Billboard has now removed CDs (and other physical sales) from its Market Watch breakdown, which compiles Luminate data. Photo Credit: Mick Haupt

The latest installment of Billboard’s weekly “Market Watch” sales breakdown is here – minus figures pertaining to CDs and all other physical formats, which have been removed from the commercial snapshot.

As many already know, that U.S.-focused commercial snapshot consists of data provided by Luminate, which elicited strong indie-retail pushback after retooling its sales-calculation methodology at the top of 2024.

Followed by additional pivots in the wake of further opposition, this recalibration (at least according to critics) effectively excluded a number of record stores’ sales from the appropriate calculations – and spurred the creation of a rival indie-sales chart.

While substantial, that controversy was in retrospect only the tip of the iceberg. Previously, we explored in detail an apparent discrepancy between Luminate’s view of the Market Watch data and the way the relevant stats had been laid out by Billboard.

In a nutshell, the latter was pointing to a massive year-over-year decline in stateside vinyl sales – a stark contrast to, among other things, RIAA data and the wider resurgence often attributed to the format.

After DMN Pro tracked an ugly disagreement between higher-ups at the companies (which share a corporate parent), Billboard booted vinyl figures, presumably temporarily, from Market Watch altogether.

And last week, we noted that the “weekly national music consumption report” showed a 19.1% YoY decline for CD sales, once again contrasting stats from the RIAA and others.

Now, the curious episode has taken yet another strange turn: As initially highlighted – and as things stand – CDs and physical music sales generally are no longer part of Market Watch.

As a matter of fact, the entire “Album Consumption Units by Format” section, previously featuring CD, vinyl, track-equivalent, audio-on-demand-equivalent, digital, and “other” data, is absent from Market Watch for the week of October 24th.

Predictably, when they were live, all those categories save audio-on-demand equivalent displayed material YTD sales declines from 2023, a Wayback Machine screengrab indicates. Similarly, Billboard’s “Album Sale by Age” analysis of Luminate data, likewise absent from Market Watch at present, suggested sizable sales falloffs for both current and catalog releases.

It’s unclear exactly how the increasingly involved episode plays out from here – but given Luminate’s reach in the sales-data space, a statement (and an eventual formal update to Market Watch) would probably be a good place to start.

Due in part to the benefit of hindsight, we can see that it definitely wasn’t a great idea to spring for year-over-year sales comparisons amid Luminate’s above-mentioned methodology changes.

Even in the current Market Watch installment, Billboard maintains that “the new modeled methodology more accurately represents the independent retail market” – simultaneously emphasizing that “there is not available comparable historical data to provide an accurate year-over-year trend regarding physical sales, including vinyl.”

When it comes to Luminate data, then, that leaves a couple main possibilities, and neither is exactly encouraging for the figures in question. Most conspicuously, the adjusted approach to measuring sales might actually be more accurate – which, in keeping with the aforesaid YoY falloffs formerly displayed on Market Watch, would mean historical stats could have been inflated.

Furthermore, beneath this top-level consideration, Luminate may be registering, to some extent, a genuine sales slip.

Which country is witnessing a CD-powered surge in album sales? Read on… (Photo Credit: DMN Pro)

Before streaming, downloads, UGC monetization, and virtual concerts, the CD reigned supreme and powered the recording industry’s most lucrative era. But after flatlining into obscurity, is the CD format quietly staging a comeback?

In this DMN Pro Weekly report, we take a look at some strange new data surrounding this decades-old format. That includes canvasses across multiple markets and datasets for signs of CD-selling life, and a deeper examination of why so many artists — from Taylor Swift to The Weeknd to New Jeans —  are now pressing their albums on digital disc.

Enjoy.

Table of Contents

I. The CD: A Format That Refuses to Ride Into the Sunset

II. Artists Seem to Like CDs – And Why Not?

III. A Look at the Numbers: What Are They Saying About CD Sales?

A. US: The Luminate YoY Crash – And the Stark Contrast With RIAA Figures

B. UK: Sorry, No Booming Comeback Here

C. But Wait: Why Are Global CD Sales Ticking Upward?

IV. The Situation In Japan & South Korea

V. So, Are CDs Coming Back?

Please note: the following report is for DMN Pro subscribers only. Thank you!

At least according to Billboard’s breakdown of Luminate data, U.S. CD sales have declined substantially to this point in 2024. Photo Credit: Mick Haupt

It’s a tale of two CD sales stats: Luminate is pointing to a 19.1% year-over-year falloff in the format’s stateside units moved – a stark contrast to the 3.3% YoY units-sold growth attached to the same category for H1 2024 by the RIAA.

The data discrepancy has entered the media spotlight on the heels of Billboard’s removal of Luminate-powered vinyl sales figures. And that step arrived against the backdrop of a DMN Pro investigation into vinyl’s 33.3% year-over-year commercial slip in the States as (previously) displayed on Billboard.

Our latest weekly report explores the apparent controversy (complete with disagreements between Billboard and Luminate notwithstanding their shared corporate ownership) surrounding the figure. Meanwhile, the episode is casting doubt upon U.S. sales figures and the precise status of the “vinyl comeback” that’s so often touted.

Now, with the vinyl debate far from settled, additional questions are being raised on the CD side – in part because of Billboard’s present breakdown of the format’s U.S. sales.

According to the appropriate Luminate-based resource’s “Album Consumption Units By Format” section, CD sales in the category have numbered 22.2 million during 2024, down 19.1% year over year from 2023’s 27.4 million.

And while overall album sales (including standalone digital products as well as album- and track-equivalent units) have suffered an even more pronounced YTD falloff, per the resource, the physical dip is especially significant.

This is largely due to how it differs from the RIAA’s initially mentioned H1 2024 data. According to the latter half-year summary, which calculates physical sales’ worth at estimated retail value, 16.8 million CDs were sold in the States between January and June of 2024. That’s up 3.3% YoY from 16.2 million, with a smaller 0.3% bump on the value front ($236 million to $236.7 million).

Of course, those improvements, though modest, are a lot more positive than the nearly 20% YoY sales decrease identified by Billboard’s analysis of Luminate data.

What, then, are the reasons for the discrepancy? There are several components to the multifaceted question’s answer, but at the top level, Luminate’s much-publicized methodology changes should be reiterated.

To the dismay of the indie retail community, those changes went into effect at the top of 2024 and, in practice, allegedly booted a substantial portion of locally owned record stores’ sales data from calculations.

The revamped tracking system was altered in late April – a point also covered in DMN Pro’s deep dive into the subject – and unknowns remain about how exactly the methodology pivots are affecting both data comparisons and Luminate’s actual 2024 figures.

As described by a disclaimer from Billboard, Luminate’s methodology maneuvering “more accurately represents the independent retail market,” but nevertheless means there’s “not available comparable historical data to provide an accurate year-over-year trend regarding physical sales, including vinyl.”

Following that idea to its logical conclusion, at least through the current year’s end, it’d seemingly be advisable to continue reporting and collecting sales data without attempting to illustrate YoY trends. Furthermore, other pertinent questions remain: What’s happening to the physical sales that are seemingly failing to register or, alternatively, what do the smaller-but-more-accurate figures mean for historical data?

Consequently, it’ll be interesting to see whether the relevant stats join their vinyl counterparts in being removed, perhaps temporarily, from Billboard’s “Market Watch” data.

Where’s Vinyl? Billboard Removes the Format From Its Site (Photo Credit: DMN Screengrab)

What are vinyl record sales like in the US? Don’t ask Billboard, which has now scrubbed its site of vinyl sales figures after reporting an extreme 33.3% year-over-year sales decline.

That shocking decline raised serious questions about the ‘vinyl comeback’ and resulted in an investigatory report by DMN Pro. Unfortunately, the takeaways from that report were hardly upbeat, with Luminate, Billboard, the Vinyl Alliance, and other organizations differing wildly over how many vinyl records are selling in 2024.

Has the Vinyl Comeback Been Greatly Exaggerated? A Closer Look at Some Confusing New Data

After DMN reported the 33.3% decline that appeared on Billboard’s site, angry emails and demands for corrections came next. The Vinyl Alliance called for an immediate correction, while Luminate blasted Billboard’s tallies —  which are ironically based on Luminate data — as ‘inaccurate’ and ‘unauthorized.’

If that isn’t confusing enough, read on.

Strangely, despite the demands by Luminate for corrections on Digital Music News, Billboard wasn’t updating their figures. A few days after DMN’s first report on the extreme decline, Billboard’s ‘Market Watch’ tally of format sales transitioned to a 32.6% year-over-year decline with a new disclaimer. Now, the vinyl sales figures have been removed entirely.

Exactly why Billboard has scrubbed its site of vinyl sales remains unclear, and owner Penske Media Corporation (PMC) declined to issue a statement on the matter.

Lying at the heart of this mess is a significant transition in how Luminate counts vinyl sales. Leading into 2024, Luminate’s updated methodology prompted howls of protests from independent record stores and vinyl groups. The result: indie retailers, led by the Vinyl Record Manufacturing Association (VRMA), branched off and launched their own vinyl chart, with Luminate sticking to their drastically reduced year-over-year figures.

Luminate told DMN that year-over-year comparisons were impossible given the methodological changes created at the beginning of 2024. These are two different counting methods, according to Luminate, though the revised methodology clearly resulted in dramatically lower figures.

Billboard’s ‘Market Watch’ page for ‘Album Consumption Units by Format’ on October 15th, 2024.

But year-over-year comparisons aside, why are the 2024 figures so much lower? Regarding the drastic change, Billboard issued this disclaimer on its site:

“NOTE: As previously reported, Luminate changed the methodology behind its independent retail sales reporting beginning Week 1 of 2024. While the new modeled methodology more accurately represents the independent retail market, there is not available comparable historical data to provide an accurate year-over-year trend regarding physical sales, including vinyl, and therefore any YoY changes reflected here are not a clean comparison and should not be taken as such.”

It should be noted that sales figures from the RIAA, BPI, and IFPI all show continued year-over-year gains in 2024 vinyl shipments.

Those are documented in detail in DMN Pro’s investigatory report on the matter. Indeed, 2024 has witnessed a crush of vinyl releases from Taylor Swift, all variations of The Tortured Poets Department. That seemed like a dousing of lighter fluid on the vinyl bonfire, though it’s unclear how those releases registered on Luminate’s redialed radar.

So what happens next?

At one point, Luminate reversed course and stated that vinyl sales were actually up 6% on the year. A few days later, however, it slipped that this sudden increase was only generated after indie record store tallies were completely removed from the mix. And Billboard never changed its figures to reflect the increase (even though Luminate demanded that DMN change theirs).

Enter Penske Media Corporation, which counts both Billboard and Luminate as properties. It now appears that Billboard and its sibling Luminate are huddling on the next steps, perhaps figuring out which revised dataset to present to the world.

Will a dramatic ‘reversal of a reversal’ result?

Billboard now has a choice: switch to Luminate’s revised single-digit year-over-year gains, or stay consistent with its monstrous year-over-year declines. Or, something in-between.

Either way, more vinyl-counting fireworks are almost certainly ahead. Stay tuned.

Photo Credit: Patrick Perkins

Yesterday, Digital Music News reported on a severe year-over-year drop in US-based vinyl sales, based on data provided to Billboard by Luminate. Now, Luminate has clarified that sales have not dropped 33.3%, but are actually up 6.2%. So what the heck is going on here?

For nearly two decades, the music industry has been witnessing a steady comeback in vinyl record sales. But is that Cinderella story ending? Now, a confusing and conflicting slate of new data from Luminate, a leading music industry data company that powers Billboard’s charts, is throwing matters into doubt.

