Member Updates
Music Biz broadcasts the latest announcements from around our community on our social feeds as our member companies continue to push the industry forward. If you are launching a new product, have been featured in an industry trade publication, or have a major announcement coming soon, we’d love to help spread the word — share it with Henryk Bik, Music Biz’s Communications & Content Manager, at henryk.bik@musicbiz.org.
NEW FOR 2024 Music Biz’s member news will be shared exclusively on our social channels, as the Member Updates section of our website is set to go offline later this year.
June 28, 2021 – NEW MEMBER PROFILE: Linkfire
Welcome Linkfire to the Music Biz member community! Linkfire is a smart link platform that connects fans to different music, video, ticketing, and merch options with just one social media-friendly landing page. These smart links are automatically populated based on a DSP link or ISRC/UPC code, eliminating the need for artists to manually enter each one. This also allows fans to select their preferred way of accessing the artist’s music, wherever they are in the world.... Read More
June 22, 2021 – Music Biz Member Def Jam Names Chelsea Blythe SVP of A&R
Chelsea Blythe has been named Def Jam Recordings’ new SVP of A&R, a role that will find her overseeing current & new artist projects while discovering and signing new talent for the Def Jam roster. She will report directly to Jeff Harleston, interim CEO of Def Jam Recordings. Blythe’s career in the industry began in the A&R Department at Interscope Records in 2012, as the label was developing artists including Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Mike WiLL Made-it and Rae Sremmurd.... Read More
June 22, 2021 – Music Biz Members TikTok and CMRRA Announce Multi-Year Digital Royalty Agreement
Social platform TikTok and the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA) — a division of Music Biz member SoundExchange — have announced a new multi-year agreement for the collection of digital mechanical royalties in Canada. The new deal encompasses TikTok’s past use of musical works and introduces a forward-looking partnership that opens a new revenue stream for music publishers, self-published songwriters and rightsholders. “We are thrilled to enter into this agreement with CMRRA in Canada, to connect music publishers and artists to new audiences and enable song discovery through the power of TikTok,”... Read More
June 22, 2021 – Music Biz Members Primary Wave and Universal’s Virgin Music Announce Global Deal
Independent publishing and talent management company, Primary Wave, has announced a new global distribution agreement with Virgin Music Label & Artist Services (launched by Universal Music Group in February as a rebrand of Caroline). The deal covers master recordings from within the Primary Wave music catalog across all physical and digital distribution channels, with particular focus on labels from Primary Wave’s strategic partner, The Gaither Group. “We are so excited to begin this relationship with Primary Wave Music and The Gaither Group as their new distribution partner,”... Read More
June 21, 2021 – Music Biz Member RCA Records Announces Promotions of Jessie Maldonado & Pam Kaye
RCA Records has announced two personnel appointments within its Promotions team, elevating Jessie Maldonado to SVP, Promotion & Operations and Pam Kaye to VP, Hot AC Promotion. Maldonado will combine her experience in radio promotion and marketing to develop campaigns for RCA artists such as Doja Cat, H.E.R., Khalid, P!NK and Tate McRae, among others. Prior to her new role, she led record promotions in the label’s Pop promotion department; she will continue to oversee that team,... Read More
June 20, 2021 – NEW MEMBER PROFILE: Trans Trenderz
This week, we’re proud to welcome Trans Trenderz to the Music Biz member community! More than a record label, Trans Trenderz is a Black trans-owned organization that offers services & resources to help trans artists achieve mainstream success while feeling empowered & respected for who they are. In addition to releasing music entirely produced by trans people, Trans Trenderz leads several initiatives to help strengthen the transgender music community, including: the Ghostly Beats Project initiative, which mobilizes allies to provide Black transgender and gender non-conforming musicians the resources they need to produce &... Read More
June 17, 2021 – Music Biz Member Clio Music Announces 2021 Award Winners During Virtual Program
The Clio Music Awards, the global competition celebrating the power of music in connecting consumers and brands, was held June 10th and presented by Citi for the sixth consecutive year. This year’s event was broadcasted virtually via Clios.com, and featured the debut of the Clio Music Of The Year Awards, which were given to Republic Records for Label of the Year, Sony Music Publishing for Music Publisher of the Year, and Spotify In-House for Agency of the Year.... Read More
June 17, 2021 – Music Biz Member Apple Music Launches Lossless & Spatial Audio, Record Label Pages
This month, Apple Music launched new streaming options for hi-res music fans: Lossless Audio that offers access to studio-quality tracks, and Spatial Audio for immersive listening experiences with supported equipment, both included at no additional costs to subscribers of the service. In addition to these new formats, the company also soft-launched dedicated pages for record labels. These pages mirror those of individual artists and offer info on a label’s biggest hit records, newest releases and a bio on a label’s history and influences.... Read More
June 17, 2021 – Music Biz Member Amazon Music Announces DJ Mode On-Demand Listening Experience
Amazon Music has debuted a new on-demand listening experience called DJ Mode, a unique new way for fans to enjoy their favorite music by combining the convenience and catalog access of music streaming with the personalty of DJ-hosted radio shows. At launch, DJ Mode is accessible across three of Amazon Music’s top stations: Rap Rotation, Country Heat, and All Hits, with more to follow. Each station includes song selection and sequencing personalized to a listener’s taste,... Read More
June 16, 2021 – Music Biz Member Atlantic Records Promotes Kevin Holiday to EVP of Black Music Promotion
Kevin Holiday has been named Atlantic Record’s EVP of Black Music Promotion. Based in Atlantic’s New York headquarters, he will both oversee campaigns & strategies for Atlantic’s Black Music radio promotion and lead the label’s national & regional Black Music promotional team. Holiday first joined Atlantic in 2004, and most recently served as the company’s SVP of Urban Promotion. “From day one, [Kevin has] been a passionate advocate for our artists, who love him and his relentless devotion to their music and their long-term careers,”... Read More
