As streaming platforms continue to wage war, the other day Pandora announced that their new listening service - entitled Pandora Premium - will be available to customers within the first quarter of next year. Aimed to challenge competitors like Spotify and Apple Music, the subscription service will feature a vast catalogue as well as countless other features not yet announced. … [Read more...]
BMI vs. Pandora: The Future of the Music Industry
It's been a busy week in the music world. Last week, the New York Rate Court sided with BMI in a case against Pandora to raise the rate at which songwriters and artists were being paid for having their work streamed over the service. Pandora had initially claimed that a rate of "1.85% of total revenue" was a fair amount to pay artists but the court decision means Pandora will … [Read more...]
Is Pandora Utilizing Payola Type Tactics?
Just when you thought they couldn't go any lower those mother****ers find a way. Right in the middle of our annual "streaming services exploit artists but they're so convenient so maybe it's okay" debate, Pandora has made a deal with indie distributor Merlin to feature Merlin's catalog at a lower streaming rate than that set by Royalty (or Rate) Court at the Library of … [Read more...]
SoundCloud Bots: The Truth Behind Fake Stats
Earlier this week, Nappy, one of my favorite bloggers over at Do Androids Dance published this great article addressing the undeniable presence of bots on SoundCloud and the prevalence of "fake" plays on accounts ranging from touring DJs to bedroom nobodies. While I agree with Nappy's sentiment that this is cheating at the most basic level, that a select few are paying to … [Read more...]
