Country sensation Garth Brooks took his first baby step into the digital realm in July, but today he announced the beta launch of an entirely new online music service. It’s called GhostTunes.com. The focus with this platform is control for the musicians, but listeners will also have several options for how to enjoy their purchases. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Blinkbox hits a billion streams; WiMP expands internationally with Tidal; Spotify CEO on musicians making money. Continue Reading
Forbes published an article with predictions about Pandora’s audience base, estimating that its number of active users would grow from 76.2 million in 2013 to almost 120 million during the next five or six years. That’s a bold prediction, especially considering that Pandora actually posted a small dip in monthly active users in its second-quarter conference call. The expectation is based on projections for smartphone growth and connected cars, as well as a presumption that Pandora will expand internationally. Continue Reading
Universal Music Publishing Group has followed through on the plans it made earlier this summer to list its catalog online. For starters, the online Song List only includes the portions of its catalog written by members of the ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC performing rights organizations. The company plans to expand the list over time. Continue Reading
Most online music platforms have such a large volume of songs and listeners that they unintentionally make sharing difficult. With the days of the mixtape long gone, there are few ways for people to share that song stuck on loop in their head with their friends. Enter This is My Jam, a polished resharing and curating service. Continue Reading
With album sales on the fritz, you’d think that CD Baby would be in dire straights. Yet the indie-friendly music retailer is actually getting aggressive with its business with the launch of a new service tier called CD Baby Free. This service eliminates the usual costs for musicians to sign up with the company and set up their songs. In exchange, CD Baby takes a 15 percent cut of digital sales rather than its usual 9 percent rate. Continue Reading
Brief news and worthy reads from around the web: Thefuture.fm’s artist payment system; T-Mobile Music Freedom vs net neutrality; protest over dot-music domains; Tango gets Rhapsody and SoundCloud. Continue Reading
We reported last week that Pono Music had launched a new equity crowdfunding project to raise additional funds for its hi-fi digital music player and store. Investors have pledged more than $5.24 million to the company thus far, and there are still two weeks to go. [Update: The campaign will now stretch until Sept. 30; how much money does Pono need?] Continue Reading
The International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies, better known as CISAC, has a new director general. Gadi Oron, who previously served as CISAC’s general counsel, is now helping the organization of musical publishing collecting societies. Continue Reading
For anyone falling under the ‘content creator’ umbrella at YouTube, the sole path to making money has been to allow ads on your channel and hope for a massive viewership. That could change with a new feature that allows channels to operate a digital tip jar. The new crowd funding feature has reportedly rolled out in a handful of markets — Australia, Japan, Mexico, and the U.S. Continue Reading
Last September, several major record labels filed a lawsuit against Sirius XM seeking damages for the satellite radio company’s failure to pay royalties for recordings made before federal copyright protection was enacted in 1972. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the judge hearing the lawsuit issued a tentative ruling that indicates a favorable result for the satellite radio company. The suit in question was filed last September by Capitol Records, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group Recordings, and ABKCO, with the labels arguing that state laws should protect use of the older recordings. Continue Reading
After several high-profile exits, YouTube has snagged a music industry pro to join the team under its umbrella. Brian Felsen, who was the president at CD Baby, will now serve in the same role at AdRev, a YouTube network partner that operates a music monetization service, a licensing platform, and multi-channel network. Continue Reading