Want to go global? A new eMarketer report, says the number of worldwide social network users will climb to 1.73 billion this year. That means one in four people on the planet will regularly use Facebook, Twitter or one of their many competitors. More + The Chart The Asia-Pacific region is expected to be the biggest driver of social network growth in the next few years, while developed markets such as North America and Western Europe are slowly approaching saturation. With approximately 777 million users, Asia-Pacific currently has the largest social network audience. China alone has more social network users... Continue reading

New on Hypebot's Music Industry Jobs Board is a opening a TAG Strategic, the top ratred digital music and entertainment consultancy. They're looking for a Director Of Sales and Marketing. You'll also find a post for a Professor of Music Technology at Loyola University and much more. Details are here on the Music Industry Jobs Board. ARE YOU HIRING? You can also post a job here for just $29 for 30 days. That one fee also includes exposure on Hypebot.com, on our social media channels and across the web on the Simply Hired network. Continue reading

TUESDAY 6.18.2013 Music Business News & Views From Around The Web CLICK HERE Updated Continuously Under Hypebot's More News Tab Above Continue reading

The longtime practice of unpaid music industry internships is now under fire. Yesterday an intern filed a class-action lawsuit against Warner Music Group and Atlantic Records over his and other unpaid internship. The fling is similar to recent lawsuits in publishing, film and other industries, with recent court rulings generally unfavorable of the practice. So far, Warner Music Group has failed to comment. The lawsuit alleges that there was no academic component to the internship, as is required by law. The suit claims that the intern, Justin Henry, often was required to work more than 40 hours a week without... Continue reading

As a musician, do you think of your music as a service or as a product? Before the phonograph, people could only experience music live. Now, people can experience music virtually anywhere with digital music. As a musician, thinking of your music as a service rather than a product can help you strengthen your relationship with fans. Check out more of what Mark Doyon had to say about music as a service on Music Think Tank. “Virtually no one alive today remembers a time before vast, personal record collections, a day when music could be experienced only in the moment... Continue reading

Debut Of An Ongoing Series Hypebot has always been about the business of music. But in this new series, How I Listen, we're asking industry leaders and artists to share how they discover and consume music, along with what they are listening to. First up: David Dufresne, the CEO of music web site and marketing platform Bandzoogle. 1) What device(s) do you use to listen to music? iPhone, iPod Nano in the car, a Yamaha receiver and a pair of Goodmans speakers that are older than I am. I also use an old Telefunken turntable, a Logitech Squeezebox Radio, and... Continue reading

MONDAY 6.17.2013 Music Business News & Views From Around The Web CLICK HERE Updated Continuously Under Hypebot's More News Tab Above Continue reading

In a deal that sources put at $5 million, Samsung has purchased 1 million copies of Jay-Z’s next album, entitled “Magna Carta Holy Grail”. A million Samsung Galaxy smartphone users will receive a free copy on July 4th, 72 hours prior the official release. It's not yet clear that these million copies will count towards Jay-Z's first week positions on Billboard's Nielson Soundscan charts. The rumored $5 per copy price would theoretically allow the business savvy star to qualify, virtually guaranteeing a #1 debut. "We need to write the new rules." click on image to enlarge Samsung owners will receive... Continue reading

(UPDATED) Warner Music Group extended it's global presence today with the acquisition the Gala Records Group, Russia's first privately own label and leading independent music group. The country has been a hotbed of copyright infringement, and Gala is one of the few labels to have successfully battled infringers in local courts. Of the three major music groups, Warners is uniquely positioned to find success in Russia's difficult marketplace. It was acquired in 2011 by Access Industries, a conglomerate controlled by Russian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik. Led by CEO Alexander Blinov, Gala was founded in 1988. During its 25 year history, Gala... Continue reading

FRIDAY 6.14.2013 Music Business News & Views From Around The Web CLICK HERE Updated Continuously Under Hypebot's More News Tab Above Continue reading

Several of China’s major online music websites have shifted from free, to a fee-based model for music downloads. According to Chinese news service Sina, major labels including Universal, Sony, and Warner Music pressured Chinese music sites, including Baidu Music, Cool Music, and Xiami.com to shift to a pay model with a deadline of June 5th. Kugou.comm a popular online music provider launched a new version of their website, which charges for downloads, while streamed music remains free. “We launched two new versions, a gold version and a diamond version. The gold version charges each customer for five yuan a month... Continue reading

The National Music Publishers Association shared the results of the it's biannual board election during its annual meeting. All board members will serve a two-year term, effective immediately. Elected members are: Willard Ahdritz, Kobalt Music Group Martin Bandier, Sony/ATV Caroline Beinstock, Carlin America Helene Blue, Helene Blue Musique Barry Coburn, Ten Ten Music Group Bob Doyle, Major Bob Music Lee Eastman, MPL Communications Mark Fried, Spirit Music Neil Gillis, Round Hill Music Laurent Hubert, BMG/Chrysalis Zach Horowitz, Universal Music Publishing Group Dean Kay, Demi Music Corp Leeds Levy, Leeds Music Ralph Peer II, peermusic Matt Pincus, Songs Music Publishing Irwin... Continue reading

48% of adults in the United Kingdom tune in to audio or radio from an online source on a weekly basis, making for a national audience of approximately 25 million, according to recent market research from AudenceNet. The survey of 3,000 UK adults (aged 15 and over) found that the weekly reach of online audio and radio is greater amongst males (51%) than females (45%), and is highest amongst young people (75% of 15-24 year olds and 59% of 25-34 year olds). The research was conducted through Audiometrics, a new service from London-based market research agency AudenceNet, that specialises in... Continue reading

