IMS Industry Insider

Pete Tong's Essential New Tune

Mind F**k

BluePrint

Club Bad

out now

Comment
"This week's ENT is going to Merseyside to a young man inspired at an early age by the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Underworld and Rex The Dog. Now at the still youthful age of 24, he's refining his craft and rapidly establishing himself as both a skilled producer and DJ. He's already played on the mighty Steelyard stage at Creamfields, and now he's produced an uninhibited, gloves off club banger, which was one of the biggest tunes at that huge Fisher and Chris Lake gig on Hollywood Boulevard. His star is definitely in the ascendant. This is Mind F**k from Blueprint."
This week's featured Essential New Tune was featured in last week’s Friday show on BBC Radio 1. Listen again and forward to 36.21 here.

Contact
Label: Graham Sahara, Club Bad
Management & Live: Aaron & Kieran, Crisp Music
Publishing: Copyright Control
Radio, Club & Online: Graham Sahara

31 Oct 2023

Business

Bristol-based digital music distributor 3tone is said to owe numerous artists and managers tens of thousands of pounds in unpaid royalties and has racked up a string of unsettled employment tribunal judgements for unlawful deduction of wages from employees. (CMU)
At an extraordinary general meeting, 83.2% of shareholders voted against Hipgnosis Songs Fund securing another five-year mandate to run as an investment trust. (Guardian) At the earlier agm, investors also voted against a deal to sell a $440m music rights portfolio.
Believe benefitted from “healthy” paid streaming growth as its third-quarter revenue grew 9.1% to €215m. (Billboard)
Spotify announced its first profitable quarter in more than a year. Q3 revenues rose 11% to $3.6bn, and operating income of around $34m. The company also added 23m monthly active users, rising to 574m year-on-year, with paid subscribers rising by 6m, or 16%. Ad-supported revenue was up 16% to $475m. (MusicAlly)
Universal Music Group posted its financials for Q3 2023, delivering €2.75bn in overall constant currency revenue. The recorded side accounted for €2.04bn, reflecting a 1.1% YoY decline, but up 5.2% in constant currency. Recorded Music subscription revenue was up 13% to €1.41bn. Adjusted EBITDA of €581m increased 5.1% year-over-year, or 11.3% in constant currency. Physical sales were up 20% to €294m. Music Publishing revenue amounted to €491m, up 17.5% YoY, or 24.6% in constant currency. Merchandising and other revenue was €227m, an increase of 20.1% YoY, or 27.5% in constant currency. (Hits)
Influential independent online radio outlet NTS Radio had been seeking funding, and now Universal Music Group holds an “approximate total investment of £5 million for a 25% stake”. (FirstFloor)

News and Features

Nearly 300 electronic musicians and collectives have signed the Ravers for Palestine open letter. (Mixmag)
Existential risk? Regulatory capture? AI for one and all? A look at what’s going on with AI in the UK. (TechCrunch)
35 independent nightlife businesses in the UK are vanishing each week, according to figures from CGA NeilsonIQ, released by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA). (Mixmag)
Deezer and Sacem announced a collaboration to explore the artist centric monetisation model for publishing rights in music streaming, to find new ways of rewarding the value songwriters and publishers create. (RotD)
CISAC's 2023 Global Collections Report show global royalty collections for creators reached a historical high point of €12.1bn in 2022, growing by a record 26.7% in a full recovery from the pandemic. (RotD) Collections are now 19.8% higher than their pre-pandemic level, driven by continued strong growth in digital income and a recovery in live and public performance.
Mixmag celebrates its 40th anniversary with an exhibition showcasing the entire history of the dance music magazine's front covers. (RotD)

Digital

Deezer reported an increase of 500,000 subscribers in Q3, despite aggressive price hikes in key markets. (MusicAlly)
Boomy and Beatdapp partnership aims to tackle streaming fraud. (MusicAlly)
Kord, the subscription-based streaming service to offer music superfans access to stems, has launched its 100th track to work on, and a new sub-label, Surrender To Experiential Music, aka STEM. (Kord)
Spotify is planning to implement a new royalty model that would require songs to reach a minimum number of streams before triggering a payout. (MBW)

Live

Kevin Saunderson, Loco Dice and more are confirmed for SXM Festival. (Billboard)
Avalon Emerson, Or:la, Danielle and more have been announced for Love International 2024. (RA)
Calvin Harris, Peggy Gou, Eric Prdyz, Amelie Lens and David Guetta are among the names announced for Ultra Festival 2024. (Billboard)
Snowbombing adds Barry Can’t Swim, Bashkka, Horse Meat Disco and more to 2024 line-up. (DJMag)
Tomorrowland has signed a 66-year deal to remain at its current site in Boom’s De Schorre Park. (DJMag)
Dekmantel Selectors has announced the line-up for the 2024 festival in Croatia. (RA)

