple Music Won’t Buy Out Tidal

Daniel Sanchez — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 17:56:12 +0000

Sinking Ship 001 image by Tony Evans, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC by 2.0)

Could this be the end for Tidal?

No, Kanye West, No. Tidal’s not going to be bought out by Apple, despite your protests.

The head of Apple Music, Jimmy Iovine, spoke to Buzzfeed today and said that Apple Music isn’t interested in purchasing Jay Z’s streaming music service.

“We’re really running our own race. We’re not looking to acquire any streaming services.”

One thing to note in Buzzfeed’s article is that Iovine never denied the reports of Apple Music execs meeting with Tidal. Earlier this summer, there were rumors that Apple Music was in talks to purchase Tidal. Sources close to the talks told the Wall Street Journal that Apple was interested in bringing Tidal to boost up its own Apple Music service.

Why? Because of Tidal’s strong ties to popular artists like Madonna and Kanye West. Or something like that.

Both companies face intense competition from Spotify, which currently sports more than 40 million paid subscribers. Apple Music is just under half of Spotify’s numbers with around 17 million paid subscribers. Tidal has around 4.2 million. While Apple Music is still under Spotify’s numbers, in the past 3 months, they’ve picked up an impressive tally of 2 million new subscribers.

While Apple Music has been growing in the music streaming field, Tidal has been sinking rather quickly. Since Jay Z acquired the company, it’s gone through two CEOs. We reported here at Digital Music News on Tuesday that Tidal owner Aspiro AB posted a net loss of 239 million Swedish kronor, or around $28 million, in 2015. This loss represents a nearly threefold increase over their losses back in 2014, while their revenues increased 30% to 402 million Swedish kronor, or $47.2 million.

So what’s crippling Jay Z’s upstart? Royal obligations to Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group lead the list. The big three labels drained Tidal of nearly three-quarters of all its revenue, according to the filings.

Despite the bad news, one good thing that we saw was that roughly around half of Tidal’s paid subscribers were more than willing to spend $20 a month for its high-fidelity service. Here’s hoping Tidal can turn things around and fast. Small animals are usually the first to leave from a sinking ship.

Vevo Looks To Secure Up To $500 Million For “Aggressive” International Expansion

Daniel Sanchez — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 19:54:02 +0000

Right after announcing their deal with Warner Music Group (first hinted at here at Digital Music News), The Financial Times is reporting that Vevo has hired top banking firm Goldman Sachs to lock down between $300 to $500 million in capital from investors. This move comes at a time when Universal Music Group and Sony Music Group, majority owners of Vevo, are reportedly trying to convert the video hosting service into a paid subscription service.

If the company is able to successfully raise the money, Vevo will use this money on aggressive international expansion, including “potential acquisitions” and brand new mobile and television services. Just last month, Vevo rehauled their website and apps, and announced that it would start working on original programming. This isn’t very strange, as last year, Vevo hired Erik Huggers, who had previously worked led a team on the creation of the BBC iPlayer.

The news of Vevo’s fundraising efforts also comes at a time when the digital streaming market is heating up. Both Spotify and Apple are looking to branch out of streaming just music and turning their eyes into streaming videos as well in order to both solidify and grow their current customer base, with Spotify recently launching an original cartoon series. Writing about Spotify’s original programming plans, Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw wrote, “Spotify is counting on video to bring in new customers and convince current ones to spend more time on the service.” Apple Music appears to be following suit, with the company having recently bought out the rights to stream the popular Carpool Karaoke series.

Speaking on Vevo’s expansion plans, Billboard’s Andrew Flanagan wrote,

“If Vevo is unable to grab a significant number of eyeballs around the world, in a reasonable amount of time, its reason for existence will be difficult to justify.”

Vevo Tv image by Sean David, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC by 2.0)

Frank Ocean Drops New Visual Album “Endless” That’s Apparently Not “Boys Don’t Cry”

Daniel Sanchez — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 16:38:15 +0000

Fulfilling its promise of bringing even more exclusives to its music streaming service, Apple Music has exclusively released Frank Ocean’s new visual album Endless. This is Frank Ocean’s second album released to date, with Endless being his first visual album. Fans had been teased on the BoysDontCry.co website with different carpentry shots and a man presumed to be Ocean on the website for the past 2 weeks.

Shot in black-and-white, Endless will have you going on a 45-minute visual journey through 18 videos of multiple Frank Oceans transposed onto the video working in a warehouse. You’ll see him building a project in his warehouse (we won’t spoil it here) all the while changing attire, putting on gloves and a mask with the occasional fade to black. You’ll also see him operating a table saw while another Ocean appears to be welding. You won’t find a normal LP here in these 18 video tracks with music only complementing the visuals in Endless here. What you will find are different music styles and rhythms mixed in, from mellow R&B to a few reggae jingles mixed in as well as a few Daft Punk-like tunes. There’s even a new cover of the Isley Brothers’ “At Your Best (You Are Love),” famously covered by Aaliyah.

If the above description sounds vague, it’s because that’s what you’ll find in Ocean’s Endless. Directed by Ocean alongside Francisco Soriano, Ocean’s new album (not Boys Don’t Cry) can be described as more of a visual art statement, and not one that’s telling you a story, unlike Beyonce’s visual album, Lemonade, which had the singer tell a deep story through one long video and different songs. Being a visual album that’s seemingly all over the place, Endless is meant to be both listened and watched in just one setting, instead of finding that favorite song, and repeating it over and over. The video ends with the title of the album with different font.

It’s not clear yet if this is the expected Boys Don’t Cry album that fans have been waiting 2 years ago, although Rolling Stones is reporting that the original title has been scrapped, and that Ocean will be releasing the new album “this weekend.

Does High-Fidelity Music In Streaming Really Matter? Probably Not, Says a CNBC Test

Daniel Sanchez — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 14:41:43 +0000

Music companies, music streaming companies, and manufacturers are pushing more and more for listeners to enjoy a truly beautiful sound experience without all that loss. The examples are everywhere: Tidal initially launching a $19.99 service for hi-fi audio fidelity, Deezer offering hi-fi as well, and an iPhone 7 without a headphone jack supposedly due to physical analog headphone jacks not being able to deliver high quality audio.

But does all of this truly matter? According to a CNBC report, maybe not as much as you’d think.

The question CNBC posed was the following: “Is the full CD sound quality (and all that 1,411 kbps data you’d be streaming) any better than the typical 320 kbps being offered by services like Spotify, Google and others?” CNBC decided to conduct their test in their “high-fidelity audio ‘sweetening’ room.” In an article laying out the details, 15 colleagues ranging from 21 to 55 years old were brought in and asked to pick 3 songs each, with a few asking for 4 songs. They then played each on Tidal, Spotify and Apple Music.

A few other testing details: if the last two services happened to crash, they would use Deezer instead. In order to ensure impartiality, each participant didn’t know what service they were listening to. The song would move on when the participant told testers to move on.

Now, here’s the kicker. Out of 48 total songs played, only 1 out of every 3 participants identified the correct high-fidelity sound service. But “at least four times” people couldn’t hear any difference.

After reaching out to the music services, Alexander Holland, chief content and product officer at Deezer, was the only one to defend its service. He reportedly told CNBC:

“The difference is audio quality can depend on external conditions such as the environment, headset, speakers and devices. Music-loving audiophiles can definitely detect the difference between the different level of sounds.”

According to other sound professionals and audiophiles, yes, you can tell the difference if you’re playing back the music on high-quality devices, and you probably won’t be able to tell if you’re playing the music through common, everyday equipment. Refuting this argument, CNBC was quick to point out that they subjected their participants “in a room with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of audio equipment.”

They also noted that an NPR online survey, along with other studies, that show that in general, people like you and me probably can’t tell the difference.

For audiophiles quick to dismiss CNBC’s admittedly “non-scientific test,” an in-house engineer pointed out “that ‘lossless’ music reduces stress levels, while heavily compressed audio requires listeners’ brains to fill in the gaps” and truly depends on how the music track was designed to be outputted.

Mercenary Field Amplifier image by Andrew Pilling, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC by 2.0).