The fracas started with a weekly Billboard national music consumption report, which pointed to a 33.3% year-over-year drop in US-based vinyl sales, citing data provided by Luminate (formerly known as ‘MRC Data’ and the acquirer of Nielsen Music). The reason for the plunge, according to information shared with DMN by the Vinyl Alliance, is that Luminate has changed how it reports data on physical media sales this year by stripping out indie retailers and dramatically decreasing their resulting sales estimates.

According to the Alliance, the decision to exclude physical indie record retailers makes accurate year-over-year sales comparisons impossible because of the changed models.

The move apparently excludes more than 1,500 independent record stores in the United States, though it appears that Luminate’s estimates are no longer forming an accurate picture of total US-based physical sales.

Luminate isn’t sharing methodology details with DMN, though according to Alliance stats, Luminate tracked 47.3% fewer vinyl sales in January and February 2024 than the same months in 2023. That trend seems to have continued as the year has progressed, with Luminate receiving less actual data from independent retailers protesting the changes.

Here’s where this gets even more confusing: Luminate warned last year that its change in methodology would result in 2024’s vinyl sales numbers appearing to be significantly lower. Independent retailers have also been protesting Luminate’s data collection change, and some are no longer supplying any sales data to Luminate.

Yet despite those warnings, Luminate suddenly reversed its position this morning. Out of the blue, the company told DMN that YTD vinyl sales are actually up more than 6% on the year, though it’s not clear why they’re making the sudden and extreme change.

Are indie retailers back in the mix, or did Luminate mess up their broader sales estimates?

Already, there’s a big rift emerging. The Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS), the Record Store Day board, and the Music Business Association have all launched an alternative chart to measure physical and vinyl sales. But Luminate now seems to be toggling between two different sales totals, with the vinyl ‘comeback’ suddenly in doubt.

Luminate previously extrapolated indie retailers’ physical album sales using a methodology that weighted actual sales by a smaller sample of independent stores. Billboard estimates suggest the previous methodology used weighted sales from around 70 accounts totaling 140 storefronts to represent the 1,500 to 2,000 independent retailers operating in the United States.

In January, Luminate began basing indie physical sales solely on actual retailer sales reports. But it appears that Luminate is no longer getting the big picture from these retailers due to the protest. The company is only receiving reports from around 33 accounts with 70 storefronts, according to Billboard estimates.

But there’s more than potentially bad accounting. “Luminate is penalizing serious, career-building, album-oriented artists on the charts,” Matador Records President Patrick Amory told Billboard earlier this year. “Their sales are not being counted. Their market share is being allotted to the majors. That is a disaster for independent musicians, labels, and retailers.”

The Vinyl Alliance was quick to correct what it calls ‘misinformation’ surrounding the drop in sales. “US vinyl sales through the first three quarters of 2024 are actually up 6.2%—as reported by Luminate’s readjusted model which accounts for the previously mentioned changes,” the Vinyl Alliance says.

Coalition of Independent Music Stores President & Record Store Day Co-Founder Andrea Paschal says retailers tried to work this out with Luminate before the methodology change, but were “ignored and left in the dark, often finding out by word of mouth after the fact about major decisions that affected our stores.”

Pascal says Luminate has made “decisions that continued to erode and marginalize the efforts and sales taking place in indie stores while also misrepresenting the contributions of these unique retailers to the overall tally of physical goods sold and to the music industry as a whole, because their reporting is based on what you would call a mere data-sample representation of existing independent record stores.”

Meanwhile, DMN is catching wind of a potential conflict between longtime partners Luminate and Billboard.

At press time, Billboard hasn’t adjusted their figures to reflect the 6.2% year-over-year readjustment. Instead, they’ve modified their original year-over-year decline to —32.6%. Both companies are owned by Penske Media Corporation.

Luminate data as recently presented by Billboard.

After more than a decade of rising sales for the vinyl format, sales have fallen off a cliff this year with an estimated plummet of more than 30% year-over-year. What’s going on?

Update, Oct 16th AM: Luminate has confirmed to DMN that their earlier data was completely wrong. Vinyl Alliance GM Ryan Mitrovich first alerted DMN to the problem via email, though it’s currently unclear why Luminate’s data is being readjusted so dramatically. So far, Luminate has not offered any explanation for the change.

Luminate data reveals a 33.3% drop in vinyl sales for the year 2024 compared to 2023. That’s a drop from 34.9 million units in 2023 to just 23.3 million sold in 2024. Luminate data for other formats reveal this isn’t a vinyl-only problem, either. CD sales have fallen 19.5%, while sales of digital albums have dropped 8.3%. Album sales across all formats have dropped 23.8% year-over-year—dropping from 75.5M sold in 2023 to just 57.5M sold in 2024.

While the decline across physical media could be attributed to lack of consumer demand amid wallet tightening, the drop for vinyl is precipitous. While there’s some speculation here on what’s causing the drop, one answer could be higher vinyl prices as the format gained steam among collectors. Cost of living across the United States has soared in recent years, which could make spending $40 to $50 per record an untenable purchase for some consumers. That’s especially true when the same album can be streamed online for the price of a monthly Spotify or Apple Music subscription.

Digital Music News has covered the expansion of vinyl production in recent years, but bottlenecks in the creation process lead to higher prices for consumers. Supply chain issues exacerbated by the pandemic have led to higher manufacturing costs for vinyl producers—which means there’s not a lot of give in the end price consumers pay for a vinyl record. The rising cost of raw materials like PVC is also a contributing factor, with higher production costs passed on to consumers.

The vinyl format benefited from the cultural trend of nostalgia for older formats, with many music lovers seeking out records as the ‘authentic’ listening experience. But the trend of buying vinyls of albums may be starting a downward spiral as casual listeners opt for streaming and music collectors become more selective about the albums they’re purchasing each year as costs rise.

Vinyl fatigue may also be a factor for some consumers. For example, Taylor Swift has released 34 variants of The Tortured Poets Department, each with exclusive tracks, album art, or acoustic versions of songs. The intent there is to get superfans to collect all of these vinyl releases to complete their collection—but fans may be getting burned out on re-purchasing a vinyl album at $50 a pop for a single bonus track. Despite the plummeting vinyl sales across the board, Taylor Swift did come out on top in Luminate’s mid-year report.

The Tortured Poets Department sold 2.474 million copies throughout the first half of 2024. Meanwhile, Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft took second place with around 306,000 copies sold and Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter takes third with 257,000 sales. Luminate data says the trend of physical album variants really kicked off about four years ago—we may be seeing the beginnings of consumer fatigue to these variations. Billie Eilish has notably spoken out against the practice, calling it ‘wasteful’ in an interview with Billboard earlier this year.

Children’s audio platform Yoto has announced $15 million in additional funding and disclosed plans to spearhead an aggressive global buildout. Photo Credit: Yoto

Just months after revealing a $22 million injection, children’s audio platform Yoto has scored “a $15 million funding package” from HSBC UK and set its sights on an aggressive international expansion.

London-headquartered Yoto, now approaching its 10th year as a company, reached out with word of the $15 million raise. Put up specifically by HSBC UK’s Growth Lending Fund, the capital will help the Universal Music– and Warner Music-partnered recipient expand into additional markets, higher-ups signaled.

As things stand, Yoto operates in five countries, having launched in Australia this past July. Now, however, the self-described “screen-free audio player for children” has made clear that it’s “looking to increase its reach organically beyond these existing international markets.”

In terms of anticipated accomplishments, Yoto says the $15 million at hand will lay the groundwork for an almost 100 percent increase in its export volume as well as an adjacent revenue spike. “The business is expecting to double revenues as a result of the funding,” reads the relevant line from Yoto’s official release.

At the intersection of the export and revenue goals, manufacturing of the namesake Yoto Player and the content cards (each featuring an audiobook, a collection of songs, or different audio entertainment) it supports will ramp up as well, the business indicated.

North of 1,200 of these cards are already available for purchase, including greatest-hits volumes from Queen and the Beatles. On the appropriate website, the Queen and Beatles cards are available to purchase for a cool $14.99 apiece, with a 52-minute duration for the former and 29 minutes for the latter.

Elaborating on his company’s objectives for the newly secured funding, Yoto CFO Ben Averis emphasized the above-outlined “ambitions to become truly global.”

“This funding provides a great leverage point to build on our rapid growth. We have ambitions to become truly global – supporting more communities around the world and providing high-quality, child-centric audio content that fosters creativity and independence in young listeners,” communicated Averis.

“We were presented with various funding opportunities and are glad to have chosen to partner with HSBC UK. The bank’s strong trade links will help us scale our manufacturing and deliver even greater value to our customers,” concluded the Pricewaterhouse Coopers vet.

Photo Credit: RIAA

The RIAA has released its mid-year report for 2024, revealing that U.S. recorded music revenues rose 4% to $8.7 billion in estimated retail value. That’s a record sum, according to the major label trade group, though paid subscription accounts improved just 2.7% year-over-year.

Recorded music revenues in the United States have grown for nine straight years, according to Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) stats dating back to 2016. Digital streaming has now entered its third decade in the US, with paid music streaming subscriptions remaining the driving force of the industry.

By the first-half numbers, streaming now delivers more than two thirds of total revenues (84%), averaging 99 million plans over the first half of the year. The RIAA notes that this figure is easily over 100 million individual users as household plans such as Spotify’s family offering count as a single subscription in its data.

Photo Credit: RIAA

These are bullish numbers, and growth is always great. But do they demonstrate the presence of a streaming slowdown?

Picking the data apart, revenues from paid subscription services overall grew 3.8% in the first half of 2024—reaching $5.7 billion and accounting for 78% of streaming revenues. Limited-tier subscriptions actually fell 4% to $503 million and include services such as Amazon Prime, Pandora Plus, and music licenses for streaming fitness services like Peloton.

Zeroing in on one of the most important stats: ‘Paid Subscriptions,’ which refer to typical subscription accounts from the likes of Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and others, bumped a modest 2.7% year-over-year, according to the RIAA figures, suggesting a plateau ahead.

Meanwhile, advertising supported on-demand services like YouTube, Spotify, Facebook, and others have grown at a slower pace than recent years—up only 2% to $899 million. These ad-supported services contributed only 10% of total H1 2024 recorded music revenues.

Photo Credit: RIAA

Digital and customized radio grew 2% to $672 million in 2024 with SoundExchange distributions for revenues from SiriusXM and internet radio stations as well as direct payments from other similar services. SoundExchange distributions grew 4% to $517 million, while other ad-supported streaming revenues of $155 million were down 3%.

Photo Credit: RIAA

Overall revenues continue to stand on a strong and wide foundation that music companies have worked for decades to build. Amazingly, a format that peaked nearly 50 years ago is still intermingling with streaming.

Vinyl records alone grew 17% this period and are on pace to break the billion-dollar barrier by the end of 2024. The RIAA says this report comprises the broadest range of revenue categories ever—from traditional sync deals and ad-supported services to fitness platforms like Peloton—as well as newly emerging short-form video apps.

Revenues from physical music formats continued to outpace all other major forms of recorded music. Total physical revenues of $994 million were up 13% versus the prior year. For the fourth consecutive year, vinyl outsold CDs in units (24M vs. 17M) Revenues from CDs were relatively flat at just $237 million in 2024 so far.

Digital downloads have declined in share for the 14th straight year, accounting for just 2% of U.S. recorded music revenues. (A not-so-fun fact here is that TikTok was paying Universal Music Group less than that sum in total revenues prior to the major label’s catalog  pullout.)

Both digital album sales and individual track sales were down $88 million and $82 million respectively.

