It’s not too late for every artist to be part of Band Shirt DayThe annual Band Shirt Day will be on Friday, September 15th, and it’s not too late for every musician to participate in this global charity fundraising event, which celebrates the. Continue reading
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‘Blinding Lights’ and how playlist culture is changing modern songwritingIt seems as though strategy in being interjected into music creation today in a way that may be hindering artistic authenticity. And it seems like playlist culture is the first. Continue reading
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Wasserman Music Signs KehlaniWasserman Music has signed two-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated multi-platinum artist Kehlani for worldwide representation. 

The fast-rising contemporary singer/songwriter’s recent world tour supporting 2022’s Blue Water Road (Atlantic Records), was a global smash, including a series of sold-out two-night stands at NYC’s Radio City Music Hall, L.A.’s YouTube Theater, and London’s O2 Academy Brixton, a hugely successful run across Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, and a triumphant sold-out hometown show at the Oakland Arena.

Since releasing her first mixtape in 2014, Kehlani has earned over 20 Gold and Platinum RIAA certifications, tallied 5 billion streams, and garnered a pair of GRAMMY® Award nominations for “Best Urban Contemporary Album” for the Gold-certified mixtape You Should Be Here and “Best R&B Performance” for the 2016 Platinum single “Distraction,” along with unforgettable festival performances at Outside Lands, Pharrell’s Something in the Water Festival, J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival, Lollapalooza South America, PLUS63 Festival (Philippines), Summer Sonic Festival (Tokyo), and many others worldwide.

Kehlani is represented worldwide by Wasserman Music agents Brent Smith and Eli Gelernter.

Photo credit: MÍA ANDRÉ

Responsibility for AI copyright infringement rests with platforms, and 3 other things we learned from Robert Kyncl’s Goldman Sachs interviewWarner Music Group's CEO participated in a Q&A session on Wednesday (September 6) at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia + Technology Conference in San Francisco
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JP Morgan says Universal’s ‘artist-centric’ model will bring a 9% revenue increase to major labels. No wonder it’s just increased its price target for UMG.Deezer this week revealed it has struck an agreement to start paying UMG's artists via an 'artist centric' model
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MUSIC BUSINESS NEWS: CMA nominees, Ticket scams soar, Spotify CFO offers insights & more
THURSDAY 9.7.23 • Music Business News Updated Continuously Under The MORE NEWS TAB Above

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BandLab adds free music distribution, members keep 100% of royaltiesBandLab has added free digital music distribution for its paying members alongside a growing list of music creation and marketing tools. BandLab touts 60 million registered users for its free. Continue reading
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6 Questions with indie rocker Noah VonneKnown for her powerful voice and an original sound that blends rock, soul, blues, and pop, Noah Vonne‘s next national headlining tour is set for this Fall with Universal’s psychedelic rock. Continue reading
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NAMM Partners with She Rocks Awards for 2024 EventThe Women’s International Music Network (the WiMN) has announced a new official partnership with NAMM (the National Association of Music Merchants) as the presenting sponsor of the 2024 She Rocks Awards. Taking place on Thursday, January 25, 2024, the renowned event will now be held in the Ballroom at the Anaheim Convention Center during the legendary NAMM show.

The She Rocks Awards has solidified itself as a premier event during The NAMM Show, bringing together industry professionals, music icons, artists, fans, and the media to celebrate the incredible contributions of women from across the music industry. The annual event honors women who are groundbreakers, innovators and have displayed exceptional leadership within the music and audio industry. 2024 marks its 12th anniversary, and now as an official partner with NAMM, both organizations will continue their work to focus on and elevate diversity and inclusion.

“We’ve always aligned the She Rocks Awards to happen during NAMM. Now we are delighted to have NAMM support us as a partner to encourage participation in this meaningful event,” shares Laura B. Whitmore, founder of the She Rocks Awards and the WiMN. “The ballroom will be fully decked out with amazing audio and visuals, and the convenience factor will make it easy for everyone to attend.”

This evening includes live music, awards and speeches, celebrity appearances, a fabulous silent auction, amazing gift bags and so much more! Tickets are now on sale, and include dinner and more. This event is open to the public; however, a 2024 NAMM show badge is required to attend the She Rocks Awards.

Find out more and purchase tickets at sherocksawards.com.

