Music Industry
HitPiece Draws Ire of Musicians for Allegedly Selling NFTs Without Permission
A digital marketplace called HitPiece is allegedly selling songs as NFTs without the consent of artists or proper licensing. According to LinkedIn, HitPiece was co-founded by industry executive Rory Felton and Michael Berrin (formerly known as the rapper MC Serch), with the financial backing of Blake Modersitzki. The marketplace went live in beta in early December, offering fans the chance to bid on a “One of One NFT for each unique song recording.” This was news to many of the artists whose music is up for sale on HitPiece, and who only learned of the marketplace’s existence on Tuesday. Advertisement Related Video “Bottom feeding scavengers of late capitalism sucking the last marrow from our bones and/or running a scam on me, you, or everyone, because obviously, I didn’t approve this, and...
Spotify Adds “Content Advisory” on COVID-19 Content in Wake of Neil Young Boycott
Spotify has announced that it will begin adding a “content advisory” to all podcasts that include information about COVID-19, following the company’s decision to continue streaming The Joe Rogan Experience despite a boycott from Neil Young. In a new open letter issued on Sunday (January 30th), CEO Daniel Ek also revealed that Spotify is making the company’s “platform rules” public for all to see. As previously reported, Young called out Spotify for presenting Rogan’s podcast, which has been criticized for disseminating questionable information about COVID-19 and its vaccines. The legendary rocker issued an ultimatum to the company to either remove his music or the podcast. As he put it, “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.” Spotify promptly removed Young’s music, stating, “We want all ...
5 Lessons From Elon Musk the Music Industry Should Follow
Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk is a fearless leader. With a tank full of rocket fuel and an electrifying personality, these are many lessons musicians can follow from the self-proclaimed “Technoking of Tesla.” Originally from Pretoria, South Africa, Musk was born to be an entrepreneur. He developed and sold his first video game, Blastar, at the age of 12. Musk became infatuated by inventions and innovation so much that his parents and doctors ordered hearing tests. He went on to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in economics and physics and then moved to California to pursue a Ph.D in energy physics, but dropped out to catch a wave during the internet boom. Alongside his brother Kimbal, Musk in 1995 co-founded Zip2 Corporation, an online city guide providing content for The Ne...
Bob Dylan Sells Recorded Music Catalog to Sony for $200 Million
Bob Dylan has struck a deal with Sony Music to sell the rights to his recorded music catalog. According to Billboard, the transaction is valued at over $200 million. The deal includes all of Dylan’s recordings – 39 studio albums, 16 Bootleg Series compilations, and numerous singles and rarities – plus unreleased material that could be released in the future, according to Billboard. The 80-year-old songwriter previously sold his catalog’s publishing rights to Universal in a deal estimated to be worth over $300 million. (Recording rights pertain to the individual master recordings of songs, while publishing rights refer to the words and music that make up a musical composition. In theory, publishing rights are more valuable, as an artist could always re-record their music. Publishing rights ...
Independent Venues Report “No-Show Rates as High as 50%”
Appearing before the House Small Business Committee this week, representatives of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) said they were seeing “no-show rates as high as 50%.” Via Billboard, Raeanne Presley, NIVA member and co-owner of Presleys’ Theater in Branson, MO, explained that smaller venues are suffering during an unprecedented lack of consumer confidence. “Today, the roller coaster ride of the pandemic continues,” she said. “Traditionally, about 5% of ticket buyers don’t attend performances, but now, sagging consumer confidence is causing national no-show rates as high as 50%. This is devastating because most of our venues rely on in-house sales to pay core bills.” In other words, while ticket purchases are important, food, beverages, and other extras help keep the ...
Cancún Music Week’s 2022 Summit Will Be Geared Toward Underground Electronic Industry
Ah, networking. The necessity we love to hate. Luckily, next year’s Cancún Music Week will offer an opportunity for electronic music industry professionals to trade in their Zoom coffee chats for cocktails on the beach. The program for the five-day event includes a bevy of keynote sessions, technology exhibitions and masterclasses, as well as 50 different parties between the hours of 1PM to 5AM. Organizers also announced this week that the rescheduled summit, slated for April 13-17 at Cancún’s Breathless Resort & Spa, will be built around the theme “Recover & Rebuild” with a specific emphasis on underground electronica. Fitting into this banner are workshop topics like eco-friendly event-planning and cryptocurrency, as well as morning wellnes...
