Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Sales and subscriptions up for Google Music; SoundCloud cofounder on money and mixes; what the world is listening to. Continue Reading
The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers And Authors weighed in on Taylor Swift’s decision to remove all of her music from Spotify over concerns that the singer was not being fairly compensated for her music. BASCA voiced support for Swift’s decision, but used the situation to call attention to the disparity in royalties paid to performers compared with those given to songwriters. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group has entered into a distribution agreement with Tencent, a Chinese Internet conglomerate. Tencent will be responsible for distributing Warner’s catalog and new releases to local music services in China. One of the main platforms where Tencent will be providing Warner’s library is its proprietary streaming music platform, QQ Music. The free listening service is one of the longest-running in China. Continue Reading
Gracenote announced the launch of a new platform that will enter the increasingly crowded space of connected car dashboards. The product is called Entourage Radio, and this very interesting platform will connect music sources including AM/FM radio and streaming platforms in a single interface, then initiate new listening experiences based on song-ID. Continue Reading
eMarketer released estimates about ad revenue from YouTube — especially interesting as the video platform releases Music Key ad-free listening. eMarketer projects that U.S. video ad revenue alone would increase 39.2% to $1.13 billion. The company expected that the figure would continue to expand in double digit percentages to a possible $1.75 billion in 2016. Continue Reading
Radio Disney has started its migration into the digital realm thanks to three new stations arriving on Slacker. The new additions are Radio Disney, Radio Disney Junior, and Radio Disney’s Top 30 Countdown. Disney shuttered 23 of its 24 terrestrial stations back in August as preparation for a push into online platforms. Continue Reading
The launch of YouTube Music Key is an exciting development for the streaming music sector, but it the new service already has a very vocal and powerful detractor. Irving Azoff, a music industry veteran and leader of the recent Global Music Rights venture, told The Hollywood Reporter that he is prepared to remove the works by 42 of his clients from YouTube. The threatened move could see about 20,000 copyrighted works taken away from the fledgling service, as well as from the original YouTube video platform. Continue Reading
Bandcamp has rolled out an artist subscription for all musicians on its platform. CEO Ethan Diamond spoke with The Guardian about the new feature prior to the official announcement at the SF MusicTech Summit. “The whole motivation here is that when you get to a point that you love an artist – when you go from liking them to being a real true fan of theirs – at some point you just want everything they make,” he said. Continue Reading
Rhapsody posted a net loss of $7.97 million in the third quarter, according to the financial results filed by main investor RealNetworks. The streaming platform generated record-high revenue of $44.1 million, up 25% from the previous year’s figures. In the second quarter, Rhapsody’s net loss was about $4.7 million. Continue Reading
YouTube has reportedly reached an agreement with indie music rights agency Merlin for its subscription music service, according to Financial Times. If the news is confirmed, this would be a major win for the video network. Merlin represents some 20,000 indie labels, and an agreement with that group helps to round out YouTube’s alliances with the top record labels; it already has arrangements with Universal, Sony, and Warner. Continue Reading
Classical music fans in the UK are getting a new option for keeping up with their favorite symphonies and sonatas thanks to Classic FM and Decca. The companies have partnered to launch a classical music streaming service called Composed. The subscription-based model offers streaming based on mood, composer, or curated playlist, according to Music Week. Continue Reading
The decision by Taylor Swift and her label, Big Machine, to remove her entire back catalog from Spotify sparked a wave of debates and arguments about the pros and cons of the streaming music economy. Swift herself said in an interview with Yahoo that the reason for her action was her skepticism about streaming platforms. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wrote a lengthy blog post in an effort to clear up misunderstandings about the streaming ecosystem that have sparked many of the most vocal diabtribes. Continue Reading