Meta Enlists K-Pop Artists for Metaverse Concerts; Spotify Finally Brings Video Podcasts, Music Videos to Apple TV App
2255 | Your Daily Dose of Music Streaming News
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The past year has seen music industry discourse around generative AI shift from disruption to strategy. Yet the strategies being employed vary widely, and there is no one “industry perspective” on how to approach it.
Meta enlists K-Pop artists for a series of metaverse concerts
With Fortnite and Roblox hoovering up most of music’s metaverse activations, how can Meta seize back some of the spotlight? Bring in the K-Pop stans!
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Spotify finally brings video podcasts and music videos to its Apple TV app
Spotify has announced a redesigned version of its Apple TV app that the company says has been “rebuilt from the ground up for a faster, smarter, more visual experience.” The tvOS version of the Spotify app is also gaining several welcome features from the mobile version, but the biggest updates include the addition of video podcasts and music videos.
D’Angelo’s Music Streams Skyrocket 796% Following His Passing
D’Angelo’s music streams and digital sales have soared after his passing, highlighting his lasting influence on the neosoul movement.
Inside The Art Of Commercial Break Music For FOX’s Broadcast Of The World Series
How music is selected to go with graphics or to a commercial break as part of FOX Sports’ broadcast of the World Series is one part art, one part personal preference, and one part planned. Here’s how it all comes together.
Un:hurd Music completes strategic funding round with investors Willard Ahdritz, Hazel Savage & more
They are joined by new investors, including Mindset Ventures Music Tech, who are backing data-driven platform’s vision to reshape the future of music promotion.
Spotify hits back at MLC in latest filing in their legal battle
In January, Spotify won a ruling to dismiss the lawsuit filed against it in the US by the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) over its ‘bundle’ royalties. However, the MLC won the right to amend and refile its complaint, which it did earlier this month. Now Spotify has filed its response to that complaint.
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Idris Elba extends exclusive, global publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group
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Excellent curation here - the juxtaposition of the Spotify/MLC legal battle with the Apple TV redesign tells an interesting story about platform priorities. Spotify's pushback on the MLC's 'bundle' royalties complaint reveals how critical these structural economics are to their business model, even as they're investing heavily in video features (podcasts and music videos on tvOS).
The Apple TV rebuild being described as 'from the ground up for a faster, smarter, more visual experience' suggests Spotify is finally treating TV interfaces as first-class citizens rather than afterthoughts. This aligns with the broader industry shift toward video content - though ironically, the MLC battle is about audio royalties.
Also fascinatng to see Meta trying to reclaim metaverse music territory through K-Pop partnerships. Fortnite and Roblox have effectively monopolized virtual concert mindshare (Travis Scott, Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X), so targeting K-Pop's highly organized fandom infrastructure is a smart wedge strategy. K-Pop stans have proven they can coordinate cross-platform campaigns at scale - exactly the kind of community engagement metaverse platforms need.
The D'Angelo streaming spike (796%!) is bittersweet but demonstrates how legacy catalogs can experience sudden relevance surges. These spikes matter increasingly for rightsholders as catalog values remain volatile.