By Kevin Cornell
Another month is coming to a close, and TuneCore is here to fill all you independent artists in on some of the headlines you may have missed.
Whether it’s music streaming, publishing, product updates, studies and reports, or op-eds, we’re rounding up some music industry must-reads for all of you looking to stay in touch with the business and advance your career!
South Korean Music Subscriber Rate Charges Forward
Obviously we here at TuneCore are psyched to report this news from February: MusicAlly.com reported that music subscription rates in South Korea exceeded 10 million, and shows no sign of stopping. TuneCore and Music Island partnered in 2019, giving independent artists the opportunity to reach Korean fans across six local platforms. Read more here.
200 Million Music Streamers in India
Speaking of growth, the Indian music streaming market appears to have hit over 200 million fans this year. Reports come from the CEO of Indian Music Industry (IMI). DSPs with big names globally (Apple Music, Spotify) are still playing second fiddle to local streaming platforms, suggesting there’s only more room for international growth – might be time to start including Indian DSPs and media outlets for your next release campaign! Read more here.
Samplers Have Made Out With $25M from Splice
Music production service Splice announced in February that its creators/samplers have paid musicians that contribute to the platform $25 million in royalties since its launch in 2015. The company’s recent blog post credit creators who’ve supported fellow artists – whether it’s their “first track” or they’ve “produced GRAMMY-winning hits”. Read more here.
Bandsintown Partners with Waze
Seems obvious enough, right? One app shows fans how to see their favorite artists when they come to town (Bandsintown), the other helps them both get to the venue (Waze). Now fans who use both apps will see the quickest routes to the gig they’ve saved on Bandsintown! What this means for fans getting to the show early enough to see all the artists on the bill, of course, remains unknown. Read more here.
Official Artist Channels Coming to YouTube
MusicAlly.com reported on an email from YouTube to music users regarding an update on how their channels would be managed. Some artists now have an ‘Official Artist Channel’ on the platform, in an effort to combine topic and ‘partner-provided’ channel subscriptions. What this means for the broader community of artists utilizing YouTube remains to be seen, but it’s a development that should pique the interest of many artists. Read more here.
Spotify Announces Finalists For its Debut Award Show
You’ve likely heard about the streaming platform’s upcoming ceremony, the Spotify Awards, and a few weeks out from the premier (March 5) the finalists have been announced. While many of the artists/producers/podcasters are ‘household names’, we’re thrilled to see that Spotify is elevating the game for independent artists in the award space. With less glitz and glamor than the GRAMMYs, the Spotify Awards could be an exciting new way to celebrate creators of all stripes (and budgets!). Read more here.
Tags: bandsintown india music industry south korea splice spotify awards YouTube