Photo Credit: Lechon Kirb

SoundCloud says streaming isn’t enough for artists to survive, that’s why its launching the SoundCloud Store to diversify income sources for artists.

A select number of Next Pro artists can design exclusive merchandise for their fans with minimal effort, allowing artists to focus on their craft while driving meaningful revenue from sources beyond streaming. The SoundCloud Store will offer tees, hoodies, limited-edition accessories, and more from artists who want to build an authentic connection with their biggest fans.

In addition to supporting artists, the new SoundCloud Store will offer an Essentials Collection, which is SoundCloud-branded merch for fans who want to rep the music platform. The collection includes a range of high-quality items including t-shirts, hoodies, hats, and more. The SoundCloud Store is currently available in the United States, European Union, and Canada. Merch design is only available to a limited number of Next Pro artists to start and artists can only participate if they own 100% of their merchandising rights.

Artists who are a member of SoundCloud Next Pro can apply to participate in this new merchandising program. All items are made to order through SoundCloud and are hosted on the SoundCloud store—with no hassle or upfront costs to artists. Artists who are part of the launch of this program include Wiz Khalifa, Denzel Curry, wolfacejoeyy, Bktherula, and Armani White with 100% of profits generated going directly to these artists.

“We’re always looking to help artists get heard, get fans, and get paid,” SoundCloud says in its official blog post. “It’s never been easier to connect with fans around your latest drop, whether that’s a fresh new track, a limited-edition hoodie, or both.”

SoundCloud launched its fan-powered ‘Buzzing Playlists’ in May 2024 to highlight up-and-coming artists that listeners enjoy. These playlists are updated weekly and are sourced from Next Pro artists who have opted in to have their tracks analyzed by First Fans. Songs featured in these playlists are based on ‘genuine engagement from fans’ and highlight up-and-coming artists on the platform in genres like pop, hip-hop, R&B, and EDM.

Photo Credit: Xavier Badosa / CC by 2.0

Bob Dylan fans’ dreams come true this fall with a 27-CD boxed set of his 1974 tour and live recordings, with 417 previously unreleased tracks.

Long have Bob Dylan aficionados begged for a more complete record of his historic 1974 tour with the Band as his backing group, dubbing his live double album from that year, “Before the Flood,” as insufficient. So how much do you love Bob Dylan? How about 400+ tracks’ worth?

This fall, Sony Music releases “Bob Dylan — The 1974 Live Recordings,” a boxed set across 27 CDs of Dylan’s live performances from the tour, releasing on September 20 via Columbia/Legacy. The set features 417 previously unreleased tracks, plus a dozen tracks from L.A.’s Forum that were already included on “Before the Flood.”

Interestingly, there will not be a full release of the collection in vinyl form — such a release would entail at least 50 vinyl records. But Jack White’s Third Man Records will be issuing a condensed vinyl version, a three-LP set augmented by a 7-inch single, which will contain one specially selected version of each song performed on the tour that was not previously included on “Before the Flood.”

That version, a green-vinyl companion volume, will be called “The 1974 Live Recordings — The Missing Songs From Before the Flood.” Fans looking to secure a copy will need to sign up for Third Man’s quarterly Vault subscription service before July 31.

It’s worth noting that the 1974 live recordings CD set is not being marketed as part of the ongoing “Bootleg Series” Bob Dylan collections. These offer a “more selective overview” of his work during a certain period. Instead, the 27-CD collection is best compared to the 14-CD “Bob Dylan — The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings,” which came out in 2019. That release was also not part of the “Bootleg Series.”

The new 27-disc set, though a massive collection, still pales in comparison to “The 1966 Live Recordings,” the 36-disc set released in 2016. Needless to say, diehard fans of Bob Dylan will have plenty of music to sate their appetite in the coming months.

Photo Credit: Liquid Death

Ozzy Osbourne warns teenagers not to snort Liquid Death’s new Death Dust electrolyte powder in the brand’s latest ad campaign.

Liquid Death’s new Death Dust, an electrolyte powder you add to water, has apparently been the subject of an unfortunate trend on social media of young people snorting it. To combat this, Liquid Death tapped Ozzy Osbourne, who is no stranger to snorting things, for a PSA to discourage consuming Death Dust like a drug.

The ad sees Ozzy leaning out of the window of his car to advise two young men equipped with Death Dust hydration powder that they had better not snort the stuff. And for that matter, don’t try freebasing it. Or injecting it. And don’t even think about boofing it. “Boof?” the boys ask. “You know,” Ozzy answers. “When you stick it up your—”

“Hey kids, Ozzy knows a thing or two about bad decisions,” writes the brand on their website. “Take it from him when he says our new, more intense flavored Death Dust hydration powder is much safer when you mix it with water and drink it.”

“I love how Liquid Death makes a healthy thing like hydration more fun,” said Osbourne in a statement. “Sharon, the family, and I drink Liquid Death all the time — it’s delicious. But seriously, don’t snort or inject anything they make. It’s much better for drinking.”

The new ad isn’t the first creative endeavor to come out of Liquid Death’s marketing department. The brand recently won its first Cannes Lion award, a Bronze Lion in the Social & Influencer category for its “Corpse Paint” spot with e.l.f. Cosmetics.

On Tuesday (June 25), Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy’s wife and manager, shared a video in which she explained that his planned appearance at the Mad Monster Party would have to be cancelled. Mad Monster Party kicks off July 12 through July 14 at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa in Westgate in Glendale, Arizona.

“Regretfully, the Osbourne family have to cancel our upcoming appearance at the Mad Monster Party in Phoenix because Ozzy is unable to travel at this time,” said Sharon. “However, Jack [Ozzy and Sharon’s son] will be there flying the flag for the Osbournes.”

“Everybody who bought the Osbourne package will, of course, get full refunds,” she continues. “We would like to thank you all for your constant support. It means so much to him, you have no idea. And all I can do is apologize that we won’t be there, and I’m apologizing for people we’ve let down from my heart. So God bless you all. Thank you so much.”

Ozzy was diagnosed in 2003 with a rare genetic form of Parkinson’s disease, which affects the nerve cells that send signals to the brain to control movements of the body. In November, he spoke to Rolling Stone about the possibility of returning to the stage: “I’m taking it one day at a time, and if I can perform again, I will.”

Photo Credit: Amazon

Amazon partners with Megan Thee Stallion for a Prime Day blowout ad, complete with an original song and music video for the sale’s tenth anniversary.

On Tuesday, June 25, Megan Thee Stallion unveiled an original song and accompanying music video, “It’s Prime Day,” in a partnership with Amazon for their tenth annual Prime Day sales bonanza. The video shows Megan purchasing fake eyelashes, cosplay and gaming items, kitchen supplies, pet supplies, and more from Amazon during the retailer’s two-day discount event.

“The music video was inspired by how customers use Prime Day deals to get closer to what they care about,” says Amazon. “We partnered with Megan and directors Dave Meyers and Mia Barnes from Radical Media to imagine how specific Prime Day deals could inspire all the different ‘Megans’ she could become.”

Notably, Megan Thee Stallion’s Prime song is also a bonus track from her forthcoming album MEGAN, dropping on June 28, and will be available for fans listening exclusively on Amazon Music.

Prime members can also shop Megan Thee Stallion’s Prime Day Picks inspired by her different interests featured in the music video. Amazon says it will also offer early deals on merch from Megan’s newest tour collection, Hot Girl Summer.

Amazon’s Prime Day two-day sales event offers discounts to Prime members who pay $14.99 a month (or $139 yearly) for access to perks like free shipping. This year, Prime Day will take place on July 16 and 17 — just after a four-day sales event from Walmart, which announced on Monday its intention to offer its “largest deals” in history between July 8 and July 11.

Amazon reports that Prime members in two dozen countries will take part in the summer discount event, which also marks the beginning of the back-to-school shopping season and rakes in beaucoup bucks for the company (albeit an undisclosed amount).

The online retailer has been hosting increasingly more sales events in recent years to attract customers in peak shopping seasons amid continued competition from low-cost retailers like Temu and Shein. In October, the company kicked off an October Prime event to ring in the holiday shopping season, and in March it held its first spring sales event for all customers.

Photo Credit: Earl McGehee / CC by 2.0

Fans claim autographed Bon Jovi albums were actually autopenned with a template of the frontman’s signature, accusing the band’s label UMG of deceit.

Some fans are accusing Universal Music of deceiving them, claiming the signed editions of Bon Jovi’s new albums contain autopenned templates of frontman Jon Bon Jovi’s signature, rather than authentic autographs from the man himself.

A thread posted on Autograph Live shows at least six alleged templates of autopen signatures across the album. The special edition autographed editions of Bon Jovi’s “Forever” cost the same amount as the standard edition, but fans claim it’s not about the price, feeling the lack of authentic signatures is deceitful.

“Buyers beware,” wrote one user on social media. “Bon Jovi store is sending out autopen signatures. Talk Shop Live is also sending out the same ones. The UK signatures appear to be hand signed.”

“I don’t care if it wasn’t super expensive — it’s the principle of the thing,” said another. “Disappointing.”

Update: TalkShopLive responded to the allegations and noted that they are not selling the Bon Jovi merch in question. “We did not sell or ship Jon Bon Jovi’s new album. It is not a product that is available at all on Talkshoplive, and never has been,” the company emailed DMN. The company also responded to the tweet in question.

Some have complained the signature is on the sleeve rather than the album itself; other versions are said to have it printed on a darker background that makes it difficult to see. But the variation in location for the signature doesn’t denote a lack of authenticity — it just seems to add insult to injury.

“Looks like Bon Jovi is the latest to sell autopenned as autograph,” wrote another fan. “Dear UMG, it’s costing you a lot of money to lie about your products. How many people are getting a refund on this? I know your time is so precious, but lying to fans ain’t the win. Nobody wants autopenned.”

A spokesperson for Bon Jovi simply said, “Jon has posted often,” and referred to a photo of the rocker in which he appeared to be signing copies of the album. But nobody was accusing Jon of not having signed any of them — fans have already indicated that some of the signatures are authentic.

The new Bon Jovi docuseries, “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story,” premiered in April, while the latest album, “Forever,” released earlier this month.

UMG has not yet responded to media requests for comment.

Photo Credit: Sonopress

Sonopress has developed a CD made from 90% recycled polycarbonate—sourced from post-consumer waste streams collected by non-profits like The Ocean Cleanup. This new EcoCD is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 78% and avoid the manufacture of more than five metric tonnes of virgin plastic.

Coldplay’s Moon Music album that is being printed on reclaimed river vinyl will be the first album released on EcoCD. The vinyl version of Moon Music uses nine recycled PET-plastic bottles per 140g EcoRecord LP—reducing emissions there, too.

“We are excited to announce the launch of our latest product, the EcoCD,” Sonos Managing Director Sven Deutschmann told Digital Music News. “[EcoCD] is a pioneering, sustainable storage medium that protects the environment while offering top product quality. Our development of the EcoCD underlines our commitment to supporting the music industry in its efforts toward circularity and climate neutrality.”

Sonopress developed the EcoCD with strict sustainability criteria in mind after the success of its EcoRecord project. The base material for the CD is polycarbonate, 90% of which has been reclaimed from post-consumer recycled material. Only 10% of the starting material for these EcoCDs uses new fossil-based plastic. Deutschmann notes that the carbon footprint of this material is more than 70% lower than that of newly produced polycarbonate.

EcoCD is produced on conventional injection molding machines, which R&D experts at Sonopress modified extensively to accommodate the recycled polycarbonate’s differing viscosity and other properties. “We are delighted to be making a contribution to sustainability with this new product and are thrilled that our customer Warner Music has decided, together with Coldplay, to release the band’s album as an EcoCD,” Deutschmann continues.

