Universal Music Group and Amazon Music ink new deal, including exclusive content… and with ‘Streaming 2.0’ at its heartUniversal Music Group (UMG) and Amazon Music have jointly announced a renewed worldwide licensing agreement today (December 23). According to a press release, the deal encompasses an “expanded global relationship that will enable further innovation, exclusive content with UMG artists, and advancement of artist-centric principles including increased fraud protection“. The PR claims that the deal … Continued
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AllMusic Loves 2024 ReissuesDeluxe anniversary editions, limited-edition pressings, comprehensive boxed sets, globe-trotting compilations, unearthed demo and live recordings -- all of these and much more fill our editors' personal lists of favorite archival releases from 2024.

DIY & Independent Musician News Last WeekLast week in DIY & independent musician news, our indie readers tuned into topics like a new affordable SoundCloud subscription, Holiday selfcare, starting a band, the importance of metadata, and more...
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Last week’s top Music Business NewsA busy week by any definition and music business news was no exception, with moves to reform concert ticketing in turmoil, UMG buying indie powerhouses Downtown and CD Baby, TikTok's end in the U.S approaching, and more...
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10 Great Musician Websites: Strong Design and Fan EngagementLooking for inspiration to create the perfect website for your music? Check out these 10 great musician websites that set the standard for design, functionality, and fan engagement.
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Staying Sane and Sober during the Holidays [Eric Mackay]The holiday season can be a tough time to navigate sobriety, particularly for those of us who spend time at clubs and concerts. "As someone who has been sober for over three and a half years, and with more than 25 years in the music industry," writes Eric Mackay. "I’ve experienced this struggle firsthand."
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MUSIC BUSINESS NEWS: Indies battle UMG Downtown deal • DefJam adds TV channel • R.I.P. Paul Roper • SiriusXM stumbles, Berkshire buys • More
FRIDAY 12.20.24 • Music Business News Updated Continuously Under The MORE NEWS TAB Above

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Spotify fires back at Drake: streaming platform says it has “no economic incentive for users to stream ‘Not Like Us’ over any of Drake’s tracks.”Spotify responds to Drake's allegations of a 30% lower rate in exchange for recommendations
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Paul Roper, President of Dualtone Music Group, passes away after battle with cancer"Paul Roper’s legacy of kindness, integrity, and deep love for music will continue to inspire us all."
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New Toys: iZotope Aurora Intelligent reverbAurora is the second installment of iZotope's new Catalyst Series. Aurora is an “intelligent” reverb that actively “listens to your audio and dynamically carves space out of the reverb signal to keep your instruments and vocals focused”. Promising you keep your mixes clean and clear, Aurora creates lush, three-dimensional spaces with six reverb types, over 60 presets, convenient on-board filters, and an adjustable unmasking section. Aurora truly is a different kind of reverb and the key to this is the feature NI calls unmasking. I would describe this feature as Aurora is continuously analyzing the audio and in real time nonlinearly deciding what frequency areas to dynamically minimize to enhance reverb clarity quality. The effect is quite striking. The feature can be completely bypassed, and Aurora can behave as a premium “ordinary” reverb. Perhaps the difference could be described as passive or active reverb. And sonically, I found the difference between having unmasking on and off to be quite dramatic, with the adjustable unmasking control delivering space and clarity as promised. Aurora sounds good with unmasking bypassed, and when it is engaged, the sonics sound closer to what engineers describe as polished record or radio sound, analogous to when you add a compressor to an entire mix.Aurora is designed to be fast and easy to use with a minimum of controls. A pulldown menu selects the 6 reverb algorithms, consisting of Hall, Room, Chamber, Plate, Ambience and Cathedral. Then the preset menu allows massive modification of the algorithm with interestingly named presets like “GlimmerVerb” and “Harmonic Wave”. Additional controls include pre-delay, decay, width and tone which allows the overall character of the reverb to be adjusted between dark and bright easily. If you are using Aurora on an Aux or Reverb return, the dry to wet blend control if bypassed by engaging the Solo Reverb button, which is a little unusual of a name for that control so worth noting.  We have entered a time where plugins are becoming more intelligent, active and interactive. Aurora is one such plugin that interacts and makes choices that you as the user can adjust and use to your advantage, or not. At a low price, Aurora stands up in quality sonics to reverbs costing hundreds if not thousands of dollars more. Aurora is available to run in AAX, AU, and VST3 formats. A computer with a newer operating system is necessary and requires macOS Ventura (13.6.9), macOS Sonoma (14.6.1) or Windows 10 and 11. $49 MSRPizotope.comThe post New Toys: iZotope Aurora Intelligent reverb first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Inside the portfolio of businesses owned by Downtown Music – the company Universal is buying for $775mKey facts and stats about the businesses and platforms owned by Downtown today
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‘As a manager, you have to be somebody’s biggest fan.’MBW’s World’s Greatest Managers series meets Dan Petel, founder of songwriter-producer management company This Is Noise
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Ticketing in turmoil as Congress, Live Nation send mixed messagesFrom Taylor Swift to Oasis, concert ticketing was the focus of more media attention in 2024 than ever. But as the year ends, failed efforts to enact meaningful change by Congress, industry trade groups and the nation's largest live music company have left concert ticketing in turmoil.
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What Do Christmas Songs Earn in Royalties?What do Christmas songs earn in each year? Find out which holiday hits rake in millions and the secrets behind their lasting success. What Do Christmas Songs Earn in Royalties?. Continue reading
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