Metallica Builds Setlist with Spotify Data; YouTube Music is About to Get Better

Metallica bases its setlist on what fans listen to on Spotify — qz.com 
 Metallica never plays the same show twice. The American heavy-metal rock band, whose debut album was released 35 years ago this week, caters its live performances to its fans. It looks at what audiences are listening to on Spotify in the city it’s playing in, and changes the setlist to include some of the most…

YouTube Music is about to get a lot better — www.engadget.com

The streaming service will add improvements every two weeks.

Spotify now offers motion comics starring Archie — techcrunch.com

Spotify has been experimenting with incorporating non-musical formats over the last couple of years, including videos and multimedia podcasts. Next up: Motion comics based on new Archie stories.

Illegal downloads fall out of favour — www.bbc.com 
 ‘It is easier to stream music than to pirate it,’ say fans, as the number of illegal downloads falls.

Vivendi looks to cash in on music industry’s rise from the ashes — www.reuters.com 
 French tycoon Vincent Bollore is looking to cash in on the music industry’s revival with plans to sell up to half of Vivendi ‘s iconic Universal Music division — an asset worth up 30 billion euros ($35 billion).

Travis Scott says his Apple Music show .wav radio “is definitely coming back” — www.thefader.com 
 Travis Scott is bringing back his Apple Music radio show .wav radio.

eMusic Building Blockchain Platform — platformandstream.wordpress.com

eMusic has announced a $70M token sale to build a decentralized music distribution and royalty management system.

Troy Carter leaves Spotify — ‘It was the right time to move out’ — musically.com 
 Spotify’s global head of creator services Troy Carter is leaving the company in September, although he will be taking up an advisory role for the music-streaming service after he departs.

Spotify Hopes Programmatic Will ‘Dramatically’ Expand Margins — adexchanger.com

While most of Spotify’s ad-supported revenue comes from direct-sold inventory, its programmatic self-serve platform is growing fast — and now brings in 20% of total ad revenue.

Kesha’s ‘Rainbow’ Documentary Trailer — www.billboard.com 
 Kesha has released the trailer for her Apple Music documentary, Rainbow — The Film, which intends to be an empowering look at her healing process. The doc is due to be released on Aug. 10, which is also the one-year anniversary of her latest album of the same name.

Android’s Clock will wake you up with tunes from Spotify — www.engadget.com

Android users’ morning ritual might get a bit more musical.