Coldplay’s album Moon Music is available for pre-order now with delivery expected in October 2024. Music collectors now have the choice between a reclaimed plastic vinyl or an EcoCD to support the band’s commitment to reducing their environmental footprint for merch and touring.

Photo Credit: The Ocean Cleanup

Coldplay has partnered with The Ocean Cleanup to release a limited ‘Notebook Edition LP’ release of the band’s album Moon Music. This album will be pressed using reclaimed plastic intercepted by The Ocean Cleanup from Rio Las Vacas, Guatemala.

The Ocean Cleanup project aims to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. Achieving this goal involved a two-pronged approach—cleaning the oceans and installing interceptors at river mouths that empty into the ocean. Interceptors capture trash in rivers to prevent it from entering the ocean.

The partnership with Coldplay’s Notebook Edition LP is an innovative approach that answers the question of what to do with all of the reclaimed plastic. It is one of many product partnerships the company engages in to create new sustainable and durable products. The plastic from this project comes directly from Interceptor 006, which is deployed in the Rio Las Vacas mouth since 2023 to prevent plastic emissions into the Gulf of Honduras.

Interceptor 006 made significant impact and captured large quantities of plastic—which has now been sorted, blended, and tested. This plastic will be used to manufacture Coldplay’s limited edition physical release, using 70% of river plastic and 30% recycled waste plastic bottles from other sources. Coldplay provides financial support for the non-profit organization’s cleaning operations. It also sponsors Interceptor 005 in the Klang River, Malaysia.

Coldplay and The Ocean Cleanup Project collaborated closely during the intensive testing and quality control process. Processing and manufacturing partners Biosfera GT, Compuestos y Derivados S.A., Morssinkhof and Sonopress also contributed to the process of creating this recycled materials vinyl LP.

“Coldplay is an incredible partner for us and I’m thrilled that our plastic catch has helped bring Moon Music to life,” adds Boyan Slat, Founder & CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. “Ensuring the plastic we watch never re-renters the marine environment is essential to our mission, and I’m excited to see how we’ll continue innovating with Coldplay and our other partners to rid the oceans of plastic together.”

As of June 2024, the non-profit organization has collected over 26.4 million pounds of plastic from aquatic ecosystems around the world. The Ocean Cleanup was founded by Boyan Slat in 2013 and no employs a team of around 140 people, with headquarters in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It opened its first regional office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2023.

Photo Credit: Julien’s Auctions

A guitar once used by John Lennon has sold for nearly $2.9 million at auction, setting a new world record for the highest selling Beatles guitar.

The 12-string Hootenanny acoustic guitar used by John Lennon in the recording of the Beatles’ 1965 album Help! and seen in the film of the same name, had been lost for over 50 years. The guitar was recently discovered by a family in the rural British countryside during a move, and subsequently put up for auction.

The guitar’s provenance was authenticated through Julien’s Auctions by the Beatles historians Andy Babiuk and Danny Bennett, and was put up for auction with an estimate of between £485,000 and £647,000. It sold for an unprecedented £2.3 million (approximately $2.9 million), through a telephone bid at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York on Wednesday as part of a two-day music icons sale by Julien’s Auctions.

Co-founder and director of Julien’s Auctions, Darren Julien, said he travelled to the UK to have the guitar authenticated at the house it was being stored in. The original case was also salvaged, which had been thrown in a trash bin.

“We are absolutely thrilled and honored to have set a new world record with the sale of John Lennon’s lost Hootenanny guitar,” said David Goodman, chief executive of the auctioneers. “This guitar is not only a piece of music history but a symbol of John Lennon’s enduring legacy. Today’s unprecedented sale is a testament to the timeless appeal and reverence of the Beatles’ music and John Lennon.”

The instrument was once owned by Scottish guitarist Gordon Waller, known as one half of the pop duo Peter and Gordon. He later gave the guitar to his band’s road managers. The guitar was made by the Bavarian firm Framus in the early 1960s.

It was most famously used by John Lennon during the Beatles’ recording sessions for Help!, including the tracks “It’s Only Love,” “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” and “Girl,” and on the rhythm track for “Norwegian Wood” played by George Harrison. The guitar can be seen played by Lennon in the Help! movie when the group plays “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.”

Julien’s Auctions sold another Lennon guitar in 2015 — a J-160E Gibson acoustic guitar stolen from him that was later unwittingly purchased by a musician in the late ‘60s. That instrument sold for £1.6 million (or around $2.4 million at the time). The company also sold a drum kit used by Ringo Starr for $2.2 million, and a copy of the Beatles’ White Album once owned by him.

Aespa (pictured) has released a debut studio album entitled Armageddon, and an over $100 edition includes a CD player and more. Photo Credit: SM Entertainment

After South Korean fans purchased north of 115 million physical albums during 2023, Aespa has sold out a more than $100 physical edition, complete with a CD as well as a CD player, of its debut studio album.

That album, Armageddon, became available via streaming platforms today. Coinciding with the SM Entertainment-signed group’s first full-length project is a series of physical editions packaged with posters, stickers, postcards, and more. And the most interesting of these editions appears to be that featuring the CD player.

Manufactured in South Korea and available only to domestic customers, the CD player option also includes five photocards, 10 stickers, and a Korean-language lyric sheet for the album, according to the appropriate product page. The Korea Times has reported that wired earbuds are part of the offering as well.

Priced at ₩145,000 (currently $106.45), the CD player Armageddon package is sold out on the main purchase page – that is, through SM itself. (One Instagram post plugging the product, published by Karina four days back, has racked up 1.61 million likes.) Pre-orders are expected to begin shipping out in late July, SM relayed, and it stands to reason that the player could encourage further physical sales down the line.

All told, Armageddon pre-orders – across all versions, not solely that boasting the CD player – have topped one million units, per SM. During today’s trading, the Kakao-allied business’s shares (KOSDAQ: 041510) spiked 5.27 percent to ₩95,800 ($70.30) apiece.

As mentioned at the outset, 2023 delivered record physical sales in South Korea – with K-pop acts dominating the year’s global albums chart and performing well on the IFPI’s bestsellers list (for artists’ overall physical, streaming, and downloads) as a result.

While only time will tell whether K-pop mainstays can top last year’s album sales in 2024 – Seventeen alone sold the better part of 20 million units in 2023 – leading companies are teeing up aggressive release schedules. For SM, that includes more than 35 total albums, among them an upcoming project from Red Velvet.

And notwithstanding the high-profile battle involving Ador and its Hybe parent, NewJeans released an EP entitled How Sweet this past Friday. Regional reports have indicated that the four-track effort (including “How Sweet,” “Bubble Gum,” and instrumental versions of each) moved a whopping 800,000 units on its first day of availability.

Also finding audiences are releases from relatively seldom-discussed K-pop acts such as Zerobaseone, which debuted in July of 2023 and dropped You Had Me At Hello two weeks ago. During the first week of availability, the seven-song EP sold over 1.4 million total units, Circle Chart data shows.

Photo Credit: Clem Onojeghuo

The explosive years of vinyl’s recent growth trend have drawn down—is now the time for more sustainable vinyl to take center stage? A new survey reveals consumer interest in sustainable vinyl is at an all-time high. Here’s the latest.

Between 2019 and 2020 (before the pandemic) vinyl sales grew 46.2% according to data collected by Luminate. From 2021 and 2022, vinyl’s growth rate exploded to 51.4% as new and old collectors alike rediscovered their love for the format. But vinyl sales from 2021 to 2022 grew only 4.2%—signifying a slowdown in interest. Could this slowdown be the time to explore more sustainable vinyl production?

Vinyl media made up 43.4% of all physical media sales in 2022—so it’s still quite popular among those who collect physical media. 48% of all vinyl sold in the United States is sold through independent record stores, while 32.8% of records are bought online—usually from artist stores. Vinyl sales hit a high in the week ending in December 22, with 2.232 million records bought. That breaks a previous weekly sales record for December 23, 2021 when 2.115 million records were sold.

A recent survey conducted by Key Production—the UKs largest broker for physical music production—says it sees increased demand for environmentally friendly vinyl among music consumers. Two-thirds (69%) of respondents to a recent survey said they would buy more records if they were made with reduced environmental impact. 77% of those respondents said they would be willing to pay a premium for reduced environmental impact products—a significant shift in demand for eco-friendly vinyl products.

What’s even more interesting is that general respondents (83%) said they don’t perceive or can’t tell a difference between 180g heavyweight vinyl and other alternatives. Among vinyl buyers, that number is still as high as 70% who don’t believe there’s any difference between standard and heavyweight vinyl.

“As consumer awareness of environmental issues continues to grow, it is evident that there is a substantial market opportunity for eco-friendly vinyl records,” says Karen Emanuel, CEO of Key Production Group. “Regarding 180g records—while this is often seen by the industry as a more sought after product, this survey shows that the industry is actually getting it wrong. Customers aren’t valuing the weight as they think.”

“High quality records can be made at 140g and this slightly lower weight can have a hugely positive impact across the whole supply chain.”

Vinyl record sustainability conversations in the industry have increased since 2020. Most recently Billie Eilish released her latest record with a sustainability plan in place. Vinyl copies of Hit Me Hard and Soft were pressed to either reground or bio-attributed vinyl and all the packaging was made from recycled materials.

While the years of explosive vinyl sales may be flattening out, vinyl sales are still reaching all-time highs. Recent data from ERA shows the combination of Record Store Day (April 20) and Taylor Swift’s latest album—The Tortured Poets Department— has delivered the highest weekly sales of vinyl albums in 30 years. As demand for new vinyl grows, producing it sustainably becomes something consumers want the industry to focus on.

“What we’re seeing is a consumer shift towards a demand for physical music made with a reduced [environmental] impact,” adds John Service, Strategy and Sustainability Director at Key Production Group. “Vinyl can be made more sustainably with new compounds which replaces the fossil-fuel ingredients, and packaging can be made with completely recycled materials.”

“With the increasing demand, we’re here to work with artists, labels, and other stakeholders to ensure we are creating high-quality physical music that is produced as sustainably as possible and meets the needs and values of today’s music consumers.”

Photo Credit: Kazuhisa Otsubo / CC by 2.0

Sam Ash music stores, which began with a single New York shop in 1924, will be closing all 42 of its locations this summer after 100 years in business.

The family-owned music store chain, Sam Ash, which has supplied musicians with instruments for 100 years, is closing all 42 of its locations by the end of July. According to Derek Ash, great-grandson of Sam and Rose Ash, who opened the first location in Brooklyn in 1924, the company couldn’t compete with online retailers.

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that effective May 2, 2024, all Sam Ash Music Store locations will begin store closing sales,” the Ash family wrote on the company’s website. “This unfortunate news also presents a fantastic opportunity for great deals across our premium selection of musical instruments and pro sound equipment. We will also be offering specials [online] during this time. Thank you for allowing us to serve musicians like you for 100 years.”

Sam Ash first announced closing 18 of its locations in March, in the hopes of that buying the company additional time before they would have to shutter all locations. Unfortunately, that time has come.

“A lot of this has been the move to online shopping,” said Derek Ash, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer. “There are so many choices, and to maintain a store with that much selection is very difficult.”

Some Sam Ash locations — which exist across New York, New Jersey, California, Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Ohio — will close by the end of May. The remainder will close by the end of July.

Many musicians for whom Sam Ash locations provided a communal music lovers’ experience have expressed their disappointment at the news. “It’s been a vital part of my life for as long as I can remember,” one musician posted on Facebook.

