6 Big Stories you missed over the Holidays: Spotify & Live Nation exposés, Music Legislation pulled & More

While we hope you tuned out and stopped working for the holidays, the music industry did not. This roundup of the important music business news will help you get caught up.

Music Business News You Missed Over The Holidays

1. The Ghosts in the Machine: Spotify’s plot against musicians (Harper’s Magazine)
2. It’s not just tickets and fees: How Live Nation quietly takes your money at every possible opportunity (Sherwood)
3. Trump asks Supreme Court to pause TikTok ban (Reuters)
4. Major Music Legislation pulled from final Federal Funding Bill (Hypebot)
5. DistroKid Union Petition: 4300 Artists Rally for Workers’ Rights (Hypebot)
6. Spotify executives cash in as streaming service stock price soars – Company co-founders reaped $900mn in gains this year (Financial Times)

Plus

• Indies sound alarm after UMG Downtown and PIAS acquisitions (Hypebot)
• Is There Any Escape from the Spotify Syndrome? – “The history of recorded music is now at our fingertips. But the streamer’s algorithmic skill at giving us what we like may keep us from what we’ll love.” (New Yorker)

Bruce Houghton