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YouTube deals with Sony and Universal pave the way for music service
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that YouTube's subscription music service could launch as early as March, but that ongoing and unsolved negotiations with Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group could prevent that launch date from happening. Bloomberg now reports, however, that both music labels have signed long-term agreements with YouTube.
Mixcloud plans subscription service with Warner Music deal
Mixcloud -- a user-generated audio site similar to SoundCloud but with more of a focus on long-form content -- just signed a licensing deal with Warner Music, the Financial Times reports. This means that the site can soon begin to offer subscriptions. Mixcloud plays host to around 17 million listeners per month who tune in to some 12 million radio shows, DJ sets and podcasts. Some of its content generators include Tiesto, David Byrne of the Talking Heads and The Guardian.
YouTube and Warner extend their streaming music deal
YouTube's relationships with music labels have certainly been fraught, but it just managed to reach a truce with one of them... at least, for now. The streaming service and Warner have extended licensing deals that will make sure Warner and its artists get paid for legal streams. The terms of the deal haven't been revealed, but a memo from Warner chief Steve Cooper suggests the label is being particularly cautious this time around. The deals are "shorter than usual," he says, "giving us more options in the future." And there's no mistaking why Warner is reluctant to commit for the long haul -- Cooper is convinced that YouTube is taking a lackadaisical approach to fighting piracy.
Tidal now offers studio-quality 'Master' audio
It's easy to forget in the Jay Z era, but Tidal's original marquee feature was its above-average audio quality, not its many exclusives -- this was your service if your headphones were too good to be sullied with low-bitrate streaming. Tidal hasn't forgotten, however. It's stepping things up with Masters, which use MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) technology to promise studio-grade sound. If you're the sort who wants to get as close to the sound booth as possible, this may be your best choice right now.
De La Soul's samples are why its classic albums stay offline
Have you wondered why De La Soul is more than happy to offer its newer albums online, but has had so much trouble getting its classics (Stakes Is High and earlier) online that it gave them away at one point? You now have a good, if imperfect, explanation. Their label, Warner Music Group, tells the New York Times that its staff "don't believe it is possible" to clear all the samples in early tracks for digital music services. It doesn't explain why those samples are being held back, but the group's current sample clearance agent suspects that many of those samples may have been cleared improperly, sometimes through informal agreements. It's also possible that many of the sample deals didn't account for non-physical releases, so Warner might have to start from scratch.
Vevo will now feature the three biggest music labels' videos
Vevo has always had access to Sony Music's and Universal Music's videos -- it was, after all, a collaboration between the two companies. Now, thanks to a licensing deal it hashed out with the Warner Music Group, it can finally publish videos from all three major labels. It took a year of talks to close the deal, but now that both parties have signed on the dotted line, the platform can showcase premium videos from Warner's roster of artists, which include Bruno Mars, Charli XCX and Ed Sheeran.
Warner Music makes most of its money from streaming
The rise of streaming services has definitely changed how we consume music. It's also changing how record labels make money. In its earnings report for Q1 2016, Warner Music Group, one of three major labels alongside Sony and Universal, revealed that streaming is now its biggest source of revenue in terms of recorded music. It also says it's the first "major music company" to report this transition. More specifically, Warner's revenue from streaming rose $72 million during the quarter, putting it ahead of physical sales and digital downloads for the label. Of course, the decline of physical sales has been well-documented both globally and in the US.
Age ratings for online UK music videos are here to stay
After a six-month trial, the UK government has successfully persuaded record labels, YouTube and Vevo to display age ratings on music videos. Under the new system, labels will pass their work onto the BBFC before sending the final rating onto YouTube and Vevo. The video will then list the classification in its description and, in YouTube's case, be restricted to adult viewers if it's been given an 18. Vevo says it's looking at a similar system that would link ratings to age controls on its site, but we're still waiting on the details.