Others shared their nostalgia at frequenting the music stores, especially in New York during the 1990s, when the area was filled with music shops such as Rudy’s Music and Manny’s Music.

Photo Credit: Materia Music

Materia Music acquires Ship to Shore PhonoCo’s video game music inventory and catalog, further expanding Materia’s US market leadership of video game music soundtracks.

Materia Music, the Seattle-based independent record label and distributor, publisher, and rights administrator of video game music, has announced the acquisition of New York indie label Ship to Shore PhonoCo’s video game music inventory and catalog, further expanding their US market leadership of video game music soundtracks as both a label and a storefront.

The acquisition sees Materia gaining licensed properties with video game publishers including Capcom, Konami, Nintendo, Sega, Sunsoft, and Taito.

“Materia’s core strength exists as a music tech, music rights, and royalty platform. This independence has allowed us to grow and excel in areas that other labels in our space cannot,” said Sebastian Wolff, Founder and CEO of Materia Music.

The news comes less than six months after the company announced its acquisition of Australian gaming record label Boss Battle Records. Boss Battle is home to the work of composers like Kevin Penkin, known for his work on entries in the Star Wars and Pokemon video game franchises. The two entities had been in acquisition talks since 2019.

“The acquisition is not just a benefit to our artists, but a critical step toward the future of the ANZ (Australia & New Zealand) video game music industry,” Wolff said at the time.

Materia’s diverse roster of composers, recording artists, and game companies includes billions of streams across the most impactful and most listened to video game music in history.

As a record label, Materia has released nearly 1,000 albums digitally, on vinyl, CD, and cassette tape, representing nearly 10,000 recordings. The company’s storefront, Materia Store, lists nearly 1,500 unique products and distributes thousands of products to international fans of video game music.

Sheet music and vinyl records of soundtracks from the games UNDERTALE, Celeste, and Hollow Knight consistently out perform other products and IP. Materia’s catalog boasts approximately 15 billion annual streams and views across platforms.

Photo Credit: Jamakassi

Following an outcry of how Luminate gathers physical sales data from record stores, the data analytics body will now work with independent partners to gather that data.

The Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS), Alliance of Independent Media Stores (AIMS), and Department of Record Stores (DORS), who work together as Record Store Day, The Music Business Association, and Luminate have announced a new partnership for physical music sales reporting across the independent retail sector in the United States.

The new partnership went into effect on April 19 and will see Luminate collecting independent physical music sales, inclusive of CDs, vinyls, and cassettes, from StreetPulse. StreetPulse is a music industry data provider that receives daily metrics directly from stores. This data will be incorporated into the physical sales data that Luminate is already collecting from other retailers.

Billboard, which receives streaming, sales, and airplay data from Luminate to full its music charts, has also announced a rebrand of its Tastemaker Albums chart to Indie Store Album Sales—to reflect the weekly top-selling titles across independent stores in the United States.

“I’d like to thank the coalitions, the retail stores, and Luminate for taking this issue seriously and working together to reach a deal,” adds Music Business Association President, Portia Sabin. “Sometimes it takes a pinch to bring people together, and the industry response to the unweighting of physical data was perhaps necessary to highlight the importance of data to our industry.”

“I’d also like to thank so many people at the labels, distributors, and even individual artists for speaking gout and helping us to reach an agreement, because whenever our industry comes together to achieve a common goal it is inspiring for our future.”

“Luminate is always working towards the goal of providing quality and accurate data to the industry,” says Chris Muratore, Director of Partnerships at Luminate. “We always strive to be a good partner to those across the many sectors of the music and entertainment industries, and we are happy to announce this new partnership in alignment with that mission and our values.”

Photo Credit: Amanda Bemis

Audiodrome Record Pressing, the first entirely in-house solar-powered vinyl pressing plant in the US, opens its doors in Gainesville, Florida.

Audiodrome is the project of Dave Newell and Betsy Bemis, with a holistic focus on mitigating the environmental impact of pressing records while meeting the growing demand of vinyl. The rapid regrowth of vinyl has forced production to ramp up at an accelerated rate, which has led to struggles to meet the demand coupled with costly complications associated with pressing vinyl — a process that is notoriously impactful on the environment.

“Creativity is an essential part of our humanity and there is something about vinyl records that people find meaningful,” says Bemis. “They allow us to physically participate in the experience and build a tangible connection between the artist and the listener in a way that no other format does. It can be a beautiful thing, but the environmental cost of communion doesn’t have to be so high.”

To counter the negative environmental impact of pressing vinyl, Audiodrome will utilize resources and practices, including a fully solar-powered facility with steamless record presses featuring closed-loop chiller systems. The facility will burn no fossil fuels, and will generate no boiler chemicals or runoff, with minimal water usage. The company will also make use of recycled PVC to make new records, as well as offering a “Bio-Vinyl” option that will be fully available by May 2024.

“A big part of why I wanted to start this business is to have the opportunity to work with independent artists from all over and help them bring their projects to life,” says Newell. “It can be a daunting task as an artist to get your product out into the world; not only do you have to get your music recorded, but then you need to navigate mastering, artwork, retail, and a whole host of other considerations. A lot of bands and artists don’t even know where to start.”

“On top of that, it can be hard to get smaller runs of records pressed,” Newell explains. “We are committed to making the whole process an easy, transparent, and enjoyable experience that prioritizes our independent customers and their projects.”

Audiodrome has worked with packaging companies to develop new recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable exterior packaging. They continue to research new initiatives to find more ways to further minimize their impact.

“Real change will require a willingness to evolve on everyone’s part: suppliers, presses, artists, and customers,” says Bemis. “New materials might sound, look, and feel different, but ethically we have no choice.”

Amazon Music is officially “the exclusive merch provider” for Mariah Carey’s new Las Vegas residency. Photo Credit: Amazon Music

Amazon Music is officially “the exclusive merch provider” behind Mariah Carey’s new Celebration of Mimi Las Vegas residency.

The Amazon-owned streaming platform just recently announced the deal, with the artist’s latest residency kicking off at Park MGM’s Dolby Live theater today. Those who attend the shows (and those who visit Park MGM’s lobby gift shop) can, of course, purchase merch in person.

But on the e-commerce side, the Amazon Music collection, featuring a number of “exclusive items,” looks to be the only way to buy the products directly. That includes a variety of Celebration of Mimi t-shirts ($45 each), several types of sweatshirts ($90 apiece), a “fuzzy bucket hat” ($40), the vinyl anniversary edition of The Emancipation of Mimi ($32.99), and sweatpants ($90).

And while they didn’t seem to be available for purchase at the time of this writing, multiple additional items yet, among them a tote bag, a tumbler, a denim jacket, and a satin robe, are also part of the collection, Amazon Music disclosed.

It’s unclear whether Amazon is involved with the in-venue merch; coordination on inventory comes to mind given the exclusive nature of the items. In any event, it’ll be interesting to monitor the commercial results of the tie-up, which will presumably span the entire Celebration of Mimi residency.

Having started today, as mentioned, the event’s initial run is scheduled to wrap on Saturday, April 27th. Then, as a result of “extraordinary demand,” a second set of performances will begin on Friday, July 26th, and conclude on Saturday, August 10th, 55-year-old Carey announced yesterday.

Between the residency runs, certain diehard fans (possibly including past attendees and current ticketholders) could well turn to the e-commerce giant for the five-time Grammy winner’s merch; some of the products are already climbing Amazon’s sales rankings.

Moreover, logic and evidence suggest that the “All I Want for Christmas Is You” singer-songwriter would move all manner of items should the residency extend to or near the holiday season. Bigger picture, it’ll be worth closely following the ways Amazon Music leverages its parent’s decidedly significant merch capabilities, which competitors such as Spotify and Apple Music appear to lack.

Admittedly, these efforts aren’t new; Amazon Music launched a merch store, complete with exclusive products, back in 2021. But the increasingly high-profile initiatives seem to have ramped up as of late, including, besides the Mariah Carey union, a Renaissance Tour agreement with Beyoncé, a merch-integration pact with Bandsintown, and Stagecoach 2024 merch.

Photo Credit: WMG

The first Record Store Crawl events since the pandemic will happen this year across the United States. The Warner Music Group event is presented by Audio-Technica this year—with a fan-voted city in the mix.

The seventh crawl location will be chosen by vinyl collectors across the United States through voting, in a partnership with non-profit HeadCount. Participants are encouraged to check their voter registration status ahead of the 2024 election.

For the 2024 Record Store Crawl, attendees will experience exclusive performances, special edition vinyl releases, and unique giveaways on the Record Store Crawl bus. The event will start in New York City on May 18 before wrapping up in October in Los Angeles. Each date will offer a music-filled day complemented by delicious food, refreshing drinks, and more. See below for official dates.

The crawl will also include the launch of exclusive, limited-edition vinyl releases, including the first-ever vinyl release of Portraits by Quarters of Change. Also included this year are re-issues of the Twilight Saga soundtracks. Record Store Crawl exclusive LPs will be available at independent record stores nationwide and on the Record Store Crawl website.

Kicking off at Tower Records’ Brooklyn outpost, Tower Labs, the New York City Crawl will feature stops at prominent stores such as Generation Records, Rough Trade, and Crawlers which will have a first look at Audio-Technica’s turntable store coming soon to SoHo.

Record Store Crawl Dates

• 5/18 | New York, NY ft. Quarters of Change
• 6/15 | Seattle, WA ft. Joe P
• 7/20 | Austin, TX ft. Joe P
• 8/10 | Nashville, TN ft. Knox
• 9/7 | Headcount VOTE Crawl (TBD) ft. Joe P
• 10/19 | Los Angeles, CA ft. Alicia Creti

Tickets for each date go on sale April 9 at the official Record Store Crawl website. Vinyl enthusiasts who want to participate in choosing the city can vote now on the website to choose the location for the September 7 date.

Photo Credit: Hybe Labels

IFPI releases three more Global Charts for 2023, celebrating the biggest albums of the year across different formats — Taylor Swift, SEVENTEEN, and Morgan Wallen come out on top.

IFPI, the organization representing the recorded music industry worldwide, has announced three additional Global Album Charts to highlight the biggest releases of 2023 by sales and the top selling vinyl and streaming albums of the year.

The announcement follows last week’s launch of the IFPI Global Music Report, which announced annual growth in recorded music revenues of 10.2% globally, including an increase in subscription streaming revenues and double-digit growth across physical formats.

Leading the Global Album Sales Chart is Korean group SEVENTEEN (pictured), hot off the heels of their IFPI Global Album Chart success. Their album FML sold 6.4 million units globally in 2023, breaking the record for the most pre-orders ever for an album in South Korea.

An unprecedented 19 of the Top 20 albums on the IFPI Global Album Sales Chart came from South Korean acts, demonstrating the global dominance of their physical album format.

The only non-Korean artist to reach the Top 20 was IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year, Taylor Swift — her album 1989 (Taylor’s Version) also topped the IFPI Global Vinyl Album Chart. Swift held each of the top three spots in the IFPI Global Vinyl Album Chart, with an impressive seven albums reaching the Top 20 of that chart overall.

Fellow American artist Morgan Wallen achieved his first IFPI Global Chart No. 1 with the IFPI Global Streaming Album Chart. That chart counts global streams from both ad-supported and subscription platforms, calculating a weighted global unit number that accounts for differing economics across regions.

Morgan Wallen’s 2023 album, One Thing at a Time, was the biggest streaming album of the year on that basis, with Wallen also clocking in at No. 9 with Dangerous: The Double Album.

