Pitchfork – September 25, 2017
So what exactly is streaming doing for the pop music industry? Well, the fact that most people listen to music through a streaming service has changed the way that people write and record music. Because of the amount of data that is collected it provides music industry specialists with information about what listeners are attracted to the most and what isn’t so popular. Artists can curate a “streaming format” that is most affective for their specific audience.
Variety – September 26, 2017
Amazon has a had a great deal of success with the voice control service, Alexa, and have now decided to add that to their music app. The voice activated Alexa will allow listeners to request a song or use simple search commands. Not only will they be able to search by song or artist, they can ask Alexa for songs base on lyrics, genre, time period, or mood.
CNBC – September 27, 2017
Spotify has decided to go public later this year, however instead of deciding to go with the traditional route of an IPO, they have chosen a direct public offering or DPO. According to CNBC’s David Golden the choice of a DPO may not have been the right one. While they are sure to reap benefits by becoming a public company, not choosing the traditional IPO may prove to be a major mistake.
NPR – September 28, 2017
With the help of streaming and a “digital revolution” if you will, hip-hop has come out on top in 2017. Hip-hop artists are no longer constrained by record labels and consumer specialists, they have the power to release music with little to no warning. The loosening of the tight grasp of record labels has helped to liberate not only artists but listeners as well.
Billboard – September 28, 2017
According to Jimmy Iovine, who runs Apple Music, there is still a lot of work to do in terms of creating the best streaming services for creators and listeners. One of the main things that Iovine believes Apple Music can and will do better on in the future is to create a better way for artists to engage with their listeners. Apple hopes to one day create an environment for not just music, but creative content.
