15 Musicians You Didn’t Know Got Their Break From TV
We all know about the artists who broke out from American Idol, The Voice and The X Factor. Most are forgotten a couple years later. And they’re forever branded as the tv show contest winner. And everyone by now knows Miley Cyrus started as Disney’s Hannah […]
Read moreExecutive Shuffles: Apple Music, Downtown Music Publishing, iHeartMedia
Ian Rogers
Former Apple Music executive Ian Rogers is heading to LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moët, Hennessey). Rogers will be the company’s Chief Digital Officer.
Jedd Katrancha has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Downtown Music Publishing […]
A Drunken Fan Plunges to His Death at a Baseball Game. So Why Aren’t We Canceling Baseball Games?
August 29th, 2015. A drunken fan plunges to his death at an Atlanta Braves game (vs. the New York Yankees). The fan, Greg Murrey, fell from the upper deck while wildly screaming at Alex Rodriguez, who was stepping up to plate. Murrey died almost instantly after […]
Read moreThe Short, Troubled History of Apple Music
June 8th: Apple unveils Apple Music, while promoting an ‘indie artist’ that doesn’t exist. The company confidently declares that Apple Music will reach 100 million paying subscribers.
June 10th: Apple faces investigations from two state attorneys general for alleged anti-competitive practices related […]
SFX Entertainment Is Trading Below $1, Suffering Multiple Downgrades, In Debt, and Running Out of Cash
Billboard Cover, September, 2012. “I know nothing about EDM,” Robert F.X. Sillerman explained.
The monstrous implosion of SFX Entertainment continues this week, with shares of SFXE struggling below $1 and multiple advisory firms downgrading the stock. The latest pummeling comes from Moody’s Investor Service
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Now You Know Everything About Music Publishing
This is the fifth installment of an 11-part series on music industry agreements by attorney and legal author Steve Gordon, author of The Future of the Music Business (Hal Leonard 4th Ed 2015). Steve’s earlier installments covered contracts for indie producers, synchronization licensing, management contracts, and […]
Read moreBreaking: SoundCloud Is Now ‘Days Away’ from a Universal Music Agreement
Universal Music Group and SoundCloud are now ‘days away’ from finalizing a momentous agreement, with sources close to the negotiations pointing to a pact potentially by the end of this week. The deal follows a massively-protracted, multi-year and cantankerous tug-of-war over licensing costs and […]
Read morePONO Has Only Sold ‘Tens of Thousands’ of Units
More evidence that only a tiny sliver of music listeners actually care about high-quality sound.
Last year, PONO garnered $6.2 million in Kickstarter cash, with an additional $6 million piled on from private equity. Assuming (generous) sales of 25,000 units, here’s how […]
Read moreJason Aldean on Spotify: “Artists Don’t Make Crap, Writers Are Getting Cheated”
Nine months ago, country star Jason Aldean pulled his music from Spotify. This morning, he issued the following statement to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Honestly, there’s been so much stuff about that, and I’ve been misquoted. The ultimate goal is I want fans to have […]
Breaking: Spotify Apologizes for Spying on Its Users; Plans Total Overhaul to Privacy Policy
On Wednesday, Spotify quietly updated its terms and conditions to grant itself sweeping abilities to track every location, movement, and online activity of its users, even when those users weren’t using Spotify. That data, including information pulled from friends’ profiles, would then be transmitted to advertising partners […]
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