• Leaked Sony, Spotify Contract Reveals One-Sided Streaming Splits

    Streaming is the next frontier for music - denying it is only going to make the transition harder. The primary issue has been getting artists, songwriters and content creators paid a fair shake for their music. While most of the attention has been focused on services like Spotify and their small payouts, little has been given to the labels and their contracts with the streaming services, which have been kept secret until now. The Verge was able to obtain a copy of Sony's previous agreement with Spotify, which shines light on the splits, advances and payments that the major label was able to get from the Swedish streaming giant, as well as some outside revenue sources that have not been previously shared.

  • Spotify, Starbucks Partner Turning Baristas Into Coffee Shop DJs

    Even with the recent push back against streaming services over their per-stream royalty payments, their impact on the music industry continues to grow at a remarkable rate. The largest company of them all, Spotify, announced another massive corporate partnership today that will bring the service to a whole new swath of customers. According to a news release today, Spotify has partnered with coffee store giant, Starbucks, where it will be integrated into the Seattle-based company's 7,000 United States stores and 10M member My Starbucks Loyalty Program. The partnership will allow baristas to create playlists that will then be played at their local store.

  • Warner Music Group 2015 Q1 Earnings: Streaming Revenue Surpases Downloads

    As industry observers see the growing dominance of streaming, many have waited for the moment when it would become more important than digital downloads. Warner Music Group announced its first quarter earnings ending on March 31st and the main takeaway from their report was that streaming has at last surpassed downloads the primary source of revenue for the smallest of the three major labels.

  • Spotify Posts Biggest Revenues, Biggest Losses Ever During 2014

    Spotify continued to lose money during 2014, although financial analysts still suggest that this isn't necessarily a bad thing...yet. The Swedish streaming company had its highest revenues ever during the last financial year, yet it posted overall losses of more than $185 million. So what's the story?

  • Spotify Reportedly Entering Web Video Business — Competing with YouTube?

    As streaming services become more and more ubiquitous across society, the more their moves will have an impact on the music industry and the tech world at large. Swedish streaming giant, Spotify, is reportedly plotting a move into the crowded web video business. According to reports, Spotify has been reaching out to several different media players about potential partnerships. Some of these companies specialize in creating content for YouTube and are looking to acquire content and co-create original video series.

  • DOJ Investigating Apple Pressuring Labels to End Free Spotify Streaming

    If anyone isn't convinced that streaming is the next frontier of music, the developments behind the scenes occurring right now in 2015 should be enough to show them otherwise. Apple has been busy lately revamping Beats Music, the streaming arm of Beats, which they purchased for $3 billion last May and some details have leaked out to the press about what the future of Apple music is starting to look like. The Silicon Valley giant is making some aggressive moves to leverage its size in the industry and according to recent reports, it may have overstepped the boundaries with a DOJ investigation pending on Apple's pressuring the major's to end free streaming on Spotify. It has also reportedly lobbied Universal Music Group to take down its music from YouTube.

  • Roger Waters Calls Silicon Valley Executives 'Rogues and Thieves'

    With the recent emergence of Jay Z's Tidal and the steady popularity of Spotify, artists have been flocking to support or challenge streaming services. The latest to combat music streaming is Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters, who calls Silicon Valley executives "rogues and thieves" concerning change within the music industry.

  • You Won't Listen to New Music After You Turn 33, According to Study

    This obviously doesn't apply to Music Times readers, but a new study has estimated that the average music listener stops seeking out new music past the age of 33. Ajay Kalia, representing the website Skynet & Ebert, tapped into the data available via Spotify and its Echo Nest analytics branch to check out what listeners of various ages were streaming...and it seems like people in their late-30s and beyond weren't exactly tuning into Rae Sremmurd.

  • TIDAL's Download Numbers Plummet While Pandora, Spotify Thrive

    TIDAL continues to make headlines, but recently the tide has turned against the service that is perceived as elitist by many. With its starstudded launch, headed by new owner Jay Z, who was flanked by a who's who list of the biggest stars in music including Beyoncé, Usher, Kanye West, Daft Punk, Jack White and others, the service has amassed considerable momentum. According to a BGR report, new data shows that it has lost a lot of that in one key category - downloads. The app, which briefly cracked the top 20 of the Apple app store two weeks ago, now languishes out of the top 750.

  • The Village People to Pull 'YMCA,' 'Macho Man' Off Spotify, Open to Jay Z's TIDAL

    Jay Z and Taylor Swift aren't alone in pulling their music from Spotify over licensing rights and artist payout... 1970s disco group The Village People are also interested in taking their music down from the streaming service. After the launch of Jay Z's service TIDAL made waves last month, earlier this week, Village People singer Victor Willis admitted that he was wanting to pull his hits "Y.M.C.A.," "Macho Man" and "In The Navy" from the site.

  • Expert Analysts Chart How Likely Beats Music, Spotify, Tidal and Others Are to Provide Minimum Wage to Performers

    The debate over streaming and which services best reward artiest for their work rages on, and one of the major analysts in the argument has updated his numbers. David McCandless first brought attention to streaming and other format earning for musicians with his 2010 study "Selling Out: How Much Do Music Artists Earn Online," and now he's updated the numbers to deal with new offerings and new policies at preexisting companies.
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