The Echo Nest has partnered with Y Combinator backed AirPair help developers connect to its API, the company announced the morning. Connecting APIs to create more interesting products and services is at the core of The Echo Nest's mission both in its own product development and as sponsor of many Muisc Hack Days.
Hip hop fans and artists are constantly searching for the newest ways to discover, write, see, and record new music. As we continue to move forward in the digital age, smartphones and tablets are the means of choice for a lot of that.
These six apps should probably find a home on every hip hop fan’s phone (hopefully, we’ll see some more Android compatibility on this list soon):
Two management companies, Vector Management and Proper Artist Management, are merging to a combined entity that will operate under the Vector Management name. London-based Proper Artist Management, helmed by Peter Rudge, who, prior to the launch of Proper, was a senior executive at Octagon Music. Over the course of his career, he has managed or co-managed artists including The Rolling Stones, Diana Ross, The Who and Lynyrd Skynrd among others.
As awareness of messaging as a social phenomenon in its own right grows, awareness of the role of stickers in monetizing free messaging apps is also growing. Stickers represent one of the major music marketing opportunities on messaging platforms as demonstrated by acts like Paul McCartney and One Direction. They're also becoming revenue sources for musicians. Today TextPride announced the release of new paid sticker packs from music and sports brands including Wiz Khalifa on mobile messaging apps Viber, Kik, GroupMe and Cubie. [Original press release incorrectly mentioned CeeLo Green].
"Music to Your Eyes." That's how Xbox Music, Microsoft's music streaming music service, describes the addition of music videos to its Xbox One gaming console. "Once a TV staple, music videos are now primarily housed on the internet, where easy access is key," the company wrote on its blog. "Beginning today, we’re introducing more than 92,000 music videos to Xbox Music."
This week Spotify announced a new crop of artists to be featured in their Spotlight on New Music playlist and in related campaigns. Two of the artists, MØ and Foster The People, will get global promotion via Spotify. Frankie Ballard, As Animals, Marteria and G-Eazy will receive regional campaigns. Initial confusion over whether Spotlight was simply a promo playlist have been cleared up as we can now see that Spotlight is a name for much broader campaigns.
Mixcloud is a web radio platform that, though open to all genres of music as well as radio shows, built to 10 million listeners primarily off electronic music mixes by djs. Based in London, the bootstrapped startup has a relatively small audience in the States that seems likely to grow given Mixcloud's expansion to the U.S. with an office in New York. What is also likely, given their partnership with Vice Media and their recent launch of branded channels, is that they'll be growing their branded content as well.
Whether you’ve never heard of an MCN or whether you’ve been with one since last year for heavens’ sake, we thought you’d appreciate a quick roundup of the music-related MCNs currently in operation.
At least from an artist's point of view, one of Spotify's more attractive features was the ability to sell merchandise directly to fans while they listened to your music. That connection was powered by Topspin; which as of today is owned by Spotify's streaming music competitor Beats Music. It's hard to imagine that Spotify will want to continue the relationship, but according to Topspin, at least for now, nothing will change.
(UPDATED) Beats Music has acquired direct to fan platform Topspin Media, the music streamer announced this morning. CEO Ian Rogers, who left the top spot at Topspin last year to launch Beats, said the acquisition will help "unite the world of music listeners and music creators." The deal is the most significant yet early in what is likely to be a year of consolidation within the artists services sector.
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em; or at least spend some marketing dollars there. Apple's iTunes Radio has started a campaign to grab listeners from broadcast radio by advertising on... broadcast radio. The spot was first noticed on Boston country station WKLB-FM by Robert Maccini who tipped the RAIN blog.
(UPDATED) Audium, the YouTube monetization platform for indie artists and rightsholders, has secured $2 million in Series A funding from within the music industry. Artists Jason Mraz and Jimmy Buffett, promoter and manager Bill Silva and Brett Gurewitz of Epitaph, Anti- and Bad Religion led a round that also includes TuneSat CEO Scott Schreer, Barnes & Noble CTO David Willen, Jonathan Siegal and the GSO Business Group.