Apple Music Scores Exclusive Rights to Britney Spears Next Album, Glory

Daniel Sanchez — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 16:07:54 +0000

In its battle with online music streaming giant Spotify, Apple Music appears to have gotten the upper-hand this time around. After The New York Times reported Apple Music scored an exclusive deal with R&B singer Frank Ocean to distribute his highly-anticipated album, Boys Don’t Cry, exclusively through Apple Music for two weeks, Britney Spears took to Twitter yesterday to announce that her highly-anticipated album Glory will be made available. She tweeted:

“#Glory. My new album & the beginning of a new era. Available 8/26 on @AppleMusic. Pre-order tonight at midnight ET.”

While details are currently scarce, Spears later tweeted that those who pre-order Glory will get access to the first single Private Show instantly, with snippets now being available on YouTube, and more pirate-savvy users having access to the first single through illicit means.

Similar to timed video game “exclusives” which has AAA titles or downloadable content available first on a home console before being made available weeks later to the competitor, these timed-exclusive albums tend to give a music streaming service a solid advantage. Just this year, Kanye West released his album, The Life of Pablo, on Tidal weeks before finally making it available on Apple Music and Spotify. The music service then boasted an increase in users. In its short history, Apple Music has already landed deals with Drake, Taylor Swift, and Katy Perry, among others, with Spotify having yet to announce any timed exclusives.

In other Apple Music related news, The Jerusalem Post and 9to5Mac also reported that Apple Music has recently launched in Israel, with the Apple Music Israel site offering a free three-month trial with the cost then jumping NIS 19.99 per month, or $5.23, almost half of the price of a U.S. Apple Music subscription. The price reduction may be due to the median salary in Israel being around 9,700 NIS or just a little over $2,560, a number that appears to be increasing.

In more solid news for the company, VentureBeat is reporting that the official Apple Music app has also been launched out of beta with a new update in the Google Play store.

Britney Spears image by Eva Rinaldi, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC by 2.0).

Kanye West Tells Apple: ‘Give Jay Z His Check for Tidal…’

Daniel Sanchez — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 15:20:39 +0000

Going on another one of his all-too-common signature rants on Twitter, Kanye West sent out a tweet storm, calling on Apple and Tidal executives, along with several other big-names in the music industry to hold a meeting and calm down the “beef” between both companies. Kanye West posted on Saturday:

“I need Tim Cook Jay Z Dez Jimmy Larry me and Drake Scooter on the phone or in a room this week!!!”

While not giving specifics on what exactly he was referring to, it might have to do with a report published by the Wall Street Journal in June that Apple was reportedly in talks to buy Jay Z’s struggling music streaming service and a rumored ongoing power play between both companies’ executives.

Going further in his rant, and adding a thinly veiled insult to CEO Tim Cook, Kanye West seems to suggest that Apple needs to give Jay Z a large check to save the music industry:

“Apple give Jay his check for Tidal now and stop trying to act like you Steve.”

Jay-Z’s Tidal music streaming service hasn’t been doing very good. After being founded by Norwegian and Swedish company Aspiro in 2014, the company changed hands after Jay Z bought out Aspiro for $56 million in March 2015 in order to help struggling music stars like Madonna, Calvin Harris, Daft Punk, and Beyonce get better deals. In an announcement on March 29, 2016, Tidal reported that it had added 2.5 million new subscribers, making for a total of 3 million paid subscribers. These numbers do pale in comparison to Apple Music’s reported 15 million users after its launch in 2015 and Spotify’s impressive 30 million subscribers. Since Tidal’s acquisition, the company has gone through 3 CEO’s in less than a year.

Tidal’s numbers may have to do with Kanye West brokering a deal to exclusively release The Life of Pablo before finally making it available through Google Play, Spotify, and Apple Music on April 1.

Kanye West image by G.6sou, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC by 2.0).

And the Latest Apple Music Exclusive Is Coming from…?

Charlotte Hassan — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 14:47:15 +0000

Rapper Travis Scott signs deal with Apple Music…

A week ago, Travis Scott posted an Instagram picture of himself and Apple Music’s Head of Content, Larry Jackson. The image was captioned ‘done deal,’ which quickly led to speculation of another Apple Music exclusive.

These reports have now been confirmed by Travis Scott. In a recent interview with DJ Whoo Kid, Scott says…

“I just did my partnership with Apple Music and shit. Larry’s f***ing amazing. That dude, he believes. He’s always talked to me when I was like beginning off. He always gave me that advice. You know, just to figure out where I’m going. So, I’m glad he’s down to take this trip with the kid and with this album; it’s super good.”

The much anticipated album Scott is referring to is his ‘Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight’, which actually should have been released already, but was held back due to the deal with Apple Music. In the interview Scott says that the album is coming soon and that there will be a short film to accompany it. Again, this is thought to be released as an Apple Music exclusive.

Scott now joins a string of high-profile artists, like Drake, Chance the Rapper, and several others who have chosen to release their content through a partnership with Apple. For Apple, this is another win and another hit at major rival Spotify.

(Image by The Come Up Show, Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Apple Is Fixing One of the Biggest iTunes Complaints…

Charlotte Hassan — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 00:45:57 +0000

Apple Music brings you iTunes Match.

According to The Loop, Apple is now using iTunes Match audio fingerprinting for its streaming service. Longtime iTunes users have heard of Match, though the new version is meant to be a more accurate way to match songs than the previous metadata matching system. The reports suggest that the updated iTunes Match that is newly available to Apple Music subscribers at no additional cost, and will be the same service that iTunes users have been paying for.

Those iTunes Match users who have not signed up to Apple Music will continue to be charged for iTunes Match, whereas Apple Music subscribers will now be able to access iTunes Match without doing anything. If you are a subscriber and you don’t know whether you have access yet or not, there will be a ‘Matched’ label in the iCloud Status of iTunes on the Mac to clarify.

Apple is switching between one and two percent of its users on a daily basis, and the benefits come into swing automatically. Any songs that may have been matched incorrectly prior to the rollout of the new version of iTunes Match in Apple Music, will have their songs re-matched to the correct songs. The update also means that all matched songs will download DRM-free.

Since its launch last year, Apple has made a number of alterations and updates to its music streaming service, and this is one of the latest in the line up.

Guess Whose Song Apple Music Has Bagged As An Exclusive…

Charlotte Hassan — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 14:40:50 +0000

Katy Perry releases latest single ‘Rise’ on the streaming platform just in time for the Olympics…

Apple Music’s latest artist exclusive comes from Katy Perry, with her latest single ‘Rise’. The song will be used as an anthem before and during the Rio games, and Perry said that releasing the track now was perfect timing.

In a statement Perry says,

“This is a song that’s been brewing inside me for years, that has finally come to the surface. I was inspired to finish it now, rather than save it for my next album, because now more than ever, there is a need for our world to unite,”

“I know that together we can rise above the fear – in our country, and around the world. I can’t think of a better example than the Olympic athletes, as they gather in Rio with their strength and fearlessness, to remind us how we ALL can come together, with the resolve to be the best we can be. I hope this song can inspire us to heal, unite, and rise together. I am honored that NBC Olympics has chosen to use it as an anthem before and during the Rio Games.”

Other Apple Music exclusives include Snoop Dogg’s ‘Coolaid’ album, Drake’s ‘Views’ album, along with the rapper’s global hit, ‘Hotline Bling.’ Also, DVSN — an up-and-coming band signed to Drake’s label — and Chance the Rapper’s ‘Coloring Book’ mixtape were exclusively released on the platform.

By releasing artist exclusives it has helped grow Apple Music’s subscriber base at a faster rate than its competitors. Just weeks ago, the service announced hitting 15 million subscribers one year after launch, an average of more than one million users signing up to the service every month.

With 15 million subscribers, (half the amount of Spotify’s paying users) Apple Music has been amping up its efforts to keep up with its major rival. The service has been gaining subscribers at an unprecedented rate, so perhaps high-profile exclusives are all it takes for Apple to overtake Spotify.

(Image by Eva Rinaldi, Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic, cc by-sa 2.0)

Executive Shuffle: IFPI, Deezer, Apple Music, ADA…

Charlotte Hassan — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 19:13:51 +0000

The latest executive shuffles across the music industry…

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has appointed Dr. David Price as Director of Insights and Analysis. Price has worked for the IFPI since 2014, and started in the role of Head of Anti-Piracy Research and Analysis. In his new role, Price will be responsible for managing the Insight team, providing industry analysis on music consumption, and the global recorded music market.

