From streaming’s AI problem to Spotify’s lossless launch… it’s MBW’s weekly round-upThe biggest headlines from the past few days – all in one place
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State Of Independent Live Music in a single infographicIndependently produced live music has a major impact on local and regional economies, but independent live music venues are struggling. This infographic offers an overview of the state of independent live music and events in the U.S.
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Songwriters Hall of Fame Posthumously Inducts Bern BernsPictured (L to R): Pete Ganbarg, SHOF Board Member and Chairman of SHOF Legacy Committee; Berns’ daughter Cassandra Berns; Charlie Feldman, SHOF Board Member; and SHOF inductee Steve Miller. (Photo Credit: Larry Busacca/SHOF)On Thursday, the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) announced the "induction of legendary songwriter and producer Bert Berns, whose legacy has influenced the world of music for decades. Berns, who tragically died in 1967 at age 38, was recognized posthumously for his remarkable contributions during an intimate ceremony held last night at 54 Below cabaret club in New York City.""Berns wrote some of the most enduring songs ever recorded, including standards like 'Twist and Shout,' 'Piece of My Heart,' 'Hang On, Sloopy,' 'Everybody Needs Somebody to Love,' 'Brown Eyed Girl,' 'Tell Him,' 'I Want Candy,' 'Cry to Me,' 'I’ll Be a Liar,' 'Cry Baby,' and 'Heart Be Still.' His songs were immortalized by some of the most influential recording artists of all time, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Solomon Burke, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Otis Redding, David Bowie, Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Isley Brothers, The Moody Blues, Wilson Pickett, Melissa Etheridge, Gene Pitney, the Animals, the Yardbirds, the Strangeloves, Erma Franklin, Dusty Springfield, The Exciters, Garnet Mimms, and more."PHOTO: Bert Berns (Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Bert Berns Family)"In 1963, Berns’ work with Solomon Burke caught the attention of Atlantic Records’ chiefs Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, and he joined the label as a producer, replacing Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. He flourished under the encouragement of Wexler. He was the first American to produce records in London during the British Invasion. In 1965, he started his own rock and roll label, BANG Records, whose roster included the likes of Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, and The McCoys. The following year he established R&B and soul music label Shout Records.""The SHOF induction ceremony was hosted by musician Paul Shaffer and Berns’ son Brett and daughter Cassandra. Tributes included video messages from SHOF inductees Paul McCartney and Van Morrison. Guests included SHOF inductee Steve Miller and Steven Van Zandt. Also in attendance were industryites Joel Selvin, Russ Titelman, Avery Lipman, Kenny Laguna, and SHOF Board members Charlie Feldman and Pete Ganbarg, Chairman of the SHOF Legacy Committee.""The celebration of Berns’ legacy also included live performances by Cassandra Berns, singer Betty Harris, Tony-nominated actress Mary Bridget Davies (A Night with Janis Joplin), and Broadway stars from the musical Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, including Bryan Fenkart, Linda Hart, and Teresa Gattison. Highlights included a stirring performance 'Cry to Me' by Harris, an artist signed to Berns’ Jubilee record label whose 1962 cover version was a Top 10 R&B hit. Harris celebrated her 86th birthday that night as the audience joined in singing 'Happy Birthday.' The night concluded with Fenkart leading the audience in a rousing finale of Twist and Shout.'""While the annual SHOF gala does not usually include posthumous inductions for songwriters after their death, the organization hosts its special posthumous inductions at unique venues and events. Deceased writers to be considered for posthumous induction were included in a special segment of the 2025 SHOF ballot."Pictured (L to R): Bert Berns and Atlantic Records Jerry Wexler (Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Bert Berns Family)The post Songwriters Hall of Fame Posthumously Inducts Bern Berns first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Mira Chatt appointed Regional Director, Asia at IFPIExec joins IFPI from YouTube, where she served as Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy for India
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Benefits of Short Run CD Duplication for Independent ArtistsEven in today’s digital music scene, physical CDs still play an important role for indie artists. Short run CD duplication provides an affordable and flexible way to produce and sell. Continue reading