Comment, Opinion and Analysis

12 predictions on the future of song investing. (TedGioio)
50 years of music industry revenues by format, adjusted for inflation, using data from the RIAA. (VisualCapitalist)
Spotify’s price hike didn’t hurt subscriptions, and three other things we learned on its latest earnings call. (MBW)
Music Ally’s Sandbox Summit:
D2C and music (MusicAlly)
Building fan communities around artists (MusicAlly)

Tech

London nightclub E1 has intalled Pioneer's Track ID technology to help boost artist earnings. (DJMag)
FL Studio 21.2 with stem separation and AI mastering is now available. (DJMag)

Beatport

Rodriguez Jr. announces “Synthwave Remix Challenge” winners (Beatportal)
Playlist of the Week: Toya Delazy (Beatportal)
Cover Story: Turning Up with TSHA (Beatportal)
Get ready for a musical Halloween treat as Loopmasters and Loopcloud present the Trick or Beat Halloween Hunt! (Loopcloud)
Your guide to Beatport Streaming in the CDJ-3000s (Beatport)

Deals

Music engine and delivery platform Reactional Music has signed a deal with Defected Records to bring its dance music into games. (RotD)

Streams & Podcasts

RA Live: DJ Holographic @ Brunch Electronik 2023 (RA)
RA.908 Facta & K-LONE (RA)
Boko! Boko! in The Lab LDN (Mixmag)
Sllash & Doppe in The Lab Bucharest (Mixmag)
Kemarr | Boiler Room London: Lighter (BoilerRoom)

Artist and Music Features

Inside Mixmag's 40th anniversary photo exhibition at ADE with A|X ARMANI EXCHANGE. (Mixmag)
Get To Know: Dana Lu (DJMag)
Fresh Kicks 204: Fafi Abdel Nour (DJMag)
Is the healing power of Electronic music real? (ElectronicGroove)
30 Years of House of God (RA)
Getting your music signed can help your career in music take off. We've shared some tips in the guide below, alongside info on how the Amex Gold Unsigned initiative could be your big break. (Mixmag)
Bandcamp is beloved and unique. I shudder at its corporate takeover. (Guardian)
How CRSSD Festival is using synths to transform electronic music fans into producers. (MusicTech)
Awakenings: how the Dutch techno institution stays on top of the game. (DJMag)
Lukid: “Dance music can be a bit snobbish about melody - but for me, the marriage of rhythmic and melodic elements is where the magic happens” (MusicRadar)
Carlita: sweet symphony (DJMag)
Upon the release of highly anticipated debut album ‘When Will We Land?’, Barry Can't Swim speaks about his fast-rising popularity and accepting his emotions. (Mixmag)
Trance music is coming back. Evian Christ is part of the revival. (NewYorkTimes)
X-Press 2 talk about their interests outside of music. (Attack)
'Sensorium Galaxy': EDM icon Carl Cox on his upcoming debut DJ set in the metaverse. (Euronews)
CamelPhat: "We want a legacy, something to show our kids we weren't just 'DJs'" (Mixmag)
'He pushed me to listen to my heart': Remembering Jamie Tiller (RA)
Women, life, freedom! Iranian electronic musicians reflect on a year of protest. (Guardian)
Sync in 2023: Opportunities, challenges, uncertainties and revisions. (SynchTank)
Emerging markets, revenue streams, Track IDs and Beyoncé: 10 takeaways from ADE 2023 (Billboard)

Artist News

Chase & Status have been confirmed as the headliners of a secret party to launch the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. (EDM)
Fred again.. launches historic 8-show residency at The Shrine in Los Angeles. (Billboard)
UK DJ and producer Richard Norris has written a memoir. (RA)
Richie Hawtin is reissuing 'Sheet One', an album he released under his Plastikman moniker, to mark its 30th anniversary. (Quietus)
Massive Attack announced the death of the guitarist Angelo Bruschini. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer. (Guardian)
Goa Gil, the DJ, musician and pioneer of the psytrance movement, has died following a battle with cancer. (DJMag)

Recent newsletters

23 Apr 2024

16 Apr 2024

09 Apr 2024

02 Apr 2024

26 Mar 2024

19 Mar 2024

About IMS

About Beatport

About AFEM

About ROTD