Buzz, accusations, and legal jargon are swirling around the echosphere today in the wake of Spotify’s removal of the Victory Records song catalog from its library. Music licensing and royalty payouts in interactive streaming services are complex, sometimes compared to an impenetrable black box. Is there a solution? Continue Reading
Damian Marley, son of legend Bob Marley, is the latest member of Tidal’s artist-owner roster. The addition was announced at the Tidal X 10:20 Festival charity concert hosted by the streaming service in New York. Continue Reading
One of UMG’s top execs is stepping down effective immediately. Max Hole will leave his role as the Universal Music Group International’s chairman and CEO following medical troubles. Continue Reading
Will they or won’t they? After filing a suit against iHeartMedia last week in Illinois only to dismiss it three days later, ABS Entertainment has reopened the case. The company, which represents Arthur and Barbara Sheridan, is seeking royalties for songs recorded prior to 1972. Continue Reading
The Walt Disney Company has announced plans to launch a new streaming service in the UK. DisneyLife will combine both music and video content from several of the entertainment company’s ventures, including Disney Channel TV episodes, the entire Pixar catalog, books, and music albums. Continue Reading
In just under three weeks, leaders of the online audio industry will gather from eight countries for RAIN Summit Europe, November 9 at The Royal Institution in London. Another slate of thought-leading speakers has recently been confirmed. Continue Reading
Dan Shelley has joined iHeartMedia as the company’s senior vice president of digital content strategy. In this role, Shelley will be tasked with developing national digital strategy, including content publishing, staffing, and identifying partnerships. Continue Reading
Onkyo & Pioneer has launched a new entry into the portable audio device segment. The new XDP-100R device is a high-resolution music player. A company rep said it is for those listeners “who feel smartphones aren’t offering satisfying sound quality.” Continue Reading
With CEO Tim Cook’s disclosure of Apple Music subscriber numbers, Apple Music is finally positioned in the music service market. Should Apple Music be compared to other services? Apple Music is not as mature as competitors, but also not in the same business. Continue Reading
Late last week, Arthur and Barbara Sheridan’s ABS Entertainment company launched a new legal foray for copyright royalty charges against iHeartMedia in Illinois. However, three days after filing the suit, ABS filed to dismiss the charges. Continue Reading
TriPlay has acquired eMusic for an undisclosed price. The deal will retain eMusic’s executives and employees for a single company that will combine TriPlay’s cloud services with eMusic’s digital storefront. The joint business will see eMusic integrated into MyMusicCloud so that users can buy tunes and add them to online collections within a single interface. Continue Reading
Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed official subscriber numbers for Apple Music at the Wall Street Journal technology conference. He shared that the streaming platform has more than 6.5 million subscribers, with another 8.5 million currently enrolled in free trials. Continue Reading