Analysis Daniel Ek wasn’t lying: streaming is becoming less dominated by mega-hits The number of plays attracted by the Top 50 audio streaming hits last year went DOWN
News Universal Music Group is worth $33bn, says Deutsche Bank Investment group suggests Liberty Media, Tencent or Google could buy into UMG
News Universal expands in China and Asia with local hires and promotions Aaron Wang, Tracy Mu and KT Ang all join major, as other execs are promoted
Analysis News How to have a streaming hit in the USA: hire 9.1 songwriters (and a rap artist) BuzzAngle data reveals all you need to know about 2018's top-selling singles and albums
Analysis News More than 1/4 of all music streamed in the USA last year was hip-hop Overall on-demand stream volume will likely top a TRILLION this year
News UK record industry enjoys £109m annual growth – but album sales tanked in 2018 Album sales across physical and digital formats fell by 13.2m
News Ebro Darden named Apple Music’s Global Head of Editorial for Hip-Hop and R&B DJ/presenter will 'find ways to connect with urban music communities and beyond'
News UK entertainment retail chain HMV falls into administration… again KPMG appointed as administrators at 97-year-old company
News Spotify’s market cap sinks below $20bn for the first time since it went public Spotify has seen more than $15bn wiped off its valuation since its peak ($35bn) in late July
News Spotify settles with Wixen, bringing $1.6bn lawsuit to an end "Spotify is a huge part of the future of music, and we look forward to bringing more great music from our clients to the public on terms that compensate songwriters and publishers as important partners."
Interviews ‘In A&R, you need to be able to have open and honest conversations with artists’ Decca Vice President Tom Lewis on the past, present and future of the iconic label
Interviews ‘The thrill of finding a new act, developing it, and then really breaking it – it’s still the biggest buzz.’ Modest!'s Richard Griffiths, Harry Magee and Will Bloomfield on how they built their company – and the future
News The global recorded music business is on course to top $20bn in annual revenues in 2019 – but it can’t over-rely on the USA Mark Mulligan says that global sales hit $18.9bn this year
News Ed Sheeran’s Divide tour generated $432m in 2018 – a new world record Sheeran and Taylor Swift secure the year's two biggest tours
News UK artists are, on average, seeing four Spotify streams abroad for every one at home Will Page presentation reveals how well British acts are performing overseas