Deezer has hired Julia Herd as Vice President of Communications. Herd comes from HTC, where she has worked for the past 6 years. Throughout her time at HTC, Herd carried out various roles, including Global Director of PR, Senior Director of Global Communications, and VP of Global Comms. In her new role with Deezer, Herd will bring her 16 years worth of experience in communications.

Apple Music and iTunes Europe is now saying goodbye to Neil West, who is shifting from a Head of Music role. West will now take on the role as Head of Apps, Games and Music for the company in Southern Europe.

Elsewhere…

ADA — Warner Music Group’s independent distribution and services arm— has elevated Brandon Squar from Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy & Revenue to Executive Vice President of Digital Sales & Strategy, Worldwide. In his new role, Squar will report to David Orleans, ADA’s President, Sales and Label Management. Squar will be responsible for managing promotional and commercial opportunities for label partners, leading national and global digital consumer marketing campaigns, managing ADA’s playlist strategy, and developing strategies for the company’s independent label partners.

Universal Music Germany has hired Patrick Mushatsi-Kareba as General Manager of Marketing and Digital. Mushatsi-Kareba comes from 8 years at Apple where he was Head Of Apple Music & iTunes Music GSA, Italy & PAN Europe. In his new role, Mushatsi-Kareba will report to Daniel Lieberberg, UMG’s Senior Vice President of Digital Music.

Also, for the latest jobs in the music industry, check out Digital Music News’ Job Board. Hiring? It’s $150 per post, $900 for unlimited annual postings.

(Image by GovernorDayton, Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic, cc by 2.0)

SoundCloud’s ‘Stations’ Feature Just Got Interesting…

Charlotte Hassan — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:42:21 +0000

But will this be enough to convert SoundCloud’s 175 million users to its paid subscription service, ‘SoundCloud Go’?

Earlier in the year, SoundCloud announced the addition of a stations feature. Now, the streaming service has announced an update to this feature which allow users to discover music in what SoundCloud calls ”a lean back, seamless listening experience”.

The new update allows users to create stations from artist pages, as opposed to previously just being able to create stations from tracks.

How it works…

When you start a station from an artist’s page, the algorithm creates a long queue of tracks tied to the artist. The songs included are of a similar genre of music, new songs and other popular songs. The tracks are skippable and are continually updated and refreshed.

For existing listeners it will include suggested stations based upon artists that the user has liked, or previously experienced. For new users, the streaming platform will offer some starter suggestions. SoundCloud Go users will have access to the platform’s entire library which consists of more than 125 million songs, and those that use the free service will have access to tens of millions of songs.

This is SoundCloud’s latest effort to get its 175 million free users converted to its paid subscription service, SoundCloud Go, which launched in March this year. Last month, the service launched a ‘suggested tracks’ feature which is very similar to Spotify’s ‘Discover,’ as it uses the listening activity of its subscribers to automatically find new artists and tracks.

But, whether this is enough to covert even a small percentage remains unknown, especially when the platform has a long-established reputation of being free.

On-Demand Audio Streaming Outweighs Video Streaming

Charlotte Hassan — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 15:36:00 +0000

Good news for artists. Music fans are streaming more music through on-demand audio streaming services than video streaming platforms, according to the latest data.

According to BuzzAngle, Americans are consuming more music through on-demand audio streaming services than through music video platforms. That represents a huge shift, and a big development in a growing industry war against YouTube.

Here’s what the latest stats show. In the first six months of 2016, Americans played more than 114 billion audio streams on streaming platforms like, Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal. That same group played 95 billion video streams on music video platforms like YouTube.

What this information suggests is that people are starting to focus more on listening to music rather than just watching music videos. And, perhaps more importantly, that YouTube’s vide0-heavy, messy UI isn’t a winner, after all.

Overall, streaming continues to explode. Total on-demand streaming in the US grew by 58% in the first six months of 2016 when compared to the first six months of 2015. But this increase was fueled by a rise in on-demand audio streaming, which grew by a massive 107%. Video streaming grew at a lower rate of 23%.

YouTube and SoundCloud have ballooned on free content. But there’s another nugget in this data: the majority of on-demand music streaming comes from paid subscription services like Spotify (30 million paying subscribers) and Apple Music (15 million paying subscribers) which charge users $9.99 per month. On these services, artists earn more revenue, as the per-stream royalty rate is higher than ad-supported free streaming services.

YouTube is the undisputed king of music videos, although YouTube now has a paid streaming service (YouTube Red). That theoretically solves some monetization problems, though the actual number of people signed up to the paid service is unknown. At present, the number of people paying for Red is thought to be a very small fraction of the one billion people who use the ad-supported free service.

Meanwhile, artist royalties from YouTube remain abysmal, with endless royalties statements reaffirming the issue. In that light, the fact that people are now consuming more music through on-demand audio streaming, as opposed to video streaming, is good news for artists.

Happy First Birthday, Apple Music…

Charlotte Hassan — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 17:47:18 +0000

One year on, and Apple Music is the second most popular music streaming service.

This time last year, Apple Music had just surfaced onto the music streaming market. 365 days later, the service now boasts 15 million paying subscribers. In rapid order, Apple Music has established itself as one of the most popular streaming services, only second to rival Spotify.

But Apple Music’s launch onto the music streaming scene wasn’t easy. The service had a rocky start, was inaccessible on launch day, and initially its entrance had zero impact on Spotify, Pandora, YouTube and the others in the market. Forbes even declared that the service had failed.

But despite those early hurdles, by December (less than 6 months after launch), Apple Music was a bigger app than Spotify, according to Nielsen Music. The streaming platform was 9th on the top smartphone apps chart of 2015 (Spotify didn’t even hit top 10).

By January, Apple Music had reached 10 million paying subscribers. That’s an addition of over 1.6 million users on average per month in the first six months — an impressive feat, considering it took Spotify 6 years to reach this milestone.

Apple Music then began adopting a series of strategies that would set it apart from its competitors — and it’s been working. The streaming platform started releasing exclusive content on the service, which added value for their users and enticed new users to sign up. Then, the platform decided to slash the price of a subscription in half for students. The combination of these strategies inevitably increased the number of subscriptions.

What’s next for Apple Music?

Apple will continue working directly with artists behind the scenes. And by funding their music videos, Apple is able to get artists on board to sign an exclusive agreement with them. So far, that strategy’s been working. Apple Music exclusives include: Snoop Dogg’s ‘Coolaid’ album, Drake’s ‘Views’ album, DVSN — an up-and-coming band signed to Drake’s label — Chance the Rapper’s ‘Coloring Book’ mixtape, and several others.

But what about the mega-masses? Apple will continue working on ways it can take advantage of its 800 million iTunes account holders, which already have credit card details on file. Initially this was a worry for existing streaming services in the market. But now, a year on, questions are being raised as to why the majority of these people have not taken advantage of the 3 month free trial, at the very least.

Indeed, Apple Music sits comfortably at 15 million subscribers, impressively enough. But step back, and this is a fraction of its potential market.

Apple is aware of this untapped potential, and steps are underway to supercharge the engine. That incldues implementing a complete design overhaul of its app to make the service more user friendly, and securing more artist exclusives to outweigh the competition. Apple Music is hoping that this will secure them a position as a leading streaming service in the music industry. They definitely have the capability.

Breaking: Apple Music Hits 15 Million Subscribers

Charlotte Hassan — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 18:36:00 +0000

Today (June 13th) Apple announced that it has now surpassed 15 million subscribers. That’s half of Spotify.

The news was revealed by Apple executive Eddy Cue, who announced the new number during a keynote at WWDC.

What’s surprising about this milestone is just how quickly the service has managed to rack up millions of users. It was only in February of this year that DMN announced Apple Music hitting 11 million subscribers. To put Apple Music’s growth into perspective, Spotify took 6 years to hit 10 million paying users.

Apple Music has added another two million users in just two months.

The platform entered the music streaming market last year, and has managed to hit 15 million subscribers one year from launch.

But, how is Apple Music growing so quickly? Well, partly due to the fact that people associate Apple with quality products that hold value, both on the hardware and software side. That brand power and reputation is undoubtedly a key factor in the early success of the service, with heavy advertising and an integrated hardware+software advantage cementing the trajectory.

