Billboard industry survey finds love for Taylor Swift and Apple, not so much for Tidal

Billboard conducted an anonymous survey of music industry leaders, gathering expert opinions on everything from the sector’s business outlook to favorite artists. The business questions also revealed intriguing insights, including a view of which music companies are the industry darlings and which are not. Continue Reading

First hints drop of Justice Department’s consent decree decisions

The Department of Justice has been engaged in a review of consent decrees for more than a year. These rules govern the blanket licenses that performing rights organizations negotiate on behalf of music publishers. Billboard has a piece on the changes the department is reported to be considering, according to its unnamed sources. Continue Reading

Bop.fm provides listening on Billboard + Twitter charts

We at RAIN wrote about the rise of platform-agnostic listening services last month, and today we’ve learned about a new use for them. Bop.fm has signed a deal with Billboard and Twitter to power integrate streaming into the companies’ real-time music charts. Since the Billboard + Twitter Real Time Charts often include tracks that aren’t part of a formal album release – they are more often covers or live performances – they aren’t as easy to find on a single listening platform. Continue Reading