Taylor Swift’s return to TikTok includes an in-app experience for ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ with ‘first-of-its-kind’ featuresIn-app experience follows the return of the superstar's music to TikTok, amid its licensing dispute with Universal Music Group
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#MusicIndustry trend goes to 'disintermediation'...
We need to be careful with that though - everywhere must be balance at #MusicBusiness

Yes… Udio’s output resembles copyrighted music, too.After playing with Suno, Ed Newton-Rex gets his hands on the next hottest new app in generative music AI, Udio
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Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at the Kia Forum“Do You Have Anything Left?”

Photos & Words by @KevinEstradaPhotography

It’s been 8 years since Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band rolled through Los Angeles, but you would never know it – at 74 years old, Springsteen and his band is still setting the standard for arena rock shows.

Last year, Springsteen was stricken with a severe ulcer disease, causing many dates of the tour, including the two night stand in Los Angeles to be cancelled and rescheduled.  Age may have played a factor in his illness, but Bruce’s final night in Los Angeles had more energy and a longer set than most of his younger contemporaries. 

As the lights went down, the fabulous Kia Forum erupted in deafening moans of “Bruuuuce.” Springsteen & his band kicked the show off with Open All Night (the first time playing this song since 2014), then jumping into Lonesome Day and the iconic, Prove It All Night.

Bruce treated his fans to a few surprises – Fire and Tougher Than The Rest featuring his wife Patti Scialfa on guest vocals.  Next, Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine joined Bruce and The E Street Band as they powered through American Skin and The Ghost Of Tom Joad.

Springsteen’s shows may be simple stage presentations compared to some of the blockbuster tours that travel the world, but the difference is quality and quantity.  Los Angeles was treated to 3 hours and some of the greatest songs ever recorded – Hungry Heart, Because The Night, Thunder Road, Born To Run, Rosalita, Glory Days, Dancing In The Dark.  With an arsenal like this, there is no need for a flashy stage show.

There was a magical moment at one point of the show – the house lights came up, Springsteen took a good look at the sold-out arena and yelled, “Do you have anything left?”  Springsteen definitely has a lot left. 

SET LIST

Open All Night

Lonesome Day

Prove It All Night

Two Hearts

Ghosts

Letter To You

The Promised Land

Death To My Hometown

Tougher Than The Rest

Fire

Hungry Heart

Sherry Darling

Spirit In The Night

My City Of Ruins

Nightshift

Last Man Standing

Backstreets

Because The Night

Wrecking Ball

American Skin

The Ghost Of Tom Joad

The Rising

Badlands

Thunder Road

Born To Run

Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

Glory Days

Dancing In The Dark

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

Detroit Medley

I’ll See You In My Dreams

Copyright case over Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’ continues in New York appeals courtThe long-running dispute, in which Sheeran emerged victorious last year, now continues in an appellate court in New York.
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Independent Live Music community to gather in New Orleans for NIVA ’24Hundreds of independent live music venues, promoters, festivals, and agents will gather in New Orleans from June 3 to 5 for NIVA '24, the third annual convention of NIVA (The National Independent Venue Association), with programming at iconic independent venues Generations Hall, Tipitina’s, Republic NOLA, and dba.....
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Music Industry is moving from middle-men to ‘disintermediation’New technology suggests that current music business models should be more artist-centric instead of including unnecessary middlemen. from ArtistVerified via Medium Disintermediation is a really long word for a really. Continue reading
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The marketing magic of ‘STANS’ [Fred Jacobs]How Eminem coined the term "stan" and how developing such strong bonds with music listeners can move mountains when it comes to marketing.....
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Bifurcation theory | How today’s music business will become twoOne of things we pride ourselves on at MIDiA is helping the marketplace peer over the horizon with disruptive, forward-looking ideas and vision. We have a long track record of doing this (you can find a list of report links at the bottom of this post). While many of these ideas were difficult to swallow, or a little ‘out there’ at the time of writing, they became (or are still becoming) a good reflection of where markets ended up heading. Well, it is now time for another of those big market shaping ideas: bifurcation theory.

Today, MIDiA publishes its major new report: ‘Bifurcation theory | How today’s music business will become two’. The full report is available to MIDiA clients here and a free synopsis of the report for non-clients is on our bifurcation theory page here. So, check those out to find more, but in the meantime, here is an overview of just what bifurcation theory is, and why it is going to affect everyone in the music business, whatever role you play in it. 