Then there’s also the fact that Apple has a massive global reach. The service is now in 50+ more countries than major rival Spotify, a critical factor towards achieving bigger scale.

iTunes Music Is a Big, Fat, Bloated Disaster of an App…

Charlotte Hassan — Wed, 18 May 2016 15:56:52 +0000

Entire iTunes collections are going AWOL, downloads are getting mangled, IDs are fighting with one another, and Apple Music is acting weird again. What needs to change?

Has iTunes become an unmanageable monstrosity? In the latest battle against its own ‘bloatware,’ Apple sent two engineers to a user’s home after 122 GB of his personal music collection vanished into the ether. James Pinkstone, author of the blog Vellum Atlanta, was the customer watched his mega-collection go deleted. This prompted him to write a long complaint on his website a few weeks ago, which was picked up by Apple, who then sent the engineers out.

The engineers spent the whole day analyzing Pinkstone’s use of Apple Music, iTunes and his personal library at his home, to see if they could recreate the issue. Ultimately, Apple’s tech team was stumped and came to the conclusion that there was a ‘glitch’ somewhere that needed to be fixed. Well you don’t say.

The Pinkstone situation follows another mega-deletion involving Jim Dalrymple, who lost nearly 5,000 songs but ultimately got them restored. And just recently, DMN’s Ari Herstand entered a cauldron of overlapping Apple ID hell when trying to listen to a simple Beyonce album download.

But, what is Apple doing about it?

On Monday, the tech giant pushed out their new updated iTunes 12.4 version, which not only had design ‘tweaks’ but an installed ‘safeguard’ to protect users music from a deletion bug.

The situation stoked theories of active and intentional download destruction on the part of Apple. People have been speculating that Apple has been knowingly deleting music that isn’t part of the Apple Music library. But, the strange thing in this latest episode is that Apple itself can’t determine the music deletion issue, and they’ve flatly denied plans to nix their download store.

But, what we do know, is that Apple Music has been experiencing unprecedented growth since it launched in June last year. The streaming service has quickly racked up more than 13 million subscribers, adding one million more users on average a month. That is, despite constant technical issues in the early stages, and more recent issues which saw subscribers being asked to re-sign up multiple times.

Customers have been sticking with the platform throughout, but if problems with the service continue to occur users may become exhausted. The Verge recently lamented that iTunes now fits “somewhere between filing your taxes and having your wisdom teeth pulled out,” with ‘bloatware’ an increasingly apt way to describe this overgrown media app. That has also infected Apple Music, though its unclear whether this is dampening subscriber interest.

Perhaps the best hope is that newer updates and safeguards will eradicate the most pressing issues moving forward. More drastic moves — like eliminating music downloads entirely — would go a long way towards trimming this application of obesity.

Pig image by wackystuff, adapted under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC by 2.0).

Apple Music Subscription Is Now Half Price For Students

Charlotte Hassan — Fri, 06 May 2016 14:40:21 +0000

Music streaming services are becoming increasingly popular as more and more people switch from physical music copies to digital copies. With the rise of music streaming, Apple Music and Spotify have emerged as two of the most popular services in the market. Recently, Apple Music announced a redesign of its music streaming platform, and now it has announced a 50% reduction in its monthly subscription for students enrolled in eligible colleges or universities.

The new tier is available immediately for both existing and new subscribers on both iOS and Android. The current membership fee in the US is $9.99, but for students, their subscription will cost just $4.99 a month. This new pricing plan is expected to significantly increase the number of sign-ups for Apple Music, especially among the student population.

As of now, Apple Music has 13 million subscribers, a milestone that it hit last week. Though this is a significant number, it still sets it way behind Spotify’s 30 million paying subscribers. However, with the introduction of a new user-friendly design and a half-price membership option, Apple Music could potentially see a massive surge in subscribers, which is what Apple is hoping for, as the service wants to better compete with its major rival, Spotify.

It may be difficult for Apple Music to compete with Spotify on the same level, but according to a report by Digital Music News (DMN), both platforms are adding one million more paying users a month on average. If both services continue to do so, Apple Music could surpass 20 million subscribers by the end of the year, while Spotify could nearly reach double that number at nearly 40 million subscribers by the end of 2016.

The new pricing plan for students is not the first time that Apple has offered a discount to attract more subscribers. Last year, Apple Music offered a three-month free trial period to new subscribers, and it worked. Apple Music saw an increase in the number of subscribers to the service. In fact, Apple Music’s growth rate has been unprecedented since it launched in June last year. With its new design and pricing plan, Apple Music is hoping to continue this trend.

However, it is important to note that the music streaming market is highly competitive, with other services such as Tidal and Pandora also vying for a share of the market. In this context, both Apple Music and Spotify will need to continue to offer innovative and attractive features to retain their existing subscribers and to attract new ones.

In conclusion, with the introduction of a new design and a half-price membership option for students, Apple Music is hoping to better compete with Spotify in the music streaming market. While it may be difficult for Apple Music to surpass Spotify’s number of subscribers, it is clear that the company is taking steps in the right direction to increase its market share. It remains to be seen if these changes will be enough for Apple Music to catch up with Spotify, but one thing is certain – music streaming services are here to stay.

If You Hate Apple Music’s Interface, There’s Hope…

Charlotte Hassan — Thu, 05 May 2016 00:06:50 +0000

Looks like Apple Music is looking to bag some more subscribers…

According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is ‘revamping’ its music streaming service after ‘mixed reviews.’ Though the news is not official, close sources have shared that the announcement will be officially revealed at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.

Apple Music launched in June last year, and since it entered the music streaming market there have a relatively high number of positive reviews, but also several criticisms regarding the service not meeting Apple’s highly ranked standards as a brand which upholds top-level quality.

The Apple brand is widely regarded as premium, and when Apple Music arrived there were a lot of people disappointed with the streaming platform. Most of the negative comments were about the interface and its lack of features. But, since launch Apple has worked tirelessly to better rival the major player in the streaming market, Spotify.

The reports however do not suggest that there will be any changes made to the features, but there will be an updated design that is more ‘bold’ and ‘simple’ for its users. Whether these changes will spark a surge in subscribers is unknown at this point, but it could result in more sign-ups especially if it’s more user-friendly.

Apple Music announced hitting 13 million subscribers just last week, which is a major milestone especially in the timeframe that they have achieved it. But, that still sets it far behind Spotify who has 30 million paying subscribers.

Apple Music Hits 13 Million Subscribers

Charlotte Hassan — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 22:24:09 +0000

On April 26th, Apple announced that it has surpassed 13 million subscribers for its music streaming service, Apple Music. This news was revealed by CEO Tim Cook via a conference call, and what’s surprising about this milestone is how quickly the service has managed to rack up millions of users.

It was only in February of this year that DMN announced Apple Music hitting 11 million subscribers. To put Apple Music’s growth into perspective, Spotify took six years to hit 10 million paying users. Apple Music has added another two million users in just two months. The platform entered the music streaming market in July of last year and has managed to hit 13 million subscribers in just ten short months. If Apple Music keeps growing at this rate, we will see it hitting at least 15 million subscribers by its first birthday.

So, how is Apple Music growing so quickly?

The reason why Apple Music has been able to grow so quickly is due to the fact that people associate Apple with quality products that hold value, both on the hardware and software side. That brand power and reputation is undoubtedly a key factor in the early success of the service, with heavy advertising cementing the trajectory.

As well as this, Apple Music has also been able to benefit from the success of the iPhone and other Apple products, which has given the company a vast user base to tap into. With Apple’s brand power and reputation, as well as its vast user base, it’s no surprise that the company’s music streaming service is doing so well.

Without a doubt, that trajectory is applying heavy pressure on competitive streaming services. Spotify has raised $1 billion in debt financing to improve its service and to better compete in the streaming market. Apple, on the other hand, has its own billions to spend, with a paid-only subscriber tally that is nearly half of Spotify’s 30 million.

Despite the growth of Apple Music, Spotify still remains the dominant player in the music streaming market. Spotify has a wider range of features and offers a free, ad-supported tier, which has helped it to attract more users. However, Apple Music’s growth is putting pressure on Spotify to innovate and improve its service, which can only be a good thing for music lovers.

