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IFPI head talks EU Copyright Directive, China, Africa and if labels are still...
IFPI CEO Frances Moore has been in the job for eight years now and spoke to Billboard about the organisation’s biggest concerns (yes, the “value gap”/EU Copyright Directive is high among them) and...
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Sandbox Issue 215: ‘Boxing Clever. Sandbox Summit Special Issue
In a break with tradition, this issue of Sandbox is a wrap up of our recent Sandbox Summit in London. Inside, we have reports from every panel, every keynote and every presentation – going into detail...
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RIAA-backed report explores labels’ changing role in music
We’ll be blunt: anyone who tells you that labels are dead is talking out of their trumpet. But anyone who tells you that an artist can’t succeed without a label is just as big a fibber. The truth of...
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Sample libraries and virtual-instruments firm Spitfire Audio launches a label
British company Spitfire Audio has built a business around sample libraries and virtual instruments for artists and producers to use when making music. Now the company is branching out with the...
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Humble Angel Records launches specialist dance imprint
It’s a year since former Playlists.net and Warner Music executive Kieron Donoghue launched his startup Humble Angel Records – a streaming-focused label. Now he’s launching a new offshoot, Humble Angel...
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UnitedMasters on label rivalry: ‘Everybody’s fighting against it’
A story on Billboard about 16 year-old artist NLE Choppa offers evidence that startup UnitedMasters is keen to shout about its status as a potential rival to labels. After more than 10m YouTube views...
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Spotify sees label-relations and editorial teams working closer
Spotify wants its editorial and artist and label-relations teams to work “more in alignment” in the future, at least in the Nordic territories: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. That’s...
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Report claims label-free artists made $643m in 2018
The IFPI is due to publish its Global Music Report for 2018 next month, but as usual, consultancy firm Midia Research is getting in early with its own estimates – although perhaps in an effort to avoid...
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Report 422: Playlisting’s next leap forward
Playlists have been referred to as everything from the new album, the new compilation, the new greatest hits, through to the new radio, the new MTV and more. Whether you’re a pop act trying to build a...
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Labels see Amazon Music free tier as ‘very exciting development’
Amazon’s new free music-streaming tier could launch as early as today in the US and a few other key markets, according to the latest report on the company’s plans. Billboard broke the original news...
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NetEase Cloud Music inks deal with Japanese label Nippon Columbia
China is a hugely-appealing market for Japanese labels seeking international growth for their artists. Here’s a new example of the kind of partnerships that are being struck to achieve this: streaming...
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RAC and Goldroom launch a blockchain record label
Dance artists RAC and Goldroom (aka André Anjos and Josh Legg) have launched a new label called Minerva Music. Its twist: it has put blockchain technology at the centre of its distribution strategy....
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Record label 777 Music launches its own esports offshoot
The latest label exploring the crossover between music and esports is 777 Music, which has launched its own esports division. The company says it’s keen to explore the potential for genres beyond...
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Australian labels win blocks against stream-ripping websites
Given the growth in paid streaming, few people in the music industry are genuinely running around panicking about the existence of ‘stream-ripping’ websites. That said, industry bodies and anti-piracy...
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Report: Bytedance has Indian label deals for new music service
New details have emerged on TikTok’s parent company Bytedance’s plans to launch its own music-streaming service. Bloomberg reports that the new service will launch this autumn “in a handful of...
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Label Rehegoo Music Group launches background-music service
Record label Rehegoo Music is the latest company setting its sights on the background-music sector: providing curated music for businesses to play in their offices and public spaces. The label is...
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Sandbox Issue 229: Partnerships. How labels are sharing marketing
Lead: Collaborations have long been a staple in the music industry, but something different is happening today as social media and analytics become key parts of marketing campaigns. In the “old days”,...
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Why a streaming-led boost in labels’ fortunes is not good news for everyone
Pitchfork has a lengthy feature on the revival of record companies’ fortunes in recent years and asks where the new influx of cash will actually go. “It looked like the digital revolution really did...
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Labels criticised for data-overreach with Spotify pre-saves
There’s a privacy controversy a-brewing around ‘pre-saves’ of albums on Spotify, although what some journalists writing about the story are missing is that pre-saves isn’t actually a native feature for...
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The latest new music label is… Build-A-Bear Records?
We don’t get to report on stuffed-animal announcements very often in Music Ally’s bulletin, but today we bring you news that retailer Build-A-Bear Workshop is launching its own record label....
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