“Congratulations to SEVENTEEN and Taylor Swift for their second IFPI Global Charts awards of 2023, and to Morgan Wallen for his first ever global number one,” said Lewis Morrison, Director of Global Charts & Certifications at IFPI.

“Each of these artists created (or in the case of Taylor, reimagined) incredible music which found a global audience and achieved enormous commercial success in 2023, and the charts themselves highlight the multitude of ways in which music fans are engaging with their favorite albums all over the world.”

“As highlighted in IFPI’s Global Music Report, revenues from both digital and physical music formats continue to see healthy growth, and the combination of fantastic artistry, format variety, and the tireless work of record labels is the foundation on which this growth is built. Well done to everyone who featured in each of the album charts, which are a great summary of a fantastic year for global recorded music.”

IFPI Global Album Sales Chart 2023

IFPI Global Vinyl Album Chart 2023

IFPI Global Streaming Album Chart 2023

Photo Credit: Bandzoogle

Music website platform Bandzoogle announced that in 2023, musicians made over $16.4 million in commission-free revenue using the platform’s direct-to-fan sales tools. For Bandzoogle and its members, the number represents significant year-on-year growth — a 21% increase from 2022.

The following was created in collaboration with Bandzoogle, a company DMN is proud to be partnering with.

Stacey Bedford, CEO of Bandzoogle, commented that it was ‘rewarding’ to see artists make an incredible amount of commission-free sales via Bandzoogle websites. “One of our main goals is to help make it easier for musicians to make money from their music by selling directly to their fans.”

Breaking down the $16.4 million artist revenue, musicians sold over $8.8 million worth of merchandise — including apparel, CDs, and vinyl. Digital music generated over $1.7 million in 2023, representing an increase of 28% compared to 2022.

However, ticket sales were the most significant area of growth for Bandzoogle’s members.

The platform reports that artists sold $4.1 million worth of tickets — commission-free — via Bandzoogle-powered websites, representing an impressive 102% increase from 2022.

Bedford pointed out that artists are better off selling tickets to events ‘directly to their fans, with no commission taken and no hidden fees,’ adding, “It’s another example of how savvy musicians can use our built-in tools to keep more of their hard-earned money while moving their careers forward.”

Acquired by DistroKid in 2023, 20-year-old Bandzoogle views fan engagement as a core strategy for musicians to generate revenue from their music online.

The platform allows artists and bands to build a commission-free store to sell music, merchandise, and tickets. Artists can manage their physical inventory, offer discount pricing or product bundling, connect with Printful to sell customized print–on-demand products to their fans, choose from multiple shipping and payment integrations, and more.

Bandzoogle’s built-in fan subscriptions feature also represented a significant revenue stream for artists, generating over $800,000 in 2023.

Fans also supported their favorite artists via Bandzoogle’s virtual tip jar feature, donating nearly $1 million to Bandzoogle members.

News of the revenue generated by Bandzoogle members in 2023 comes after the platform recently announced a new EPK Plan, which allows musicians to craft an impactful, single-page electronic press kit in minutes.

Bandzoogle powers over 65,000 websites for musicians, allowing them to earn over $121 million in commission-free revenue to date.

Plans start at just $6.95/month. Artists can try it for free at Bandzoogle’s website here.

Photo Credit: Sonopress / WMG

Sonopress produced the world’s first EcoRecord for Warner Music Group for an exclusive release of Liam Gallagher and John Squire’s new joint album.

Storage media producer Sonopress has produced and delivered the first EcoRecord order for Warner Music Group (WMG) — sustainable LPs in orange manufactured for an exclusive release of the eponymous joint album from Liam Gallagher and John Squire. The EcoRecord is available now through Amazon worldwide, and as JB Hi-Fi in Australia.

The EcoRecord is a new long-playing record that uses recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) rather than polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as its base material. The production process involves no natural gas or steam, meaning the environmental impact of the manufacturing process is reduced by up to 85% compared to conventional vinyl.

“We’re delighted that rock legends Liam Gallagher and John Squire have chosen to release an edition of their first joint album as an environmentally friendly EcoRecord.”

“We’ve used the past few weeks to meticulously check every production detail, refine all production parameters, and optimize the quality of the finished product, so we could go into regular production at the beginning of the year with complete confidence,” says Sven Deutschmann, Managing Director of Sonopress. “It’s great to be able to finally talk about the project after many months of hard work; the team at Sonopress have smashed it.”

“We’re proud to launch this stunning sounding, vibrant EcoRecord alongside Warner Records, Liam and John, and Sonopress,” adds Miriam Lessar, VP of Global Release Management at Warner Music International. “We’re huge advocates of sustainability at Warner Music Group — it’s vitally important for its artists and employees, and we hope to continue to lead by example in the industry. This is just the beginning of our journey, with exciting innovations to come as we advance more climate conscious products aligned with our climate goals.”

The first EcoRecords were produced on a new injection molding machine with nozzle contact pressure of up to 300 tons. The production line was completed at the end of last year, along with other required special tools and additional equipment, also developed entirely by Sonopress. It used the same injection molding process that has been used for decades to produce laser discs, CDs, DVDs, and other digital storage media.

The EcoRecord’s launch comes as the global vinyl market continues to experience growth; the IFPI reports revenues rose by over 17% in 2022, the third consecutive year of double-digit growth.

Photo Credit: Kevin Burkett / CC by 2.0

Kanye and Ty Dolla $ign have a new album coming and to celebrate the duo hosted a listening party in Chicago. Ye sought permission from Ozzy Osbourne for a sample of “Iron Man” but was denied—he used it anyway. Now Ozzy is speaking out.

The new album is called ‘Vultures’ and a listening party was announced on February 5. Tickets to the event at the United Center in Chicago sold out the next day. The album was originally slated to be released on December 15, 2023 but sampling difficulties from Nicki Minaj and apparently Ozzy Osbourne have left the album without an official release date. Ozzy took to social media to decry the use of the sample and to clear the air—saying no permission was given.

“Kanye West asked permission to sample a section of a 1983 live performance of ‘Iron Man’ from the U.S. festival without vocals and was refused permission because he is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many,” Ozzy said on X/Twitter. “He went ahead and used the sample anyway at his album listening party last night. I want no association with this man!”

Sharon Osbourne also chimed in, saying her husband typically does not refuse to clear samples—but made a special occasion to refuse Kanye West’s use of the sample. In speaking with TMZ about the issue, Sharon Osbourne says the couple sent a cease & desist to the rapper after hearing about the sample being used in a live performance.

According to Rolling Stone, Kanye has already removed the sample of “Iron Man” from the album version of “Carnival.” Instead, the song now features a sample of the Kanye song, “Hell Of A Life,” which featured a legally-cleared sample of “Iron Man.”

Following a bout of anti-semitic comments made on social media in 2022, the rapper was subsequently suspended and faced many social repercussions. His lawyers, talent agency, and record label dropped him—while his billion-dollar deal with Adidas imploded. On December 26, 2023 he issued an apology in Hebrew to the Jewish community.

At the listening event for his album, he raps “How I’m antisemitic? I just fucked a Jewish bitch,” and the line “And I’m still crazy, bipolar, antisemite / And I’m still the king.”

Photo Credit: Fat Beats

Rostrum Pacific acquires renowned retail brand and distributor, Fat Beats.

Rostrum Pacific has announced the acquisition of legendary retail brand and distributor, Fat Beats, hot on the heels of the 20th anniversary of Rostrum Records and the launch of Rostrum Pacific as a multifaceted entertainment company.

Fat Beats will continue as its own entity under the guidance of Rostrum Pacific’s team, including Kevin Engler as General Manager of Fat Beats, and Bobby Israeli as Rostrum Pacific’s Head of E-Commerce. The acquisition enables Fat Beats to maximize its strategic growth with access to resources, tools, and Rostrum Pacific’s sister companies.

For Rostrum artists, the partnership provides the direct backing of Fat Beats’ wholesale distribution, e-commerce support, and direct-to-consumer fulfillment with an open line to brick-and-mortar stores.

“Fat Beats is a legendary brand that I’ve been a fan of for decades. From Rostrum Records to our most recent expansion of Rostrum Pacific, we’ve diligently outlined the next 20 years of our company. One of our goals has been to get vertically involved with physical distribution, and Fat Beats is a key part of that strategy,” says Benjy Grinberg, Rostrum Pacific founder and CEO.

“Together we can offer a level of professionalism, strategy, and forward thinking that most physical companies lack. The ability to acquire Fat Beats and help it grow to new heights is incredibly exciting for us.”

“As a pillar of the independent hip-hop community since 1994, it was important to me to ensure what we’ve built over the last 30 years is well cared for and respected,” added Joe Abajian, founder of Fat Beats. “We have found the perfect custodians in Benjy and the Rostrum Pacific team, and we’re confident that Fat Beats now has the expertise and resources to continue growing well into the future.”

Key to the next phase of the company is the naming of two former Universal Music Group executives: Kevin Engler as GM of Fat Beats, and Bobby Israeli as Head of E-Commerce for Rostrum Pacific. Engler brings his 30 years of music industry experience, while Israeli has led the e-commerce teams and strategy for UMG’s East Coast labels, such as Def Jam, Island Records, and Verve Music Group. Both executives will report directly to Rostrum Pacific COO, Jonathan Partch.

Vinyl groups are pushing the ‘Indie Sales Chart’ in response to calculation changes at Luminate. Photo Credit: Andrea Cipriani

One month ago, Digital Music News reported that vinyl groups were prepping an alternative sales-calculation model following controversial changes from Luminate. Now, the Vinyl Record Manufacturing Association (VRMA) and others are rallying behind a newly launched “Indie Sales Chart.”

The VRMA emphasized its support for the Indie Sales Chart via a formal release, about five weeks after Luminate doubled down on plans for a revamped approach to calculating physical sales at the retail level. Already in effect, these changes have, in brief, seen the Billboard chart-data provider cease estimating physical music sales figures for the whole indie sector based upon samples.

Instead, Luminate is now factoring solely for vinyl sales reported to it directly by indie retailers in the U.S.; according to the mentioned Billboard, the data company says its present reporting encompasses 95 percent of “U.S. independent retail stores that reach over 1,000 sales per week.”

But the VRMA and an objective analysis of pertinent sales stats suggest that a significant number of retailers have been left behind under the new system.

Enter the aforesaid Indie Sales Chart, which is being billed as a joint initiative from Record Store Day, StreetPulse (which had already powered the latter’s existing chart), and HITS.

Per the VRMA, this alternative chart “will track point-of-sale data from independent retailers” – over 200 of which are said to be enrolled at present, “with more on the way.” The organization also took the opportunity to reiterate vinyl’s long-running sales resurgence in the U.S. and other nations.

“The 2023 numbers have indicated that the demand of vinyl is continuing to grow,” VRMA president (and Hand Drawn Pressing chief creative officer) Dustin Blocker communicated in part. “Luminate’s new reporting, with such a small percentage of indie retailers onboard, is an inaccurate representation of the strength of the record pressing industry, with the potential to have a negative ripple effect on pressing plants and the vinyl supply chain.”

As 2024 progresses, it’ll be worth monitoring the number of additional retailers that begin submitting data for the Indie Sales Chart. Bigger picture, time will tell whether the just-established chart can draw substantial attention away from its Luminate counterpart and/or prompt fresh changes in the calculation methodology at hand.

Regarding vinyl’s previously noted comeback in countries besides the U.S., trade-body breakdowns likewise point to strong showings in Italy, Spain, Japan, and the U.K., to name a few.