In addition to this, Apple has been investing heavily in exclusive content, which is helping to differentiate its service from the competition. Apple has signed deals with a number of high-profile artists, including Drake, Taylor Swift, and Pharrell Williams, to release exclusive content on Apple Music. This exclusive content is helping to attract more users to the service, as well as providing existing users with more reasons to stay subscribed.

Overall, Apple Music’s rapid growth is a testament to the power of Apple’s brand and reputation. With billions of dollars to spend and a vast user base to tap into, Apple has been able to quickly establish itself as a major player in the music streaming market. While Spotify still remains the dominant player, Apple Music’s growth is putting pressure on the competition to improve their services, which can only be a good thing for consumers.

Drake Punishes Fans Again With an Apple Music Exclusive

Charlotte Hassan — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 03:05:23 +0000

Drake’s upcoming album, Views From the 6, has been the talk of the town for months now. And while fans are eagerly waiting for the album to drop, they might be disappointed to know that they can only listen to it if they’re subscribed to Apple Music. The album will be released first as an Apple Music exclusive, and then it will be generally available from April 29th.

This is not the first time Drake has shown his support for Apple Music. The Canadian rapper was present at Apple Music’s launch in San Francisco last year and has been a keen advocate of the streaming platform ever since. His hit song Hotline Bling was first released on Apple Music before any other streaming service, and his OVO Sound radio show is also an Apple Music exclusive and currently only available on Apple’s Beats 1 radio station.

The news of Drake’s album dropping as an Apple Music exclusive was confirmed by Apple on Beats 1’s OVO Sound Radio. Drake’s relationship with the streaming platform is evident, and it’s no surprise that he has chosen to release his album exclusively with Apple Music. The financial payouts that come with this deal are also significant, making it a win-win situation for both Drake and Apple Music.

However, this move has left fans of other streaming services disappointed. Exclusive content is becoming a common strategy for most major streaming platforms to increase subscriber numbers. Tidal, for instance, is famous for this and reportedly doubled its subscriber numbers as a result of exclusively streaming Kanye West’s The Life Of Pablo.

Apple Music has already grown considerably since its launch last year. In just nine months, it has racked up 11 million paying subscribers. With this new Drake exclusive, Apple Music is widely anticipated to grab another big chunk of paying users. Apple Music is the closest streaming service to Spotify in terms of subscriber numbers.

Spotify, on the other hand, has recorded 30 million paying users, and Apple Music only has roughly 30% of this figure. However, Spotify is indeed moving to widen that gap. In fact, this may be one reason why Spotify has just recently raised a massive $1 billion in debt financing.

Drake is one of the most popular artists in the world, and his album release as an Apple Music exclusive will undoubtedly attract a considerable number of subscribers to the platform. However, this move also highlights the fact that streaming exclusives remain a sucky reality for music fans who get punished for actually paying but can’t get access to the best new content because they’re on the wrong service.

In conclusion, while Drake’s album release as an Apple Music exclusive is exciting news for Apple Music subscribers, it also raises questions about the future of music streaming and the impact of exclusives on the industry. It remains to be seen how other streaming services will respond to this move and whether exclusive content will continue to be a common strategy for gaining subscribers.

(Image by thecomeupshow; licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

Swift Falls In An Apple Music Ad, Drake’s Sales Rise 431%

Charlotte Hassan — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 15:54:29 +0000

In a recent Apple Music ad, Taylor Swift falls off a treadmill while listening to Drake and Future’s ‘Jumpman’ on Apple’s running playlist ‘Gymflow’.

The ad reverses a contentious relationship between Swift and Apple during the initial launch phase of Apple Music. No hard feelings, and rappers Drake and Future are benefiting from the mended relationship.

In the ad, Swift enters the Apple Music ‘Gymflow’ app, selects a playlist and the song and then starts running on the treadmill. About 40 seconds into the video, she then falls off the treadmill as part of a humorous stunt to get people talking about the advert and the service.

And it worked: the ad was widely shared through social media platforms and has already racked up over 11 million views on YouTube.

Five days later, Apple’s Gymflow playlist surged a reported 325% and is now ranking in the top 5 playlists of the week, according to Adweek. On top of this, Drake and Future’s song ‘Jumpman’ has also surged on Apple’s iTunes Store, rising a massive 431%.

All of which highlights the power of advertising and its effect have on music sales. And, more importantly, the massive power that Apple’s bank account will play in the streaming space. Indeed, Taylor Swift has a massive mob of superfans who follow her on social media, and Apple smartly tapped the rich vein.

Adding the operatic drama is the long-standing acrimony between Swift and Spotify, with Swift dropping harsh criticisms on the streaming leader. Part of Swift’s hatred towards Spotify apparently stems from the platform’s refusal to limit her releases to paid-only subscribers, though Spotify’s low-hanging royalty rates may also factor into the acrimony.

No word yet on what sort of subscriber bump Apple Music is experiencing following the ad. At last count, Apple Music reported 11 million paying subscribers, a figure that may now be cruising past 15 million.

But Will They Switch? Apple Music Launches Another Drake Exclusive

Charlotte Hassan — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 15:04:17 +0000

First Apple Music launched an exclusive music docu-series called The Score. Now, Drake has helped them score another.

The new music exclusive comes from Canadian R&B duo DVSN. The mysterious duo comprises of producer Nineteen85 and singer Daniel Daley who are signed to Drake’s OVO Sound label. It was Nineteen85 who actually produced Drake’s Hotline Bling.

Drake has always been a keen advocate of Apple Music since its launch last year, so it’s hardly surprising that DVSN’s music is being released exclusively through the platform. Drake was present at Apple Music’s launch in San Francisco last year, the start of the ongoing relationship. Since then, Drake’s hit song Hotline Bling was first released on Apple Music before any other streaming service, with reports saying that Apple Music actually funded the video of the song.

Drake’s OVO Sound radio show is also an Apple Music exclusive, and currently only available on Apple’s Beats 1 radio station. All of which is great for Apple and Drake, though limiting the availability of music will always cause an outcry from fans who pay for competing streaming services.

Accordingly, DVSN fans took to Twitter to show their disappointment at their music not being available on Spotify.

The question is, will Apple’s exclusive content encourage Spotify subscribers to jump onboard? Or, do platforms trump exclusives in the end?

Vice Launches Exclusive Music Docuseries ‘The Score’ on Apple Music

Charlotte Hassan — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 15:39:55 +0000

Apple and Vice have joined forces to bring an exclusive docu-series called ‘The Score’ to Apple Music subscribers.

The Score is a six-part series which looks at local music scenes across the world.

The first episode is called ‘Reservation Rap’ and focuses in on the music found on the Red Lake reservation in Minnesota. The trailer of the first series is available here. Other episodes will be released every other week, with Brazil, Vietnam and Iceland in the pipeline.

Alongside this new series Apple Music will be creating a personalized playlist tailored to the culture and music derived from the artists featured in each of the local scenes covered.

This new collaboration between Vice and Apple is the latest in a line of joint ventures bringing exclusive content to the $10-per-month subscription service. That includes exclusive content around Taylor Swift’s 1989 tour, and a weekly TV show with DJ Khaled.

Also, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Apple is also set to produce its own original TV show starring Dr Dre.

If You Want iTunes Radio, You’re Gonna Have to Pay for It

Charlotte Hassan — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 14:14:48 +0000

Apple will reportedly discontinue its ad-supported iTunes Radio station service as of January 29th. Beats 1 will become Apple’s only free station, and all other stations that were previously free will now require a paid Apple Music subscription.

Apple reportedly confirmed the report via BuzzFeed. “We are making Beats 1 the premier free broadcast from Apple and phasing out the ad-supported stations at the end of January,” the company stated. “Additionally, with an Apple Music membership, listeners can access dozens of radio stations curated by our team of music experts, covering a range of genres, commercial-free with unlimited skips.

“The free three-month trial of Apple Music includes radio.”

Apple’s decision may disgruntle iTunes Radio users, although that’s not surprising. Since iTunes Radio entered the market, the goal of the service was to keep music users interested in the iOS ecosystem and discourage them from opting for third-party services like Spotify and Pandora. However, the release of iTunes Radio created significant changes in Apple’s music strategy. The service didn’t expand in the way that Apple may have predetermined.

The current issue with Apple’s iTunes Radio is that it doesn’t provide users with anything that can’t be accessed elsewhere. Accordingly, bundling iTunes Radio into Apple Music will position Apple Music as a more compelling service: $10 a month for on-demand music streaming and commercial-free radio.

