Indie Music

The Garden Grove-based independent label is commemorating its three-decade run with a pair of shows at Garden Amp on July 28-29.

Yesterday’s press release from Absolute Label Services had us at “Exciting projects from Kula Shaker, Alice Cooper, Busted…” Hopefully that includes a triple-headliner tour, but as you may have guessed, this isn’t the main news.

The UK-based firm is independent again, after its original leadership team “reacquired” the company from Utopia Music.

This is just 17 months after Utopia bought Absolute as part of a distribution rollup that included physical-focused firms Proper Music Group and Cinram Novum.

In a world where major record labels and commercial success dominate, independent artists and labels often find themselves swimming against the tide. Their journey is filled with challenges, setbacks, and a constant quest for their recognition. However, these resilient individuals and labels persist in the music industry with their unwavering passion, dedication to art, and…

The vinyl boom is not going bust anytime soon. In the first half of 2023, vinyl LP sales were up 21.7% from the same period the year before, a robust vote of confidence for the format that has dominated album sales in recent years. That’s one of the findings in Luminate’s Midyear Music Report, being released by the leading data company today.

The Raine Group, a global strategic advisory and investment firm, has closed its newest fund, Raine Partners IV.

The total size of the fund is over $760 million, bringing The Raine Group’s total Assets Under Management to nearly $4 billion.

Raine Group is an existing investor in music companies such as SoundCloud, C3 Presents, and Amuse. It is also the primary backer behind Firebird Music Holdings.

What’s that you say? A new “AI-powered” distribution/services offering – making big promises to independent labels/artists/entrepreneurs in 2023?

Eyes already rolling upward? Perhaps roll them back into focus, just for a while.

Because in this instance, the home of the offering in question – Tencent-backed Instrumental – has a weightier pedigree in the world of artificial intelligence than most firms you’ll come across in the entertainment biz.

Plus, Instrumental’s new offer is anchored in something rather unusual for indie labels: A guarantee that it can grow their business’s streams by at least 20% within 90 days.

Longtime partners, creative collaborators and Grammy winners Rosanne Cash and producer John Leventhal have formed a new label, RumbleStrip Records.

RumbleStrip will release a slate of special projects, archives and reissues, including the first vinyl pressing of Cash’s album, The Wheel, remastered as an expanded edition to celebrate the project’s 30th anniversary. Recorded in the early ’90s when Cash first moved to New York City, The Wheel was produced by Leventhal—her eventual life partner—and sparked a reinvention of her sound and career. RumbleStrip is also planning to release a series that re-explores Cash’s recently-acquired catalog of masters from 1978-1993.

The AIM Independent Music Awards are set to return to London’s Roundhouse on September 26 this year. 

The ceremony celebrates the achievements of independent artists, labels, entrepreneurs and other rights holders that make up the UK’s diverse independent music sector, which accounts for a third of the UK recorded music market. 

This year, which marks the Awards' thirteenth year, will feature exclusive performance sets, as well as a new list of categories. 

TikTok is killing off its BeReal clone TikTok Now, according to notifications being sent to users. It comes a little over nine months after the feature was officially announced.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced today that the messaging app is adding Stories in early July.

Artist services company AWAL, now a part of Sony Music Group, is expanding into India and South Asia, the company announced Tuesday (June 26).

AWAL – known for its music deals structured to allow artists to retain ownership and control of their music – is making the move following its acquisition of OKListen, a Mumbai-headquartered digital music platform for indie labels and musicians.

As part of the acquisition, OKListen founder and CEO Vijay Basrur has been appointed AWAL’s Head of India and South Asia.

A2IM is thrilled to announce its 2023 Board of Directors, as well as its new Executive Committee and Advisory Board Members!

In a world where major record labels and commercial success dominate, independent artists and labels often find themselves swimming against the tide. Their journey is filled with challenges, setbacks, and a constant quest for their recognition. However, these resilient individuals and labels persist in the music industry with their unwavering passion, dedication to art, and…

In a world where major record labels and commercial success dominate, independent artists and labels often find themselves swimming against the tide. Their journey is filled with challenges, setbacks, and a constant quest for their recognition. 

Jenna LoMonaco is the head of US Marketing at ONErpm where she oversees a staff of over 30 people including Project Managers, DSPs, Advertising, Digital Strategy, Influencer Marketing, Branding, Sync, International Marketing, YouTube Ops, and more. 

The day has finally arrived. Following months of speculation and analysis about TikTok’s plans to launch a standalone music streaming service, today (July 6), ‘TikTok Music‘, a streaming app and serious new Spotify rival, has officially arrived.

According to Ole Obermann, Global Head of Music Business Development at TikTok, the app is “a new kind of service that combines the power of music discovery on TikTok with a best-in-class streaming service”.

Big Machine Music (BMM) has promoted General Manager Mike Molinar to President, effective immediately, as the independent music publisher, a unit of HYBE America, announced the appointment and promotion of other key senior executives.

Molinar has led BMM since its inception in 2011, overseeing the company’s roster and catalog. He helped drive the company’s expansion to the West Coast in Los Angeles.

Molinar’s contributions to the music industry have been recognized through various awards, including being named a Billboard Country Power Player for four consecutive years and his selection for the Nashville Cohort of the Harvard Young American Leaders Program in 2021. 

Longtime partners, creative collaborators and Grammy winners Rosanne Cash and producer John Leventhal have formed a new label, RumbleStrip Records.

RumbleStrip will release a slate of special projects, archives and reissues, including the first vinyl pressing of Cash’s album, The Wheel, remastered as an expanded edition to celebrate the project’s 30th anniversary. Recorded in the early ’90s when Cash first moved to New York City, The Wheel was produced by Leventhal—her eventual life partner—and sparked a reinvention of her sound and career. RumbleStrip is also planning to release a series that re-explores Cash’s recently-acquired catalog of masters from 1978-1993.

The satellite broadcaster will migrate Stitcher users to the SiriusXM app in an attempt to draw more subscribers to the service.

Los Angeles-based pop publisher PULSE Music Group is expanding into the record label space.

PULSE, which already operates a music publishing and artist management arm, is launching a new label called PULSE Records, with Concord.

The new venture will be supported by Concord’s existing label services platform and administrative teams, and will be led by PULSE Music Group principals Scott Cutler and Josh Abraham, along with Ashley Calhoun, President/Head of Creative.

Twitter extends per tweet character limit for Twitter Blue subscribers from 10,000 characters to 25,000 characters.

In the world of digital media, virtually everyone is a creator – a fact that has significant implications for the music industry.

According to the 2023 edition of the YouTube Culture and Trends Report, which the Alphabet-owned video streaming service released to coincide with the opening of the VidCon 2023 conference in Anaheim, Calif., last Wednesday (June 21), fully 82% of the 18-44-year-olds surveyed said they had uploaded video content to some service – be it Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat or YouTube – over the previous 12 months.

What’s more, 40% of the people surveyed described themselves as content creators.