Former C3 Managers and Proximity CEO Partner to Form Innovative New Agency, Kompass Music Group
As standards continue to change throughout the workforce, Jay Rogovin, Alec Donkin, Jade Gaines, and Blake Coppelson look to switch up the music industry with the launch of their new agency, Kompass Music Group. The vision behind Kompass Music Group is rooted in its goal to retool how the music industry is structured, providing unique support to their roster of artists while simultaneously spreading that influence into each sector of the music space. They aim to address and develop a stronger community understanding of topics such as sexual violence, risk reduction, mental health, diversity and inclusion, and environmental health. To help execute their key initiatives, Kompass has tapped 4’ o’clock Consulting. Founders Kristin Karas, COO of DanceSafe and Stacey Forrester, Co-Founder of Goo...
Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing? How Spotify’s Discovery Mode May Harm Artists and Listeners
This is an opinion column. The thoughts and viewpoints expressed are those of the author, Richard James Burgess. Burgess, who is credited for coining the music genre terms “EDM” and “New Romantic,” is the CEO of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM). On its face, Spotify’s Discovery Mode might seem like a boon for some artists. Agree to accept a reduced royalty rate and the platform’s algorithms will suggest that artist’s music to more users—in hopes of expanding their base of listeners. But the scheme will most likely generate more profit for Spotify while hurting the very people Discovery Mode is alleged to benefit: artists and listeners. Spotify’s Broken Promise to Listeners When Spotify launched, its premise was an exci...
Three in Four Black Music Professionals Have Experienced Racism, Study Finds
New research out of the U.K. has put numbers to the issue of racism in the music industry. Thorough and wide-reaching, the first-of-its-kind study, titled “Being Black in the UK Music Industry,” quantifies experiences of anti-Blackness and its consequences on wages, mental health and education. On both the creative and business ends, 88% of Black music professionals have experienced direct or indirect racism in their line of work, according to the study. “We’re not allowed to be above average…We’re expected to be perfect,” one respondent described. “We’re expected to be the full package before our career has even started.” Nearly three in four Black respondents have also experienced racial microaggressions: “...
The Evolution of the Live Show: Marc Myers Joins The What Podcast
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Radio Public | RSS Marc Myers, a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal, joins Brad, Barry, and Lord Taco to discuss his new book, ROCK CONCERT: An Oral History as Told by the Artists, Backstage Insiders, and Fans Who Were There. It’s a fun conversation on The What Podcast that looks at the evolution of the live show from the ’50s to the ’80s. Myers gives insider info about how rock concerts evolved, how a particular series of events led to the arena shows we know and love today, and what the industry looks like in 2021. Take a listen above, and make sure you like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Advertisement Related Video Launched in 2018, The What began as a p...
The 165 Songs Banned from American Radio Following 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
Following the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, close to 200 songs were shadow banned from American radio stations by Clear Channel Communications, known today as iHeartMedia. There were little to no consequences for DJs who broke the embargo, though as The Daily Beast, Kerrang, and others have noted, it had a chilling effect on radio play for the targeted songs. Today, the list stands as a curious relic of a time where unfathomable tragedy led to one of the most sweeping censorship movements in recent history. Clear Channel announced the “suggestions” in a memorandum sent out to its over 1,100 radio stations on September 14th. Many songs were cited as “lyrically questionable,” which meant that the words could be triggering, as in James Taylor’s...
UK Initiative Calls On Music Industry to Hold Sexual Harassment to Account
As live music events continue to return, an open letter from the UK organization UN Women is aiming to ensure that they do so in a safer and more inclusive capacity for women. A survey conducted by YouGov in 2018 identified that 40% of women report being sexually harassed at public live music events. Within the music industry itself, the survey reported 60% of industry professionals who are women have been subjected to sexual harassment. “As our spaces reopen this summer, we will not wait around while another woman experiences sexual harassment, violence or abuse—as an artist, as a professional, or as a fan,” the letter says. “Let’s act now to make our music industry and live events safe.” Numerous artists including MNEK, Sigrid, Anne-Marie, an...
