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Radio Edit

Radio Edit

3.10.23

Radio Edit Team
March 10, 2023

In this week’s newsletter we have Spotify’s revamped platform, a new way for creators to make money with TikTok, and artist partnership headaches for companies like McDonald’s and Adidas.

Other stories include leadership changes at SoundCloud and Ticketmaster’s response to service fee complaints.

Top Stories

Spotify unveils “biggest transformation” the platform has seen in a decade

Over the course of their 90 minute presentation at Wednesday’s Stream On event, Spotify announced a slew of new features for the platform and signaled an increased focus on music discovery. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek noted that these features were the result of extensive creator feedback regarding fan engagement and monetization. These new features include:

Vertical Feed- replacing the old homepage, this new video-based feed will now deliver previews of songs or audio content like podcasts and audiobooks. Meant to increase music discovery, these preview clips will be accompanied by a Canvas to serve as the visual backdrop for the audio content.
Countdown Pages- created to help artists promote upcoming releases, this new landing page will allow them to build anticipation and capture listeners out the gate. Along with a baked-in pre-save button, this page will also enable artists to tease exclusive content, offer merch pre-orders, preview tracklists, and add a timer counting down to the release of their song/album. Users who pre-save a track will receive a push notification signaling that the track is now available for streaming, a practice which Spotify says results in 80% of pre-savers returning and listening to a track within a week of its release.
Smart Shuffle- this feature supplements user-generated playlists with selections from Spotify based on the users’ listening history.
Concert Listings- users can now hit a button indicating their interest in an artist’s upcoming show, adding it to a personalized concert calendar in the app’s Live Events feed. Billboard

McDonald’s faces boycotts from franchisees over latest artist partnership

In February, McDonald’s announced a Valentine’s-themed partnership with hip-hop stars Cardi B and Offset. The meal promotion features the couple’s favorite menu items and is intended to highlight the notion that knowing your significant other’s order is a sign of loving them. Unfortunately for McDonald’s, some franchisees (who own ~95% of McDonald’s locations) are refusing to sell the promotion citing concerns over the rappers’ lyrical content at a business that’s intended to be family-friendly. Despite the backlash from a number of franchisees, McDonald’s has stuck by the duo and maintained their enthusiasm for the partnership. Paper

The controversy comes shortly after Adidas reported more artist partnership headaches of their own following disappointing sales from Beyonce’s Ivy Park clothing line. According to the WSJ, revenues from the line fell approximately 50% to $40mm in 2022 and came up over $200mm short of Adidas’ projections for the year. Beyonce’s $20mm annual contract is set to expire after 2023, leaving the German apparel line to decide if they’ll be renewing or reconfiguring their partnership with the pop star. WSJ

TikTok announces addition of paywalled content with new feature, Series

Adding a new way for creators to make money on the platform, TikTok has announced a new program called Series, where users can create a collection of videos available for purchase. Each collection can contain up to 80 videos, with videos running as long as 20 minutes in length. Fans can purchase access to these collections via direct-in-video links, with rates ranging from $1-$190.

Enabling users to make money on the platform is paramount to TikTok’s mission to prevent creators from leaving the platform for competitors like YouTube Shorts. Following the announcement of a reworked Creativity Program that only rewards videos longer than a minute, TikTok’s new monetization option in Series further incentivizes its creators to make longer content. The Verge

What Else Is Going On

Streaming / Radio

Spotify announces expansion of their Discovery Mode feature- a program that gives a specified release increased algorithmic exposure on the platform in exchange for a reduced royalty rate

Death Row’s catalog returns to streaming services

Apple Music announces dedicated Classical app

As DSPs like Apple Music and Amazon Music raise their subscription fees, Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl calls on holdouts to join ranks. Feeling that these holdouts contribute to a culture of undervaluing music, Kyncl notes that the $10/mo fees that were set almost a decade ago would be valued closer to $13.25/mo today when adjusted for inflation

Sirius XM cuts 475 roles (roughly 8% of workforce)

The U.S. accounts for 7% of the world’s music piracy per a MUSO report, behind only Iran and India

Publishing

Metro Boomin sells songwriting catalog to Shamrock Capital for almost $70mm

Hipgnosis increases entry points to their catalog through licensing deal with Reactional Music, a music for gaming firm

Rough Trade Publishing locks in global admin deal with Sentric Music Group

Live / Touring

In response to outcry over service fees, Ticketmaster looks to eliminate drip pricing and display all-in costs

UK booking agency Primary Talent breaks away from CAA to function as independent agency

Disappointed that Rosalía skipped Peru on her Motomami tour, YouTuber recreates concert; sells 3,000 tickets

FAIR Ticketing, an alliance between over 20 live music entities, calls upon lawmakers to reform ticketing policies

Label

Dance/Electronic distro company Above Board acquired by The Orchard

Hi-Life’s A-Grade Music launches new “Purchase a Record Deal” program

Other

After shutting down its retail empire in 2006, Tower Records launches Brooklyn-based creative space as “a hybrid center for performances, pop-ups, listening parties, and content creation”

ASCAP generated $1.5b in revenue last year, a record for the PRO

Appointments / Departures

Appointments

SoundCloud names Eliah Seton as CEO

Seeker Music names Jennifer Blakeman Chief Rights & Royalties Officer

Julie Adam joins Universal Music Canada as EVP and GM

Kobalt ups Alison Donald to Head of Global Creative

Departures

Michael Weissman is out at CEO of SoundCloud

Upcoming Shows

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