Even record labels are going to the cloud.

Warner Music Group is teaming with music discovery app Shazam to create a new “big data” record label. The aim of the new Shazam label is to discover and sign new acts that can then be supported by Warner.

“We have forged a potent proposition: the first crowd-sourced, big data record label,” said Warner Music Group chief operating officer Rob Wiesenthal in a statement. “While data and crowd sourced analyses will never be a substitute for the expertise and instincts of our (artist & repertoire) professionals, we do believe the information we obtain for this new label will provide very useful signals that will bolster our ability to find the stars of tomorrow.” CONTINUE READING

From Camille Paglia/ The Sunday Times

Lady Gaga never saw it coming. After a relentless, mammoth, publicity extravaganza for her new album, ArtPop, she was upstaged by a comet seeming to swoop in out of nowhere — the release of Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2. Eminem’s sales boomed big, while Gaga’s embarrassingly fizzled, leading to quick deep discounts to keep ArtPop on the charts.

Eminem, now 41, did few interviews and personal appearances for this formidable double album. As with Adele sweeping the Grammys two years ago, his instant commercial triumph demonstrates the readiness of a discerning world public to respond to power and passion of voice rather than to manipulative gimmicks or exhibitionistic stunts. CONTINUE READING

From The New York Times

The Universal Music Group, the giant record company that sells almost 40 percent of the world’s music, is about to get a little bigger through a deal with the independent label behind Mumford & Sons.

Glassnote, founded by Daniel Glass in 2007, has struck a global distribution agreement with Universal for its music, starting March 1. The deal is a blow to Sony Music Entertainment, which had handled Glassnote through its Red distribution unit. CONTINUE READING

From NPR:

Last year, American Idol winner Phillip Phillips released the song “Gone, Gone, Gone” from his debut album The World from the Side of the Moon. The song went to #1 on the Adult Alternative and Adult Contemporary charts and peaked at #24 on Billboard‘s pop song chart, the Hot 100. For Gregg Wattenberg, one of three credited co-writers of “Gone, Gone, Gone,” the song’s chart performance was of particular interest because it translated indirectly into cash.

“U.S.-only hit songs — when I say ‘hit’ I mean like top five, not like No. 20 — can generate anywhere from one to two million dollars in ASCAP monies,” Wattenberg says. CONTINUE READING

For instance, Pharrell Williams single Happy had 36,159 paid downloads on iTunes within the last 24 hours. Katy Perry’s single Dark Horse had 29,265 paid downloads.