As a whole, Apple Music seems to be doing well. Just last week, we reported that the service has already crossed 10 million paying subscribers, a milestone that took Spotify six years to reach.

10 Million Apple Music Users Affected by Critical Service Errors

Charlotte Hassan — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 20:28:22 +0000

The following is a breaking story; check back for ongoing updates. As of Thursday afternoon PT, Iisues have been resolved for an unspecific number of users.

Apple Music subscribers from across the globe have been experiencing technical issues with the service today. The errors comes just days after the service surpassed its ten millionth paying subscriber.

Some users found that the streaming music service was only able to playback one song, with other songs showing server errors. Other users on the iOS app were invited to re-subscribe, despite already being a paying subscriber. People who then tried to sign up when then told they were already members, yet the service still was unable to provide them with music.

Users also experienced difficulties when using Apple Music via iTunes on Mac or Windows, with the service showing various error messages.

Apple’s System Status tracker didn’t flag any issues, however there was a disruption with the iTunes Store earlier in the day. Apple has yet to publicly acknowledge the Apple Music issues or suggest when the problems will be addressed and fixed. In order to fix the technical issue, Apple may have to shut down the service entirely in order to resolve the splash screen problem.

The disruptions dampened the good news that surfaced earlier this week, with Apple Music reportedly surpassing 10 million paying subscribers. Although Apple Music is placing itself as a serious contender in the streaming music service market, the service still has some areas of improvement across both usability and functionality.

$9.99 Is ‘Way Too Expensive’ for Streaming Music, Study Finds

Paul Resnikoff — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 20:15:38 +0000

Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Google, and Rhapsody charge $9.99 a month (or more) for unlimited streaming music. But is that way too expensive?

That’s become a pressing question for the music industry, especially with free, ‘low rent’ music streaming absolutely surging.

Now, there’s more data showing that consumers thing $9.99 is simply too much. According to a US-based survey on the matter conducted by Nielsen Music at the end of 2015, a vast majority of Americans are unlikely to pay for music streaming in 2016. And the number one reason: cost.

Question #1:

In the next six months, how likely are you to pay money for a music streaming music service?

Question #2:

If you are not likely to pay for a music streaming service, what is the reason?

Question #3:

If you were to subscribe to a streaming music service, what would be the most important factors for you?

Source: Nielsen Music, US-based study.

At least one company is paying attention: Spotify. The company has a ‘list price’ of $9.99 a month, but has been offering aggressive discounts to students and trial users. Elsewhere, streaming services like Deezer and Rhapsody have been increasingly bundling their services into mobile data plans, a move that slips the broader costs into a bigger bill. Both strategies have boosted paying subscribers, though price-chopping has raised serious questions about long-term profitability.

Separately, Apple Music has remained firm on a defined, $9.99 price point, with a strict three-month trial window. That has resulted in roughly 8-10 million paying subscribers, according to the latest estimates, though a vast majority of music fans remain on free versions of Spotify, YouTube, and Pandora.

Written while listening to streaming music from Terrorizer and Repulsion (check out both at the ‘Show Your Scars Fest’ at the Regent Theater in Los Angeles this weekend).

Get Ready for Apple Music Hi-Res Audio Streaming

Charlotte Hassan — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:30:07 +0000

If details leaking from the Portable Audio Festival in Japan are true, Apple Music’s fidelity is about to dramatically improve. According to information from multiple industry sources at the show, Apple may be launching a new, higher-quality audio streaming upgrade to Apple Music.

Of course, the Festival is reigniting historical rumors, but if this batch is true, Apple will launch its new, HD-level improvement in 2016.

“There’s talk that Apple plans to ditch its standard 3.5mm headphone jack altogether…”

Reports also suggest that the new hi-resolution streaming will be delivered via the future iPhone’s Lightning port. That will enable a 96kHz, 24-bit sampling rate, and an important push for better-quality audio. Additionally, there’s talk that Apple plans to ditch its standard 3.5mm headphone jack altogether, and use the Lightning port exclusively for audio output.

By offering high-resolution audio, Apple could gain significant competitive advantage. HD will differentiate the iPhone from other smartphones that cannot guarantee such a high-quality listening experience, and directly benefit Apple Music subscribers and iTunes Store buyers.

As a company, Apple has always been at the forefront of the digital music revolution, with a storied history that includes iPods, iPhones and iTunes — and most recently, Apple Music. So, it was obvious that Apple would at some point produce its own high-quality audio service.

Despite an early blanket of criticism, Apple Music has gained millions of subscribers since its launch in June. At present, whisper numbers put paying Apple Music subscribers past 8 million, with all paying full, $9.99 fare (or more). Indeed, 2016 could be the year when Apple turns to the Lightning connector and the promise of higher-fidelity audio to seriously attract and retain Apple Music adherents.

Updated: Adele’s ’25’ Has Already Sold 2.5 Million Copies

Paul Resnikoff — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 07:55:06 +0000

Updated: November 24th, 9:20 am PT (12: 30 ET): Sales of 25 have now surpassed 2.45 million copies and are rapidly approaching 2.5 million after just 4-5 days on the market, according to data now released by Nielsen Soundscan. Now, one-week sales are projected to hit 3 million (more on that here).

We’ll keep updating that figure; the original article (published early Monday with a sales figure of 1.5 million after 2-3 days) and subsequent discussion follows.

Last week, Adele decided to boycott Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and anyone else who wanted to stream her new album for free. This week, she’s enjoying the fruits of that decision: according to Nielsen Soundscan figures released this morning, 25 sold 900,000 paid downloads on its first day, a one-day digital sales record.

On iTunes, where most of the download action took place, fans were placing pre-orders of the entire album on iTunes, before being able to buy individual tracks after street date.

But that’s just the beginning: according to initial, first-week states from Target, which is carrying an exclusive CD with 3 bonus tracks, physical sales were in the ‘deep’ hundreds of thousands on day one. Overall, CD sales passed the 600,000-mark by Sunday night, per DMN sources.

All of that puts total albums sales at roughly 1.5 million, after just three days.

Now, with Thanksgiving and Black Friday approaching, lighter fluid is being splashed on the fire. According to a projection now being bandied by Billboard, 25 is expected to sell north 2.5 million units in its first week, thanks to healthy download and (yes) CD sales.

That would be the biggest-selling, debut week for any album in history.

Head of Apple Music Says “Women Find It Very Difficult to Find Music”

Paul Resnikoff — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 04:24:19 +0000

…from an interview Thursday morning with head of Apple Music Jimmy Iovine, and Apple Music spokeswoman Mary J. Blige.

[lead-in: audience shown upbeat Apple TV spot featuring Mary J. Blige, Kerry Washington, and Taraji P. Henson]

Gayle King (co-host): Apple Music hopes to change the way that we listen to music, Jimmy Iovine and Mary J. Blige, welcome back to the table Mary J., Jimmy —

— Mary J. Blige: Thank you Gayle —

Norah O’Donnell (co-host): — Great to have you here! —

Charlie Rose (co-host): [laughing]

King: We’re so glad that you’re here for your debut appearance on ‘CBS This Morning’. Let’s talk about that commercial, because it debuted on the Emmys, and people said this: ‘Apple Music just gifted with the best moment of the Emmy telecast,’ ‘best friendship erotica the world has seen’ —

O’Donnell: [laughing]

King: I like that Jimmy. So what was your thinking behind this story, what were you trying to tell?

Jimmy Iovine: Well, music streaming — well streaming is a technology, but what this is is a streaming service, a music streaming service. And what it does is it tries to make – it sort of of gives you 30 million songs and it serves them up to you, and it makes it easy to find music.

“So, I’ve always known that women find it very difficult at times — some women — to find music. And this –“

O’Donnell: — He’s talking about me. Because I was telling him —

Iovine: — I found that out a minute ago. And this helps make it easier. But they’re curated by real people, they’re not made by algorithms alone, it’s made by algorithms but with a human touch. And it makes it a lot easier to find music.

[later in the interview…]

King: But your creative concept Jimmy was what? How did it start?

