Live Nation and Crew Nation pledge $1M for Los Angeles wildfire reliefThe initiative offers grants of up to $5,000 for musicians, live music crew, and live music industry workers affected by the fires
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TikTok is restoring service: What to do now!On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the law that will ban TikTok as of this Sunday January 19 and President-elect Trump said he wouldn't decide what to do until after he took office. With at least a temporary shutdown is likely, learn how to save TikTok content and followers.
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TikTok goes offline for 170m+ US users, as divest-or-ban law takes effectGoogle and Apple have also removed TikTok from their app stores to comply with the law.
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Independent and DIY Musician News Last WeekLast week in independent and DIY musician news, readers tuned into topics including how to prepare for the TikTok ban, mastering the Spotify algorithm, and more…
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Music Business News Last Week: Nintendo Music Streaming, Rednote & MoreLast week was packed with headlines, and the music industry was no exception. Here’s a roundup of the top music business news you might have missed.
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Musical Instrument Industry Unites to Support Victims of the Los Angeles WildfiresIn the wake of the devastating wildfires in Southern California, leading manufacturers from the musical instrument (MI) industry have joined forces to help support the recovery of music programs and musicians impacted by the fires. Gibsonthe iconic American-made instrument brand,and Guitar Centerthe world’s largest retailer of musical instruments, are bringing the music community together through their philanthropic divisions Gibson Gives and The Guitar Center Music Foundation to provide immediate funds and support for musicians and humanitarian aid organizations across Los Angeles.To maximize this effort, Gibson and Guitar Center have enlisted the assistance and support of many prominent manufacturers from the MI industry including AKG, AlphaTheta/Pioneer, Audio-Technica, DW, Eastman, ESP Guitars, Hoshino (Ibanez Guitars/TAMA Drums), JBL Professional, C. F. Martin & Co., Pearl Drums, Remo Inc., Roland, Saga, Schecter Guitar Research, Shure, Sony Music, Universal Audio, Vater Percussion, Yamaha, Avedis Zildjian Co, and more in a massive and unprecedented donation relief effort.For musicians, music professionals, or a nonprofit music program based in the Los Angeles area affected by the fires, The Guitar Center Music Foundation and Gibson Gives are donating a special one-time grant to replace instruments and gear. Los Angeles musicians who lost their instruments and gear can reach out and apply HERE now through February 28, 2025. Proof of loss or address may be required.The brands have partnered with the NAMM Foundation L.A. Wildfires Relief Fund as well as the NAMM Show which is providing two dedicated L.A. Wildfire Relief Centers during the upcoming NAMM Show, held at the Anaheim Convention Center (January 23-25). These relief centers inform attendees on how they can support the coordinated efforts of this initiative. They will be in Hall C and in ACC North Level 2. For those who donate $35 or more onsite to the GCMF at the Anaheim Convention Center, they will receive their choice of a special edition GCMF branded t-shirt, tote bag, or hat."We are devastated by the recent fires that have deeply affected our artist communities and the places they call home. In response, we are committed to providing impactful support to help rebuild and heal. We understand the powerful role music plays in the healing process, and we will continue to stand with our community, using the strength of music to bring hope and recovery." -- Erica Krusen, Global Executive Director, Gibson Gives."I am deeply grateful to see such an outpouring of support from everyone coming together to assist musicians who have tragically lost their instruments in the fire. This collective effort is not just about replacing instruments; it’s about restoring the power of music in people’s lives—a vital source of healing, renewal, and strength as they navigate the journey of rebuilding their lives and communities." -- Myka Miller, Executive Director of The Guitar Center Music Foundation.“We are overwhelmed and deeply appreciative of the generosity from our music industry. NAMM and The NAMM Foundation are collaborating closely with NAMM Members to unify all efforts and maximize relief efforts for the those impacted by the LA Wildfires." -- John Mlynczak, NAMM president and CEO.The post Musical Instrument Industry Unites to Support Victims of the Los Angeles Wildfires first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

ASCAP Experience 2025 Has Been CanceledASCAP Experience 2025 Has Been Canceled"We understand how devastating and challenging these past few weeks have been for the Los Angeles community. Given the evolving and uncertain situation in the wake of the Los Angeles fires, we have decided to cancel our ASCAP Experience that was scheduled for February 27. Our venue for the event is in an area currently still under evacuation. All registrants will be given a full refund. Refunds will be made automatically to the payment method used for your registration.Many ASCAP members have been impacted by the LA fires and need immediate assistance. With a desire to support the recovery efforts, ASCAP has set up an emergency relief fund of $1 million for our songwriter and composer members who have suffered from loss and damage to their homes and studios or been evacuated from their homes.We know how powerful our community can be when we can come together for a common purpose. All of us at ASCAP were looking forward to being with our ASCAP Experience attendees, and we are disappointed not to be able to move forward at this time. Our goal, as always, is to provide you with the best advice, tools, networking opportunities and more that you need to achieve your creative aspirations, and we will keep you apprised of future plans.More info hereThe post ASCAP Experience 2025 Has Been Canceled first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

