The First-Ever Digital Single; Spotify’s iMessage App; LiveXLive Acquires Slacker Radio

The History of the Music Industry’s First-Ever Digital Single, 20 Years After Its Release — www.billboard.com 
 In September 1997, Capitol Records made history by releasing Duran Duran’s “Electric Barbarella” on the internet as the first-ever digital single, heralding a massive shift in how the music industry operates.

Spotify iMessage App Allows Users to Share Songs Without Leaving the Conversation — www.billboard.com 
 Spotify’s new iMessage app lets you send and receive songs from friends without closing out of the conversation.

LiveXLive Acquires Slacker Radio — www.digitalmusicnews.com

Slacker Radio’s technology team and platform will provide advantages for the audio and video sides of LiveXLive Media.

Streaming Business May Force Music Companies to Change Sales Job Titles — variety.com 
 In the digital era, some job titles at music companies may need to be rebranded thanks to streaming.

After two years, Spotify has struggled to break through with video — digiday.com 
 With a new head of video, Spotify is trying to determine what its video business will look like. One thing’s for sure: music will be the focus.

From Monkey Business to Machine-Made Music — rightstech.com

Music composed by artificial-intelligence agents is increasingly finding its way into the soundtracks of advertisements, videogames, apps, and other contexts where suitable human-authored works are either not available or too costly.

Tencent’s Cussion Pang On China’s Exploding Streaming Music Market — www.hypebot.com 
 Tencent Music Entertainment CEO Cussion Pang talked up the Chinese music industry during a presentation at the 2017 Music Matters conference.

Denver Public Library’s Volume Connects Patrons to Local Bands — www.westword.com

Taking inspiration from then-emerging streaming sites like Bandcamp and SoundCloud, Joan Hansen led Denver Public Library’s initiative to launch Volume, a platform where local musicians can upload their albums and library patrons can stream or download local music.

The Marxist plot of music streaming — www.creightonian.com 
 I finally did it; I reached Spotify’s downloadable content limit. I have 10,000 songs on my phone.

Tom Petty, Kenny Rogers Slam Spotify’s Proposed $43 Million Settlement — variety.com 
 As Spotify continues to clear the decks for an expected public offering this year or next, it has hit another potential roadblock.