Streaming
Spotify Closing In on Sponsorship Deal With Barcelona Soccer Club
MADRID — Spotify is close to reaching a sponsorship deal with F.C. Barcelona, one of Europe’s leading soccer clubs, less than a year after Spotify’s founder, Daniel Ek, made an unsuccessful takeover bid for U.K. club Arsenal. According to Spanish media, a sponsorship deal could be announced as early as next week. The club says it would not comment on ongoing negotiations, which have been prompted by the fact that Barcelona’s current jersey sponsor, Rakuten, decided not to renew its agreement with Barcelona, which ends in June. Last year, Ek sought to buy Arsenal, saying that it would fulfill a childhood dream. “I’ve cheered for Arsenal as long as I can remember,” he said. But the family of Stan Kroenke, which currently owns Arsenal, rejected the Swedish billionaire’s offer, saying they wer...
Twitch Reaches Deal With Merlin for Independent Labels
Live streaming platform Twitch has entered into an agreement with digital music licensing service Merlin to create revenue-earning opportunities for independent artists. Merlin represents more than 20,000 labels and hundreds of thousands of artists from every country in the world, who can now interact with fans, generate earnings and build community on Twitch. Similar to the recent agreements formed between Twitch and Universal Music and Warner Music’s recorded music divisions, the Merlin partnership is not a licensing deal. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with Twitch for this groundbreaking deal,” said Merlin CEO Jeremy Sirota in a release. “We’ve been engaged in conversations with Twitch since the day I started at Merlin, and I’m pleased that our team found a path for Merlin members and t...
For Lil Wayne, Mac Miller & More, Bringing Mixtapes to Streaming Is a Boon — But Clearing Them Is ‘Hell’
In the last few years, many cult-favorite hip-hop mixtapes from the 1990s and 2000s have made their way to streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Tidal and Spotify. Fan demand helped, but the hard work was done by sample clearance experts like Deborah Mannis-Gardner, who negotiated with copyright owners and labels whose songs and recordings were sampled on the tapes, to secure the necessary licenses. In 2021 alone, streaming services started offering Mac Miller’s critically acclaimed 2014 mixtape Faces, A$AP Rocky’s 2011 debut Live. Love. A$AP; Megan Thee Stallion’s compilation project Something For Thee Hotties which includes a handful of her standalone freestyles from the last few years, and Nicki Minaj’s breakout 2009 project, Beam Me Up Scotty. “This all started during COVID last ...
White House on Spotify’s Joe Rogan Mess: ‘There Is More That Can Be Done’ to Inform Users
The White House is weighing in on the Spotfiy-Joe Rogan fiasco. White House press secretary Jen Psaski, in her daily press briefing, was asked by Politico’s Max Tani about Spotify’s decision to add content advisories to podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19 and related issues, such as vaccines. “This disclaimer, it’s a positive step, but we want every platform to be doing more to be calling out mis- and dis-information, while also uplifting accurate information,” Psaki said. “Ultimately, our view is that it is a positive step, but there is more that can be done.” Explore Explore Joe Rogan See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Our hope is that all major tech platforms, and all major news sources for that matter, be responsible and be vigilant to ensure the ...
White House on Spotify’s Joe Rogan Mess: ‘There Is More That Can Be Done’ to Inform Users
The White House is weighing in on the Spotfiy-Joe Rogan fiasco. White House press secretary Jen Psaski, in her daily press briefing, was asked by Politico’s Max Tani about Spotify’s decision to add content advisories to podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19 and related issues, such as vaccines. “This disclaimer, it’s a positive step, but we want every platform to be doing more to be calling out mis- and dis-information, while also uplifting accurate information,” Psaki said. “Ultimately, our view is that it is a positive step, but there is more that can be done.” Explore Explore Joe Rogan See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Our hope is that all major tech platforms, and all major news sources for that matter, be responsible and be vigilant to ensure the ...
Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo Wades Into Spotify Scrum, Launches Weezify Streaming Service
There’s more than one way to weigh in on the Spotify dust-up between the streamer and Neil Young. On Monday, Weezer‘s Rivers Cuomo waded into the morass not by pulling his band’s music from the service as Young did, but by launching a Weezer-specific streaming destination of his own called Weezify. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The move came as a number of artists have joined Young in asking that their music be removed from Spotify in reaction to the COVID-19 misinformation being spread by the service’s biggest podcasting star, Joe Rogan. And while Apple Music, SiriusXM and other streamers have taken advantage of the controversy, Cuomo reacted by offering his fans an invitation. “Tired of Spotify? Come on over to Weezify,” he tweeted about th...
