Gene Simmons, Not Down with Streaming; Bittunes; Blockchain; NetEase; TuneCore; Deezer’s New App

Gene Simmons: Music Is Commerce Not Charity — loudwire.com 
 Gene Simmons feels the music industry’s shift to streaming services is becoming a huge problem for bands looking to get their careers off the ground.

Barbados launches new music streaming service — www.caribbeanlifenews.com 
 A new music streaming service Selecta Charts will be Barbados’ first to stream music for free.

It’s Time For the Music Business to Start Embracing the Blockchain — www.billboard.com 
 “Let’s not be blockheads,” writes LaPolt Law, P.C. owner and creators’ rights advocate Dina LaPolt. “We need to hop on the blockchain.”

Why we started Bittunes. — medium.com 
 It had nothing to do with money (for us), but everything to do with monetization. Something terrible had happened to music, and needed to be fixed. In this piece, we explain the nature of the problem…

Streaming Didn’t Kill the Music Industry. Major Labels Did. — www.indyweek.com 
 Musicians struggle to make money through streaming, but the same platforms offer other opportunities for artists to build their careers.

Why Deezer’s killer app is making music more intimate than ever — www.campaignlive.co.uk 
 Flow, the feature that streaming service Deezer has put at the centre of its latest ad campaign, is not just an instant playlist — it is more like a window to the user’s soul, says the brand’s top marketer.

Now Pandora is reportedly seeking better deal terms from labels — musically.com 
 The exact details may not (yet) be public, but Spotify’s recent licensing deal with Universal Music Group is widely expected to include a lower royalty rate

NetEase Cloud Music becomes unicorn after $108M series A — technode.com 
 NetEase Cloud Music Lands $108M A round upon 300M users milestone

TuneCore’s New Service Empowers Independent Artists — platformandstream.com 
 TuneCore today announced the launch of TuneCore Direct Advance.

Could Apple’s Latest Figurative Trademark Filing Relate to their New Apple Music TV Streaming Service? — www.patentlyapple.com 
 Today Patently Apple discovered a new figurative trademark that Apple filed in China relating to a new streaming audio and video service.

Three students create app for music listeners — wkuherald.com 
 When Pandora listeners tell the app they want to listen to rock music, they may get anything from Nickelback to Elvis Presley’s Christmas album. Three WKU students weren’t satisfied with

The Power Struggle of Music Versus the Machine — www.hypebot.com

The digital age has created previously unimagined opportunities for musicians, and changed music creation, distribution and discovery forever.

Here’s One Less Reason to Pay for Apple Music — www.barrons.com 
 Spotify is finally going to come out with an app for the Apple Watch. Get ready for phone-free streaming.

How to Make the Most of Google Play Music’s Free Tier — m.gadgets.ndtv.com 
 If you’re not convinced that Google’s music streaming service is worth the price of a cup of coffee, then here’s everything you can do for free.