Music Industry

To Reach Fans Through Social Music Sites, Labels Need To Learn To Let Go

With social music sites like Spotify and Turntable, fans feel a part of something awesome, something that makes it a pleasure to contribute, not a burden. It’s this type of connectivity that is the envy of every brand in the world. But to work, this connection has to be made on the consumer’s terms, and that piece gets lost more times than not. READ»

How Girl Talk Mashes Up the Music Biz

The post-modern DJ's latest album took 373 samples--B.I.G! Cream! Bananarama!--and 2.5 years to make. Along the way, he also remixed the rules of the music industry.READ»

• Infographic: Girl Talk's Latest Mashup Masterpiece Deconstructed

How Lady Gaga's One Billion YouTube Views Changes the Music Industry

Which metric best captures Lady Gaga's global superstardom: the 15 million albums she's sold to date, or the billion views she reached this week on YouTube? READ»

Vevo CEO on MTV, Jersey Shore, Google TV, Music Videos

Can music videos drive an entire TV channel? Are music videos even popular? Will Vevo expand its programming like MTV and VH1? READ»

Converse: I'm With the Brand

The shoe already worn by rock royalty is opening its own recording studio and hosting unsigned artists. But brands are a long way from replacing record labels. READ»

Backstage at Apple's Ping Launch, No Record Labels Allowed

Apple negotiated with Facebook for more than 18 months to launch Ping, its new social network. How much heads up did they give to record labels? Absolutely none.READ»

Why Apple's Ping Stumble May Help Google Music

The oft-flawless company stumbled in Ping's launch, and the reasons why are representative of Apple's relationship with consumers, record labels, and Google.READ»

Sony Launches Qriocity, Cloud-based Music Service to Rival Apple, iTunes

Will Sony's new digital media service make a dent in Apple's market share?READ»

The State of Internet Music on YouTube, Pandora, iTunes, and Facebook

"More people are engaged with music than ever before," said Tom Silverman, founder of Tommy Boy Records and the New Music Seminar. "It's a hockey stick going up; it's an incredible opportunity that so far has eluded us." Silverman ...READ»

Move Over Soundscan: Music's New Chart Could Measure Illegal Downloads, Too

Unveiled today at the New Music Seminar in New York City, the Ultimate Chart aims to update ancient methods still used to track the popularity of songs and artists. Rather than basing rankings primarily on, for example, physical ...READ»

Record Biz Nails Online Porn Companies With Stiff Fine for Copyright Violation

A nice pair--of porn companies, that is--is being sued by the music industry for featuring songs in their XXX-rated clips without permission. The copyright infringement suit was filed at the U.S. District Court in L.A. last week, ...READ»

Behind the Music: Devendra Banhart's Visual Art Takes Center Stage

A series of 25 new drawings and new album artwork by the neo-hippie Renaissance man work like the rest of his visual art, connecting the dots between his lyrics and music.READ»

Spotify Users Buy 13% Less Music? Not So Says Spotify [UPDATED]

Spotify, the successful European company (and our #15 most innovative company of the year), which plans to enter the U.S. market this year, offers up free streaming of music--great for users, but it’s not helping the industry, ...READ»

Artist of the Year Competition-Hosted by Clay Crosse

The Second Annual Tate Music Group Artist of the Year Contest is being held this Friday, February 26, in Oklahoma City! You can tune in to the live stream beginning at 7 pm CST at our home page: www.tatemusicgroup.com. Or we'd ...READ»

Last.fm's Year in Music: New York, London, and the World

The differences are a lot more pronounced than you'd guess.READ»

On Eve of Launch, Music-Saving Vevo Scores Another Partner

Vevo's gathering more strength, even before its official launch. The music video site, described by Vevo execs as "like MTV on steroids" and by others as the Hulu of music videos--announced this morning a partnership with music ...READ»

Three Technologies That Are Helping to Save the Music Biz

The music biz has gone from fighting the trend of increasing technological involvement in how its product reaches the public to a tentative embrace. We're all familiar with the RIAA legal abuses of music pirates, the tussle between ...READ»

IFPI Appoints 'Anti-Piracy Czar' To Police High Seas of File-Sharing

The recording industry, or at least the disjointed array of labels, trade groups, and intellectual property authorities that represent it, has had little success in curbing music piracy on the Web. In what is perhaps an admission that ...READ»

Sorry Jay-Z Auto Tune Isn't Dead, T-Pain Has an iPhone App to Spread It to the Masses

Jay-Z may have declared the "Death of Autotune," but T-Pain, the King of Auto Tune, strikes back with a new iPhone app that helps anyone sing like him. In the video below, see artists like Keri Hilson, Soulja Boy, and Akon using the ...READ»