Threatin: Fake News, Fake Fans, Fake Reality

The media is full of negative commentaries regarding the Threatin story and to a degree rightly so, but to be fair, hasn’t variations of “hype” been going on since the beginning of the music industry? Not to mention PR stunts. Had Threatin played to clubs at least partially full of fans to see him, it would have been a success, and no one would have been the wiser for it. We simply would not have heard about it, and it would just be another industry story known to a small group of friends. Inflated stories and skewed realities are the ingredients to the legends of rock n’ roll. According to Wikipedia, Rick Rubin’s early band The Pricks “…biggest claim to fame, was being thrown off the stage at CBGB after two songs for brawling with the heckling audience. These hecklers were friends of the band instructed to instigate a confrontation so as to get the show shut down and create a buzz.

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Spotify: The Music Industry’s Life Support?

Recording Academy president Neil Portnow, does not believe that Spotify is out for anyone, but themselves. On Grammy night Portnow took to the stage to aim shots at music streaming services for making less-than lucrative deals with artists and musicians. Neil Portnow said, “Isn’t a song worth more then a penny?”

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Spotify Remains King, But Until When?

Spotify’s acquisition of Irish startup Soundwave just goes to show that it remains the ringleader of the music streaming niche. The company is fast-expanding amid the growing competition in the sector, seemingly leaving competitors Tidal, Rdio, and Pandora behind its shadows.

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Where Does The Music Industry Stand?

Now that the last month of the year is upon us, I’m reflecting on the status of the music industry. In 2015 we as an industry have not made much progress in the terms of growth in sales or the development of new technology. The music industry has a hard time knowing the power of its brand. Labels have too many flops and not enough hits, releasing based on volume instead of quality.

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Taylor Swift Made The Choice To Not Fight YouTube

You may know very well the story of Taylor Swift going against Apple and Spotify because these two decided to stream artists’ music without paying them any, or very little, royalties. After Taylor Swift pulled her entire repertoire from Spotify and called Apple out for originally not intending to pay publishers, labels or artists during the free three-month trial, she finally made up with Apple. Following a quite restless time, Swift tweeted she is putting her album on Apple Music ‘and happily so’.

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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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