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Tricky Stewart to keynote AIMP–MMF-US Atlanta SummitDr. Christopher “Tricky” Stewart will deliver the Songwriter Keynote at the annual AIMP–MMF-US Atlanta Summit. It’s all happening on Thursday, September 18th at 5 PM. Major hits written and produced. Continue reading
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Hollywood Music in Media Awards 2025 Opens for EntriesThe Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA) has built a reputation as one of the industry’s most inclusive honors, recognizing music across film, television, streaming, video games, commercials, and emerging media. Now heading into its 16th year, the HMMA has officially opened its call for submissions.A statement from the company discloses that “the 16th Annual Hollywood Music In Media Awards is now accepting submissions.” Categories span a wide range, giving composers, songwriters, and artists opportunities to showcase their work on a global stage.The 2025 ceremony will take place on November 19, 2025, at the Avalon Hollywood, the historic venue on Vine Street that has hosted the event in past years.A statement from the company further notes that “eligibility, guidelines, deadline and other specifics can be found at Submission Info & Voting.” In short, now is the time for creators to prepare their entries.Submissions are being accepted at hmmawards.com/submit-music.The post Hollywood Music in Media Awards 2025 Opens for Entries first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Armada’s BEAT Music Fund acquires entire master rights catalog of Laidback Luke and Olga Heijns’ Mixmash RecordsThe acquisition gives BEAT Music Fund a catalog that has clocked some 200 million streams worldwide
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How KPop Demon Hunters nailed the Formula for FandomKPop Demon Hunters became Netflix’s most-watched film by representing authentic fandom and K-pop culture. Its blend of real fan insight and universal themes turned a niche into a global hit. Learn how KPop Demon Hunters nailed the formula for fandom
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Crowdfunding for Independent Musicians: All You Need To KnowWith all the buzz about superfan monetization, alternative funding and royalty advances, it's easy to lose site of the importance and potential of crowdfunding for independent musicians. This guide share all you need to know.
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PRS Guitars Brings Back the Mira as an S2 594On Tuesday, PRS Guitars announced the return of the Mira model to the Maryland factory line, now with the 24.594” scale length. "This new iteration, available in both gloss and satin finishes, will be a regular offering in the S2 Series," they said in a statement. "The 22-fret S2 Mira 594 covers a wide range of styles, including rock, blues, garage, and punk. Pairing its all-mahogany construction with PRS 58/15 LT vintage-voiced pickups results in warm, focused midrange. The humbuckers are paired with two mini-toggle switches to individually tap the pickups, delivering both authentic humbucking and chimey single-coil sounds."“The Mira has had an interesting history over the course of the last 17 years, but I don’t think it found its true voice until now,” said PRS Guitars Director of Sales, Jim Cullen. “The S2 Mira 594 combines our 24.594” scale length with a Pattern Thin neck shape and a very simple and straight forward feature set that provides an incredibly lively, simple-to-use tool to create music. I hope you are as inspired as we are with the newest evolution of this classic model.”"The S2 Mira 594 is available in: Antique White, Black, Dark Cherry Sunburst, Platinum Metallic, Vintage Cherry, and debut color Black Rainbow Holoflake.""The S2 Mira 594 Satin features the PRS 'sinky' satin nitro finish, and is available in: Matcha Green, Mavis Mint Metallic, Metallic Midnight, Dark Cherry Sunburst, Red Apple Metallic, and debut color Cloud Burst.""The Mira was first introduced in 2007 as an all-mahogany pickguard guitar with moon inlays, 24 frets, 25" scale length, a stoptail bridge, and a single mini-toggle. It has appeared across all of the Series and in various configurations, including the popular Mira X. In 2013, the Mira was moved from Core and was one of three models to launch the S2 Series. It was last offered as an S2 in 2018, becoming part of the SE Series from 2020-2023.""PRS Guitars continues its schedule of launching new products each month in 2025. Stay tuned to see new gear and 40th Anniversary limited-edition guitars throughout the year. For all of the latest news, click www.prsguitars.com/40 and follow @prsguitars on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, and YouTube."The post PRS Guitars Brings Back the Mira as an S2 594 first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

