News

CD Baby launches free tier, positions for competition with Bandcamp

Posted on by Anna Washenko

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 →

1

Pono Music has already hit its Crowdfunder goal [Update: Campaign to continue for another month]

Posted on by Anna Washenko

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 →

4

Internet station denied reader’s choice award by newspaper; plans protest with picketing

Posted on by Brad Hill

John Stephens didn’t expect his radio station to win the “Best of Saint Louis” reader poll. But after Our Musical Roots, his classic rock pureplay, got a lot of votes in the Riverfront Times annual survey, he had some questions. It turns out the station was eliminated from the winner’s list because, according to the newspaper, “Internet radio isn’t real radio.” This week station staff and listeners will protest with picket signs outside the newspaper offices. Continue Reading →

Australia’s Songl drops consumer subscriptions, shifts into B2B services

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Australian streaming service Songl is ending its consumer-focused subscriptions. The platform was a joint effort between Southern Cross Austereo, Sony Music, and Universal Music. Existing subscribers will be transitioned to a personalized ratio service called Omny, which sources its music from other platforms such as Spotify or Rdio. Continue Reading →