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music streaming

money on sheet music depicting new copyright rates

Mechanical royalty rates are going up… Or are they?

June 1, 2022June 29, 2022 Tony van Veen

The Copyright Royalty Board announced plans to increase the mechanical royalty rates for product sales, which is great for songwriters. But will streaming rates do the same? Read the post.

young woman listening to music on a Spotify playlist

You need to work on your Spotify playlist strategy

April 5, 2022April 5, 2022 Bobby Borg

Getting on a Spotify playlist — or any streaming playlist — requires a strategy and a plan. Here’s some advice on what to do (and what NOT to do). Read the post.

graphic of CDs with Bandcamp logo insert

Sell your CDs online: Stake a tent at Bandcamp

March 31, 2022March 31, 2022 Andre Calilhanna

Ready to start selling CDs and merch online? Bandcamp offers a customizable solution with the independent musician in mind. Read the post.

case with money depicting the music industry's royalty distribution issue

The MLC’s $424 million royalty distribution conundrum

March 23, 2022June 21, 2022 Tony van Veen

The music industry has long had a royalty distribution problem, AKA the infamous “black box,” which represents hundreds of millions in mechanical royalties collected on behalf of publishers and songwriters who have not been paid because they cannot be tracked down. Read the post.

streaming services

How to get played on streaming services and playlists

November 23, 2021December 13, 2021 Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan

Getting your music discovered, played, and featured on playlists on streaming services is well within your reach. Use these techniques to get your music played. Read the post

music release friday

Why you should set a date for your music release (and make it a Friday)

March 24, 2021March 24, 2021 Tony van Veen

There’s a reason why you should set your music release for a Friday. It’s not just a random day — there’s method behind the madness. Read the post.

monetize your music

How to monetize your music on YouTube

March 5, 2021March 5, 2021 Tony van Veen

In my fourth video about YouTube and your music, I explain how to monetize your music on YouTube, because I know way too many artists are missing out on this revenue. Read the post.

Mechanical Licensing Collective

New music royalties: The Mechanical Licensing Collective and what it means for you

March 2, 2021March 3, 2021 Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan

The new Mechanical Licensing Collective collects digital audio mechanical royalties from download and streaming services. Learn about the collective and see if you qualify to sign up so you can receive these new music royalties. Read the post.

YouTube Content ID

Why anyone can upload your music to YouTube (and why they haven’t been sued out of existence)

February 19, 2021February 15, 2022 Tony van Veen

YouTube is the world’s largest music-discovery platform, where indie musicians can monetize their music and anyone can post whatever they want, whether they own the rights or not. What does that mean for you and your music? Read the post.

marketing mistakes

10 marketing mistakes independent musicians make

January 26, 2021March 30, 2022 Tony van Veen

In these videos, I break down the 10 things I see independent artists do — or fail to do — that leads to underachieving in their music careers. Here are the top 10 marketing mistakes independent musicians make. Read the post.

Spotify Canvas

How to use Spotify Canvas to add looping video to your streams

January 12, 2021January 13, 2021 Tony van Veen

With Spotify canvas, you can include short looping videos that will play while your music streams. It’s a great way to increase shares and engagement, and it’s easy to use. Read the post.

music release strategy

My overnight success was 15 years in the making

November 10, 2020November 10, 2020 Carter Fox

With an adaptable music release strategy and an eye on results, I was able to get over 700,000 streams for one of my singles and over 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Here’s how it happened. Read the post.

Top 40

How Spotify blew up the “Top 40” and made it the top 43,000

October 6, 2020October 6, 2020 Johnny Dwinell and Brent Baxter

In the continuing democratization of the music industry, Spotify and other streaming sites are spreading the wealth as more artists are getting their share of the pie every year. Read the post.

promoting a Spotify playlist

Promoting a Spotify playlist with Instagram Stories ads

October 2, 2020May 3, 2022 Brian Hazard

Want to grow your Spotify playlist to expand your listener-base? Paid ads are one way to do do it, and in this post, Brian Hazard walks us through the steps of his successful Instragram Stories ad campaign. Read the post.

music royalties

How to turn music royalties into a cash advance

September 11, 2020October 20, 2020 Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan

If you’ve established a proven stream of royalties, you can turn it into a lump sum of money that you can get today by using royalty auction services. Read the post.

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