Michael Huppe has signed a contract to remain the CEO of SoundExchange. He has been in the top role since 2011, and will stay in that position for another four years under the newest contract. The group’s annual collections have grown by more than 150% since Huppe took over. Continue Reading
Several U.S. music industry organizations have voiced their unified support for three pieces of proposed legislation. More than 20 groups issued a joint press release to endorse the Music Modernization Act of 2017, the CLASSICS Act, and the AMP Act. Continue Reading
Anna Washenko (RAIN News editor) and Brad Hill (RAIN president) offer a few points of outlook for 2018. China, startups, rivalries, smart OS, playlists, cars, and more. Continue Reading
A RAIN News roundup of 2017’s most important stories, by month. We applied an upper limit of five stories per month to keep this feature concisely focused on the most crucial industry developments in online audio. Continue Reading
Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio platform has launched its first Spanish-language show. “Trap Kingz” will air every two weeks, with a focus on the trap genre. Puerto Rican artist and trap specialist Bad Bunny will host the first six episodes of the program. Continue Reading
The RIAA released new data about the Latin music market, which supports the overall trends laid out in the organization’s half-year report. Revenue from Latin music in the first six months of 2017 totaled $115 million, up 44% from the year prior. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Where to find free music downloads; advice for how to monetize your podcasts; podcasters may listen less to other podcasts. Continue Reading
Robb McDaniels is the new CEO for Beatport. McDaniels was the founder of music distribution services business INgrooves, but left in 2014. Beatport has been a convoluted saga for the past few years. Continue Reading
Global label agency Merlin has announced reaching a milepost of $1-billion dollars or rights payments distributed to member labels. Merlin licenses on behalf of 20,000+ indie labels in 53 countries. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: New chapters in the licensing database saga; Apple’s original programming begins with Carpool Karaoke; iHeartRadio’s latest in-car collaboration; Spotify Xbox app reportedly in the works. Continue Reading
Congress is preparing to address the topic of royalties for pre-1972 recordings, a move that sparked positive response from several music industry players. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) introduced the CLASSICS Act to establish royalty payments for the creators of music recorded prior to the advent of federal copyright laws in 1972. Representatives from SoundExchange, the RIAA, and Pandora have all reacted favorably toward this proposal. Continue Reading
Sony Music is opening an in-house vinyl-pressing plant. The new facility could open as soon as March 2018. The announcement marks Sony’s return to vinyl operations after nearly three decades; the label had shuttered its last vinyl operations in 1989. Continue Reading