Photo Credit: Dzmitry Tselabionak

Self-service vinyl platform Qrates seems to have imploded with no word to artists who utilized the service—leaving thousands of customers without vinyl they paid to receive.

Qrates promised to offer a one-stop shop for artists who wanted to sell vinyl records on demand directly to their fans. The service was founded by Taishi Fukuyama and is based in Tokyo, but over the course of 2023 the company has ghosted nearly all of its customers.

The company promised to handle all production, warehousing, shipping, and customer service for music fans—so artists could focus on making music. Qrates advertised being able to press as few copies as 100 vinyls or 50 cassettes, making it seem like an ideal approach for small indie artists. It advertised the ability to crowdfund production costs, so artists don’t have to front anything financially or buy inventory they risk not selling.

Around July 2023, Qrates reported a cybersecurity incident with their shipping company. As a result, the company stopped shipping vinyls, despite telling customers that the incident would have no impact on their ability to ship goods. Artist Jade Cicada has revealed around 200 people who purchased a vinyl from them received their record around July/August 2022. Since then, Qrates has ceased shipping for all orders.

“Qrates works off of pre-orders, long pre-orders,” one frustrated artist writes on Reddit. I put my order in January 2023 and I can no longer dispute the order with my credit card provider or PayPal.” Meanwhile, Qrates promises fans who order on the service: “Records and cassettes purchased from Qrates are carefully packed one by one in our affiliated warehouses in the U.S., U.K., and Japan in special packaging and shipped to our customers worldwide.”

The only update from Qrates is an orange banner at the top of their website that states, “We are currently suspending the acceptance of new project starts, due to maintenance work to stabilize the service.” So Qrates is not accepting new projects, but it also is not shipping products that were pre-ordered more than six months ago.

A help article from their website that was published at the beginning of December 2023 says that “orders will start shipping soon.” It notes that operations will resume in a limited shipping capacity, but there’s been no indication that people are receiving records they’ve purchased despite this notification.

Another artist has detailed their troubles in getting Qrates orders to customers. “I’m a relatively small artist who has several projects through [Qrates] and I have fans/customers that have been waiting way too long to receive their orders. The oldest order is pending from July 2022,” the artist writes.

“I have talked to other artists and they are in the same position. Customer support has been unhelpful and has blamed the warehouse for the delay and then later changed it to a ‘hacker breach’ excuse. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s hard to believe their reasoning, as it has changed over the last few months.”

American funk band Vulfpeck was left with customers wondering where their vinyls are to the point that the band switched to a different vinyl producer. “Trying to get in touch with support. No one is responding. Please check email,” the band wrote on Qrates’ official Instagram more than three months ago.

“I ordered two other Vulf records through Qrates and none of them ever came with tracking. They only took six months to ship though and I’m never ordering with them again after this experience. Glad Vulf has already moved to another company,” one frustrated user wrote on social media.

So What’s Going on with Qrates?

At this point, it’s unclear if the vinyl producer will ship all of the record orders it received in 2022. Several artists have moved their production elsewhere, while rumors abound about why the company has been so slow to fulfill orders. One rumor suggests it may be an issue with Qrates vinyl pressing partner.

“Qrates uses GZ Media as their pressing plant. GZ was well known for being a safe plant for sample-based music. Lots of vaporware artists got their stuff pressed there, for instance. Around June 2022, GZ started using AI technology to identify samples and require clearance documentation. A LOT of Qrates’ projects were sample-based music, and around the middle of this year, a lot of projects had to be mass refunded.”

While that is speculation, it could explain why Qrates seems to be having trouble shipping records for so many smaller projects.

Photo Credit: Julio Rionaldo

U.S. vinyl record sales topped 2 million in the week before Christmas (ending 12/21) according to data firm Luminate. The format’s sales continue to grow, but proposed changes to how Luminate calculates these sales in 2024 have some vinyl groups seeking data from the source.

According to Billboard, this past week in vinyl sales was the third-largest week of the modern era, since Luminate began tracking sales data in 1991. Holiday shopping and promotions likely contributed to the massive sales week, with Taylor Swift’s 1989 coming out on top with 57,000 copies sold. Swift’s re-release of her albums gave her the top four spots of best-selling vinyls. Taylor Swift’s total vinyl sales were 194,000—accounting for 9.5% of all vinyl albums sold in the U.S. for that week.

Luminate says it has plans to direct report sales from indie record stores, rather than offering a weighted average as it currently does. Vinyl organizations have opposed the change, including The Vinyl Alliance and the Vinyl Record Manufacturers Association (VRMA).

“With less than 5% of independent physical retailers currently reporting directly to Luminate, the data collected will be a grossly inaccurate representation of the sales of physical products,” the VRMA told Digital Music News earlier this month.

Since Luminate plans to go forward with its data reporting changes on December 29, VRMA says it is actively engaging with alternative third-party reporting source to “collect and report quarterly data at the record-pressing plant level to ensure we have a counter-balance to Luminate’s reporting.” It’s unclear who that third-party partner may be, but it will be interesting to see the data compared to what Luminate reports as these changes take effect.

Luminate claims it receives 93.3% reporting coverage for sales data, but industry sources claim that’s a gross overstatement. According to Forbes, who spoke to a major label source, around 600 indie stores sell meaningful amounts of records and of that number, only 12% report data to Luminate. The VRMA estimates that the changes could impact vinyl reporting by as much as 40%.

Audiophile Music Direct and Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) have officially settled a class-action complaint centering on the latter’s mastering process. Photo Credit: Jace & Afsoon

A federal court has officially signed off on a settlement agreement as part of a much-publicized class-action lawsuit centering on Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s unadvertised incorporation of digital mastering.

The court just recently granted the plaintiffs’ motion for final approval of the settlement, besides dismissing the complaint (which had named as defendants MFSL as well as its Audiophile Music Direct parent, the operator of the namesake Music Direct) with prejudice. The signed decision by the US District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle, was shared with Digital Music News earlier this morning.

One of several suits levied against MFSL over the “Ultradisc One Step” and “Original Master Recording” descriptors and adjacent claims made about certain products, this particular complaint was filed by customers Stephen Tuttle and Dustin Collman back in August of 2022.

In the interest of relative brevity – DMN has already covered the largely overlapping cases’ pertinent details – the plaintiffs maintained that they’d paid a premium for MFSL products because the records were meant to have been created via an all-analog process.

But it came out last year that Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab had for some time been incorporating digital into its mastering process. Pushback promptly followed the alleged misrepresentation’s entrance into the spotlight, and apologies as well as other media initiatives from MFSL were evidently unable to convince ticked-off consumers to forgo legal action.

Though the litigating audiophiles’ arguments revolved around the same main points, as mentioned, the parties proved less united in their position as to how the matter should be resolved.

In May of this year, the presiding judge granted a motion for preliminary approval of a settlement for the complaint that Tuttle and Collman had submitted.

However, multiple individuals behind similar suits in different venues had formally opposed the estimated $25 million settlement, including $10,000 apiece for the two plaintiffs, as much as $290,000 in attorneys’ fees, and a combination of refunds and coupons for class members, DMN reported.

Notwithstanding these qualms, the settlement has been finalized, as noted at the outset. Different legal documents show that related cases, which will presumably be shelved now that a nationwide settlement’s come to fruition, had been stayed pending the settlement outcome.

On the 5th, the court overseeing another suit, filed in Illinois by an individual named Adam Stiles, set a late-January deadline for the “next status report on the Tuttle litigation,” per a docket entry. This judge is also overseeing a complaint against Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab from one Gregory Bitterman and established an identical status-report cutoff.

Lastly, a California federal judge in late February stayed a different suit yet, from a plaintiff called Thomas Molinari, pending a determination on the settlement that just wrapped.

Photo Credit: Sander Crombach

Vinyl LP sales in the UK increase for a 16th consecutive year as the physical music market enjoys a robust 12 months, according to analysis from the BPI.

Vinyl album purchases in the UK have risen for the 16th consecutive year in 2023, growing at their fastest rate this decade, according to analysis of Official Charts data by the BPI. With just a few more days left in the year, the vinyl market in 2023 has increased over four times as fast as the year previous — with an 11.7% rise to 5.9 million units, up from a 2.9% improvement in 2022.

New releases from artists including Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey, Lewis Capaldi, Taylor Swift, and The Rolling Stones have led the increase, with the ever-rising demand for vinyl albums and other physical format releases reflecting a thriving market. In the UK, this is further exemplified through the popularity of independent record stores, paired with the success of specialist music and entertainment chain HMV, which re-opened its original flagship store on London’s Oxford Street this November after a four-year absence.

More than four-fifths of recorded music consumption in the UK is now made up of streaming, but demand for vinyl LPs continues to surge; the market is at its highest annual level since 1990. Over a quarter of a million vinyl albums have sold in the UK just last week alone — the highest sales week for the format this century.

Meanwhile, the CD market has sustained its smallest annual decline in nearly a decade this year, as it moves closer to a plateau. Nearly 11 million CDs were sold across 2023, while sales of cassettes topped 100,000 units in a calendar year for the fourth consecutive year.

“Led by vinyl, the resurgence of physical product underlines the resilience of the UK music market at a time when streaming consumption continues to hit record levels,” says Dr. Jo Twist, OBE, BPI Chief Executive. “Whilst LP sales have now been on an upward path for the past 16 years, it is encouraging to see a stabilization in demand for CD, as well as new generations of music fans falling in love with the cassette. It is giving people more choice than ever in how they enjoy their favorite music.”

Seven of the 10 biggest vinyl LP sellers this year are 2023 new releases, led by Taylor Swift’s “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” and “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” Lana Del Rey’s “Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd,” Lewis Capaldi’s “Broken By Desire to Be Heavenly Sent,” Kylie Minogue’s “Tension,” Blur’s “The Ballad of Darren,” and The Rolling Stones’ “Hackney Diamonds.”

Over 40% of the 100 most-purchased vinyl LPs of 2023 were released in the past two years, including releases by UK artists such as The 1975, Depeche Mode, Ed Sheeran, Gorillaz, Liam Gallagher, and Noel Gallagher. This is alongside big-selling vinyl releases from international artists including Blink-182, boygenius, Olivia Rodrigo, Paramore, Queens of the Stone Age, and the soundtracks to the films “Barbie” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”

Here are the top pro tips to ensure you make the most out of your time at the NAMM Show — from DMN and NAMM organizers themselves.

The NAMM Show, organized by the National Association of Music Merchants, is one of the largest music industry events in the world. Aimed at uniting the global music, sound, and entertainment technology communities, the annual show serves an incredible experience — whether you’re an influencer, content creator, musician, producer, retailer, instrument manufacturer, or buyer. Here are some top tips for attending NAMM like a pro.

NAMM is right around the corner and will take place on January 21-25, 2025, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California.

Every year, NAMM produces this epic trade show to strengthen and promote the music products industry — specifically instruments, gear, and the technology that backs them all. But the show offers more than just a showcase of these products.

If planned correctly, the event can unlock opportunities to kickstart lucrative deals and make lasting business connections. NAMM isn’t just a retail-focused show, it’s a broader industry gathering that surrounds you with tens of thousands of like-minded people. Just recently, NAMM partnered with DMN to showcase the extensive opportunities that sometimes get missed by attendees.

Pete Johnston, Director of Marketing at NAMM, explains how The NAMM Show kickstarts new avenues of music businesses. “The NAMM Show is a launchpad for a lot of careers,” Johnston told DMN, adding, “I always talk about the inspiration — I come home so fired up after some NAMM sessions.”

“Companies and ideas are born at NAMM,” says Johnston.

“I see people morphing and changing and playing different roles — with music being the core. The foundation underneath all of this is active music — the art of actively participating in music.”