Iovine: I just thought of a problem. Ya know, girls sitting around, talking about boys, or complaining about boys —

King: — that too —

Iovine: — have their heart broken or whatever. And, they need music for that, right? So it’s hard to find the right music, not everybody has the right list or knows a DJ or something. So you need great lists, you need great lists for dinner, you need great lists for exercising, and you need great lists for that sort of moment.

The full interview is here.

The Popularity of Digital Music Services, 2004-present

Paul Resnikoff — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 00:00:05 +0000

From Google’s beta-stage measurement analysis of topics, designed to accurately measure overall interest in a broader topic area, not just one specific search term.

Results are relative to previous interest, but Google doesn’t offer absolute search volumes.

Siri Will Soon Power Apple Music on Apple TV

Charlotte Hassan — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 22:24:56 +0000

Apple confirms Siri is coming to Apple Music on the new updated Apple TV that launches next year.

These days, Siri will blow you off if you aren’t subscribed to Apple Music. But get a subscription, and things could get interesting: according to details confirmed to Buzzfeed on Thursday, Apple TV will soon integrate Siri into its Apple Music app. This will give users the ability to search and stream their favorite music from their TV via voice control, rather than typing.
The new added features makes the Apple TV an all-in-one device and home hub, and quite possibly, something people actually use. Being able to ask your set-top box to play music and videos gives Apple competitive advantage, and it also makes the service more attractive. Apple TV has always been primarily regarded as a video box, but the new updates create a more complete media center.

That said, Apple TV have never been a big hit, so it will be interesting to see if this added feature will stimulate growth in sales. Currently, Apple Music has a reported 6.5 million paid subscribers, which is substantial on its own but weak when compared to Spotify’s 20 million subscribers.

YouTube Can’t Decide If They Should Pay Creators During Their Premium Free Trial

Paul Resnikoff — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 17:19:26 +0000

YouTube Red, YouTube’s ad-free, premium service is launching right now (October 28th) with a one-month free trial. The only problem is that nobody knows if creators are getting paid during this trial period.

Yesterday, YouTube flatly told one of their largest partners, FullScreen, that they wouldn’t be paying anyone during their free trial window (see above). “YouTube has confirmed to us that creators will not receive revenue when a #YouTubeRed user watches your videos during the free trial,” the company confirmed within hours of Red’s debut.

We’re not clear if the free trial is part of the YouTube Red contract (chime in if you’re signed something, or haven’t).
Predictably, the FullScreen tweet is pissing off a lot of people, which is exactly happened when Apple Music tried the exact same thing during its three-month trial window for Apple Music. Apple faced a torrent of complaints from indie artists, but refused to pay until Taylor Swift made a huge stink.

This morning, YouTube executives might be taking a lesson from that free mistake. According to BBC article posted after Red’s launch, YouTube is now planning to pay creators, though neither YouTube nor Google have confirmed this. “Prominent YouTube stars had expressed concerns that they would not be paid if their videos were watched during the month-long free trial on offer,” the BBC reported. “But Google is expected to confirm that is not the case later.”

More as this develops.

Sensing Horrific Disaster Ahead, Deezer Calls Off Its IPO

Paul Resnikoff — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 01:49:04 +0000

What could possibly go wrong?

Pandora shares are down 37 percent in the last week alone, thanks to a recent quarterly loss of $85.9 million. Spotify is delaying its IPO indefinitely against continued licensing uncertainty. After just three months, Apple Music now has more paying subscribers than Deezer.

But half of Deezer’s 6.34 million subscribers haven’t even accessed the service once in the past month.

Perhaps catching a whiff of pungent reality, Deezer has now smartly decide to indefinitely postpone its initial public offering (IPO) in Paris, citing ‘market conditions’. The well-funded Franco-streamer is staying on the sidelines indefinitely, while perhaps focusing on its core proposition and/or waiting for ‘conditions’ to improve.

Deezer, which is now present across 180 countries excluding the US, has roughly $150 million in funding. Access Industries, headed by Russian billionaire Len Blavatnik, is by far the biggest backer.

Now Hiring: ‘Production Assistant, Beats 1’

Paul Resnikoff — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 15:54:59 +0000

Who says there aren’t any good jobs left in the music industry? Here’s an opening for a Production Assistant for Zane Lowe at Apple Music’s Beats 1. The gig is based in Los Angeles.

Siri Refuses to Answer Certain Questions If You’re Not an Apple Music Subscriber

Paul Resnikoff — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 03:01:22 +0000

As tweeted by former Pandora executive Tom Conrad…

YouTube Accounts for 40% of All Music Listening, and 4% of All Music Revenues

Paul Resnikoff — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 17:25:20 +0000

Is this sustainable?

Earlier statistics from Nielsen showed that more people stream music from YouTube all other on-demand streaming services combined. But the broader picture is even worse: according to statistics revealed by top Apple Music (and former Universal Music Group) executive Jimmy Iovine during an interview at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit in San Francisco, YouTube accounts for 40% of overall music listening, and just 4% of overall music revenues.

“Here’s a little statistic … [YouTube] are 40% of consumption of music and 4% of the revenue. That’s a problem! … They know that doesn’t work. But do they care? I have no idea.”

‘How to C’ Auto-Completes to ‘How to Cancel Apple Music’ on Google

Paul Resnikoff — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 20:25:07 +0000

Wall Street Is Totally Unimpressed With Streaming Music…

Paul Resnikoff — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 02:13:56 +0000

“A flat line for U.S. streaming subscribers is quite a worrying signal for music industry investors.”

Seeking Alpha analyst Pim Keunsler.

It’s been a rollercoaster for Pandora on Wall Street, but IPO hopefuls like Spotify may never get to ride. And one huge concern for traders and investors, according to sources to Digital Music News, are soggy numbers around paid subscriptions.

In the US, streaming subscriptions rose a scant 2.5% to 8.1 million in the United States during the first half of this year, according to recent stats by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Billboard has pointed to the cancellation of Muve Music as one possible explanation, though it’s unclear whether those 2+ million heavily-bundled subscriptions were solid revenue contributors in the first place.

Meanwhile, Apple Music is threatening to woefully under-deliver, with early intelligence suggesting initial paid subscribers in the low millions. And Spotify, while surging towards 100 million total users, is showing less-than-spectacular gains on the paid side.

“…my general bullish outlook for the sector might be at risk.”

All of which has Wall Street nervous about the state of the music industry. “A flat line for U.S. streaming subscribers is quite a worrying signal for music industry investors,” Seeking Alpha analyst Pim Keunsler wrote. “I even consider music streaming growth the most important argument to invest in music-related stocks. The most recent report by the RIAA indicates that my general bullish outlook for the sector might be at risk.”

There are deeper problems, according to insiders. The biggest issue right now is happening in Paris, where a problematic Deezer is trying to go public. As part of its IPO filing, federal law mandates the filing of financial and company data, a move that is exposing some serious issues with the world’s second-largest streaming service. Chief among them is the lack of actual ‘subscribers’: according to IPO filings, roughly half of Deezer’s claimed 6.34 million subscribers haven’t even accessed a single song in the last month, while only 1.54 million are paying full fare. “This could be ugly,” one major label executive observed.

Actual ‘subscribers’ are also an issue at Spotify, where a large percentage are paying discounted or introductory rates (we just don’t know how many). But more pressing for Spotify are renegotiations with the Big Three major labels, all of whom are renewing right now and demanding heavy licensing costs. Those deals, according to sources close to the negotiations, may also include ‘gated content,’ which means limiting content for free-access users, something Spotify has fiercely resisted.

But even if Spotify maintains its freemium, ad-supported tier intact, its major label licensing deals are unlikely to be renewed for more than one year, according to sources. All of which puts Spotify’s IPO plans in an unhappy holding pattern.

Image of female brown bear by Tambako The Jaguar, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC by 2.0).

“Apple Music Has Failed,” Forbes Declares

Paul Resnikoff — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 17:09:59 +0000

…the extremely-harsh indictment:

Close to four months have passed since launch, and the Apple Music experience has not been improved in any substantial way. The package that Apple delivered out of the box was horribly mainstream, with a huge focus on popular artists. In my time exploring the playlists and radio it has been hard to find niche music in the package.

Having seen countless people set up their Apple Music profile when they were forced to move to the updated Music app in iOS 8.4, I’d be confident that every single Apple Music user was offered Taylor Swift as a musical recommendation.

