Lyor Cohen, YouTube global head of music, spoke at SXSW about the video platform’s previously reported plans to make a new subscription music service. “We know we’re late to the party,” he said. It’s okay.” Continue Reading
Independent label network Merlin has seen its earnings from Latin America increase five-fold in the past three years. Based on current growth rates, Merlin’s 2018 revenue from Latin America are projected to exceed $60 million. Streaming appears to be a key driver of that international growth. Continue Reading
Spotify is expanding the beta test of its self-serve advertising platform. After an initial launch in the United States in September, the streaming music company is opening the beta trial of Spotify Ad Studio to Canada and the UK. Continue Reading
Pandora has entered a deal with Linkfire, a music marketing platform, to improve music discovery for fans and marketing for artists. The agreement dubs Pandora the premiere streaming music data provider for Linkfire and it will provide its attribution data to the company. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The radio station operator, the biggest in the United States, has reached a deal with its creditors that will reduce its debt burden by about half to roughly $10 billion. It made the filing in the late hours on Wednesday, March 14, after several extensions and last-minute negotiations. Continue Reading
Accurate metadata is a critical component in streaming music. It’s how the correct people get paid the correct amounts, plus how listeners can find exactly what they want. Spotify has launched an effort to start crowd-sourcing some metadata from its listeners. Continue Reading
Apple Music for Artists is looking for more musicians to try out its analytics dashboard. The platform debuted in January with a limited beta test, and now Apple is looking for more performers to test the service. Continue Reading
Deezer has launched a new app to bring its music service to the Xbox One and Xbox One X. The music app brings Deezer’s lean-back Flow playlists and other features to Microsoft’s linest video game consoles. Continue Reading
Apple’s Eddy Cue shared some updates and milestones about the tech company’s streaming music service at SXSW. The senior vice president for Internet software and services announced that Apple Music now has 38 million subscribers. That’s 2 million added to the audience in just over a month. Continue Reading
Spotify’s direct listing is nearing its next stage, with sources reporting that it plans to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange the week of April 2. That leaves a few weeks for the streaming music company to prepare for the non-traditional approach to going public. It’s also moving forward with plans for international expansion. Continue Reading
Label services company Kobalt has made a big investment in independent artists. It has combined its recording business under the AWAL brand and is putting $150 million into marketing and advances for indie performers. AWAL is also hiring 100 more employees, about doubling the headcount under Kobalt’s umbrella. Continue Reading
Google is opening up a new option for musicians to curate their presence online. The company offers Posts, where verified people can supply content that appears in the Knowledge Panel when they are the subject of a search query. In effect, this allows artists to directly message their fans or potential fans. Continue Reading