June 16th - LA Times Does the fragmented music streaming landscape keep us from connecting with people through music? Sorry, I had my ear-buds in. June 17th - Vice An AI just completed an unfinished piece from composer Antonín Dvořák, 115 years after his death. June 17th - Music Business Worldwide Lover, Taylor Swift's seventh album, is the most pre-added album on Apple Music, with more than 222,400 pre-adds in four days. And its release date is two months away. June 18th - M
The war of words over Spotify's recent actions made this no ordinary week for news. Instead of a headline roundup, we asked rock paper scissors' resident music tech expert Tristra Newyear Yeager for her analysis. Going public has changed the tone of Spotify’s interactions with the rest of the music industry, as this week’s news reveals all too clearly. The streaming service is ready to rumble. The first signs came earlier this month, with the “we’re launching in India anyway”
Forbes- January 28, 2019 Music industry pioneer Scott Cohen warns about the constantly shifting industry and the need to adapt to changing technology. Cohen stresses the relevance of Artificial Intelligence, and the importance of integrating this exciting technology into the music industry. Bloomberg- January 28, 2019 A proposed EU tax of 3% on the sale of tech companies has CEOs of major companies, including Spotify, Booking, and Zalando, worried about potential US retaliati
The Verge – October 20, 2017 Starting in 2018, Billboard announced that they will begin counting “hybrid paid/ad-supported platforms” such as Spotify and Apple Music the same as total ad platforms such as YouTube. As of today, Billboard counts all streaming music the same as “on-demand” streams. With this change to counting it means that artists and their labels are more likely to encourage fans to use online streaming options. All in all, it will be a win-win situation for s
TechCrunch – October 11, 2017 Mark Zuckerberg recently announced the launch of a virtual reality app “Venues,” which allows people to “watch live concerts, and live sports, and premieres of movies and TV shows, all around the world with friends.” Facebook plans to launch the app next year, along with the Oculus Go VR headset which has speakers built into the headset. Zuckerberg said that it is Facebook’s goal to get 1 billion people into VR. New York Times – October 14, 2017
Music x Tech x Future – October 8, 2017 With Amazon releasing a cheaper version of the Echo and Google upgrading Alexa, it seems as the voice controlled technology is here for the long haul. The problem, though, is that when listeners request playlists they are not being informed of the artist that is singing the song. Therefore, this becomes an even bigger issue for artists because they must figure out a way to stay memorable when they aren’t being recognized. Hypebot – Octo
Hypebot – September 19, 2017 Being first on the music streaming scene has certainly helped Spotify get the advantage against Apple Music. To date, Spotifty has over 65 million subscribers who are also influenced by the low prices and deals that Spotify offers to college students. Their latest partnership, with Hulu, targets college students and offers a $4.99 bundle for both each month. Digital Music News – September 21, 2017 After vowing to take down hate filled content, You
Digital Music News – September 11, 2017 According to financial projections, SoundCloud is going to have a rough few years ahead of themselves if they wish to remain profitable. The company has had to use $170 million in emergency funding to make up for ventures that have been less than profitable. Perhaps the most troubling about their situation is that they have decided to direct all efforts to enhancing SoundCloud premium “Go” program, which has also not been nearly as succ
Digital Music News – August 21, 2017 The music industry and YouTube have a long running war against each other when it comes to streaming. However, it is alleged that users may only get to experience free streaming for a little while longer. It would take a few years to reach a payout deal between streaming subscribers, but it is certainly something that is on the horizon in the music industry. Nielsen – August 21, 2017 Nearly 60 percent of millennials use two or more apps to
Digital Music News – August 20, 2017
How much does YouTube pay content creators? A musician debunks the claim that he is paid $3 for every 1,000 views and insists that he is making only 1/50th of that amount. Hypebot – August 15, 2017
Smart speakers, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, are set to boost interest in music streaming services. Pandora reports that listening on smart speakers has increased 282% in just over a year. The Next Web – August 14, 2017
Spotify has taken