News

Beatport posts decreased Q1 download revenue

Posted on by Anna Washenko

The general trend in the music industry has been a steady decline in sales of downloads, and that appears to be impacting even niche stores. EDM and DJ specialty platform Beatport’s financial information was released in the quarterly filings for parent company SFX Entertainment. In the first quarter this year, the company’s revenue from digital downloads totaled $8.9 million, compared with $11.6 million for the same metric in the year-ago period. Continue Reading →

State of the industry report: streaming is growing fast

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Music data specialist Next Big Sound has released a new report with just as much substance as style. The beautifully designed presentation reviewed some of the major music business trends of 2014. The data points show a snapshot of how the online music industry has continued to grow and create additional business opportunities for artists, labels, and their partners. Continue Reading →

ASCAP hires new general counsel

Posted on by Anna Washenko

ASCAP has hired Clara Kim as its executive vice president and general counsel. That position was previously held by the performing rights organization’s new CEO, Elizabeth Matthews, prior to her promotion. In her new capacity, Kim will oversee all of ASCAP’s legal and business affairs, including managing its legislative team and its internal and external legal services. Continue Reading →

Warner Music Group’s streaming revenue surpasses downloads

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Warner Music Group has attracted extra attention this quarterly earnings season with the announcement that its revenue from streaming music has surpassed revenue from downloads. CEO Stephen Cooper said that second-quarter revenue from streaming services increased 33%, while overall digital revenue rose only 7%. All other revenue streams aside from digital – including physical sales – declined for the label. Continue Reading →

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RIAA and BPI have submitted 200 million URLs for Google takedowns

Posted on by Anna Washenko

The RIAA and the BPI have issued their 200 millionth URL takedown request to Google. The RIAA has submitted 19,569 total requests and the BPI has made 295,730. These requests seek to remove pirated content from the web. The two record industry organizations for the U.S. and UK, respectively, have been pushing for the tech company to adopt stricter measures to prevent this type of music piracy. Continue Reading →

Singapore’s 2014 music industry results echo global trends

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Even in May, we’re still seeing some belated analyses of global music industry results from 2014. The latest data focuses on Singapore, where music sales rose 4.7% to S$17.2 million, the first increase following four years of losses. Digital music revenue for the city-state increased 34% from the year prior to S$9.5 million, according to the IFPI data. Continue Reading →

Songkick now offering concert recommendations based on Rdio

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Songkick has partnered with Rdio to pull in playlists from that streaming service and use them as a basis for live concert discovery. The service scans locally stored music as well as song choices from streaming platforms to recommend shows happening in the user’s vicinity. The two companies first announced a collaboration at SXSW, which saw Songkick’s database of tour information added to artist profiles on the streaming service. Continue Reading →

NPR One to reach more mobile hardware thanks to new Developer Center

Posted on by Anna Washenko

National Public Radio announced the debut of the NPR One Developer Center. This move by the media organization opens up its API to outside developers and will allow them to create versions of the mobile NPR program for additional platforms. It’s an early step in making its personalized news service, which launched last summer, accessible to more listeners. Continue Reading →