Music Biz Features

Of all the music-business trends ushered in by the pandemic year, the ascent of the back catalog may feel the most counterintuitive. Musicians are stuck at home without the ability to perform or tour, and yet the worth of their old music catalogs is sky-high. What gives? Here are the …

Robb McDaniels has a habit of seeing around corners. The Los Angeles-based exec foresaw the independent artist boom long before many of his competitors, when he founded indie distributor Ingrooves — since acquired by Universal Music Group — in 2002. After leaving Ingrooves in 2014, McDaniels foresaw a related trend: …

This spring, Curtis Waters was bored out of his mind in quarantine in North Carolina. So he did what millions of other teens and young adults in America were doing: He went on TikTok. The 20-year-old indie-pop singer and his brother made a goofy dance video to Waters’ vibey tune …

Björn Ulvaeus has written more than 150 hit songs and shows, co-founded one of the most commercially successful acts the music business has ever seen, and been recognized as one of the greatest songwriters in history — but one role the Swedish hitmaker never expected to be in was that …

Most aspiring artists know there’s a one-in-a-million chance of success, but if the newly launched Snafu Records has its way, it’ll be one in 150,000. That’s the lofty number of songs the label sifts through each week to find their new artists. Their talent scouts, though, aren’t doing it alone; …

Brooke Michael Kain spends a lot of time thinking about what annoys people in crowds the most. What do they find frustrating? Ineffective? Ridiculous? She then preaches the same question over and over to her team: How can we take these things away? “Did you stand in line for a …

The streaming service Audiomack announced its first partnership with a major label, Warner Music Group, on Thursday. In an interview, Audiomack co-founders Dave Macli and David Ponte said the partnership reflected shared priorities: Both the streaming service and WMG are interested in identifying talent early and helping it reach a …