The Power of the Playlist; Does the Music Industry Need a Blockchain?

The power of the playlist: how streaming is changing the way we listen to music — www.techradar.com 
 We speak to a music editor at Deezer to see what makes the perfect playlist.

Does the Music Industry Need a Blockchain? — blog.paperchain.io 
 As awareness moves beyond BitCoin and cryptocurrencies to distributed ledgers, blockchain is fast-becoming the dominant (theoretical) solution to challenges facing many industries. No more so than…

Spotify is limiting free streaming for its own good — www.engadget.com 
 It’s no secret that labels and artists aren’t thrilled that their music is available free on ad-supported streaming services. Taylor Swift famously pulled her c…

Big music blames streaming for its ‘woes’ but industry is doing just fine — thehill.com

It’s time to stop catering to the record labels and create a system that is fair to everyone, rather than allowing the labels to continue telling their dirty little lies about the nature of music licensing laws.

The Secret to Free Music Is Internet Radio — fieldguide.gizmodo.com 
 If you want to enter the modern age and listen to all your music online then streaming is the only way to go. While iHeartRadio and Pandora have both become the poor man’s Spotify — demanding costly monthly fees for so so music selection there’s still genuine free music available online.

VP Records joins Apple as music curator — A greater push for local music expected — jamaica-gleaner.com

In a bold step into the streaming world, veteran record label VP Records recently signed on as one of Apple Music’s curators of music and will now possess the ability to promote its own specially curated playlists through Apple.

ASCAP, PRS and SACEM join forces for blockchain copyright system — www.musicbusinessworldwide.com

The triumvirate are jointly building a blockchain-based system which aims to manage the links between music recordings International Standard Recording Codes (ISRCs) and music work International Standard Work Codes (ISWCs).

Alexa helps you shop on iOS but won’t play Spotify — www.cio.com 
 Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa, in its quest for world domination, is now available on iOS devices. But Alexa on iPhones has its limits.

As Music Streaming Booms, Songs Are Getting Faster and Shorter — gadgets.ndtv.com 
 Instrumental openings to songs have shrunk dramatically over the past three decades and, to a lesser extent, the average tempo of hit singles has been speeding up.

Spotify UMG deal returns focus to potential IPO… and artist concerns — musically.com 
 If you saw our story yesterday afternoon, you’ll know that Spotify has signed the first of its new licensing deals with major labels, Universal Music Group.

Harry Styles’ New Single Faces Spotify Outage on First Day — variety.com 
 A “technical issue” on Spotify kept the new single by Harry Styles from being accessed on the network on its first day of release.

Music-streaming Frisbee is perfect gift this summer — www.sundayworld.com 
 A new toy that will be on everyone’s must-have list this summer is the Disc Jock-E.

Jay Z Pulls His Albums From Spotify — www.bloomberg.com 
 Spotify Ltd. said it has pulled most of the catalog of Jay Z from its streaming service at the request of the rapper, who owns rival music service Tidal.

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