Warner Music made more money from streaming than it did downloads
So it seems that while streaming services don't offer much of a payout for artists, at least one label is apparently doing pretty well off of them. Warner Music Group announced today that for the first time ever it made more money off of streams than it did selling downloads. With income from Spotify and YouTube, the outfit raked in some 33 percent more money in its second quarter while digital music sales only increased by a paltry seven percent. The Deftones' label says that it'll keep working with streaming partners to keep this sort of thing happening and to "ensure artists and songwriters receive appropriate value for their work." Hopefully that means a re-appraisal of streaming royalties for the people who, you know, actually make the music that's being streamed. [Image credit: Getty Images]
Age ratings for UK music videos start appearing on YouTube and Vevo
Last summer, the UK government said it was working with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to bring age ratings to music videos available online. The scheme is intended "to help parents protect their children from some of the graphic content in online music videos," by grading them in the same way movies and video games are -- based on the amount of sex/drugs/rock and roll depicted. As part of a pilot program to see how this might work, the labels Sony, Warner Music and Universal have been running any video they suspect may deserve a 12, 15 or 18 age rating by the BBFC for judgement. And today sees the first batch of ratings being adopted by pilot collaborators YouTube and Vevo.
SoundCloud inks its first major label deal, eyes streaming service in 2015
After rumors swirled for months regarding SoundCloud's pending licensing deals with major labels, Warner Music Group is the first to sign on. As part of the agreement, the German audio-streaming site will shell out funds each time one of the labels' songs are spun. What's more, it seems the crux of the deal was that SoundCloud would guarantee it'd be launching its own subscription service -- which is said to happen during the first half of 2015.
Daily Update for June 7, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS I
AllThingsD: All three music labels on board for Apple
In the music industry, there are three major labels: Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music. According to Peter Kafka at All Things D, Apple has now signed agreements with all three labels, opening the way to a possible Apple announcement of the iRadio streaming service during the WWDC 2013 Keynote on Monday. "iRadio" may not be the actual name of the service, but has caught on as speculation has grown about Apple's music streaming plans. Apple still has to sign up Sony/ATV, the music publishing part of Sony, but is apparently quite close in negotiations. Kafka expects that Apple won't actually launch iRadio on Monday, but will tell developers -- and the rest of us -- about the service. The service is expected to be free and supported by audio iAds, providing more control over what songs you wish to listen to than standard Web radio stations. If it's announced on Monday, iRadio -- or whatever it's going to be called -- will be a win-win for Apple fans and the major record labels.
Apple signing deals, may introduce internet radio service as soon as next week
According to an article in yesterday's New York Times, Apple is trying hard to ink licensing deals with music companies so it can introduce a streaming internet radio service as soon as next Monday -- the day of the WWDC 2013 keynote. Apparently Apple hasn't made much progress since rumors about the service first surfaced last summer, as record labels and music publishers aren't happy with the deals they currently have with Pandora and want higher royalty rates and guaranteed minimum payments as well. The Times notes anonymous sources who say that Apple has signed a deal with Universal Music Group for recorded music rights, but not for music publishing. Over this past weekend, Apple apparently also signed a deal with Warner Music Group for both recorded music and publishing rights. The company is still negotiating with Sony Music Entertainment and the Sony/ATV publishing company, although representatives from all of the music companies and Apple refused comment on the deals. When it finally arrives, Apple's internet radio service is expected to be free, but supported by advertising. Music companies love the fact that unlike Pandora, Apple can sell music as well directly through the iTunes store -- a potential boon for listeners who can choose to buy a song that they hear and like.
Apple reportedly has two labels signed for radio service, may reveal it at WWDC
Apple's long-rumored internet radio service didn't materialize as quickly as some thought, but we're getting a sudden rush of hints that it may be close at hand. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal both claim that Apple has just signed a music licensing deal with Warner, giving it two out of the big three labels it needs to start streaming -- Universal being the first, Sony being the holdout. Despite lacking one of the necessary deals, Apple is reportedly optimistic that it could unveil the radio feature as soon as WWDC. We're not counting on any music news from Apple execs when they take the stage next week, but it's good to be prepared... you know, just in case.
