Spotify’s audiobooks move is another brick in the audio wallStreaming has come a long way since its days as a pure music service for super fans. Spotify’s announcement that it is making 15 monthly audiobook hours available to premium subscribers is simply the latest step in a journey that has seen streaming become the 21st century’s take on radio. This has been achieved with the steady addition of non-music content (podcasts and audiobooks especially) and a growing emphasis on programmatic lean back consumption. As with all change, when it sits in an extended period of transformation, its immediate impact is often under-recognised. Audiobooks are the completely natural and logical progression for Spotify (and other DSPs), but they are also another waymarker in the journey away from being a pure play music service.

The pandemic was a catalyst for audiobook consumption. Audiobooks had been around for a long time already, with Audible leading the charge, but it was the sudden increase in non-allocated time that people found themselves with that triggered a coming of age for the format. Listening surged, including of podcasts, but as normal life slowly returned, audiobook consumption dipped again, though to a higher point than pre-pandemic levels. 

In many respects, Audible never really managed to push the format out of its niche foundations, with weekly active user (WAU) penetration still stuck at around 10% (Q1 23). DSPs though, represent the opportunity to mainstream the proposition – something that Deezer identified many years ago by becoming the first DSP to integrate audiobooks. Deezer was, however, probably a little too early, launching audiobooks when streaming was still almost entirely about music and still very lean-forward. Now, streaming is the soundtrack to our everyday lives. It is about filling the silence (or blocking out the noise) more than active listening. In this use case, spoken word audio is just as good a fit as music. In fact, it can often be a better fit. For example, getting lost in the narrative of an audiobook can make a daily commute fly by a lot quicker than simply listening to a playlist, in large part because it commands your attention.

Spot the important shift there? Audiobooks can turn passive listening into active listening in a way that music cannot so easily do. Music carved out hours for streaming by being passive, and now audiobooks and podcasts can colonise those hours with active consumption. The more active usage becomes, the more engaged a user is and the less likely they are to churn. Music did the hard yards; audio reaps the rewards.

Music rightsholders have long been concerned about audio eating into listening hours, less because of the cannibalisation of hours and more so because of the risk of DSPs using that as a basis for negotiating down the share of the subscription fee that gets paid to them. 15 hours of audiobooks may not sound like a lot but it represents close to 40% of the monthly music listening hours of the average subscriber. There is a good chance that there will be strong uptake, not least because over half of audiobook WAUs are also Spotify WAUs (which will probably give Audible pause for thought).

Of course, from Spotify’s perspective at least, the benefit of reducing music rightsholder fees simply to replace them with book publisher fees would be self-defeating. That is unless Spotify can secure the latter for less. But there is another crucial variable at play: original content. Back in 2020, when Spotify was hiring its head of audiobooks, the job description included the following: “Develop, pitch and oversee production of high-quality content”.  Just as with podcasts, audiobooks represent an opportunity for Spotify to develop original content and improve its margins.

Spotify prompt-driven AI playlists risk devaluing many artists, genresSpotify is testing AI-generated playlists based on custom prompts. The streamer successfully launched its AI-powered DJ feature last year. Code pointing to prompt-driven AI playlists was discovered within the Spotify. Continue reading
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Songtradr acquires Bandcamp from Fortnite maker Epic GamesNews arrives a year and a half after Epic Games acquired Bandcamp
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Best AI Graphic Generators for musicians, album covers, playlists, moreNot everyone is tech/artistically savvy, but luckily this list of online generative AI tools will create album covers, playlists, and marketing graphics with just a few words as a prompt.. Continue reading
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NFTs promised to save music; now, they are officially WORTHLESSPromoters of NFTs promised that they would ‘revolutionize the music industry’ and provide a much-needed funding source for musicians. While I never quite drank a full glass of the Kool-Aid,. Continue reading
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Streaming’s problems will not be fixed by royalties alone [Mark Mulligan, MIDiA]After Universal and Deezer’s royalty proposal made headlines, Mark Mulligan of consultancy MIDiA explained that much more needs to be considered to fix the over-arching problems troubling music streaming. by. Continue reading
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Waves Audio Introduces Online Mastering Service Waves Audio, the world’s leading developer of professional audio signal processing technologies and plugins, introduces the AI-powered Waves Online Mastering service, allowing users to get high-quality masters, quickly and easily. 

Waves has leveraged over 30 years of award-winning audio technology and expertise to offer an online mastering service that produces accurate, release-ready, custom-tailored masters for any uploaded track, guaranteeing exceptional sound quality. Waves Online Mastering will get your song’s quality on par with other songs on the market, ensuring that your tracks sound professionally mastered on any platform.  

This has been accomplished by integrating Waves Neural Networks® technology in an advanced AI mastering engine, along with invaluable input from top-tier mastering engineers. The result is a service that is unparalleled in the AI mastering space. 

Acclaimed mastering engineer Piper Payne (Dolly Parton, Janis Ian, Madame Gandhi, Corook, LeAnn Rimes), who has been part of the Waves Online Mastering development team, comments, “I got involved with this project intending to create a tool that would be as good as, or even better than, my own skills. We have modeled the processes and techniques I use daily, using advanced machine learning technology, and meticulously compared the sound to that of my own mastering chain, until we achieved the required level of excellence. We’re very proud to share this service with you: it provides such dependable masters, that often even I can't distinguish between them and my own mastering. It is intuitive and beneficial for any DIY producer/songwriter, professional mixing engineer, or music licenser.” 

