Dylan Smith

Songistry Announces $5 Million Raise, Emphasizes Goal of Becoming ‘One of the Leading Forces in the Music Sync Licensing Industry’

June 9, 2022

Photo Credit: Markus Winkler Music-technology platform Songistry has announced the completion of a $5 million raise and doubled down on plans “to become one of the leading forces in the" sync licensing space.... Read More...

Recording Academy Announces Five New Grammy Awards, Including ‘Songwriter of the Year’

Dylan Smith

June 9, 2022

The 65th Grammys are set to move forward with five new award categories, according to the Recording Academy, which has also detailed further procedural and eligibility changes. The Recording Academy unveile... Read More...

Irving Azoff’s Giant Music Label Officially Launches to ‘Create a Home Where Musicians Are Treated Like People Instead of Products’

Dylan Smith

June 9, 2022

Irving Azoff has officially launched his Giant Music record label, which was first announced in early 2021. The formal rollout of Giant Music came to light in a recent Instagram post from Brooks Roach, the ... Read More...

Spotify Is Conducting Paid Interviews About Its NFT Test Program — Is a Wider Rollout Next?

Dylan Smith

June 8, 2022

One month ago, Spotify started allowing certain artists to plug non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on their profiles. Now, the Stockholm-based platform is gauging fan responses to the pilot, including via paid interv... Read More...

Lil Nas X music industry sanitizes sexuality

BET Officially Responds to Lil Nas X Allegations Following Fan Pushback

Dylan Smith

June 8, 2022

Photo Credit: Fabebk / CC by 4.0 One week ago, Lil Nas X took aim at the BET Awards after he received “an outstanding zero nominations” this year despite the commercial success of his Montero effort. Now, wit... Read More...

Ditto Moves to Dismiss Lil Yachty Trademark Lawsuit Due to Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

Dylan Smith

June 8, 2022

In late January, rapper Lil Yachty sued Ditto Music, its non-fungible token (NFT) offshoot Opulous, and their founder Lee Parsons for alleged trademark infringement. Now, Ditto and Parsons have moved to dismi... Read More...

Travis Scott charity donations legal trouble

Travis Scott Books First U.S. Festival Performance Since the Astroworld Tragedy — Some Fans Think It’s Too Soon

Dylan Smith

June 7, 2022

Photo Credit: Iñaki Espejo-Saavedra / CC by 3.0 Travis Scott is officially set to headline a stateside music festival for the first time since 10 people perished (and thousands suffered injuries) at his Astro... Read More...

Universal Music Launches Virgin Music Label & Artist Services in Africa: ‘African Cultural Heritage Has Not Yet Fully Found Its Place in the Digital World’

Dylan Smith

June 7, 2022

About five months following Warner Music Group’s acquisition of African distribution and rights-management company Africori, Universal Music Group (UMG) has launched Virgin Music Label & Artist Services i... Read More...

Songtradr Acquires AI-Powered Music-Classification Company Musicube

Dylan Smith

June 7, 2022

Songtradr CEO Paul Wiltshire. Photo Credit: Songtradr Music licensing and distribution platform Songtradr has officially acquired Musicube, which bills itself as a provider of “B2B AI music metadata services ... Read More...

Music Supervisors Are Making a Push for Serious Union Representation: ‘We Do Not Get the Same Workers’ Rights As Many of Our Colleagues’

Dylan Smith

June 6, 2022

Music supervisors are calling for unionization due to a perceived lack of "equal rights" with other behind-the-scenes film and TV employees. Photo Credit: Brands&People Selecting and negotiating licenses ... Read More...

The Strokes Frontman Julian Casablancas Sells Publishing, Recorded Catalog Stake to Primary Wave

Dylan Smith

June 6, 2022

The Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas performing live. Photo Credit: Raph_PH Less than one month after acquiring Bob Dylan’s interest in The Traveling Wilburys’ catalog, Primary Wave has purchased a portion... Read More...

PRS for Music Faces Backlash From 50+ Music Industry Organizations Over PRS Foundation Cutbacks

Dylan Smith

June 6, 2022

PRS for Music is facing backlash from over 50 music industry organizations for its decision to slash donations to the PRS Foundation. 56 individuals, including persons associated with the Ivors Academy, the... Read More...

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Songistry Announces $5 Million Raise, Emphasizes Goal of Becoming ‘One of the Leading Forces in the Music Sync Licensing Industry’

Recording Academy Announces Five New Grammy Awards, Including ‘Songwriter of the Year’

Irving Azoff’s Giant Music Label Officially Launches to ‘Create a Home Where Musicians Are Treated Like People Instead of Products’

Spotify Is Conducting Paid Interviews About Its NFT Test Program — Is a Wider Rollout Next?

Ditto Moves to Dismiss Lil Yachty Trademark Lawsuit Due to Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

Universal Music Launches Virgin Music Label & Artist Services in Africa: ‘African Cultural Heritage Has Not Yet Fully Found Its Place in the Digital World’

Songtradr Acquires AI-Powered Music-Classification Company Musicube

Music Supervisors Are Making a Push for Serious Union Representation: ‘We Do Not Get the Same Workers’ Rights As Many of Our Colleagues’

The Strokes Frontman Julian Casablancas Sells Publishing, Recorded Catalog Stake to Primary Wave

Author Dylan Smith