Independent artists have found an unlikely wealthy benefactor willing to bankroll their latest project: Cash App. The mobile payment service today launched Cash App Studios, an initiative designed to help independent creatives, including artists, musicians, directors, and designers, fund their projects. Cash App declined to disclose financial details of their …
Read More »Another Blockbuster Deal: Tina Turner Sells Entire Catalog to BMG
As music companies continue to court hitmakers for their songs, one of the most celebrated catalogs in pop history is on the move. Tina Turner has sold her music rights to BMG, the company’s CEO Hartwig Masuchtells Rolling Stone — marking the latestevent in the trend of major legacy artists …
Read More »Katy Perry, Nas, and Jason Derulo Are Investing Big in a Spotify Rival
When you play a song on major streaming platforms, money doesn’t just zoom straight into an artist’s pocket. But what if it did? That’s how payments are designed to work on Audius, a platform built on a blockchain — yes, the same technological network that NFTs run on. And thisthree-year-old …
Read More »Sony Music Is Wiping Out the Old Debts of Catalog Artists
Last June, protests broke out across the music industry as record executives questioned the business’ long history of racial inequity. Ron Sweeney, a veteran music attorney, offered one proposal that he believed could help labels begin to atone for their past injustices: “With respect to Black artists signed to you …
Read More »Women in Music Dwindled in 2020
Same song, different verse — quite literally, it turns out. On Monday (March 8th), the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Institute released its latest report on music creator demographics, finding that women still make up meager percentages of artists, songwriters, and producers on music charts and award-nomination slates, marking “no …
Read More »Blondie Co-Founders and Barry Manilow Sell Their Catalogs to Hipgnosis
Merck Mercuriadis‘s big year doesn’t seem to be slowing down yet. The manager-turned-music investor’s IP acquisition group Hipgnosis Songs Fund bought two more notable catalogs, it announced Wednesday — this time from Blondie co-founders Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, securing both their writers’ shares and neighboring rights for their entire …
Read More »Grammy Museum Partners With Grammy U, Michelle Obama for Virtual Mentorship Program
The Grammy Museum announced on Thursday that it is partnering with Grammy U — the Recording Academy’s college educational division — and Michelle Obama for a virtual mentorship program during the coronavirus pandemic. The Mentorship Monday program will be launched through Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative. Running from July 20th through …
Read More »Coachella Is Preparing to Postpone
Update, March 10th:Organizers have issued an official statement moving Coachella to October. Organizers of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival are in talks to postpone the festival amid the growing coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., multiple sources tell Rolling Stone. The annual festival was originally scheduled to take place over …
Read More »BTS's 'Map of the Soul: 7' On Track For Number One RS 200 Debut
BTS‘ Map of the Soul: 7 is on track for a Number One debut on the RS 200, taking the top spot handily in Wednesday’s daily version of the albums chart By Wednesday’s chart, the album had moved 129,300 units, more than double those for the Number Two album, Youngboy …
Read More »Spotify Is Testing Its Own Version of Genius' 'Behind the Lyrics'
Off the back of a triumphant (enough) first quarter, Spotify is busy this month buffing up its user experience with new features. The music-streaming service recently began testing a homescreen view that puts podcasts front and center, and it’s also played with a subscription plan for couples. Spotify’s latest experiment: …
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