Meet The Man Who Live Streamed The First Concert With Ben Harper

Today, we take music streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and Soundcloud for granted, despite their relatively new existence. The growth of digital consumption over the past decade has far exceeded any other period in the music distribution timeline. We decided to take a closer look at how music streaming services came to fruition, beginning with the very first platforms. One such platform was Virgin Jamcast, founded by Scott Roulet in partnership with Virgin Entertainment.

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The Music Industry’s Guide To Content Marketing

Many marketers are calling 2016 the year of Content Marketing. It’s the hottest conversation starter amongst media folks. But is the music industry plugged into this chatter? With the Content Marketing industry expected to balloon to over $5 Billion in 2016, the answer should be definitively ‘yes’. Unfortunately, the Music industry tends to fall behind the curve of innovative digital trends. Don’t know where to begin? Check out these tips below to jumpstart your content strategy and stay ahead of the game.

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Artists Have Had Enough: Music Needs Valuation

Apple’s statement that they would not be paying artists and the consequent backlash from performers like Taylor Swift has been generating a great deal of commentary regarding revenue from music streaming services in general. This article examines some of the issues relating to streaming, piracy, and the difficulties associated with profiting from recorded music in the digital age.

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Progressivism: 4 Easy Ways Artists Can Stay Relevant

Keeping up with the times is something almost everyone struggles with.  It’s a challenge to step out of our comfort zone and try something new.  However, in a professional setting, the only way to survive is to submit to the idea of change.  For musicians, progressivism can sometimes be an especially challenging concept.  However, it is imperative that we continue to adapt to new trends, and stay relevant to our fan base.  

 I’ve picked four basic methods every musician can implement to ensure they are ‘with the times’:

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Streaming: What Netflix Can Teach The Music Industry

It has become commonplace to hear artists, management, agents and labels complain about how streaming will crush the music industry.  This same mentality arose during the transition into the CD and digital downloading eras.  Don’t fear the numerous myths that have saturated our industry, streaming is not evil; merely different.  And it is about to become the next powerhouse, quite possibly changing music distribution in a way never seen before.  This transformation has already commenced in television and film.  The music industry has fallen behind, but is quickly catching up with vengeance. 

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Religiously Recorded: Why The Studio Is Still Relevant

This piece is sure to be the enemy of home studio manufacturers, yet it’s something that must be said.  Call me orthodox, but I still find the process of constructing a studio record to be imperative to superior quality music production.  While the digital revolution has made it possible for recording technologies to be made available to the masses, there are so many reasons why producing a top notch album can only come from hours spent in the live room.  Artists who take the studio experience seriously will find that the ritualistic nature of this process adds an enormous amount of non-tangible value to a record.  

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The Musician of Oz

The great and powerful, Wizard of Oz, presented himself as a supernatural, omniscient being.  However, he was revealed to be a much different individual, operating a complex facade of smoke screens and holograms, without any real power.  Musicians can put themselves in the same position as Oz did, by abusing the gap between the digital and dimensional worlds.

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