Digital distribution companies criticize the UMG/Deezer royalty breakthrough

The new royalty attribution method recently deployed by Universal Music Group and streaming music platform Deezer seeks to make royalty calculation more fair. But the change is not universally applauded. Two digital distribution companies Believe and TuneCore, whose customers are mainly indie musicians, calls the system “reverse Robin Hood.” Continue Reading

Industry first: UMG changes royalty terms with Deezer — to favor artists

In an unprecedented shift in how streaming music royalties are assessed, Universal Music Group (UMG) has reached agreement with Paris-based global streaming service Deezer. It is an artist-centric model which scales payouts upward in an attempt to reward musicians who are most favored by fans. Click for the details. Continue Reading

With Spotify’s recent raise, major music services are settled at $10.99 subscription level

Spotify made news during its Q2 earnings report (See RAIN HERE and HERE) for raising its monthly Spotify Premium subscription rate from $9.99 to $10.99. Investor reaction, as a whole, could be characterized as “It’s about time.” Our survey of current music subscription pricing does support some investor impatience with Spotify, with six competing services having already boosted to that level.
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Deezer invests in live music streaming startup DREAMSTAGE

Global audio streaming service Deezer is becoming a cornerstone investor in DREAMSTAGE, a U.S.-based live music streaming startup. (No financials are disclosed.) The new funding will enable the company to significantly speed up growth and expand its operations. In the announcement, Deezer cites a MIDiA Research projection that global live music streaming will grow to $6.4-billion by 2027. Continue Reading