The old maxim that change is the only constant feels tailor-made for the 21st century music business. Piracy, downloads, streaming, and social all triggered music industry paradigm shifts. Now, all the indicators on the disruption dashboard are flashing red once more. AI is, of course, standing centre stage, but it is not the cause of the coming change. It is simply a change enabler.The causal factors this time round are all direct byproducts of today’s music business, unintended consequences of a streaming market that has cantered along its natural path of least resistance. Everyone across the music industry’s value chain has played their role, often unwittingly. Whether that be shortening

songs, increasing social efforts, changing royalty systems or following viral trends, each of these micro actions has contributed to a macro effect.

The fracture points of today’s music business are simultaneously the catalysts for tomorrow’s. For example, the commodification of consumption is resulting in a raft of apps and industry initiatives that try to serve superfans; the rise of the creator economy’s long tail is resulting in both traditional rightsholders raising the streaming drawbridge (long tail royalty thresholds) and a fast-growing body of creators opting to invest less time in streaming.

Streaming was once the future but now it is the establishment, the cornerstone of the traditional music business. It has rocketed from a lean forward, niche proposition for superfans into a lean back, mass market product for the mainstream. Music consumers have always fallen into two buckets:

1.    Fans

2.    Consumers

The former used to buy music, the latter used to listen to radio. Streaming put them both into the same place, pulling up the average spend but pulling down fandom into consumption. Streaming is the modern day music business’ radio, just much better monetised than the analogue predecessor. Now though, everyone across the music industry’s complex mesh of interconnected value chains is realising there needs to be something more, built alongside, not instead of, streaming. This is the dynamic behind bifurcation theory. This report explores how today’s music business challenges are becoming the causal factors of a new business defined by two parallel consumer worlds.

The music business is bifurcating – splitting into two – with streaming emerging as the place for mainstream music and lean back consumption, and social as the spiritual home of fandom and the creator economy. We identify these two segments as:

1.    LISTEN (user-led): streaming services, monetising consumption at scale

2.    PLAY (creator-led): highly social destinations where fans lean in to create, connect and express identity

Of course, this process has already started, but social is still largely seen as a driver for streaming. Many artists who try to get their fans to participate on social do so primarily in the hope of driving streams rather than for the inherent value of fans participating in their creativity. However, many next-generation creators are realising they will simply never reach the scale needed to earn meaningful income from streaming.They are therefore shifting focus to building fan relationships on social media and monetising them elsewhere, be it via merchandise or brand sponsorships. Meanwhile, a new generation of fans are creating as a form of consumption, whether that means using songs in their TikTok videos or modifying the audio of their favourite song. While copyright legislation and remuneration have lagged behind these developments, they will be an important part of the future of PLAY. Over time, PLAY will evolve as a self-contained set of ecosystems, built around the artist-fan relationship. It will not be an easy transition. Mainstream streaming will become even more lean back, and social and new apps will exert what will increasingly look like a stranglehold on fandom and the creator economy.

Social apps are plagued with challenges (royalty payments not the least of them) but they will emerge as a parallel alternative to streaming, rather than simply a feeder for it. To this end, the full bifurcation theory report not only describes the lay of the future land, but also presents bold visions of how we think both sides of the music business equation should evolve. We present detailed frameworks for what PLAY services will look like and how LISTEN services can evolve, focusing on core competences to continue to appeal to the mainstream but also deepen appeal to – and better monetise – superfans.

AI will play a key role in the future of both sides of the bifurcated music business, but rather than being tomorrow’s business, it will act as an accelerant for the underlying dynamics of bifurcation theory.

Bifurcation is such a big concept with so many layers and nuances, we have only been able to skim through some of the highest level trends here. We encourage you to check out the full report and report synopsis to learn more.

We’ve spent a long time gestating this concept, so we’d love to hear your thoughts. We’re not expecting bifurcation theory to be to everyone’s taste, but if nothing else, hopefully it will spark some creative thinking and debate.

Don’t forget to check out our bifurcation page for a video discussion of bifurcation theory and a free pdf report synopsis.

