Sony has made yet another move toward transparency in how it is distributing the proceeds from its sale of Spotify stock. Sony Music Entertainment has informed indie labels by email that it intends to make payments to eligible artists and participants as soon as possible. There is one interesting and revealing point. Continue Reading
Spotify held its slight lead over Pandora in March stream listening, an advantage established in January after three years of chasing. Aside from that metrics rivalry, the Top 20 group in Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics report gained one percent in overall listening compared to February. PLUS — a little bit of smart speaker reporting. Continue Reading
Mark Williamson has departed his role as global head of artist and industry partnerships at Spotify. Williamson had been at the streaming service since 2011, rising through the ranks of leadership working with artists, managers, and music executives. Continue Reading
Spotify is reportedly offering advances to managers and indie artists as an incentive to consider direct licensing deals with the streaming service. Billboard reported that the company is offering up to several hundred thousand dollars in advances for managers that agree to license a particular number of tracks by indies directly to Spotify. On the platform, the managers and acts could then earn 50% of the revenue from those songs being streamed. Continue Reading
YouTube has hired Tuma Basa as its new director of urban music, confirming the move that had been circulating on the gossip mills for a few months. Basa was previously the top hip-hop curator at Spotify, where he built the Rap Caviar playlist into a must-listen destination for fans of the genre. Continue Reading
Spotify has secured a partnership with Amy Schumer for the comedian to host and produce a podcast for the streaming audio platform. Her show, which doesn’t have a planned release date yet, will cover “pop culture, politics and the world of standup comedy.” Continue Reading
Another streaming holdout has reversed course: Peter Gabriel has released most of his albums to Spotify, and possibly other services. In addition to other business considerations in releasing the music, there is the enduring value of back catalogs in streaming services. Continue Reading
Merlin has opted to cash in its entire stake in Spotify. The independent label network acquired a 1% holding in the company back in 2009, but that share has been diluted over years of additional external investment. The group did not disclose the value of the shares sold. Continue Reading
In a pivotal deal, NPR announced that its entire podcast catalog is now available on Spotify for the first time. All shows from the public media outlet, both familiar favorites and new titles, will have a home on the streaming audio service. The arrangement brings the world’s largest podcast publisher into one of the largest podcast distribution platforms. Continue Reading
Spotify is working on testing a couple new features that would amp up the social angle of the streaming music service. First is called Friends Weekly, a collection of tracks that your social connections are favoring. The second feature is a new section on the home screen called Friends’ Discover Weekly. Continue Reading
Spotify has inked a partnership with book publisher Bloomsbury. Under the terms of the deal, Spotify will exclusively offer titles from the publisher’s 33 1/3 series, which includes short books centered on a single album. The first one to become available on Spotify will be the book about Miles Davis’ album Bitches Brew. Continue Reading
Spotify’s direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange marked a new chapter for the streaming music service, and the action has continued to make waves in the industry. The latest developments are that two of the major labels that were early investors in Spotify during its startup days have sold portions of their shares. Continue Reading