Apple, Spotify Back to SXSW; The Cheapskate’s Guide to Music Streaming; Ed Sheeran!

The Cheapskate’s Guide to Music Streaming — theringer.com 
 You don’t have to fork over $10 for music streaming; there are other ways. Many, many other ways.

Ed Sheeran ‘nearly broke Spotify’ as Divide breaks the record for most streamed album in first week — www.thedrum.com 
 UK artist Ed Sheeran is capitalising upon his popularity through music streaming service Spotify as the company has revealed he has broke the record for ‘best first week of streams for an album’.

Could Sonalytics help Spotify build, not buy SoundCloud? — musically.com 
 We reported yesterday on Spotify’s acquisition of British startup Sonalytics, which we’d tipped as one to watch in our recent startups report.

Copyright, royalties and musical piracy in Mauritius — musicinafrica.net 
 Admittedly a very difficult issue, copyrighting has plagued Mauritian artists for decades. This text discusses recent developments as it concerns Mauritian authorities and the country’s artists.

Netflix rules out music streaming and live sports — www.trustedreviews.com 
 Despite growing competition among streaming services, Netflix confirmed that it has no plans to offer music or live sport any time soon.

The One Thing Missing From The New Sonos Playbase: Better Apple Music Integration — www.forbes.com 
 If Spotify can do it, why not Apple Music?

Apple, Spotify head back to SXSW as subscription wars heat up — www.bnn.ca 
 ​Music and tech fans are making their annual pilgrimage to Austin, Texas, this week for the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival. What began thirty years ago as a showcase for local musicians has morphed into a must attend event for startup entrepreneurs and musical talent alike.

Music publishers worldwide follow mechanical rate proceedings in US — www.completemusicupdate.com 
 America’s Copyright Royalty Board yesterday got around to thinking about what the country’s mechanical royalty rates should be for the next five years. And to confirm that the worldwide music community was watching the process, the International Confederation Of Music Publishers vocalised its support for the US music publishing sector’s bid to get the rates up.

Front Row Seats From Your Couch: How VR Could Change Concerts — www.billboard.com 
 As the virtual ­reality market and the music ­industry increasingly cross paths, an immersive live — music experience no longer requires setting foot in a crowded venue.

iEast Music Streaming Box Smashes Sonos On Price — www.channelnews.com.au 
 Melbourne-based distributor Indi Imports is shaking up the wireless sound game, bringing Chinese company iEast’s Sound Streamer and AM160 to local audiophiles.

NBR Radio partners with Spotify — www.nbr.co.nz 
 You can now stream Andrew Patterson’s Sunday Business podcast in Spotify clients for iPhone and Android.

‘I don’t see a YouTube value gap. Over 45% of our revenue from the platform is from UGC’ — www.musicbusinessworldwide.com

You don’t have to stand around long in this business to hear someone paint YouTube as the devil — a money-grabbing Google cash cow built on the back of content it played no part in developing.

Speak to Believe boss Denis Ladegaillerie, however, and he’ll tell you a very different tale.