Songbird, which launched in 2006 as an open source music player, will end business operations on June 28th. In 2011 Songbird was named one of Fast Company's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Music. Last June parent company POPI pivoted to music discovery with the launch of Songbird.me. By leveraging Facebook's Social Graph and social media content made available by artists, Songbird.me created a simple platform for music discovery. But as larger competitors from Apple to Spotify and Facebook to Twitter launched stepped up their own music discovery efforts. Songbird could apparently not build an audience. Most of the company's... Continue reading

Just 2 days after Pandora bought a small South Dakota radio station in an attempt to lower the rates it pays for streaming music online, BMI has filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to allow the performing rights organization to negotiate "market driven" rates rather than charge the current stuatory rates. In recent months, Sony ATV and EMI Publishing have pulled their digital rights from BMI and ASCAP to negotiate directly. "The breadth of music played by Pandora is staggering compared to broadcast radio stations, making a blanket license even more valuable," BMI says in the filing. "Pandora has... Continue reading

“The music industry is a microcosm of what is happening in the U.S. economy at large,” according to Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. “We are increasingly becoming a ‘winner-take-all economy,’ a phenomenon that the music industry has long experienced." For example, the top 1% of performing artists earn 56% of all concert revenue, according to White House. And things are getting worse. Since 1982, the top 1% of performers have gone from earning 26% of concert revenue to 56%. Who Or What Is To Blame? "Over recent decades, technological change, globalization and an erosion... Continue reading

New on Hypebot's Music Industry Jobs Board is a posting for an Assistant Proffesor of Music Technology at Loyola University in New Orleans. You'll also find a music position at Amazon, a job for a videographer and more. Details are here on the Music Industry Jobs Board. HIRING? You can also post a job here for just $29 for 30 days. That one fee includes exposure on Hypebot.com, on our social media channels and across the web on the Simply Hired network. Continue reading

Wonder why you're not as successful as some of the artists we write about on Hypebot? Read this from author, marketing guru, and entrepeur Seth Godin's blog post "Sure, but that's not a plan" - "We can't help but amplify the stories of Hollywood and Vine, of being plucked out of obscurity, of the seventeen-year-old with talent who yes, indeed, got picked and cashed out. We blog about and talk about the one in a million YouTube viral sensation, the breakthrough that came out of nowhere overnight. But that's not a plan... A plan involves steps that are largely under... Continue reading

Thursday 6.13.2013 Music Business News & Views From Around The Web CLICK HERE Updated Continuously Under Hypebot's More News Tab Above Continue reading

Rdio launched today in seven more countries: Malaysia, Hong Kong, Colombia, Chile, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Poland. The geographically diverse nations includes the music streamers first foray into Asia.The marketing and promotion for all seven of the launches includes 6 months of free streaming. Rdio is now available in 31 countries, as represented on the map below. Related articles Rdio Launches New Player & Features Rdio Adds 7 More Countries Rdio Launching In Brazil As "Oi Rdio", More Countries To Follow Music Streamer Rdio Adds Movies & TV Deezer Beats Spotify, Rhapsody, Rdio To Windows 8 Rdio Launches Free... Continue reading

Yesterday the new Myspace fully launched to the world with a huge ad campaign, a celebrity party and lots of coverage. Though some of us thought this was another relaunch, it's actually the public launch of last year's new version with all the old accounts being moved over minus most personal content. But the biggest news is likely the new MyRadio, adding yet another contender to a crowded field, and an updated iOS app that even has a GIF maker. I headed over to the newest MySpace to log in and realized that I haven't been there since sometime last... Continue reading

Bandcamp continues it's stream of quiet but constant iteration with the launch several useful new music players. All a free for Bandcamp users, and can be customized and embedded. Options include player size, tracklist, merchandise integration. The new players now appear inside of Twitter whenever an album or track link is tweeted. More info here. Related articles Bandcamp Launches 'For Fans', User Spending Jumps 40% Bandcamp Adds New Features To Sell Merchandise Using Bandcamp To Build Your Email List Bandcamp Adds Free Mobile Optimized Artist Pages Case Study: Is Free Music Worth It? Continue reading

Jim Donio, President of NARM, shares the stats from this week’s sales report issued by Nielsen SoundScan: "Queens of the Stone Age set several sales milestones this week, notching its first #1 album with …Like Clockwork. It was also the first #1 record for the band’s label, Matador Records. It’s also notable that 13% of its total sales, 12,000 units, were from vinyl." "The format’s continuing vitality has been remarkable, and I believe it will continue to show growth among a wide range of music fans," continued Donio. Sales Drop Overall album sales volume is down 5% compared to last... Continue reading

Facebook has followed the lead of some the internet's most popular services and added hashtags. "Starting today, hashtags will be clickable on Facebook," the company said in announcement. "Similar to other services like Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, or Pinterest, hashtags on Facebook allow you to add context to a post or indicate that it is part of a larger discussion". Details "When you click on a hashtag in Facebook, you'll see a feed of what other people and Pages are saying about that event or topic." For now the update appears web only. Users can also: • Search for a specific... Continue reading

TuneCore co-founders Jeff Price and Peter Wells today launched Audium, an online service that helps D.I.Y. artists make money on YouTube. Many indie artists don't have time, skills or the YouTube plays to collect payments. Audium helps those artists make money. For labels, the startup provides a way to monetize fan cover versions. Price and Wells each exited TuneCore more than a year ago. And to date, the popular flat fee digital distributor has not offered a justification for their sudden departures. Now the pair are back in business, creating a service to help artists collect their share of what... Continue reading