March was a crazy month for the entire world. TuneCore is doing our best to provide helpful, pragmatic, and hopeful content during this pandemic. While COVID-19 has no doubt impacted the music industry and artists alike, we’re continuing our monthly column of hand-picked articles across the web that you might have missed.
This month’s edition won’t be all about COVID but instead catch artists up with some updates that might impact their careers and release strategies. Stay safe out there as you catch up!
$30.1BN = All-Time High Value of Music Copyright
The IFPI posted its annual Global Music Report, and in it is the $30 billion milestone reached over a year back in regard to the value of the music copyright business. The big takeaway? Visibility and the ability to get the attention of policymakers as it pertains to the legal framework of copyright! This stuff matters. Read more here.
Spotify Exec Pipes Up About Playlisting Scams
Jeremy Erlich, co-head of music at Spotify, spoke out about the rampant scams being executed by sketchy agencies as it relates to playlist pitching. These firms charge labels/artists to pitch directly to Spotify curators for official playlists, but Erlich claims there is no communication or consideration at all! We’ve warned plenty of these scammers, but it’s worthy of repeating, especially from someone at Spotify! Read more here.
Tencent Hits the 40m Subscriber Mark
Tencent, the music/media giant and recent partner of TuneCore, showed off its impressive growth in paying subscribers this month. A 60% increase in subscriptions from last year is worthy of bragging about! We’re always psyched to be delivering your music to new territories, and this news should encourage artists to step-up their marketing efforts in the Chinese market. Read more here.
Vevo Unveils ‘The Anatomy of a Video Experience’
Music video giant Vevo published an in-depth report/presentation on how fans engage with videos, zeroing in on everything from device, time of day, discovery and purpose. Is this a lot to take in as an artist? Probably. But it’s worth peering into a well-researched project and how it may impact your music video decisions moving forward! Read more here.
Royalty Rates Appeal in the U.S.: Songwriters Vs. DSPs
Our friends at MusicAlly.com discussed the kcik-off of a courtroom battle between streaming services (specifically Amazon and Spotify) and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) in the U.S., and we think it’s worth a read. If you’re a songwriter unsure of how the US Music Modernization Act impacts royalty rates and more, give it a look. Read more here.
Twitter Tests “Fleets” as a ‘Stories’ Feature
While this one is mostly about a social media feature being tested, it’s worth noting as Twitter remains a key vehicle for artists in terms of promoting music and connecting with fans. ‘Fleets’, like their Instagram and Snapchat counterparts, will delete after 24 hours and are not subject to retweets, likes or replies (opting instead for DM reactions). Kayvon Beykpour, Twitter’s head of Product, gets into it all via thread. Read more here.
“Bad Influencer Marketing”
Handing it back over to MusicAlly.com, the site addressed the business of influencer marketing in the music industry this month. A great piece about the current state of influencer marketing and how the music community is involved, new rules and regulations, and how music folks can avoid scandals. If you’re getting those follows up and getting paid to promote, this one’s for you. Read more here.
Apple Music is Giving Fans a Heads Up on New Releases
In an effort to keep updating features for its subscribers, streaming service Apple Music released an in-app notification this month. Users will now be informed when their favorite artists have a new release – something Spotify aims to offer with their “Release Radar” playlists (based on saved or most-listened-to artists). One less thing for artists to worry about when it comes to cutting through the static on release day! Read more here.
Tags: apple music copyright featuring influencer marketing namp playlisting spotify twitter fleets