IFPI Sweden reported that the nation’s music revenue reached 1.1 billion kronor ($121.9 million) in 2016, up 6.2%. Sweden, home of Spotify, has been a leading country in adoption of streaming, and last year’s results are no exception. Audio streaming secured an 82.3% share of the music industry sales, edging up 8% from its 2015 share. Continue Reading
Denmark’s music industry increased its total revenue 9% to 494 million kroner ($70.8 million) in 2016. IFPI Denmark found that streaming accounts for the lion’s share of that revenue at 392 million kroner ($56.2 million) and a 79.4% market share. Continue Reading
It seems that acclaimed rapper Jay Z had an odd weekend. He took down his catalog from both Apple Music and Spotify over the weekend. By Monday afternoon, though, he had reversed course on Apple Music and returned his albums to that platform. Spotify, on the other hand, still only has a limited selection from his catalog. Continue Reading
ASCAP has announced a deal with Landr to offer music mastering services to its members. All ASCAP members will now receive a basic subscription to the automated mastering service. Continue Reading
Pandora has promoted Susan Panico to its senior vice president of strategic solutions. Panico’s appointment fills the position left vacant by Heidi Browning, who left the company in the fall of 2016 to join the national Hockey League. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. A podcast app accepts advertising, how Radioplayer Car works, smart speakers are the interactive radio for everybody, a snooty podcast piece, and much more. Continue Reading
“It’s clear that streaming is taking over,” a Nielsen spokesperson notes when sending us the Q1 Music Report. The quarterly update of music consumption across all platforms shows a 35% gain in number of streams, compared to the first quarter… Continue Reading
The chief officer of the BMG label issued downward sentiment when he talked about the prospects of a music industry revival powered by streaming. “I am very cynical about the view that the good days have returned,” said Hartwig Masuch as quoted in Financial Times. Streaming drives the music industry now, and artists are set to demand a bigger cut from their labels. Continue Reading
BuzzAngle unceremoniously released its first-quarter 2017 music industry consumption numbers today — and only the numbers, without comment or executive summary. No problem there, as the numbers tell a clear story. Continue Reading
Yesterday the Wall Street Journal broke anonymously sourced news (e.g. rumor) that Spotify is planning an “open listing” method of becoming a publicly traded company. In the ensuing media swirl, that method has been termed an IPO-less IPO. Media reactions range from “weird” to “logical.” Continue Reading
The latest PodcastOne content partnership is with the renowned Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, and results in the launch of Geffen Playhouse Unscripted podcast. The new show dropped its first episode this week. Continue Reading
The battle of the bills continues in Washington, as over-the-air radio’s music royalty exemption is again under scrutiny by the 115th Congress. In the latest development, Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif) has introduced a new bill with a new solution which gives artists the right to forbid airplay of their music without payment. Continue Reading