It’s an “an affirmative, public declaration.” That’s how Sony Music characterizes its statement, released yesterday, declaring the giant music company’s entire catalog off-limits to all AI training systems. It is fierce, comprehensive, and bears a certain resemblance to the 1990s. Continue Reading
Music library platform Slip.stream, which contains over 100,000 tracks and sound effects, has obtained $7.5-million in Series A financing led by Sony Music Entertainment, Third Prime, and Lightshed Ventures. Slip.stream joins an industry segment of music libraries in an addressable market of 22-million YouTube creators and 30-million independent creators who need audio assets for their creations. Continue Reading
Tinkercast, an outfit founded by renowned podcast producer Guy Raz (former host of TED Radio Hour), has reached an agreement with Sony Music to produce a slate of podcasts for kids and families. No details of future shows, but the existing podcast Wow In The World (328 episodes) is bundled into the deal. Continue Reading
A streaming music app co-owned by Sony Music and Universal Music is adding a free tier. The labels operate NOW That’s What I Call Music! brand, which includes the NOW Music app for both iOS and Android mobile devices in the UK. The app now offers a free, ad-supported counterpart to its usual mid-tier subscription of £4.99 per month. Continue Reading
Sony Music Entertainment made a big push for podcasting deals at the start of this year, and several are already launching new titles. The first show to come out of Sony’s partnership with Somethin’ Else is titled The Immaculate Deception. Continue Reading
Sony Music has forged a content development partnership with Somethin’ Else, an indie British podcast production company. The press release lists Sony’s contributions to be content expertise, marketing, and monetization. We don’t know whether Sony has taken an ownership stake in Somethin’ Else. We do know Sony is moving fast in podcasting. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. First, Sony would consider its own streaming service one day. Second, Spotify celebrates its 10th birthday. Continue Reading
Sony has reported its earnings for its fiscal year ending March 31, and streaming helped bolster growth for the company’s music division. Overall, Sony Music saw a 12% increase in revenue to $4.03 billion. Continue Reading
Sony Music and Tencent Music have joined forces to launch a music label. Liquid State will focus on electronic and dance music artists both from Asia and across the globe. Continue Reading
Universal Music Group leads the labels in volume of audio streams distributed in the U.S. during 2016, according to Music Business Worldwide. The major was responsible for 84.03 billion audio streams, about a third of the total market. Continue Reading
Pricing options are turning into one of the more interesting trends in streaming music, and now labels are also getting in on the act. Universal and Sony have collaborated on a limited access music app called NOW Music+. Continue Reading
Sony Music’s Q4 financial results broke out the numbers by format and revealed a big role for streaming. Digital secured a 43% portion of the company’s music income, with streaming at 24% outperforming download revenues at 19%. Continue Reading