Waves Online Mastering ensures high-end mastering results with maximum musicality. Whether you’re a seasoned producer or musician, or just starting out, you can now attain professional-sounding masters quickly and easily. You can personalize the result using the service’s Style and Tone customization options. You can also guide the service to your desired result, by uploading reference tracks whose sonic characteristics you wish the service to match. 

High-profile producers and engineers who have tested the service attest to its impressive results, high-end audio quality, and user-friendly workflow: 

Mixing engineer Tony Maserati (Beyoncé, Selena Gomez) says, after testing the service, “I’m thoroughly impressed with the various levels of treatment this service provides. From light-handed to more aggressive, there’s a setting that will help your track sit perfectly between whatever comes before and after it in a playlist.” 

Mixing engineer and producer Lu Diaz (DJ Khaled, Pitbull, Beyoncé, Jay Z) comments, "The sound quality and ease of use are fantastic. This service makes top-notch mastering accessible to everyone." 

Hip-hop producer and songwriter Knxwledge (Anderson .Paak, NxWorries, Kendrick Lamar) adds, “Waves Online Mastering is one of the cheat codes we've been waiting for. I’m getting high-quality masters, so fast.” 

Producer/engineer Mark Ralph (Clean Bandit, Years & Years) concurs: “The sound is impressive and accurate. This is great for a variety of genres, whether you need your masters to be subtle or more ‘pushed.’”

Mastering is essential to ensure your audio reaches its peak quality across all platforms, especially in today's landscape where music is consumed through a multitude of formats and devices. For producers and musicians ready to release their music, mastering is indispensable to achieve a professional result. Waves Online Mastering makes high-end professional affordable and immediately accessible to all.   

From Kendrick Lamar and Billie Eilish to Drake, Taylor Swift and Foo Fighters, Waves’ Technical GRAMMY®-winning audio technology has shaped countless hit recordings for decades. Now, Waves brings its technology and expertise to the world of AI-powered online mastering. 

To learn more about Waves Online Mastering, click here.

To access Waves Online Mastering, click here. 

What Photography has taught me about musicAndrew Tasselmyer explains how his new found passion for photography taught him how to change his mindset about making music and overall improving his creative process. by ANDREW TASSELMYER of. 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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Elon Musk and Mark Cuban hate Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s ‘guiding motto’Spotify CEO Daniel Ek shared his “guiding motto” on X (formerly Twitter) this week, and the reaction to it from other business leaders was swift and not particularly positive. Ek’s. Continue reading
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Songwriters are worried about BMI’s private equity sale – and if it will hurt their royalties. What happens now?MBW has heard rumors from senior music biz figures that BMI has explored talks with a number of potential backers/suitors, with the latest name on the lips of the business being New Mountain Capital
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After partnering with AI music startup Lemonaide, BeatStars unveils AI music creation tool, ‘Seeds’According to BeatStars, the new tool is aimed at helping creators generate initial ideas for music
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Phoebe Willo Crowdfunds over $30,000 via SongBits and Music GatewayBy aligning with SongBits and Music Gateway, independent and unknown artist, Phoebe Willo, raised over $30,000 by allowing fans to invest in her latest single. Both companies launched with the purpose to empower the independent artist and prove that fans want to support artists on a business level by investing for a piece of ownership in a project; in this case, streaming revenue on Phoebe’s latest single, “Lost in the Music.” A revolutionary new form of crowdfunding moving into the future, fans can now share in the success of an artist’s project. 

Music industry icon Dave Stewart — the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, award-winning singer, songwriter, musician, producer, innovator and Eurythmics co-founder — is a co-owner of both SongBits and Music Gateway. “This is a precursor to big news coming,” says Stewart. “I am always thinking of ways to help new artists and this is a colossal one. I have always been heavily involved in paving the way for artists to survive in this fractured music business. At a time when actors and writers are on strike, music has always been the low hanging fruit, the sacrificial lamb so to speak.”

SongBits is a game-changing new platform that creates all-new levels of fan engagement, quick and effective new revenue streams and vital new data insights for artists and labels. Co-founder, Russell Sheffield shares: “Phoebe clearly has incredible talent and is one to watch. SongBits is all about supporting incredible talent whilst enabling fans to share the value of their songs. For the first time, creating a unique and true partnership together through harnessing the power of Web3.”

Music Gateway’s mantra is to empower independent artists by providing promotional services across playlisting, radio, press and digital media, leveling the playing field for artists across the globe. Jon Skinner, CEO & Founder of Music Gateway, says: "Dave Stewart has been part of our journey since the very beginning. Being a huge advocate for collaboration, he saw the huge potential in what we set out to achieve. Dave is a valued shareholder and plays a vital role on our advisory board. On a personal level, Dave is just amazing to work with and his ideas are endless." 

SongBits

Music Gateway

Associate Music Festival Programmer focusing on Latin musicSXSW seeks an entry-level Associate Music Festival Programmer focusing on Latin music (from traditional to modern). The ideal candidate is an open-minded, self-motivated, collaborative individual with a strong music industry background, comprehensive knowledge of music/genres, and an enthusiasm for identifying new talent and trends in music. Strong communication skills, close attention to detail, and the ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment are required for this position. Apply at www.entertainmentcareers.net

GRAMMY U drops college enrollment requirement, opens to anyone 18-29GRAMMY U has dropped its college enrollment requirement and opened membership to anyone between the ages of 18 and 29. Founded by the Recording Academy in 2006, Grammy U provides opportunities for. Continue reading
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