As mentioned above, here are some of MIDiA’s most impactful future vision reports, in (roughly) chronological order:

Agile Music (Free report)

Music Format Bill of Rights (Free report)

Rising Power of UGC (Free report)

Independent Artists (Free report)

Music Rights Disruption

Insurgents and Incumbents

Creator Culture

Rebalancing the Song Economy (Free report)

New Top of Funnel

Slicing the Funnel

Music’s Instagram Moment

Scenes – a New Lens for Music Marketing

Attention Recession

Creator Rights (Free report)

Creator Hubs

Music Product Strategy

Fan Powered Royalties (Free report)

Addressable Creator Markets

Misaligned Incentives

Artist Subscriptions

Field of All Levels

Kill the Campaign

Rise of a Counterculture Industry

Volume.com Announces the 2024 BeachLife Music Festival FreeLivestream in Partnership with Music Gives To St. Jude KidsVolume.com and BeachLife Festival have announced the free livestream for the eagerly awaited 2024 BeachLife Music Festival, slated for May 3-5 in Redondo Beach, California. The free stream will be in partnership with Music Gives to St. Jude Kids. 

This year’s festival boasts a lineup featuring iconic artists such as Sting, Incubus, My Morning Jacket, Dirty Heads, DEVO, Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB, Seal, Local Natives, Fleet Foxes, and many others. For fans unable to attend in person, Volume.com provides a free and exclusive portal to experience BeachLife Music Festival live, offering a unique opportunity to enjoy the performances from anywhere. You can claim a ticket for this free event today to get a reminder and learn more about the Music Gives to St. Jude Kids Partner In Hope program. To discover other recent livestreams or to sign up for upcoming events, visit Volume.com. 

Fans of BeachLife 2024 are encouraged to pair their good vibes with a great cause—St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. Between incredible BeachLife acts, festival-goers and festival-viewers can become a St. Jude Partner in Hope. Contributions from St. Jude supporters ensure that families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food so they can focus on helping their children live. A Partner in Hope can give today by texting GIVE to 62-62-62 and, in return, will receive a Music Gives to St. Jude Kids t-shirt.

Volume is not just a platform; it's the destination for a thriving livestream ecosystem where artists can flourish and grow their businesses. Volume has been diligently expanding its library, attracting a growing roster of artist-users, podcasters, and venues to join its platform. Select streams are now available for on-demand viewing on Volume, offering audiences diverse performances and discussions. Among these are Andy Frasco’s World Saving Podcast, Chris Shiflett’s Shred with Shifty, with episodes featuring Blues extraordinaire Joe Bonamassa, Brent Mason, John Osborne, and more. Other events that have been featured on Volume include The BMG/BBR CMA Pre-Party featuring Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, and more; Warren Haynes Christmas Jam featuring Slash, Phil Lesh, Tyler Childers, Gov’t Mule, and others; and various in-studio streams from Lightning 100 featuring artists such as The War And Treaty, Grace Potter, Vera Bloom with BadCulture, The Foxies and a recent secret show with Sheryl Crow.

In the changing world of music, certain venues and festivals remain at the forefront by embracing Volume Livestreams—a modern approach to music broadcasting. Notable pioneers include BeachLife Music Festival, Nashville establishments 3rd & Lindsley, The Basement East,and venues like West Hollywood’s Troubadour, Charlotte’s Neighborhood Theatre, BurlingtonVermont’s Nectar’s, and NYC’s The Bitter End. These locations have adapted to the age to ensure that live music remains vibrant and accessible on a scale. 

For more information, visit www.volume.com.

Epidemic Sound’s royalty-free music is played 2.5bn times per day on YouTube and TikTok, but company still struggles to turn a profitThe company says there are now 26 million videos on YouTube and TikTok featuring its music
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Universal Music Group generated 51% of its 2023 recorded music revenues in North America… and 8 other things we learned from its new annual reportMBW takes a deep dive through Universal's latest in-depth financial report
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Your Livestream Strategy Sucks! K-Pop’s lessons on reaching a global audience Haven't had much success with live streaming lately or given up altogether? If you're going to learn from anyone, look at how live-streaming contributed to K-Pop artist's global success.....
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Beginner’s guide to getting more YouTube Subscribers with Ads [Brian Hazard]Calling all music promo newbies! Here's a step-by-step breakdown of how to get more YouTube subscribers with ads. ....
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Why must musicians get the short end of OpenAI’s Bad Business Model?Tech companies claim AI needs free access to copyrighted materials for proper and accurate training, leaving artists uncompensated for the use of their property and with more AI-created competition.....
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