Despite her aversion to putting music up on Spotify’s platform, Beyoncé broke a new record on the streaming site, proving once again that she doesn’t even have to play the game to win it. As pointed out by MTV UK, the inventor of “Lemonade” is now the first artist in history to have three of her albums reach over a … Read more
Kanye West is fighting back against a lawsuit by a fan who says the rapper duped listeners into subscribing to the Tidal music service to hear his last album. The lawsuit — filed as a class-action suit, in which other disgruntled fans could join and win damages — is one of the first to test … Read more
Rap mogul Jay-Z on Sunday extended his record as the solo artist with the most number-one US albums, after a one-week delay when his Tidal streaming service declined to release data. “4:44” debuted at the top of the Billboard album sales chart for the week through Thursday, replacing rapper DJ Khaled’s “Grateful” and marking Jay-Z’s … Read more
Music streaming service Spotify has denied that some of its playlists contain music tracks by “fake artists”. A music industry publication listed 50 artists it claimed were not real. They have racked up millions of streams by appearing on mood-based playlists such as Sleep and Ambient Chill, but many have no other visible profile. However, … Read more
A week after Jay-Z released his latest album as an exclusive on his Tidal streaming service, the rap mogul made it available Friday on Apple platforms — but not on rival Spotify. “4:44,” the 13th album by the leading name in hip-hop, was available starting at midnight in the eastern United States for download on … Read more
This file photo taken on June 29, 2017 shows a New York City bus with an advertisement for rapper Jay-Z’s album “4:44” which was released exclusively on his Tidal streaming service. The music industry has enjoyed several years of fast-growing revenue thanks to streaming after two decades of decline or stagnation The boom in streaming … Read more
Jay-Z’s upstart Tidal streaming service has enjoyed a surge of interest after the rap mogul released his latest album exclusively on the platform. Tidal — which Jay-Z acquired in 2015 but trails far behind streaming leader Spotify as well as Apple Music — has seen a jump in downloads coinciding with the release of Jay-Z’s … Read more
Pandora co-founder Tim Westergren on Tuesday stepped down as chief executive and from the board of directors, as the internet radio pioneer strives to win more listeners in the face of competition from Apple and Spotify. Chief financial officer Naveen Chopra will take over as interim CEO during the search for a permanent replacement for … Read more
Satellite radio network SiriusXM said Friday it will invest $480 million in internet radio leader Pandora, forging a union between two companies that have operated on parallel tracks. The move comes amid rapid changes in the music business as Pandora, which has seen its model lose ground to on-demand online platforms such as Spotify, last … Read more
Once Spotify’s most visible critic, pop superstar Taylor Swift on Friday returned her music to all streaming services as the number of artists to boycott the booming format dwindles. All of the 27-year-old singer’s music including “1989,” her blockbuster last album, appeared on Spotify and other platforms at midnight (0400 GMT) on the US East … Read more
Streaming service Tidal revealed an original movie starring recent Oscar winners Thursday as telecom giant and part-owner Sprint announced a new campaign to woo customers to the underdog music platform. Cryptic advertisements appeared Wednesday online and in New York’s Times Square saying only “4:44,” fueling internet rumors — with little evidence other than the evident … Read more
Music streaming leader Spotify has agreed to set up a $43.45 million fund to settle a potentially costly pair of US copyright lawsuits from artists, lawyers said Monday. The move marks the latest effort by the Swedish company to turn the page on messy disputes as it considers a public listing amid the soaring growth … Read more
Pandora, which dominates internet radio but has seen its model eclipsed by music streaming companies such as Spotify, said Monday it was open to buyers after securing a fresh $150 million. Jim Feuille, the chairman of Pandora’s board who a decade earlier pushed the model of free access, stepped down with the announcement that private … Read more
Apple Inc’s Apple Music has delayed the release of its first original video series, an adaptation of comedian James Corden’s popular “Carpool Karaoke” segment, the company said. At the Code Media conference in February, Apple said the show would debut in April and be available only to Apple Music subscribers. Apple’s senior vice president of … Read more
Until today, we thought Drake’s Views was the best-selling album of 2016, but new music industry figures suggest otherwise. According to the IFPI’s annual report, both Beyonce’s Lemonade and Adele’s 25 shifted more copies worldwide. Beyonce topped the chart with 2.4 million sales, while Drake came third, having sold 2.1 million units. The figures only … Read more
Streaming is making it quicker not only to play music. A new study finds that pop songs themselves are getting faster as listeners’ attention spans diminish. Instrumental openings to songs have shrunk dramatically over the past three decades and, to a lesser extent, the average tempo of hit singles has been speeding up, the research … Read more
Streaming for the first time accounted for most recorded music revenue in the United States last year, bringing the industry its fastest growth in nearly 20 years, figures showed Thursday. While the breakneck expansion is welcome news for a long-beleaguered music industry, overall revenue is still half the level from the late 1990s before the … Read more
Spotify has become the first music streaming service to pass 50 million paying customers. It reached the milestone after adding 10 million subscribers in less than six months, staying ahead of its closest rival, Apple Music. But Spotify – which costs £10 a month in the UK – faces competition from deep-pocketed tech giants Amazon … Read more
Spotify has extended its lead as the world’s largest streaming company as it announced Thursday that it had 50 million paying subscribers. The Swedish company posted the figure on Twitter. Apple Music, its closest competitor, said in December that it had 20 million subscribers. The update was the first from privately held Spotify since September. … Read more
Prince’s classic albums including “Purple Rain” on Sunday returned to major streaming services, bringing a new audience to the late pop legend who fought music industry convention. Hours before a star tribute to Prince at the Grammy Awards, Prince’s albums on Warner Brothers Records returned to all streaming sites including Spotify and the services of … Read more