Marketplace

According to estimates from Insider Intelligence (previously eMarketer), Amazon Music will surpass Pandora this year to become the music streamer with the second most number of users in the U.S. Notably, this study includes users on both paid and ad-supported plans for these services — so, while Apple Music has an estimated 38.2 million subscribers, compared to Amazon Music’s 52.6 million or Pandora’s 49.1 million, none of Apple’s subscribers are on a free, ad-supported plan.

Source: Amazon Music to overtake Pandora as No. 2 US music streamer this year

The podcast blends audio story-telling with original music and sound elements to create an immersive listening experience. The ‘Run, Rose, Run’ bookcast will combine excerpts of the co-authored fiction novel between Dolly Parton and James Patterson with an original soundtrack written, produced, and recorded by Dolly Parton.

Source: Spotify Announces First Bookcast Called ‘Run, Rose, Run,’ ft. Dolly Parton

TikTok’s FYP, or For You Page, is the best place for music creators to test their Minimum Viable Song—a stripped down demo that conveys the essence of their sonic musings. A sonic prototype normally sent to bandmates or producers, seeking feedback. TikTok however, distributes it among its 1B MAUs, who give instant feedback with their attention and engagement.

Source: How TikTok Creators are Redefining “Success” in the Music Industry

Vogue and GQ will make content exclusively for TikTok, both for their own respective brand channels and in print, under a new deal Condé Nast signed with the social media platform. The deal includes a variety of content formats, such as live streams, hashtag challenges and short-form video series produced by Condé Nast’s editorial teams and social content creators.

Source: Condé Nast inks deal with TikTok to monetize exclusive content

Source: COVID-19 hit the creative industries particularly hard. How can they be supported in future?

In the wake of ebbing controversy against Spotify’s partnership with podcaster Joe Rogan, Grammy-winning songwriter Tiffany Red and the advocacy group the 100 Percenters are planning a peaceful protest against the music streaming service on Feb. 28. The 100 Percenters were founded by Red in 2020 to advocate for more equitable payments for songwriters.

Source: Songwriters to Protest Spotify at Los Angeles Demonstration Feb. 28, Citing Royalties and Joe Rogan Controversy

The deal, which spans WMG’s entire global catalog, enables Warner Music to license its entire catalog through ClicknClear to the global performance sport market. Founded by entrepreneur Chantal Epp, ClicknClear first launched in beta in 2018 as a pre-cleared music licensing platform for the cheerleading industry.

Source: Warner strikes deal with sports music licensing company ClicknClear

Roughly five years after the implementation, in New York City, of the Freelance Isn’t Free Act, a local law intended to establish and enhance the rights of freelance workers—including authors, journalists, and other writers on contract—a similar law has been proposed at the state level.

Source: ‘Freelance Isn’t Free’ Bill Introduced in New York State

Whether you listen to podcasts or not, it’s worth appreciating something odd about them. Podcasting has been one of the few areas of digital information and entertainment that hasn’t been controlled by giant corporations. That phase is ending, and there’s now a battle to become a Big Tech Boss of podcasts.

Source: Why Podcasts Are Becoming Netflix

A group representing publishers such as News Corp and National Public Radio wrote to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday to back two bills targeting Big Tech, including one that would open up smartphone app stores to more competition.

Source: Two U.S. Big Tech antitrust bills backed by publisher trade group