INDUSTRY
Spotify Claims the Days of the Top 40 Are Over
Spotify made the bold statement in a recent letter to shareholders. In a recent letter to shareholders, Spotify representatives stated that they believe the days of the Top 40 charts are over. Instead, the Swedish streaming giant claims that the industry has shifted towards a top 43,000 artists. The new number comes from their data, which indicates that 43,000 artists share 90% of all streams on the platform. Music Business Worldwide obtained a copy of the letter and shared a report on the statement. “Our product and platform are driving discovery, diversifying taste, and helping up-and-coming artists reach new audiences,” the letter says. “Gone are the days of Top 40, it’s now the Top 43,000.” The company maintains that its streaming service has helped users d...
Snapchat Secures Licensing Deals so Creators Can Embed Music in Snaps
Snapchat is going head-to-head with TikTok, Facebook, and other tech giants looking to capitalize on music in short-form video. Snapchat is going head-to-head with TikTok, Facebook, and other tech giants looking to capitalize on music in short-form video. The company is in the early stages of enabling creators to embed music in their snaps, a move that mirrors TikTok’s approach, which proved to be a harbinger for the tech and music crossover space. Representatives have announced that they have secured licenses with a number of major music industry partners, including Warner Music Group, Warner Chappell, Universal Music Publishing Group, NMPA publisher members, Merlin and more in their efforts to flesh out an expansive catalog. The new functionality is currently in beta testing in Aus...
MK Files Suit Against Management Over “Unconscionable Agreement”
MK is seeking to have his management agreement declared void, alleging he was duped into an “unconscionable” arrangement by his former team. The renowned music producer and DJ alleges that the agreement from MDM Artists has locked him in for up to a ten-year term, which is reportedly in violation of California law. The state’s “seven-year rule” for employment contracts states that such agreements may only be enforced for a seven-year period. The structure of MK’s agreement in particular included an initial six-year term but also grants an additional four single-year unilateral extensions. Additionally, the suit alleges that the agreement includes a “sunset clause” entitling MDM Artists to a cut of MK’s earnings on deals ...
deadmau5, REZZ, More Throw Their Weight Behind Blockchain-Based Streaming App Audius
Blockchain-based music streaming startup Audius has made sizeable strides in the last year, and a bevy of dance music artists have helped lay the groundwork for its growth. With over 250,000 monthly users and $8.6 million in growth capital to its name, Audius is among the most promising music industry-related blockchain ventures. The project seeks to disrupt the streaming industry by creating a peer-to-peer payment system that enables artists to receive payments instantly. The model makes for a more efficient system that effectively eradicates label inefficiencies and payment latency. Dance music artists have flocked to the cutting edge project. 3LAU, deadmau5, Lido, Mr. Carmack, REZZ, and Zeds Dead have signed on thus far, and in total, the platform has attracted over 40,000 artists to da...
Jeff Bezos to Congressman Who Asked Why Twitch Doesn’t License Music: “I Don’t Know”
In the absence of live music, the streaming landscape has emerged as the most popular and efficient means of connecting with fans during the COVID-19 epoch. Perhaps no platform has benefitted more than Twitch, a gaming platform that has mutated into the most prevalent live music streaming medium in recent weeks—especially in electronic dance music. Since Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos acquired Twitch for a staggering $970 million back in 2014, the platform had experienced meteoric growth before exploding due to the pandemic’s recent gasoline pour. However, Twitch has found itself in hot water in recent weeks after issuing DMCA takedown notices to legions of its users. Since the Amazon-owned company doesn’t pay royalties to artists when their music is played on the platform, the...
Arts Council England Confirms Dance Music Events are Eligible for £1.57 Billion Relief Package
In a major win for a dance music culture throttled by the impact of COVID-19, Arts Council England has confirmed that the country’s nightlife sector will be eligible to receive financial support from the government’s unprecedented £1.57 billion rescue package. According to a report by the Evening Standard, the initial announcement of the package made an ambiguous mention of “live music venues,” which drew the ire of the region’s clubbing sector. The announcement led to the formulation of the Fatboy Slim-backed “#LetUsDance” initiative, which pressured the UK Government to acknowledge the electronic dance music scene as an explicit beneficiary of the relief package. After many of dance music’s corps d’elite sent formal letters to Me...
