Royalties
YouTube Content ID is a Scam
YouTube and the major labels and publishers are in cahoots. YouTube knows its Content ID claiming system is far from perfect, but it’s the best we got.
Income
The MLC is Sitting On $423 Million, How Songwriters Can Claim It
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) came out of the Music Modernization Act (MMA).
Wow there were a lot of buzz words and phrases you may have never heard of in that first sentence. To not get into the weeds of how...
Income
NFTs for Music Explained (in Musician Terms)
I have a new album coming out April 9th. No, I'm not about to pimp another album NFT (more on this in a bit). This is only for reference to say I'm A) a working musician and B) I...
Royalties
How Much Each Distributor Pays For Spotify and Apple Music
All streams are not treated equally.
How much Spotify and Apple Music pay for a stream varies on many factors. There are around 800 different pay rates for each stream on Spotify. Some of the variables include: Country/Territory of the listener
...
Income
Songtrust vs. Sentric vs. CD Baby Publishing vs. TuneCore Publishing
Which admin publishing company will work best for you: Sentric, TuneCore Publishing, CD Baby Pro Publishing, or Songtrust?
Resources
Teespring vs. Printify vs. Gooten vs. Printful vs. Teelaunch: Best Print On-Demand Merch Companies for Musicians
Which print on-demand merch company is best for musicians: Gooten, Printful, Printify, Teelaunch, or Teespring?
Income
If Spotify Won’t Pay More, They Should Give Us More Data
I’ll say it. And I’m going to get shit for it.
The comment from the CEO of Spotify, Daniel Ek, “you can’t record music every 3-4 years anymore” got blown way out of proportion. I actually did a full podcast...
Income
Session Musicians’ Money Stolen by the Union Meant to Protect Them
If you’ve ever played on a recording as a hired gun, you are entitled to more than just the check you got for the session.
You are guaranteed (up to) 5% of all the performance royalties that recording ever makes....
Income
How To Get a Record Advance Without a Record Deal
One of the biggest reasons that artists sign with major record labels is for the upfront cash.
The advance is very attractive for artists getting a 6- or 7-figure check waved in front of their face - even if it...
Community
Black Postmodern Jukebox Performers Pen Open Letter About Mistreatment
On Thursday, July 16th, in a brave act of solidarity and dissent against their employer, black musicians penned an open letter to the founder and leader of Postmodern Jukebox, Scott Bradlee.
Many posted this letter and subsequent demands to social...
Latest News
Creative Music Marketing, Spotify Discovery, TikTok Strategies
This week, Ari is joined by Dustin Boyer, Director of Marketing at Venture Music.