Spotify to Add Content Advisory to Podcast Episodes That Include COVID-19 Discussions
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek on Sunday (Jan. 30) revealed updated platform rules and a new approach to dealing with COVID-19 information, including adding a dedicated content advisory to podcast episodes that contain discussions about the virus. A statement, posted to Spotify’s website, began by noting that the audio service was created “to enable the work of creators around the world to be heard and enjoyed by listeners around the world. To our very core, we believe that listening is everything.” The tech giant clarified that users have had questions over the last few days about policies “and the lines we have drawn between what is and isn’t acceptable.” While the statement did not reference any specific instances, it comes in the wake of musician Neil Young deciding to remove his...
E Street Band Member Nils Lofgren Pulls Music From Spotify, Encourages All Musicians to ‘Cut Ties’ With Service
Nils Lofgren, a longtime guitarist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, is among the musicians to pull music from Spotify over concerns about COVID-19 misinformation being spread on the streaming platform. He follows Neil Young, who announced Wednesday (Jan. 26) that he would remove his catalogue in protest of COVID vaccine misinformation being spread on Joe Rogan’s podcast, and Joni Mitchell, who followed in solidarity soon after. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Both musicians referred to an open letter sent to Spotify from 270 professionals in the scientific and medical communities, calling on the streaming service to address misinformation distributed on the platform. In a statement shared to the Neil Young Archives on Saturday, Lofgren shared: “A few days ago, my wife and ...
Driift’s Streaming and Live Concert for Thom Yorke Side Project The Smile Officially Launches
Ric Salmon is preparing for his most ambitious live-streaming project yet with his team at Driift producing and promoting a three-part performance series for The Smile, a new side project from Radiohead legends Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood. The Smile will perform three separate live shows in London, beginning Saturday (Jan. 29) at 8 p.m. BST (2 p.m. eastern), 1 a.m. BST on Jan 30 (5 p.m. eastern on Jan 29) and 11 a.m. BST (7 a.m. eastern) on Jan. 30. The performances will be live-streamed globally and include an in-studio live audience. Fans can watch The Smile performance from anywhere in the world via Dreamstage. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The concert series will preview music from the The Smile’s debut album, out soon on XL Recordings...
Apple Music Shows ‘Love’ for Joni Mitchell Too After She Asks Spotify to Remove Her Music
Following Neil Young and Joni Mitchell‘s requests to pull their music from Spotify, the streaming platform’s No. 1 competitor, Apple Music, is promoting the availability of both artists’ catalogs on its own platform — with a wink. On Thursday (Jan. 27), Apple Music first highlighted Young’s catalog under the editorial header “We Love Neil,” displayed prominently for users browsing for music on its platform. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news By Saturday, a “We Love Joni Too” header highlighting selections from Mitchell’s catalog was added directly below the Young header. Both phrases seem to be in response to the artists’ requests that Spotify purge their catalogs from its platform, due to COVID-19 vaccine misinformation spread by Spotify’s popula...
Joni Mitchell Pulling Music from Spotify in Solidarity With Neil Young
Joni Mitchell is joining her old friend and contemporary Neil Young in having her legendary music catalog pulled from Spotify over concerns about vaccine misinformation being spread on the platform’s popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast. In a brief note posted to her official website on Friday, the singer-songwriter wrote, “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Mitchell’s announcement comes just two days after Spotify confirmed it would be granting Young’s request to have his music removed from the platform. Young made the ...
#CancelSpotify Trends on Twitter Following Neil Young Spat
Spotify’s decision to remove Neil Young’s catalog from the platform in order to keep peddling COVID misinformation via podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience has sparked quite a lot of online discourse about free speech, streaming, and the best way to support artists. The hashtag “#CancelSpotify” trended among Young fans on Twitter Thursday evening (January 27th), and other artists and streaming platforms joined the conversation as well. Apple Music, TIDAL, Deezer, and Qobuz made sure to remind fans that they still offered Young’s music, while SiriusXM relaunched Neil Young Radio. “When you have an opportunity to present an iconic artist still at the height of his creativity, you don’t hesitate to do it, again,” Steve Blatter, SiriusXM senior vice president and general manager of musi...
