Frank Ocean still hasn’t dropped his anticipated Boys Don’t Cry album yet, but he did release something. The R&B artist is airing what’s being called a visual album as an Apple Music exclusive. This year has been a milestone for artists experimenting with unique distribution methods. Continue Reading
David Gray is getting a “Best Of” collection, but he and Kobalt Label Services are taking a unique approach in distribution. The release will be on sale as a CD and vinyl format in October, but for now, it’s a dynamic Spotify playlist. Rather than serve as a traditional album release, the Best Of playlist will be updated every week to reflect the most popular tracks by the artist. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Spotify exec on data-driven marketing; behind the scenes with Coloring Book’s success; Spotify as SoundCloud suitor? Continue Reading
Apple Music is slated to get exclusive access to two upcoming releases. Pop singer Britney Spears will make her album Glory an Apple exclusive when it drops on Aug. 26. It is her first project since 2013. R&B singer Frank Ocean is also going to have an Apple Music exclusive, but the release date is much murkier. Continue Reading
Warner distribution division has shut down several accounts for small retailers of physical music. According to Pitchfork, WEA is enforcing a policy that requires a minimum annual order of $10,000 for stores with direct accounts. Continue Reading
BitTorrent has added a streaming component to its bundle program. The entire system has been rebranded as BitTorrent Now, and is available as an Android app (iOS and Apple TV versions are coming soon). The ad-supported streaming will only be composed of content that artists have chosen to make available for that purpose. Continue Reading
At long last, is seems Adele’s smash success 25 is coming to on-demand streaming services. Listeners in Australia and New Zealand can already tune in to the hit album on Spotify, Apple Music, and the like. However it has not appeared yet for the UK and U.S. audiences, which likely means that 25’s official streaming launch is June 24. Continue Reading
A streaming-only album has landed on the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for the first time. The work is Chance the Rapper’s new project Coloring Book, which was released on May 13 as an Apple Music exclusive. Continue Reading
Public radio WBAA in West Lafayette, Indiana, is discontinuing broadcasts of This American Life after the show entered into a deal with Pandora. In a brief blog post titled “Mission vs. Economics,” WBAA General Manager Mike Savage said that the decision to air This American Life on a paid subscription service was a key factor in the Indiana station’s decision. Continue Reading
Seems Drake is quite the tease. Even though he said in a Beats 1 interview that his new album Views would be exclusive to Apple Music for one week, fans on other platforms will have to wait a little longer. Continue Reading
We’re keeping close tabs on the current wave of big album releases that are windowing their distribution. Here’s the latest data from the two top performers: Lemonade by Beyoncé and Views by Drake. Continue Reading
Drake dropped his latest album, Views, as a windowed Apple exclusive on Friday. So far, the move seems to be a lucrative one. Views will be exclusive to the Apple music ecosystem for one week before it goes to any other services. In that time, it won’t even be available for physical retail. Continue Reading