This story appears in Rolling Stone‘s 2021 Future of Music issue, a special project delving into the next era of the multibillion-dollar hitmaking business. Read the other stories here. Ali Tamposi has co-written some of the biggest pop hits in recent memory, from Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello’s “Senorita” to …
Read More »
Live Nation Entertainment faced another challenging quarter to close out 2020, with revenue dropping 92% in the fourth quarter compared to the same time period in 2019, the company announced in its earnings report on Thursday afternoon. For the 2020 calendar year as a whole, revenue dropped 84% compared to …
Read More »
Concert promotion giant Live Nation has bought a majority stake in livestreaming platform Veeps, the company announced Tuesday. Live Nation, which has endured 10 months and counting without regular concerts or tours due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will now be directly positioned in the fast-growing livestreaming space. For Live Nation, …
Read More »
Sign up to receive your free exclusive Grammy Preview magazine for next year Conan Gray was ready to conquer. By the time this year began, the rising pop and rock artist had achieved the dreams of guitar-playing teenagers everywhere — building a loyal YouTube following from his suburban Texas home, …
Read More »
Since livestreaming has taken overin the COVID-induced absence of live music, major and upcoming artists alike havegone to the platform in droves to perform, fundraise for charity, and stay close to fans. But can online shows be properly monetized — and can that revenue stream be a significant one for …
Read More »
Ultra Music Festival is out of action, after coronavirus postponed the event to 2021 — but its lackluster ticket-replacement deal for fans is drawing a different kind of attention. According to an email sent by Ultra organizers to ticket holders around midnight Monday and reviewed by Rolling Stone, would-be attendees …
Read More »
On any given day, according to Spotify‘s CEO Daniel Ek, around 40,000 new tracks are uploaded to the music-streaming service — be it from major labels, independent outlets, unknown new artists going the DIY route, or a madcap mix of all. The deluge drives artists to try anything to make …
Read More »
Publishing has historically been full of horror stories about artists or songwriters signing away their copyrights for eternity. But Kobalt, an independent outlet, promotes a different model: more flexible deals in which writers retain ownership of the songs they have written, keep more income from their songs than they might …
Read More »
In the year since his release from prison, Meek Mill has dug his heels in on matters including criminal justice reform, documentaries, and licensed sports productsalongside releasing a studio album. On Tuesday afternoon, the Philadelphia rapper clinked glasses of Armand de Brignac champagne with Jay-Z to solidify a new business …
Read More »
Two months ago, Louis Posen, founder of the long-running California label Hopeless Records, noticed an aberration in his company’s streaming numbers. A track was cruising along, earning roughly 3,000 streams a day. Then, “All of a sudden it got 35,000 streams a day for three consecutive days,” he says. The …
Read More »