Music Industry News: Spotify

 A major player in the game of online music has finally landed into the US. After months of speculation Spotify, a European based music streaming network ,has already signed deals with the four major record labels in the country, finally giving the green light to launch. Spotify, a streaming music service, lets users create playlists and share them with their friends. For now, the free service is by invitation only, but it is expected to open up in the coming weeks. Paid plans are available immediately. The U.S. launch has three plans, much like the plans available in Europe. The free service gives users access to a number of tracks on Spotify through the Web, lets users organize and jam to their own music and gives access to Spotify Social. I think the ability to create your own playlist on line and jam to them my tap into some of the elements of itunes. The service automatically draws in any music from your iTunes or Windows Media Player libraries.  Spotify Social has already been  rumored in a Facebook integration. It currently lets you post playlists to which your friends can subscribe.You can also import your Facebook friends into your Spotify profile and share tracks by using the service’s Inbox. The inbox lets you know who has shared a particular song with you and when they sent it.While some critics question the the impact Spotify might have on the U.S. online music market, I believe the social integration aspect will put Spotify lightyears ahead of competitors. There seems to be much anticipated hype surround Spotify and some may question if the hype is necessary. I would assume so given that Spotify is the world’s largest music subscription site. Many businesses like Spotify have come and gone because they failed to understand that you can’t just have the major artist. Listeners have musical interest that are much deeper and broader. This understanding will pave the way for independent artist to shine online as well through streaming sites of such.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110723/business/707239955/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqUGXxpY9LM

Now thats A Deal!

    It’s know secret to any recording artist that the that the new standard for recording contracts within the music industry is the  “360 deal”. This type of record deal defies all traditional norms, despite legitimate justification, in that the record company’s  are now  entitled to a lions share of all revenue generated by the artists themselves. This includes record sales, touring, merchandise, publishing, film and licensing revenues. However, there are a couple of artist that have went head to head with these record label giants and in-turn have been rewarded astonishing deals that are set apart from this new industry standard.

   Drake, Drizzey or what ever one may call him, gives aspiring artist hope, in that with patience and hard work, one can be rewarded accordingly. Drake started to grow an unsettling buzz within the recording industry ever since late 2007 and had been approached with numerous record labels since his arrival. However, Drake knew what he was looking for in a record deal and refused to sign a deal until it aligned with his career goals and desires. So as an unsigned artist he continued to build up his credentials. By the summer of 2008, Drake had proved his profit potential with the 600,000+ digital sales of his single “Best I Ever Had” which was available for free four to five months before it was released on iTunes. In addition, during this time Drake managed to hold down the number one spot a atop Myspace.com’s unsigned artist spotlight. After having done so well as an independent artist, Drake now was in a position to have a lot more bargaining power with the Major Labels. In fall 2009 Drake signed a very lucrative deal.Under the unusually lucrative agreement he struck with Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money Records distributed through Universal, Drake received a $2-million advance. He retains the publishing rights, owns 100% of the masters to his songs and pays only around 25% of his music sales revenues to the label as a distribution fee. In addition, revenues from touring and merchandising were not to be split with the the record label and the label has no ownership of Drake. 

      Obviously Drake did not sign the first deal that was offered to him. If he had done so he would have regretted it and he never would have gotten the spectacular deal he has now. Drakes situation should inspire any upcoming artist to understand that with patience and hard work, one too, can strike a deal that works in their favor.

                                                             Drake Interview

http://hitmusicacademy.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/the-breakdown-of-drakes-record-deal-with-cash-moneyuniversal/

http://makingthemogul.com/2009/07/inside-drakes-record-deal/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uu5bSVxjJk