The technology we have unlimited access to has undoubtably changed the way we make music, produce music, and share music. From soundboards to computers to tablets to cell phones - we have an endless supply of recording, mixing, and promotional tools at our fingertips. Band to fan marketing has really never been easier - if you know how to utilize these resources.
AEG Live and Transom Capital Group announced today that they are merging their their entertainment licensing and merch businesses, BandMerch and Cinder Block, into a standalone company which will be the largest full-service independent entertainment merchandising company in the United States.
Like many people these days, I do almost all of my music listening with streaming services — on-demand subscriptions, online radio, random things shared on social networks, and my collections and playlists on various services. Even then, I occasionally need to listen to something on my home computer — friends’ recordings, interviews, MP3 albums I’ve bought and left on one computer or another, and so on.
(UPDATED) Want to listen to Dr. Dre's landmark album The Chronic on Beats Music? You can't, despite Dre being a major partner in the new music streamer. A glaring catalog omission like this is just one of the many annoying bi-products of an antiquated and decentralized licensing system. Today Bop.fm took a major step towards circumventing it with the addition of Beats Music, to its agnostic music platform which already includes Spotify, Deezer, Rdio, YouTube and SoundCloud.
In an age when social proof is taken seriously at all levels of the game, with Likes and Follows serving as a proxy for caring and support, it's important that musicians market themsevlves with "metrics that really matter." This topic was part of a larger discussion at DJ TechTools regarding the best way to respond to "social fiefdoms" such as Facebook that were built with the help of musicians but increasingly get in the way of interacting with fans.
We talk so much about connecting with fans and encouraging fans to spread the word that we never get around to what happen when fans do bad things and connect it to your name. There's not an easy solution since each situation may have unique parameters but it's a good idea to at least think ahead to how you would respond to negative events. Like a wave of press coverage after one of your biggest fans did [fill in the blank with something really bad] while wearing your band's tshirt and listening to your music on their smartphone covered with band-related stickers.
New on our Jobs Board is a job for an Asst. Controller/Financial Analyst at mtheory LLC. You'll also find openings for an sales rep at No Depressionand a biz dev manager at 7Digital. The Artists Organization needs a digital marketing manager and distributor ONErpm is looking for an operations assistant. Badd Lemonade seeks paid panelists for LA music showcases; there is a music publishing opening CD Babyand more on Hypebot's Music Industry Jobs Board.
Last week Hypebot shared an initial response to Zoë Keating's most recent release of digital music revenue which tends to spark online discussion related to digital music and the careers of musicians. Keating responded with some clarifying emails regarding the larger discussion and agreed to let Hypebot share her discussion of the context for her download and streaming revenue figures.
Over the weekend PledgeMusic rolled out a site redesign featuring a more open and inviting look than the previous design. With a backend overhaul next on their list, one begins to see a much bigger company coming into possible view. Last week I spoke a bit with PledgeMusic President Benji Rogers about the redesign and upcoming plans. With a redesign that will encourage browsing and crosspledging among fans and backend plans that may eventually include integrations with partners, PledgeMusic has the chance to connect with every stage of the artist/fan relationship.
Let’s get this out of the way: There is no perfect app for watching live music on your computer, phone, tablet, and/or television, and there probably never will be. The licensing issues are simply too complicated.
Having once predicted that live online music would start to make sense in 2008, I have a new guess: It will never make sense.
Interview by C. Vincent Plummer (@cvpmusic) - co-founder and social strategist for Bedloo.com
Michael Shoup, 12South Music
I am here today with Michael Shoup. He is a musician, designer and digital entrepreneur—who runs a creative development company in Nashville, called 12South Music. He’s toured nationally, worked at Indie music labels, and is about ready to launch an exciting new product for the festival scene called Visualive.
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