iHeartRadio is collaborating with Justin Timberlake for the launch of his latest album this week. The pop performer’s Man of the Woods album debuts on February 2, and iHeartRadio is hosting a special preview both on-air and digitally. Continue Reading
Media company PRX announced new partnerships with two podcasting networks: Gen-Z Media and Night Vale Presents. PRX will provide marketing, ad sales, and technology for the existing and in-development shows at both networks. Gen-Z Media focuses on properties for children, tweens, and families, while Night Vale Presents emphasizes new voices and content that pushes the bounds of the audio format. Continue Reading
The Copyright Royalty Board has announced the new rates for mechanical royalties to be paid by streaming music services. As announced on Jan. 27, streaming platforms will pay out royalties to songwriters and composers as a share of their revenue. By 2022, the share for mechanical royalties will be 15.1% of the streaming platform’s revenue. Read on for the full rate ruling and reactions from both publishers’ and songwriters’ organizations. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Pandora exec on voice ads. Why Latin music is having a moment. Playlists for (adoptable) puppies. Continue Reading
Kieron Donoghue has launched an independent record label with a focus on streaming. Humble Angel Records will pay its artists monthly and aims to offer contracts with “at least double the average” of royalty rates from the majors. Continue Reading
Billboard has released its Power 100 list for 2018, a ranking of the most influential leaders in the music business. The list includes several executives from streaming services alongside the stalwarts from major labels, talent management, and concert promotion. Continue Reading
The Internet Association trade group has thrown its considerable clout behind the Music Modernization Act. The organization represents several online powerhouses such as Google and Facebook, as well as prominent music services Pandora and Spotify. Continue Reading
Today, we have one of our first surveys into music opinions for 2018. The musicFIRST Coalition commissioned a poll of more than 2,200 adult music listeners over January 9-11, asking participants for their thoughts on artist payments and accountability among music platforms. Continue Reading
SoundHound has been quiet recently, but it also hasn’t been standing still. Recode reports that the company just secured a financing round that values SoundHound at an estimated $1 billion. SoundHound declined to comment for Recode’s article. Continue Reading
Drake has a new single, and after less than a week, it has broken multiple streaming records. His track “God’s Plan” now holds the title for Spotify’s and Apple Music’s one-day streaming records. A single breaking records on that scale would have been a major deal a few years back. Now, it’s more surprising if a new release from Drake doesn’t meet those milestones. That trend indicates that it’s time to change how we’re using chart rankings. Continue Reading
Podtrac has published its podcast ranking charts for December 2017. Measured listening rose 93% year-on-year for the period, although December did see a slight drop of 7% in total global unique streams and downloads from November. Each of the publishers also posted dips in their audiences for December over November, a common trend in end-of-year listening. Continue Reading
The Music Modernization Act has been introduced in the Senate. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) introduced the bill. The legislation to overhaul mechanical licensing reached the House of Representatives in December, and the Senate version follows that bill. Continue Reading