Digital Media Digest
In This SectionWith the accelerating pace of technological change, the League posts a digest of relevant news and information regarding changes, trends, and developments that may affect the digital media activities that orchestras use to achieve their institutional missions. For each digest, the League’s digital media consultants, Michael Bronson and Joe Kluger, draw from a variety of websites and publications to provide excerpts or summaries of articles. (These do not necessarily represent the views of the League.)
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March 25, 2020
Digital Media Digest: March 2020
What the death of iTunes says about our digital habits; A music artist says Apple Music pays her 4 times what Spotify does per stream; Top of the flops: is streaming rendering the charts obsolete?; Now you can listen to Philadelphia Orchestra performances free on demand; New media gets new audiences into an old art form; RNZ board backs down, Concert to stay on FM; TikTok revenue surges 310% to $50MM in Q4; SiriusXM celebrates 34.9 million subscribers — but won’t disclose Pandora numbers; US-based music streams cross 1 trillion in 2019, up 25% over 2018; Amazon claims more than 55 million music streaming users; YouTube has more than 20 million paying subscribers — music subscriber numbers remain elusive; Spotify reaches 124 million premium subscribers — but quarterly losses top $85 million; Apple music has been quietly expanding its preferred distributors list; YouTube is testing ‘Applause,’ a way for viewers to directly donate to creators; Time for a DMCA overhaul? congressional hearings commence on Capitol Hill; RPO research shows increased interest in orchestral music among young people; End of an era — CD Baby is shutting down its online music store; Spotify steps up its concert listings with resident advisor partnership; 2019’s US-Based streaming music market was larger than the entire recorded music market in 2017
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January 23, 2020
Digital Media Digest: January 2020
The NSO plans a new record label; Classical streaming service IDAGIO launches free tier; Is classical music ahead of the streaming curve?; DSO reveals state-of-the-art tech and camera upgrades for "Live from Orchestra Hall" webcast series; Residuals can make up 75% of a musician's movie score paycheque—but not on streaming; YouTube says it can delete your account if you're not 'commercially viable'; YouTube update makes it easier to deal with copyright claims; Facebook is actively licensing music videos for its YouTube rival, report claims; Billboard changes its mind: YouTube will now factor into the Billboard 200; Spotify's 'pay-for-play' advertising program has a price tag: $0.55 per click; The end of owning music: how CDs and downloads died; Mechanical Licensing Collective hands a juicy contract to HFA—critics call the deal crooked; Congress introduces the 'AM-FM Act' to overhaul terrestrial copyright laws
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November 21, 2019
Digital Media Digest: November 2019
Amazon bets users will pay up for high-definition music streaming; Podcast sponsorship revenue continues to fuel NPR's financial growth; One-third of all young people use stream ripping to steal music; Articles about audience smartphone use during performances; Articles about Spotify; Vinyl is poised to outsell CDs for the first time since 1986; Gen Xers, millennials, and even some Gen Zs choose vinyl and drive record sales up; Apple Is officially shutting down iTunes — but song downloads aren't completely dead; Musicians fear for livelihood without streaming residuals; YouTube Music says it pays the same royalty rate as Spotify — at least on its subscription streams; Metallica makes box office history with 'S&M²'; Jim James and the Louisville Orchestra appear on "The Tonight Show"; Appeals court says the Trump administration can't force states to repeal net neutrality; Musicians, tired of paltry streaming payments, protest the HBO Max Launch at Warner Bros. Studios
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September 21, 2019
Digital Media Digest: September 2019
$150k to the SPCO; Turns out online opera is a good idea; Knight Foundation launches $750,000 initiative for immersive technology for the arts; Bernstein's 'Mass' gets brilliant encore, bound for TV; What is Spotify thinking with its 'Dance Like Nobody's Paying' ad campaign?; Spotify tops 108 million paying subscribers; Spotify abruptly shuts down its direct upload & distribution plans; For new video game music, Salt Lake City is becoming a hotspot; Digital tools and community first — A bright future for the TSO; Taylor Swift says she will rerecord her old music. Here's how; U.S. copyright office awards mechanical licensing collective contract to NMPA bid; Amazon music has 32 million subscribers — and a 70% yearly growth rate; Is traditional radio about to crash?; Apple decides to invest in original podcasts — Putting a buzzkill on Spotify's expansion; Exploring an immersive future in classical music; Imagine being immersed in the OSM — without the orchestra present; Stanford researchesrs point to dramatic improvements in virtual reality sound; Apple music's analytics dashboard for artists is offically out of beta; Spotify, Apple, Pandora, Amazon, Google, warns against ditching PRO consent decrees; Spotify, Amazon, Pandora, Google/Alphabet protest streaming royalty rate increases; Commentary: Classical streaming has arrived. How do the new services stack up?;
Banner: The Valley Symphony Orchestra percussion ensemble at a virtual concert recording session. Photo: Erika Sanchez Photography / Abel Riojas Photography
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