Biggest selling iTunes Artists within the last 24 hours
Lady Gaga’s “ARTPop” album last fall certainly didn’t give Universal Music Group any pop.
Gaga’s fourth-quarter flop helped cut Universal’s revenue in the period 9.3 percent, the company said in a report Tuesday.
The tough Japanese economy — which accounts for 25 percent of global music sales — also hurt Earnings before interest, tax and amortization, or Ebita, was off 11.1 percent, or 7.8 percent on a constant-currency basis. The tough quarter cut profits for the year by 2.9 percent, to $702 million (511 million euros). They were up 1.4 percent on a constant-currency basis, the company said. Full-year revenue rose 7.5 percent to $6.7 billion (4,886 million euros) or 12.8 percent when adjusted for currencies. For the year, Universal Music’s best-selling albums were from EMI’s Katy Perry and Interscope’s Eminem. Read more…
Songwriters understandably hate this, but they have almost no power to stop it. The reason is that despite incredibly low payouts, it’s nearly impossible for songwriters to remove their catalogs from Pandora, or even negotiate better terms. The complicated explanation has to do with a century of antiquated laws that basically force songwriters to license their content at fractional rates, and like it.
Last year, a number of prominent songwriters protested on Capitol Hill, with emotional performances designed to combat lower royalty rates. This year, they’re exercising the nuclear option by introducing legislation to change the laws. This bill, introduced this morning, is called the Songwriter Equity Act, with Congressman Doug Collins sponsoring.
Essentially, the bill attempts to plug two massive loopholes in copyright law that greatly benefit Pandora but essentially screw songwriters. ”Roughly two-thirds of a songwriter’s income is heavily regulated by law or through outdated government oversight,” National Music Publishers’ Association CEO David Israelite told Digital Music News. ”This legislation addresses two significant inequities under current copyright law that prevent songwriters and music publishers from receiving compensation that reflects the fair market value of their work.”
It’s safe to say that Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” is a major hit.
The alternative rock band’s song just made Billboard Hot 100 chart history, breaking the record for the longest run on the list.
This week, the song recorded it’s 77th week on the chart.
“It’s unbelievable,” Imagine Dragons lead singer Dan Reynolds told Billboard. “There are few things more satisfying as an artist than seeing your music have longevity. But, we could never have expected to see one of our songs have legs like this.”
“People seem to be connecting to it in personal ways, which is exactly what we hoped for,” he continued. “We’ve been out on the road and focused on touring for a long time. Somewhere along the way, we started to realize the song was taking on a life of its own.”
Biggest Selling iTunes Artists within the last 24 hours
Newsletter