Music Biz Divided on Royalties; SoundCloud Expands Premier Platform; DJs in the Era of Digital…

As Spotify Prepares to Go Public, Music Industry Divided on Royalties — www.rollingstone.com As Spotify prepares to go public, music…

As Spotify Prepares to Go Public, Music Industry Divided on Royalties — www.rollingstone.com 
 As Spotify prepares to go public, music industry sources and musicians are divided on how helpful the service is to artists.

SoundCloud Expands Premier Creator Offerings With New Marketing & Promotional Opportunities — www.billboard.com 
 SoundCloud announced Thursday an expansion of its invite-only Premier monetization and development platform for creators that includes expanded editorial, marketing and promotional opportunities.

Spotify is testing playlists that are auto-mixed — even when on shuffle — musically.com 
 Here’s something to try on Spotify, if you have a few minutes. Using its desktop client, turn off the ‘crossfade’ feature in advanced settings.

DJs in the Era of Digital Distribution: A Conversation with Beatport’s Terry Weerasinghe — blog.landr.com 
 Terry Weerasinghe discusses how Beatport fits in the current music distribution landscape and dance music in the age of streaming.

iHeartMedia, On the Verge of Bankruptcy Filing, Receives Last-Minute Extension — www.billboard.com 
 The months-long death watch concerning whether iHeartMedia files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection has received another stay of execution.

iTunes LP Demise Doesn’t Mean Apple is Done Selling Music — www.macobserver.com 
 Apple is reportedly discontinuing iTunes LP, but that doesn’t mean digital song and album purchases are going away.

Kobalt Boosts Its AWAL Label With $150M Investment, Seeks 100 New Hires — www.billboard.com 
 Kobalt announced on Thursday its AWAL distribution and label services company will invest $150 million into building artists’ careers, make 100 new hires to its staff and unveil a new line of technology products at this year’s South by Southwest.

Sounds Like Facebook Wants to Control Your Music Listening, Too — www.spin.com

Facebook has struggled a bit recently in its quest to become a global panopticon: declining popularity among young people, widespread criticism of its role.

Spotify says Sean Parker launched Lorde’s career by putting her on playlist — www.businessinsider.com 
 Spotify filed to go public on Wednesday and used the opportunity to take credit for launching pop star Lorde’s career. And Sean Parker was involved.

Huawei Seeks Patent for Blockchain Rights Management — www.coindesk.com

Chinese telecoms giant and smartphone maker Huawei may be seeking to use blockchain tech to protect digital property rights.

LiveXLive Inks Exclusive Live Streaming Pact with Insomniac Events, Deal Includes Immersive Reality — www.thevideoink.com

Insomniac, the producer behind some of the most popular raves and music festivals in the world, wants to bring the party to every screen and on every format.

Behind Deezer’s plan to capture Asia Pacific’s ‘healthy competitive market’ for music streaming — www.thedrum.com 
 Deezer last week announced an extension of its major deal with Hutchison 3, launching its partnership in Indonesia for the first time.

Spotify’s IPO could be a billion-dollar payday for Sony Music — www.recode.net 
 Now it has to figure out how to divide that money with Beyonce and its other artists.