Who owns Deezer today?Access Industries is Deezer's biggest shareholder, with ownership of over a third of the company
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UMG, Deezer ‘double boost’ launch upends streaming payments to artistsUniversal Music Group (UMG) has launched its long-promised artist-centric payment model with EU-based music streaming service Deezer. But unlike some of UMG’s other royalty experiments, this reveal comes with details. Continue reading
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Should you Release Music as an Album, EP, or Track by Track?What are the pros and cons of releasing new music as an album, an EP, or as individual tracks? You’ve recorded new music and are trying to decide whether to. Continue reading
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U.S. Copyright Office pledges to keep an eye on the implications of AIThe U.S Copyright Office is to study AI and how generative artificial intelligence should or not not play a role in the music industry. by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0. Continue reading
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SM Entertainment artists including EXO, Red Velvet and aespa to join HYBE’s superfan app Weverse next weekSM Entertainment artists will officially be joining Weverse on September 12
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How to make artist centric artist centricDeezer and UMG announced a major (in both senses of the word) shake up of streaming music royalties. This is arguably the biggest streaming market development in years, as it will set the tone for market-wide change. There is no doubt that streaming royalties require a revamp. The system built for the music business of 20 years ago was always going to struggle to be fit for purpose in today’s business. There are some really positive elements to this proposal, but it can be even better. Indeed there is a risk that as it stands it will break as much as it fixes.

The problems with today’s streaming market are well known, but for the record, a few of the key ones are:

Music listening is becoming commodified

The volume and velocity of music released is excessive

Cynical entities are able to game the royalty system

Most artists do not earn enough

Artists are building audiences rather than fanbases

Artists struggle to cut through the clutter

The full list, of course, is far longer, but the selection shows how pervasive and structural the challenges are. Royalties are an important part of the fix, but nonetheless, just one part. The UMG / Deezer initiative addresses the top three in the list, but not the bottom three. And crucially, it rewards success at the expense of emerging artists.

Among a raft of elements, the UMG / Deezer initiative:

Halves the royalty ‘weight’ of artists with less than 1,000 monthly streams and 500 unique monthly listeners, while doubling that of the rest

Further ‘double boosts’ music that has been actively searched for by a user

The second item is a very welcome and long overdue move. Streaming has thrown together two old business models (retail and radio) and thrown them into one pot, pretending lean-back and lean-forward consumption are the same. They are not. This move will go a long way to disincentivising the commodification of consumption by rewarding active listening. If you get your listeners to pay attention, to look for you, then you are rewarded with higher royalties. So, top marks for this move.

The first item, though, is an entirely different issue and far less welcome. Why? Because it does a reverse-Robin Hood. It is redistribution of wealth in reverse, taking income from struggling, emerging artists and sharing it among those who have already found success. 

Between 2000 and 2022, artists direct (i.e., artists without record labels) grew streaming revenue by 60% while the majors grew streaming revenue by just 35%. As of 2022, artists direct represented 8% of global streaming revenue. This fastest-growing part of the streaming market accounts for the majority of the long tail of artists with less than 1,000 streams. Crucially, the number of artists in this group grows at the same rate as their revenue, so most are unlikely to ever break the 1,000 streams threshold. 

Which means that the fastest-growing and most dynamic part of the music business could become a permanent funding mechanism for the biggest labels and stars. The way funding programmes usually work in the wider world is that the better advantaged fund the less well advantaged, not the other way round. The idea of a teenage, aspiring bedroom producer having half their royalties taken to pay the likes of Taylor Swift feels like an odd reward for effort and creativity.

The 1,000-stream threshold is not actually a bad idea in itself. In fact, it could actually be used in a dramatically different way that would truly help rebalance the streaming economy.

Artists with less than 1,000 streams represent roughly 80% of all artists. Most generate less than $100 a year of streaming royalties. So, taking away the income from these emerging and long-tail artists may be morally questionable, but it is not going to exactly affect their ability to pay the rent. 

Roughly speaking, the total income from these artists accounts for about 1% of all streaming royalties. Which means that the impact on big artists is going to be pretty small. 

Sidenote: it is difficult to see how >1,000-stream artists will get an over ‘double weight’ without more money being put in the royalty pot or being taken from somewhere else. The “500 monthly listeners” might actually ensure the pool of the 1,000-stream artists. These are artists who are making the step up, beginning to get real traction, and need all the support they can get to kick on to the next level. The extra income would make a big difference to them. Supporting the next generation of artists is something that can truly be called ‘artist centric’.

Record labels are in the business of finding, nurturing, and investing in new talent. It is the single most important role the music business plays. A streaming royalty mechanism that takes from 80% of artists to redistribute to 20% does not feel very “artist centric”. But shift the equation slightly, and push all of the royalties of the