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Those bubbles forced mainstream pop music recommendation into everyone’s system, so is it any wonder I’m offered Katy Perry, One Direction, and Miley Cyrus, when a quick glance through my music collection would show that a focus on more Progressive Rock and East European Dance music would be more appropriate? Apple Music still hasn’t worked this out. Why is it not using the data it can collect to better effect?

Just as the Apple Music recommendations have not been updated, the actual application itself has not seen any major changes. Beyond fighting the huge firestorm of bugs that caused Apple Music, iTunes, and the iCloud Music Library to clash in the cloud-sync process with little clear information on what was going on, the application has maintained a steady state since launch.

How Many Subscribers Will Apple Music Have? Roughly 3.5 Million, Sources Say

Paul Resnikoff — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 18:13:20 +0000

“I’d ballpark, roughly 3.5 million after November cancellations.”

Apple’s Spotify competitor Apple Music is performing way below initial projections, according to a pair of sources close to the numbers. At present, the first batch of trial users are being confronted with a three-month payment wall, with at least half of those appearing to have already opted-out. “It’s not the easiest to say what the [initial paid subscriber] number is going to be, keep in mind this is day one of the payment requirement,” one source supplying content to Apple Music told Digital Music News on Thursday. “But this is looking like Apple [Music] will have low millions of paying subs,” while agreeing that “between 3 and 4 million sounds about right.”

A second source close to the data noted that many users will cancel their subscriptions in October after realizing they’ve been charged, creating an initial, one-month ‘blip’. “I’d ballpark, roughly 3.5 million after November cancellations.”

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Initially, Apple executives confidently projected more than 100 million paying subscribers, without identifying how long that would take. “While Apple wouldn’t comment last week, a person familiar with its plans said Apple has an ambitious goal to sign up 100 million subscribers for a new streaming service that will cost $10 a month and compete with other on-demand services such as Spotify and Rhapsody,” the New York Times reported around Apple’s unveiling in June.

(Survey results of active Apple Music trial participants conducted by MusicWatch over the summer).

Several months later, statements from top Apple executives suggests a far lower tally. “Ultimately, you never know until it happens. But we’re pleased with the number of people who have tried,” Apple SVP of Internet Software and Services (and iTunes Store chief) Eddy Cue told the Evening Standard. “Everybody gets fixated on the short term but we’re in this for the long haul.”

“It’s going to be a road.”

Others are similarly subdued, affirming the lower paid figures. “It’s going to be a road,” noted Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine and current Apple Music architect. “But if you make the service great enough, people will pay for that.”

The question is whether this was a ‘great’ Apple effort. Critics have assailed the service for being complicated and difficult for users to navigate, with streaming and paid downloads now overlapping in the same iTunes interface. That may ultimately be driving lower conversions, despite heavy iPhone 6 uptake: according to a recent New York Post article, 15 million have trialled the service, though roughly half have pro-actively declined automatic credit card charges after the three month window.

Meanwhile, Spotify is racing ahead: the company is now projecting nearly 100 million users by year end, or close to it, with paid subscribers easily past 20 million. Even TIDAL is getting on the map: according to a tweet issued Tuesday by Jay Z, TIDAL now has 1 million paying subs.

Apple Music Archives - Digital Music News

How To Optimize Your Apple Music Artist Page

Why Focus On Your Apple Music Artist Page

Claim Your Apple Music Artist Page

Personalize Your Artist Page

Add Your Lyrics

List Your Concerts

Add Team Members

Promote Your Music

Make Sure You’re On Shazam

Final Thoughts

Apple Music Now Offers College Students a 6-Month Trial — But Only Until September

Apple Music is helping out students – and hoping to perk its subscription numbers along the way.

Eligible students can view the offer here.

Last week, Apple Music also confirmed the expansion of its summer concert tour series.

Vodafone’s ‘My Muze’ Music Streaming App Quietly Surpasses One Million Downloads in South Africa

In March 2018, Spotify went live in South Africa.

Taking on Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Spotify in South Africa.

In PR talk, this usually means the real numbers are much, much lower than the company expected.

Apple Music Dramatically Expands ‘Up Next Live’ With Bad Bunny, Lewis Capaldi, and Khalid

Apple Music has unveiled the lineup for its upcoming Up Next Live tour.

Soon, however, Apple Music shifted the documentary series, highlighting only mainstream artists on Beats 1 Radio.

You can view the Up Next Live schedule below.

Apple Music Lists Five Leaked Songs on Playboi Carti’s Channel

Last month, an uploader managed to leak an unreleased Playboi Carti song.

Leaking previously dropped tracks.

The leaks come ahead of the official release of his upcoming album, Whole Lotta Red.

Apple Music Selects Megan Thee Stallion as Its Up Next Artist

Apple Music has revitalized Up Next and queued up its latest artist.

Speaking about the selection, Megan Thee Stallion said,

Apple Music Secures Trademark Filing in Canada for Its ‘Up Next’ Documentary Series

Several years ago, Apple Music officially unveiled a ‘now-forgotten’ mini-documentary series.

Is ‘Up Next’ up next?

Apple Music had first filed its Up Next trademark in the U.S. on October 21st, 2017.

Apple Music May Be Worth $15-$20 Billion Alone

Just how much is Apple Music worth exactly?

Should the company break up its Services divisions, however, Daryanani explained that Apple Music may have a higher valuation than investors expect.

Goldman Sachs Says Global Music Revenues Will Reach $131 Billion by 2030

According to a new report from Goldman Sachs, nearly 1.2 billion people will be paying for music streaming in just 11 years.

Updating its projected forecast, Goldman Sachs forecasts overall music revenue to more than double to about $131 billion by 2030.

In a stern warning to the music industry, however, Goldman Sachs wrote platforms like Spotify and Apple Music must continue to provide “access to millions of tracks.”

You can view the full report here.

Apple Music Strengthens Its Publishing Division By Poaching a Key Google & YouTube Executive

Last year, under its then-new Head of Music, Oliver Schusser, Apple Music quietly unveiled a new global publishing business.

Poaching from Google/YouTube.

Apple Music Caught Taking Down Pro-Democracy Songs in China

Streaming Music Royalties are Even Worse Than We Thought — At Least According to This Indie Label

Indie artists aren’t the only things not earning enough from streaming music services.

Beating Deezer for the first time, Google Play Music (GPM) per-stream rate stands at $0.00676. Artists will need around 217,752 total streams to earn $1,472.

What one indie label earned from streaming.

Apple Music paid indie artists around $0.00495 per stream. Indie artists would need around 297,374 streams to earn $1,472. The service had a 9.95% share in overall streams, generating a significant 24.97% of all revenue earned.

The key takeaways.

You can view the complete infographic below.

Apple Music Officially Hits 50 Million Subscribers

The busy holiday season pushed Apple Music up to 50 million paid subscriptions.

50 million and counting.

What’s the Average Length of a Song? It’s Shorter Than You Think

According to the latest research, the average length of a song is getting shorter by the year.

This trend also applies to other artists.

Rappers aren’t the only ones shortening their songs.

According to Quartz, low streaming music payouts may have caused songs to decrease.

So, what should we expect in the near future? Thanks to the rise of streaming music, until artists receive better payment from streaming, we can probably expect longer albums with shorter songs.

Verizon Wireless Bundles Apple Music Into Its Unlimited Plans

Apple Music has seriously expanded its partnership with Verizon. Your move, Spotify.

Going all in on streaming music.

The move is helping Apple Music take on Spotify, which has yet to partner with a US carrier.

How Much Artists Make Per Stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube, Pandora, More

How much do artists make per stream on the most popular streaming music services? Here’s a breakdown for Pandora, Napster, Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and more (updated for 2022).

Napster remains king of streaming music payouts, but total usage is lower.

Jay-Z’s beleaguered TIDAL remains a top player, at least in terms of payouts.

Apple Music takes third place.

Deezer falls to fourth place.

Amazon falls behind.

How much do artists make per stream on Spotify?

Pandora continues to struggle.

YouTube pulls a U-Turn.

Just Like Ping, Apple Quietly Kills Off Apple Music Connect

Let’s face it – Apple just doesn’t do social. Apple Music executives found that out the hard way – again.

Adieu, Connect. We hardly used thee.

“Connect posts from artists are no longer supported.”

Apple Music had first filed its Up Next trademark in the U.S. on October 21^st, 2017.