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.
February 23, 2021 – Music Biz Member Spotify Announces HiFi Tier, New Tools for Creators, and Global Expansion Plans
During their “Stream On” event this past Monday, Spotify announced a slew of new products and services marking significant steps to expand their platform in 2021 and beyond. This include a new HiFi high-resolution music streaming subscription tier set to launch some time this year, as well as new exclusive podcast content. Spotify also announced new and expanded tools in support of creatives, with its Canvas product being made available to all artists from here on out.... Read More
February 22, 2021 – NEW MEMBER PROFILE: Feed Media Group
Please join us in welcoming Feed Media Group to the Music Biz member community! The company is dedicated to innovation in music licensing and distribution with one goal in mind: help businesses of all shapes and sizes create amazing user experiences with music. Feed works with the industry to experiment with new solutions that both address the nuances of each licensing use case and that serve every stakeholder — rightsholders, businesses, and consumers alike. Its Feed.fm product powers non-interactive radio for apps,... Read More
February 17, 2021 – Music Biz Members UMG and TikTok Enter New Licensing & Artist Support Agreement
Universal Music Group and TikTok have announced a new partnership, including a renewed music licensing agreement, that will also allow the companies to collaborate on new initiatives involving digital marketing, A&R, user data and more. Under the terms, TikTok will compensate artists and songwriters from UMG and Universal Music Publishing Group when their music is used in video clips on its apps, allowing users to use clips from UMG’s full catalog of music across its network of labels,... Read More
February 11, 2021 – New MTSU Program Supports Students of Color Seeking Country Music Careers
Music Biz Academic Partner Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) has announced the launch of its new “Bridges to Nashville: Exciting Career Opportunities in Country Music” initiative. This five-month pilot program was designed to educate college students of color nationwide about opportunities available to them in the Country music industry. The first Bridges to Nashville session, to be held on Wednesday, February 24, will feature a conversation between artist/hit songwriter Shy Carter and songwriter/producer Shannon Sanders, who also serves as executive director of BMI’s Nashville office,... Read More
February 10, 2021 – Music Biz Member Songtrust Announces Expansion of Executive Team
This week, Music Biz member Songtrust has announced the elevation of three team members to executive roles — Lisa Robinson has been named Vice President of Income Tracking; Anna Bond has been appointed Head of Creative and Partnerships, a new department for the company; and Rob Wetstone who has been promoted to Global Head of Client Relations. The company also revealed that it now works with clients hailing from more than 145 countries. “Music publishing is notoriously complex,... Read More
February 9, 2021 – Music Biz Member Concord Announces New Promotions for 2021
Independent music company Concord has announced a wave of promotions for 50 staff members at the start of 2021, including seven executives who were elevated to VP level and above. In a statement, company CEO Scott Pascucci praised the staff for their tireless efforts in the face of the challenges posed by the pandemic. “The unspeakable hardship of 2020 underscored the importance of music, theatre and musicals to all of us, to help us push through the darkness,... Read More
February 8, 2021 – Music Biz Member DistroKid Launches New Matchmaking Service For Labels and New Artists
Music Biz member DistroKid has announced the launch of Upstream, its new service which allows partner record labels to sift through DistroKid’s data and make connections with artists they would like to sign. “Millions of artists rely on DistroKid and often ask for help getting noticed by record labels,” said DistroKid Founder and CEO Philip Kaplan. “And record labels have approached us about finding efficient ways to identify talent in the DistroKid community. With demand on both sides,... Read More
February 2, 2021 – Music Biz Member Exactuals Passes $1 Billion in All-Time Dollars Processed Via PaymentHub
Financial software company and Music Biz member Exactuals announced that it has passed $1 billion in all-time dollars processed by their flagship PaymentHub product, a 250% year-over-year growth. PaymentHub allows music publishers, record labels, distributors, marketplaces and more to provide direct deposit payments, tax document management and online reporting to rightsholders, performers, managers, service providers and independent contractors on a global scale. “The extraordinary growth of PaymentHub over the past year is exciting, and we expect to see the trend continue in 2021,” said Exactuals Co-Founder and CEO Mike Hurst.... Read More
February 2, 2021 – Music Biz Member RCA Records Announces New Heads of Promotion
Music Biz member RCA Records has announced the elevation of Sam Selolwane and Keith Rothschild, who will now both serve as co-Heads of Promotion for the label. Selolwane will oversee Hip-Hop, R&B and Mixshow, and Rothschild will oversee the Pop, Rhythm and Rock; both will report to RCA COO John Fleckenstein. “Sam is a passionate, forward thinking leader who is a fierce advocate for our artists,” offered Fleckenstein. “She is universally respected by both her peers and RCA family alike.... Read More
February 1, 2021 – Music Biz Member TuneCore Celebrates 15th Anniversary With Pandemic Relief Donations
In recognition of their 15th anniversary in 2021, Music Biz member TuneCore is making a series of donations to global organizations who are supporting live music venues and their staffs during the pandemic. These include support for NIVA (the National Independent Venue Association), the UK Venue Trust, SAFE in South Africa, UNISON in Canada, Initiative Musik in Germany, and SGMUSO in Singapore. This comes off the heels of the leading digital music distribution & publishing administration company announcing last october that it broke the $2 billion milestone in money earned by its independent artist partners,... Read More
