In America, music has long been a force for social and political progress, from Joe Hill’s union folk songs to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On to massive benefit concerts like Live Aid. Prominent left-leaning stars as diverse as Bruce Springsteen and Katy Perry have used their platform to advocate for various causes and political candidates. Despite the progressive views of most … [Read more...] about The Music Industrialist: Gender Representation in the Music Industry
The Music Industrialist: MMA Passes!
In what seemed to be yet another blow to the historic Music Modernization Act, satellite radio giant SiriusXM last week voiced objections to one of the bill’s key provisions, the CLASSICS Act, which closes the loophole on recordings dating from before 1972. Currently, satellite radio stations are not required to pay mechanical royalties on these recordings, threatening the … [Read more...] about The Music Industrialist: MMA Passes!
The Music Industrialist: Spotify & Direct Licensing
As CDs gave way to digital downloads, and digital downloads continue to give way to online streaming, the role of the record label in today’s music industry is somewhat nebulous. Services such as Distrokid, TuneCore and CD Baby allow independent musicians to release their music on hundreds of platforms for a small fee, seemingly obviating the role of record labels in music … [Read more...] about The Music Industrialist: Spotify & Direct Licensing
The Music Industrialist: #MeToo & the Music Industry
Last year saw the rise of the #MeToo movement in the entertainment industry, a paradigm shift in which dozens of powerful and successful Hollywood executives, filmmakers and actors finally faced accountability for decades of sexual harassment and assault on women in the industry. As more women came forward with harrowing accounts of abuse, the world listened, and it seems as … [Read more...] about The Music Industrialist: #MeToo & the Music Industry
The Music Industrialist: SESAC & the Music Modernization Act
In a time of extreme political polarization, one measure that both sides of the aisle support wholeheartedly is this year’s Music Modernization Act. While the music industry has transformed drastically and constantly in the last twenty years, music licensing and publishing laws have failed to keep up, leaving even the most successful songwriters with far less revenue than one … [Read more...] about The Music Industrialist: SESAC & the Music Modernization Act