From Drake suing Universal Music to TikTok facing a US ban… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
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Supreme upholds ban! How to save TikTok contentOn Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the law that will ban TikTok as of this Sunday January 19 and President-elect Trump said he wouldn't decide what to do until after he took office. With at least a temporary shutdown is likely, learn how to save TikTok content and followers.
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21 Savage, Gunna, Metro Boomin’, and Wiz Khalifa to perform at Balad Beast 2025 in Saudi ArabiaThe MDLBeast-organized event takes place January 30-31 at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Al-Balad
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Discogs to donate sales revenue to MusiCares’ LA Fire Relief todayMusic marketplace Discogs to donate sales revenue to MusicCares' LA Fire Relief efforts this Friday, January 17. Every record purchased on Friday will generate funds that will be shared with LA’s music community.
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10 things I did to make $2000 off my Brooklyn House ConcertLearn how indie rapper Kosha Dillz turned his messy Brooklyn home into a sold-out show, making $2,000 in one night. From exclusive VIP experiences to surprise performances, here are 10 steps to create an unforgettable event.
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How Spotify built a new business, and what comes nextSince its inception, Spotify has been, and continues to be, the streaming music market’s lightning rod. This is due to its continued ability to maintain leading market share and the fact it is the only leading global DSP that is independent and therefore has to focus place more focus on commercial sustainability than peers owned by global tech superpowers. Working within the constraints of what music rightsholders will permit, Spotify has balanced testing how far it can push boundaries (the aborted Direct Artists; the audiobook bundle controversy) with launching new formats and business models. Given the constraints, Spotify has managed to institute a remarkable amount of change. So much so that the Spotify that stands on the precipice of the second half of the decade is dramatically different to the one that launched in 2008.

The venture capital mantra, which in turn is the start-up mantra, is “do one thing well”. Spotify did exactly that and stuck at it for many years. But a truism for the evolution of business change is that what got you here won’t get you there. Indeed, as Spotify moved towards IPO and then navigated life as a public company, it needed to change. Investors wanted a path towards profitability and away from what they saw as excessive rightsholder control.

To achieve this, it had to move away from the one thing mindset and adopt a much more maximalist worldview. The first Spotify is still at the core of the new Spotify, but similar to a caterpillar’s metamorphosis, Spotify is spreading its wings as something dramatically different. As these changes have been progressively iterated, the change has sneaked up on the music business and it is only by comparing what Spotify is now versus what it was that we can truly understand what Spotify 2.0 is and what it will become:

Spotify 1.0: Version one was very clearly a music service, operating for rightsholders, with a tightly defined licensing model and a minimalist approach to personalisation and curation. It was a tool for people to find the music they knew and for rightsholders to get paid. But the fixed costs model (i.e., Spotify was always going to pay ~70% of its revenue to rightsholders and would always be beholden to their will and wishes) did not leave much room to manoeuvre and investors did not like that. The strategic irony is that if rightsholders had let Spotify do more with music, then it would may have had to look beyond music to grow.

Spotify 2.0: Spotify has essentially spent the last few years lessening music rightsholder control. It has fostered a surrounding ecosystem that resulted in: an accelerating proliferation of new music (even if the volume was slightly down in 2024); new music formats (production music / ‘fake artists’; Gen AI); non-music formats (podcasts, audiobooks, video); and a creator economy (especially podcasts). With algorithmic curation and hyper-personalisation, it has shifted the emphasis of the user relationship from being with artists to the platform. The result is a transformation of user proposition, from a place to find the music you like; to a platform that fills your eyes and ears with multi-format content the algorithm chooses for its users. On top of this, different license fees for production music, bundle tiers, direct deals with audio providers, first-party audio content and Discovery Mode mean that Spotify now operates with a blended, variable, and higher margin costs framework. One in which it exercises more control. And, crucially, Discovery Mode reverses the money-flow polarity, turning the rightsholders Spotify was a customer of, into its customers.

This is where Spotify sits now. But do not think of this as ‘job done’. As with all strategic analysis, we need to look at the where the ball is going to be passed to, not where it is now. To do that, we need to look at what paths Spotify’s new assets open up.

If we work under the assumption of continued evolution rather than dramatic change, Spotify 3.0 is likely to be one in which Spotify further increases autonomy via user experience, content strategy, and commercial model:

Further emphasis on non-music content through programming and curation

Greater emphasis on non-traditional rightsholder music (production music ‘artists’ and generative AI – including in-house AI similar to what Tencent has been doing for years)

Increased flattening of the value proposition to one in which ultimately the user relies on the algorithm to determine not just what music a user listens to, but whether the right content at the right time of day is even music at all

Spotify started off as an elegantly simple music service that helped music rightsholders navigate their way out of piracy and into sustained industry growth. Both Spotify and the music industry won. To return to the metamorphosis analogy, if Spotify 1.0 was the caterpillar, and 2.0 was the chrysalis, then 3.0 will be the butterfly. However, this will be a butterfly that no longer flaps its wings to the music industry’s tune.

Introducing Two New Speakers from One Unstoppable PRX900 Powered Portable PA FamilyIntroducing two PRX900 Series loudspeakers that offer an even wider range of powered portable PA system versatility.The PRX925 two-way and PRX935 three-way loudspeakers take portable PA performance to the next level with advanced acoustics, comprehensive professional DSP, unrivaled power, durability, and complete BLE control via theJBL Pro Connect app. DISCOVER NOWThe post Introducing Two New Speakers from One Unstoppable PRX900 Powered Portable PA Family first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Good, Bad & Ugly for Indie Music in Year-End ReportThe there is good, bad, and ugly news for indie music in year-end report from Luminate.
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