Google reportedly signs deal with Sony and Universal ahead of launching music streaming service
Sure, Google I/O may not focus on new products, but it might just take a moment to unveil the firm's take on music streaming. According to The Verge, Mountain View has inked licensing deals with Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment for YouTube and Google Play. With Fortune having reported that a similar deal with Warner Music Group is already in the can, it's entirely possible that the search titan could reveal its Spotify-like service at the developer event, now that it's reportedly reached critical mass with major music labels. If things pan out as the Financial Times sees them, the tune streaming would complement Google Music, and likely sport paid and free, ad-supported experiences. Page & Co.'s dev shindig may not have skydivers this year, but on-demand music may be on the program.
Warner Music Group says streaming services now account for 25 percent of digital revenue
We've been seeing plenty of evidence that streaming music services like Spotify, Pandora and Rdio are pulling in more folks than ever, and we now also have a good idea of how that growth is affecting the bottom lines of music labels. In its third quarter earnings report, Warner Music Group revealed that streaming services now account for a full 25 percent of the digital revenue for its recorded music group. As AllThingsD reports, that translates to 8 percent of Warner Music's total revenue for the quarter, or about $54 million in all. What's more, that growth in streaming appears to be a net plus for the company all around, as it's apparently not cutting into traditional sales of digital music (at least, not yet), and is also bigger than the decrease in sales of physical media.
Former Warner Music Group Chairman discusses Apple upon exit
I don't know about you, but I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when Apple was negotiating its iTunes deals with the major record labels. We can't go back in time, but we can get an occasional glimpse of what it was like from those who were there. Such a person is exiting Warner Music Group chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr., who recently sat down with AllThingD's John Paczkowski and talked about digital music and Apple. Bronfman was optimistic about mobile devices like the iPhone and said mobile was "a massive opportunity for music." He acknowledged that the iPod kicked off portable music and the phone is the future. Though he supports mobile music, Bronfman regrets the deal Warner ultimately cut with Apple over iTunes pricing. Apple from day one believed in music and content. That was the good news. The bad news is that they decided all songs where created equal, and I fought Steve on that. Ultimately, Apple got the better part of that deal. Ultimately, I wish we'd gotten more pricing flexibility. I'm sure the recording companies would love to set higher prices, but, as a consumer, I'm pretty happy with Apple's pricing. Most albums are around US$10 and most tracks are $1.29 or less. This price point is low enough that most people can afford to buy the occasional album without putting a dent in their budget.
Warner Music talks trash about free streaming services, keeps using them
Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. isn't happy with free music streaming services. Shocking, right? Coming out yesterday with a barrage of disparagement for online streamers like Spotify and Last.fm, Bronfman Jr. made it clear that they do not represent "the kind of approach to business that we will be supporting in the future." Why is that, Eddie? The man in charge seems to think that paid subscription models are the future, because "the number of potential subscribers dwarfs the number of people who are actually purchasing music" online. That's wonderful and all, but he neglects to tell us the specifics of how and why Warner will succeed at something that every publisher would love to have, but none have managed to translate into reality yet. Additionally, WMG is not withdrawing its music library for the moment -- something a lot of publications seem to have erroneously reported (see Spotify tweet below) -- which leads us to believe the entire spiel is more of a renegotiating ploy than a concrete statement of intent. [Thanks, Wiggy Fuzz]
Warner CEO: iTunes price increase led to lower sales, recession might also factor in
Don't pat yourself on the back too much for calling this one, but Warner CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. has now confirmed what many have suspected: higher iTunes pricing has led to slightly slower sales. Specifically, he says that while the variable pricing introduced early last year has been a "net positive" for the company, revenue growth on iTunes slowed to just eight percent in the last quarter, compared to a hefty 20 percent a year earlier. He is also quick to point out, however, that raising prices 30 percent during a recession may not have been the best idea in hindsight. Interestingly, Bronfman seems to think that e-books actually stand a better chance at holding to up to price increases than music, noting that the "book publishing industry, on the iPad, has much more flexibility than the music industry had."
