Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:
Musicians should speak up about YouTube features: An article by Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith called on musicians to get more involved with YouTube’s feature development. He said that since the video platform is commonly used as a way for listeners to try out music before buying it, the artists should be vocal about what features they would like to see in order to encourage more music purchases. Smith said musicians should tell YouTube “to go beyond tip jars and not only add ecommerce services but allow for third party integration of such services.”
Buy music and more from a tweet: Another interesting update in the music purchasing space comes from Twitter. The social media network is rolling out a button that lets members buy merchandise, music, or other wares directly from a tweet. Billboard reported that Brad Paisley, Eminem, Panic! at the Disco, Wiz Khalifa, Ryan Adams, and Soundgarden are among the artists in the initial launch of this feature.
Calvin Harris’ billion Spotify streams: DJ and producer Calvin Harris’ music has been streamed more than a billion times on Spotify. Music Week reported that, based on Spotify’s current royalty rates, Harris has generated about $7 million from his music on the streaming platform.