The Orchard launches physical distribution network, OPEN, following merger between Germany’s SPV Distribution and MembranIt's understood that The Orchard and Napalm will now co-own OPEN
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How To Use Live Performances to Build A Music Industry NetworkNetworking doesn't have to be so scary! For artists, the concert venue might just be the best environment to put your best foot forward and build connections. Learn how to use use live performances to build a music industry network.
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Karra, bifurcation and YouTube’s gainA couple of weeks ago, electronic music artist Karra posted a video on YouTube about why she took her album down from streaming (one that she spent $100,000 making) and is now going to focus her efforts on YouTube (“an incredible platform for [her] artistry”) as well as selling content to music creators. The details in here will be familiar to most and many of them (fraud, bots, demonetisation, fractional royalties, slow payments, lack of support) are widely recognised as ‘industry glitches’. But when they are all stitched together, they can become an insurmountable challenge for independent creators. Big labels and publishers have the organisational scale to swat these glitches away like flies, but for creators doing everything on their own, it can make the system feel rigged against them. Karra’s solution was to opt out of the streaming economy entirely. Is she an outlier, or a sign of Bifurcation gathering pace?

Karra’s story is one of an artist trying to do what a label artist would do (co-writers, mixing and mastering, photoshoots, videos etc) but on her own. The result was a wholly professional release but because she lacked the operational resources of a record label, all of the glitches (canvass not uploading, social not monetising, music taking down for suspected fraudulent activity, fraudsters posting to her streaming profile, dodgy merch companies not paying etc) simply became too much. The kicker though was that her streaming royalties added up to little more than one percent of her outlay. Sure, if the album had been more successful or if she had spent less making it, that equation might have changed but this was an album with over a million streams, so not nothing. The kicker however, is that her YouTube video telling the story generated more revenue in one week than the album did on streaming in one year. 

There may not be many artists who depend upon streaming royalties to pay their bills, instead using it to fuel their core income streams (live, merch etc). But when the investment and effort vs rewards equation is so imbalanced, it is not surprising that a growing number of creators are now looking elsewhere. Among the non-DSP artists MIDiA has been tracking, YouTube keeps coming up as the place they turn to. Creating ‘content’ on YouTube is not of course for all artists, but now, neither is streaming. The reality of today’s music business may be fragmentation and complexity but this also means that artists now have more paths they can follow. 

The flipside of the complexity and fragmentation is that this strengthens the case for record labels. The depth and breadth of expertise needed to navigate today’s music business simply cannot be recreated by an independent creator’s own team. The likely implication is that successful independent creators have a choice between staying independent but specialising on one or two platforms, or working with a label to work across all of them.

An interesting additional element to the case for YouTube is that it enables artists to tell their story. As we enter the AI era, story telling has never been more important for artists to differentiate from something generated by a text prompt. As Mary Spender puts it, YouTube can play the role of ‘proof of work’. If / when AI music swamps streaming, not only will artists face royalty dilution and attention competition, they will have no meaningful way of communicating their ‘human-ness’ there. Unlike, of course, YouTube.

Streaming’s problems are a combination of self-inflicted injuries, industry dysfunction and unscrupulous third-party behaviour. Fixes are needed from both within and without. While larger rightsholders might look at this and think that these are little more than glitches for their businesses, if streaming fails, they fail. For all its creator-level faults, streaming works well at the rightsholder level. Rightsholders revenues are now dominated by streaming. As we first outlined in Bifurcation Theory in early 2024, streaming’s problems are opportunities for the expanding, non-DSP side of the music business. With a growing body of newer, younger creators prioritising YouTube and social over streaming, it will only be a matter of time before this starts translating into a clear culture-shift. Expect that to happen even faster if Gen AI starts to dominate functional playlists on streaming. YouTube will be waiting with open arms.

Keep an eye out for MIDiA’s forthcoming ‘Future of Streaming’ report that uses conversations with streaming’s leaders to present a bold vision for the industry’s future.

4 Ways Artists Can Use YouTube Analytics to Grow Their ReachYouTube's guide for using analytics to help creators grow their channels offers artists some interesting tips and insights. Let's take a look!
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