London’s Design Museum Reopens with Immersive “Electronic: From Kraftwerk to The Chemical Brothers”
Earlier this month, London’s Design Museum announced that it was set to reopen on July 31st with a stunning new exhibit. The new feature, “Electronic: From Kraftwerk to The Chemical Brothers,” is an immersive and in-depth look at the world of electronic music, its origins, and its future. The stunning new exhibit features an immersive 3D look at pioneering German quartet Kraftwerk, whose music sparked a revolution and paved the way for electronic dance music as we know it today. Celebrating their 50th anniversary, the exhibit pays homage to the legendary group, who tragically lost founding member Florian Schneider back in April 2020. Also featured in the exhibit is another 3D experience by Smith & Lyall. Set to The Chemical Brothers‘ “Got To Kee...
Music Marketplace Beatport Restores “Hard Techno” Genre Category
Music marketplace Beatport, which touts itself as the “world’s number one destination for electronic music,” has reinstated the platform’s “Hard Techno” category. The decision to restore the category was made after gathering feedback from the hard techno community as well as prominent labels, artists, and distributors. To flesh out the genre’s page on Beatport, it will be populated with music from the site’s current “Techno (Raw/Deep/Hypnotic)” and “Techno (Peak Time/Driving/Hard)” categories. The latter is set to be repurposed under the name “Techno (Peak Time/Driving).” Moreover, the newly minted “Hard Techno” section now features its own dedicated Top 100 chart. “Many labels and artists,...
Spotify Playlist Editors Set the Record Straight on Pay-for-Play Promotion
Every artist wants to be successful on Spotify, but fully understanding the inner workings of the platform’s algorithm and editorial playlist ecosystem can prove to be a daunting task. However, a recent Q&A released by the Spotify team is aiming to increase transparency and foster a greater understanding about what it takes to land in their coveted playlists. The blog post on Spotify for Artists addressed a variety of questions pertaining to the company’s playlisting process. One question in particular brought up the idea of pay-for-play promotion and whether it is a good idea to pay for placement on user-generated playlists. Spotify representatives were definitive in their response, stating, “First things first, you cannot pay to get on an official Sp...
Spotify Premium Prices Differ Around the World—Here are the Countries Paying the Most and Least
Spotify is the most prevalent music streaming service in the world, but not everyone gets the same deal. According to a study by SavingSpot, the official blog of CashNetUSA, the price of a Spotify Premium subscription differs around the world. The study examines the monthly subscription fee for each of the 78 countries where the streaming platform is available to users and analyzes World Bank’s “Adjusted net national income per capita” data to compare the costs with the respective average national wage relative to each region. Researchers then used that data to create maps that illuminate which countries’ users are getting the best and worst value for their money. According to the study, the countries that get the best value do so not because...
President Buhari urges Nigerians abroad to support economic recovery
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday appealed to Nigerians in the diaspora to actively participate in the country’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery efforts. According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President made the call in a video message to commemorate this year’s Diaspora Day which is being observed on July 25 of every year. The statement was titled “COVID-19: President Buhari urges Nigerians in Diaspora to play active role in economic recovery as remittances inflow hit $25bn”. Adesina said the President appealed to his compatriots, whose home remittances exceeded $25bn annually in three years, not to abandon their fatherland in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement quoted Buhari as saying, ”Over the past three years, Nigeri...
UK Sees Spike in Illegal Raves with Over 500 in the Last Month
Police body camera footage, released on Friday, July 24th, shows an illegal rave in Brixton that turned violent following revelers’ confrontations with police. Taking place on June 25th, the unlicensed music event descended into chaos, leaving multiple attendees and officers injured in its aftermath. While the incident led to increased police presence dispatched throughout London, it has seemingly not curbed the spike in mass gatherings. Since the Brixton event, officers have responded to more than 530 illegal events held across London. Lockdown procedures have not stopped illicit music events from taking place, as documented by Vice, and the amount of unlicensed gatherings has significantly increased. In the last month, reported mass gatherings have averaged 23 per ...
