Sixteen instrumentalists from the contemporary music ensemble Alarm Will Sound were scattered across several states and four makeshift home offices and professional studios, working with Tyshawn Sorey on his “Autoschediasms.” To synchronize everyone’s efforts, each “pod” of musicians was simultaneously logged into two different internet conferencing applications.
Source: 17 Players in Five States, Composing Over the Internet
Spotify published its financial results for Q3 2020 today (October 29), revealing that its global Premium Subscriber base grew to 144 million in the quarter (ended September 30). That was up by 6m (+5%) subscribers on the 138m SPOT counted at the end of the prior quarter (Q2 2020), and up by 31m (+27%) year-on-year.
Speaking to investors on a Q3 Alphabet earnings call, the media giant’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, said: “YouTube subscriptions continue to grow. YouTube now has over 30 million Music and Premium paid subscribers, and over 35 million including those on free trials.”
From the beloved opening lines of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” to the rousing, children’s-choir conclusion of the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” President Donald Trump’s campaign rallies have been filled with classic songs whose authors and their heirs loudly reject him and his politics.
Source: Stop the music! Chorus of artists tell Trump to turn it down
Better late than never: Disney Plus just added the ability for subscribers to share links to specific titles — like its hit series “The Mandalorian” — with friends and family members on social media and via messaging apps. To share a piece of content, Disney Plus subscribers must tap the new “Share” button found on a Disney Plus title’s details page.
Source: Disney Plus Now Lets Users Share Content on Social Media, Messaging Apps
Spoken Giants, the first royalty administration company for creators of spoken word copyrights — comedians, podcasters, authors of speeches/lectures — launched today Oct. 28. The new entity is vowing to be the single, credible, transparent, and scalable collective organization for rights for creators of spoken word compositions.
Source: No Joke: Music Industry Veterans Turn to Royalty Collections for Comedians, Podcasters
Most UK copyright works (such as books, films and music) will still be protected in the EU and the UK. This is because of the UK’s continued participation in the international treaties on copyright. For the same reason, EU copyright works will continue to be protected in the UK. This applies to works made before and after 1 January 2021.
The renewal will see both organizations deepen their longstanding strategic partnership. Both organizations will “drive the creation of music value and enhance the music experience for TME’s users.” Merlin will also license into TME’s new social music community, WeSing.
Source: Tencent Music Just Expanded Its Merlin Indie Licensing Deal
Marc Geiger, the former global music chief of the giant talent agency WME, has quietly amassed a war chest to fortify empty clubs during the pandemic and help them grow once they reopen. One of the most charismatic figures behind the scenes of the music industry Geiger portrays his latest venture as a kind of personal crusade.
Source: He Helped Create Lollapalooza. Now He Wants to Save Live Music.
Newly created non-profit organization Live Music Society has announced its first relief effort to help small music venues across the country. Live Music Society will provide $2 million in grants in its first two years of operation to support the live music ecosystem around the United States.
Source: New Non-Profit Offers Aid to Small Music Venues Across America