This week on MusicThinkTank, we looked at whether music theory still matters, the best songs for testing equipment, must-have music accessories for the summer, and more.
In this rummage through a full week of music business happenings, we revisit Snapchat's new musical partnerships, Facebook's dive into the music industry, Haim's firing of their booking agent, and much more!
This week on Hypebot, the most popular and often read articles covered Spotify's potential new industry antagonizing approach to licensing, an eight-year-old's mind-blowing cover of Zeppelin, the correct path to getting your music on a playlist, and much more.
In this piece Michael Hahn explores the art of album sequencing, why it's important, and how an artist can assemble their tracks in such a way as to create a compelling and successful album and album release.
Sony Music will begin sending checks sharing its $750 million windfall from the sale of Spotify stock with the independent artists it distributes through its Orchard subsidiary as soon as August.
[UPDATED] Music related services including BandsInTown, Patreon, Eventbrite, Pandora and SoundHound are among the first to take advantage of Snap Kit, a new developer platform connecting Snapchat with apps and services.These early integrations open the popular social network up in exciting ways for musicians, marketers and fans.
Michael Foster weighs in on how streaming and playlist culture is effecting album sales for niche genres including ambient, electronic, new age and electronica; and whether they could spell out the end of conventional albums or actually multiply sales.
While having quality music is certainly an important part of finding success in the music industry, perhaps more important, particularly when it comes to growing your fanbase, is conveying your brand, and the person you yourself are.
The Polaris Music Prize announced its ‘long list’ of nominations for 2018, with artists such as Arcade Fire, Gordon Downie, Sloan and U.S. Girls making the cut. 225 albums were considered by the 203 member jury for Long List selection.
Soundfly recently ran a short playlist of songs to use when testing new studio monitors. Following feedback from their Facebook community, they've now released a new playlist with recommendations from the community and over 70 more songs to include!
Finally following through on a long-term threat, Facebook is finally making its move into the music business, announcing that videos shared/uploaded by users of the platform and containing the copyrighted works of popular artists will now be legally licensed. Additionally, Facebook is horning in on Musical.ly's territory with a feature called 'Lip Sync Live'.
[UPDATED]Landing songs on the playlists on Spotify, Apple Music and other digital service providers has become the holy grail of music marketing. Industry veteran Jay Gilbert interviewed some of his peers to create a compendium of how to make it happen, or at least improve your chances.
In the wake of the tragic passing of Anthony Bourdain, radio industry veteran Seth Resler shares important lessons learned from the food tourism pioneer, and how he helped shape a radio broadcaster's career.
In this piece renowned talent manager and all around business man Scooter Braun shares his insights on making deals with artists, things he's learned from his time in the industry, and his experience with the 2017 Manchester bombing, as well just what kind of person he is.
Seattle's Capitol Hill Block party music festival has now integrated the retargeting of ads as an essential part of their marketing mix and the results have been clear, with a much improved return on advertising money spent.
Pandora has teamed with Snapchat as the music streaming launch partner for Snap Kit, Snap’s new platform for developers. Pandora users will soon be able to share songs using 'song cards' that include album art on top of an animated background.
After 20 years, digital dance music retailers DJshop and Djtunes will no longer sell downloads on either site. Djshop will continue to sell vinyl online
Two respected executives at Spotify are exiting the music streamer, and at least one is headed for Apple Music. The pair join a handful of others in what could be a growing trend, as Spotify staffers cash out stock options and are lured by lucrative offers in an increasingly competition streaming sector.
Last year, Rihanna's "Work" sent us into a spiral of discussions for days about where the tonal center was in that song, and what key it was in. People on the internet still can't agree. Regardless of that, we examine the ways that music theory (in the European classical sense) can still be relevant in today's popular music, and how we need to adapt its contours and constructs to be able to fit new musical languages inside.
Musical.ly is merging live streaming app Live.ly into its main service. Musical.ly launched Live.ly just two years ago, but it will soon be pulled from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
LA pop rockers Haim say that they fired their booking agent after learning that they were paid 10 times less than a similar male artist performing at the same music festival. The sisters did not name the artist or the festival.
A Federal Judge yesterday ruled that AT&T could complete its $85 billion takeover of Time Warner, including HBO, CNN, DC Entertainment and all of its popular media properties. With no major music companies in either company's portfolio, the impact of the mega-deal on the music industry would seem to be minimal. Think again.
While Spotify generates just 27% of global recorded music revenue, it is a growing percentage that the music industry increasingly can''t imagine living without. That and its cultural influence a a market leader and taste maker, means that the industry most tread lightly a music's new world order takes shape.
In this piece we break down the details of how to implement targeted Facebook ads, starting with what they are, how they work, and finally how they can built and launched in order to reach potential future fans.
While the classic merch items certainly have their place on the table, and will sell reliably well, developing a product that stands out and is brand specific can go a long way towards strengthening your image, creating a bond with fans and, of course, making additional money.
Facebook recently rolled out a new feature which awards users for high levels of interaction (likes, shares, comments) with a page by bestowing "fan badges" to them. Here Michael Brandvold outlines how these badges can be utilized, and what to watch for.
After less than a year at Uber, chief brand officer Bozoma Saint John is leaving for a role at talent agency giant Endeavor. Saint John had previously helmed marketing at Beats and then Apple Music, where she was a key figure in its launch.
First impressions are important in any business, particular when it comes to pitching your creative work to the powers that be. When it comes to gatekeepers in the music industry, your music needs to deliver immediately. In this piece Davor Gasparevic suggests how artists should go about pitching the compositions to game developers.
