According to an internal report, more than 90 percent of the clicks to coronavirus content came from “Power News Consumers” and “Power News Discussers” — Facebook’s terms for users who read and comment on news stories much more frequently than the average user. The company is now considering several options for targeting those people with higher-quality information to make sure it is “being spread downstream.”
Source: The Coronavirus Revives Facebook as a News Powerhouse
The app gives artists stats like total listening stats or more granular data like 24-hour performance. Artists can see which country their fans are from, real-time streaming data, and which fans engage the most. The app also keeps track of the Amazon Music playlists and stations where their music appears. Data goes back to 2018 and refreshes every few hours.
Source: Amazon Music for Artists Officially Sets Sail With Deep Alexa Integration
Source: UK Trade Negotiators Eye Blockchain Provisions in Coming US Trade Talks
The worldwide recorded music industry generated $21.5bn across all formats last year, growing 11.4%, according to Midia Research. Some 56% of that, or $11.9 billion, came from streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube. Interestingly, Midia has revised upwards its preliminary estimate for the ‘artist-direct’ sector, i.e. those DIY artists independently uploading their own music via platforms like Amuse, Ditto, TuneCore, CD Baby etc.
In spite of large investments in the industry, artificial Intelligence in music is still underdeveloped, but it does absolutely have the potential to transform A&R. At least, that’s what HITLAB – a company quietly making in-roads in this field – is suggesting. The Montreal-headquartered digital media and artificial intelligence company claims to be ‘revolutionizing the way entertainment content is discovered, produced and consumed’.
The Society of Composers, Authors & Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) again reports record-breaking numbers, issuing preliminary year-end figures for 2019 of an estimated CA$405.5 million (USD $305.38 million) collected, an 8% increase over 2018’s $375 million ($282.41 million).
Source: Canadian Performance Rights Org SOCAN Collected Record $405 Million in 2019
The recorded music market in France saw growth of 5.4% in 2019, with total revenues of €772 million ($867m), including physical and digital sales, neighbouring rights and sync. The results, published today (February 25) by French trade body SNEP, were fuelled by growth in streaming, which accounted for 59% of total revenue.
Source: France’s recorded music market was worth $867m last year, up 5.4% year-on-year
The U.S. recorded music business generated $11.1 billion in revenue in 2019, according to the RIAA’s annual year-end report, a 13% year-over-year increase from the $9.8 billion it reached in 2018. That represents the fourth straight year of double-digit growth for the sector, and a faster rate of growth over 2018, when it increased 11.9% over the prior year.
Source: US Recorded Music Revenue Reaches $11.1 Billion in 2019, 79% From Streaming: RIAA
On Wednesday (Feb. 12), Spotify announced the launch of songwriter pages, touted as “a new way for fans, collaborators and industry partners to dive deeper into the creators behind their favorite songs.” The streaming service states that the pages will allow songwriters to share the music they’ve written on Spotify and further discovery by fans and/or potential collaborators.
Source: Spotify Announces Beta Launch of Songwriter Pages to Aid Songwriter Discovery
In a finding that makes John Malone’s apocryphal “500 channel universe” seem quaint by comparison, Nielsen this morning released a report estimating the number of “unique program titles” currently available to American viewers in 2019 was 646,000, a 10% increase from 2018.
Source: MediaDailyNews: Nielsen Reveals 646,000 Program Universe