Spotify

Daniel Ek responds to Taylor Swift with comprehensive defense of Spotify

Posted on by Anna Washenko

The decision by Taylor Swift and her label, Big Machine, to remove her entire back catalog from Spotify sparked a wave of debates and arguments about the pros and cons of the streaming music economy. Swift herself said in an interview with Yahoo that the reason for her action was her skepticism about streaming platforms. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wrote a lengthy blog post in an effort to clear up misunderstandings about the streaming ecosystem that have sparked many of the most vocal diabtribes. Continue Reading →

Bono and other music leaders talk streaming’s positive future at Web Summit

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Several leaders from the music industry spoke last week at the Web Summit in Dublin about the role of streaming for musicians and listeners. One panel included several managers discussing the current environment for music. Jonathan Dickins, who represents popular singer Adele, spoke favorably about the role of streaming. Another panel from the Summit focused on Music and Movies in the 21st Century. At that discussion, U2’s Bono also spoke out in support of a streaming music economy. Continue Reading →

Spotify Connect lets your phone be a musical remote control

Posted on by RAIN News Staff

Spotify introduced a new use for its Spotify Connect feature, letting listeners use their mobile devices as a remote control for music playing from a desktop. Once you’ve linked up your computer, you can use the mobile app to skip songs and change tracks from the phone or tablet. through this and other features, Spotify seeks to keep users connected to the platform anywhere, and through multiple devices. Continue Reading →

Vodafone releases details about Australian Spotify bundle

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Vodafone and Spotify announced an Australian partnership in early October, and today more details emerged about how the two services will support each other. Customers on Vodafone’s Red plans will have access to Spotify Premium for free. The amount of time customers will have the free Premium service — from six months to 24 months — depends on the plan they choose. Continue Reading →

Kobalt’s songwriters got more money from Spotify than iTunes in Q1

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Publisher Kobalt announced that for the first time, its writers received greater royalties from Spotify than from iTunes. During the first quarter of 2014, Spotify royalties in Europe were 13% higher than those earned from iTunes downloads in the region. We’re still a long way from declaring victory for the streaming financial model, since this change has only been observed in Europe for Kobalt’s stable of about 6,000 songwriters and artists. However, Spotify’s first success over the long-dominant Apple-owned store is still a notable milestone. Continue Reading →

Spotify’s Lowlands research: Streaming supports and extends the value of live music

Posted on by Brad Hill

The inverse relationship of streaming music and music sales is well known: Streaming up, sales down. A similar symbiotic relationship exists between music concerts and music sales. But how do streaming and concerts interact? Is the relationship mutually beneficial? That’s what Spotify’s Director of Economics Will Page set out to discover in a new study. Continue Reading →

Warner Music buys Spotify curation platform Playlists.net

Posted on by Anna Washenko

In July, we wrote that Playlists.net, a platform for sharing Spotify playlists, was looking for a buyer. Today, the hoped-for deal was announced. The UK startup ShareMyPlaylists has been acquired by the artist and services arm of American recording giant Warner Music Group. Financial details of the purchase were not disclosed. Continue Reading →