Whether you’re an influencer, creator, musician, producer, or a tech developer, you can leverage the NAMM Show to grow your audience, brand, and business. If you’re planning to network, make valuable connections, score an endorsement deal, or nab a spot on an interview or podcast, the time to prep would be right now.

Here are the top pro tips to ensure you make the most out of your time at the event — from DMN and NAMM organizers themselves.

1. If you’re a content creator or influencer, “Leverage NAMM for collaborative opportunities and endorsements,” says Alex Solano from AlexProMix.

Solano says arranging meetings with software and hardware companies before the event will maximize opportunities — for channel growth, scoring a feature on a panel or podcast, or to nab a brand endorsement deal. “Initiate conversations through emails or direct messaging on social media to book slots,” Alex advises. “Engage in dialogues about potential video projects, and synchronize your content timeline with their product release dates. This proactive strategy secures exclusive content that aids in expanding your channel’s reach and enhancing the company’s market presence.”

Solano shares that companies are on the lookout for influencers who can attract the next generation of music creators. He emphasizes that NAMM can be a tool for artists and producers to evolve from regular users of music products to brand endorsers. “Compile a portfolio or EPK that shows your use of a brand’s equipment, highlighting its integration into your performances or productions. Visit the brand booths with confidence, present your portfolio, and propose a partnership for endorsements.”

2. Whether you’re an artist, producer, or a music tech mastermind, don’t shy away from connecting with media outlets in advance.

“Request interviews to discuss your innovative contributions to the music industry, whether it’s through recent works or new technologies like AI and Dolby Atmos,” Solano also advised.”Landing features on podcasts or video interviews can boost your brand’s narrative and solidify your footprint in the music industry.”

3. Prepare for a ‘NAMM Show Week.’

Johnston reveals that even though the four official exhibit days run Thursday to Saturday, ‘we also have events, meetings, and education sessions starting on Tuesday, January 21st’ adding, “We’re calling it a NAMM Week. It’s a gathering spot for the week for a lot of the industry.”

4. Attending the NAMM Show as a member and non-member.

A NAMM membership is specifically tailored to provide relevant benefits and support. It also entitles members for year-round benefits, including access to the NAMM Show. Register as an individual member, Service Provider, Manufacturer Representative, Commercial Affiliate, Retail Affiliate, or Retail Professional. Your NAMM Show badge will reflect membership type.

If you’re not a member and want to attend the show, NAMM requires every user to register directly with a unique email address.

5. Don’t look like a tourist with a map — download the NAMM Show+ App for effective floor and time management.

Head over to the NAMM schedule on the NAMM Show+ App — for attendees and exhibitors — well before the show. It has everything you need, including hotel reservations backed by NAMM and its official housing partners.

Plan your vendor appointments around the sessions that you want to attend. Strategizing from the get-go is the best approach to get the most out of NAMM.

View the terrain to map out a plan that works for your goals and your company’s. The NAMM Show+ App gives you everything you need to access educational sessions and details, guiding you where you need to be – and when. Connect with attendees, get navigation tools to help plan your meetings (using the map of the show floor will help you avoid walking back and forth), and stay up to date with post-event stuff.

Head over to the NAMM schedule on the NAMM Show+ App.

6. Leverage the 200+ educational opportunities for NAMM member communities.

NAMM has also announced over 200 industry and educational opportunities for the show for NAMM member communities. These professional communities include retail, brands, professional audio, music tech, live event production, artists, music education, nonprofit and community leaders, college music business students, and more.

Johnston talks about a program called TEC Tracks where it’s all about music production, dissection, how people made albums, mastering, immersive audio, AI, and others. “There are so many people that started businesses because of somebody they met at The NAMM Show, or an idea they gathered from the opportunities there,” said Johnston, adding, “Get in with the developers, the engineers, and you never know what you’ll create or what you’ll start.”

John Mlynczak, president and CEO of NAMM explained how this years’s show is aiming to reconnect the global music industry and excel on every level, ‘from our music stages, to educational and industry programs, to incredible exhibitors on the show floor,’ adding, “The NAMM Show will provide critical platforms and industry innovations that will drive growth to create a better future for the next generation of music industry leaders.”

As a snapshot of 200+ educational sessions up for grabs, members can check out the following:

Music Business Track features 45+ sessions to educate business leaders in our industry, with a focus on artificial intelligence as a marketing and business-efficiency tool, along with key sessions on leadership, social media and online marketing, finance, music lessons and retail tech.

Audio Production and Music Technology Track with 65+ sessions covering the latest innovations and new ideas in recording, live sound, music technology and music business.

Entertainment Technology Track brings 25+ sessions and training opportunities for professionals in lighting and production design, rigging, touring — even event safety to navigate a post-pandemic world.

College Students and Faculty Track; K-12 Educator Track offers 46+ sessions, workshops, and events for music students and faculty in collaboration with the College Music Society (CMS) and others — with multiple opportunities to network with industry professionals.

Non-Profit Track will offer sessions that cover tools of community building via the creation of and support to non-profit music service organizations, alongside best practices, fundraising, and governance.

NAMM’s education sessions are free, and Johnston says, “If you have a NAMM badge, you get to come and get educated.”

7. Take advantage of the NAMM U Breakfast Sessions

Coffee, food, and music is on the menu with early morning sessions and panels. You’ll get to network before the venue gets packed and crowded.

8. Balance fun with goals — but don’t get distracted.

Even though it’s fun to watch every demo, concert, and artist signing (whether you’re a regular attendee or it’s your first time), don’t let all the fun distractions cannibalize your time. Decide exactly what’s worth seeing, pick up innovative ideas that apply to your business or brand, and remember to take notes.

9. Prepare to be overwhelmed — but remember you can ‘choose your adventure.’

The NAMM Show is big — many football fields big. Picture a small town that’s packed with the population of a small city. The NAMM Show is a broader music industry gathering rather than just a retail-focused show. The buzzing global marketplace is a massive celebration — it will be loud, chaotic, and a bit mad.

According to Johnston, people who feel the NAMM Show is too big are forgetting that they can pick portions that excite them and suit their goals. “You can choose your adventure. And whichever adventure you choose, it’s going to benefit you. It’s like a campus with all the different majors. you have your communities, and you can grow your knowledge and your skills.”

10. Avoid bottlenecks: travel, shuttles, dining tips, more.

If you’re flying to attend NAMM, your trip will be smoother if you pick a flight on lower-traffic days. Tuesday or Wednesday are generally the best to ensure you miss the crazy rush.

And here are a few last tips; wear comfortable shoes (you’ll be walking a lot), and grab a pair of earbuds (NAMM gets loud!). Plus, arriving early to avoid the pouring NAMM crowds can save time and energy. For meals, aim to eat outside of normal mealtimes — say, grab a bite at 11:00 am instead of 12:30 pm.

Enjoy!

Vinyl for sale at Vinyl Solution Records’ San Mateo location. Photo Credit: Mick Haupt

Last week, Luminate confirmed plans to move forward with changes in the way it calculates physical music sales attributable to indie retailers. Now, having opposed the pivot from the outset, vinyl organizations are in talks to begin collecting data directly from record-pressing plants.

The Vinyl Alliance and the Vinyl Record Manufacturers Association (VRMA) reached out to DMN with a formal response to Luminate’s changes, which are expected to go into effect on the 29th. Formerly P-MRC Data, Luminate provides sales information for Billboard’s charts and, in brief, is poised to cease estimating the commercial particulars of the entire U.S. and Canadian indie-physical markets based upon a collection of samples.

Instead, the entity intends to account only for indie sales reported directly to it by retailers. And while Luminate has identified a purported “consensus that the current weighted modeling should be retired,” the aforementioned Vinyl Alliance and the VRMA have made clear their position that the switch would effectively box out the vast majority of indie record stores.

“With less than 5% of independent physical retailers currently reporting directly to Luminate, the data collected will be a grossly inaccurate representation of the sales of physical products,” the VRMA and the Vinyl Alliance maintained last week.

As the changes are set to roll out in 10 days in any event, the VRMA and the Vinyl Alliance have underscored their belief that “the data collected will be a grossly inaccurate representation of the sales of physical products in general and vinyl specifically.”

To minimize this anticipated inaccuracy, the organizations are calling on “Luminate to expedite its efforts to onboard sufficient numbers of independent music retail locations to offset the removal of their current weighting calculation.”

“Anything short of this is an abdication of their responsibility to measure and publish accurate and accountable results,” the Vinyl Alliance and the VRMA communicated. “The public has the right to know that all sectors of the retail music business are represented accurately when Billboard announces its weekly charts. Without sufficient representation, this change will erode confidence in both Luminate’s market measurement and Billboard as the publisher of the weekly charts.”

Time will reveal the extent of Luminate’s onboarding efforts, but evidence suggests that the company may not be in a hurry to connect with the soon-to-be-excluded retailers.

Per Billboard, which is tied to Luminate via Penske Media, the data-focused business said its coverage extended to 93 percent of “the total U.S. physical market” as of mid-November, with sales figures collected from 95 percent “of U.S. independent retail stores that reach over 1,000 sales per week.”

Of course, touting the percentages doesn’t exactly imply an eagerness to develop an all-encompassing network of reporting indie retailers. Moving more than 1,000 non-secondhand units (with most of the sales presumably involving the long-surging vinyl) per week implies an average of at least 143 or so products sold each day.

According to the RIAA, 23.4 million vinyl units were shipped (not necessarily sold) in the States during 2023’s opening half. Needless to say, a sizable portion of the total is attributable to mega-retailers like Walmart, Target, and Amazon.

Assuming for argument’s sake that all the units had been forwarded to the approximately 1,400 stateside indie record stores identified by Record Store Day, though, the establishments would have received about 16,700 products apiece.

Spread out across the six-month stretch, those products, if completely sold off, would represent an average of only 93 units moved per store daily and 650 units moved weekly. That’s not to say indie record stores’ new-product sales are insignificant; instead, the top-level stats provide a rough idea of how very many retailers and cumulative sales may be left behind and underrepresented by Luminate’s new system.

Bearing in mind the points, the VRMA says it’s “actively engaging with an alternative third-party reporting source,” which would “collect and report quarterly data at the record-pressing plant level to ensure that we have a counter-balance to Luminate’s reporting.”

The VRMA didn’t elaborate upon these talks, but it’s worth noting that Record Store Day’s indie-store chart is powered by StreetPulse. The latter’s website says the company “provides daily sales data updated in realtime built on a powerful filterset producing millions of data combinations.”

Jerry’s Records in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Photo Credit: Joshua Olsen

Despite pushback from organizations including the Vinyl Alliance, Luminate is moving full steam ahead with major changes to the way it reports indie vinyl sales.

Luminate’s intention to proceed with the pivots, about which we reported earlier in December, entered the media spotlight in a recent piece from Billboard. Besides providing chart data to the latter, Luminate (formerly P-MRC Data) is tied to the publication via Penske Media.

Beyond these multifaceted ownership specifics, Luminate previously communicated that it would cease extrapolating physical sales data (for the still-surging vinyl and, less significantly, CDs and cassettes) for indie retailers in the US and Canada.

Abandoning this longstanding practice of estimating overall commercial volume based upon a limited supply of sales figures, Luminate explained in more words that it would instead begin counting only the sales reported directly to it by indie businesses.

As initially mentioned, the likes of the Vinyl Record Manufacturers Association (VRMA) and the Vinyl Alliance quickly expressed their opposition – including because of the small number of record stores that feed sales stats to Luminate.

“With less than 5% of independent physical retailers currently reporting directly to Luminate, the data collected will be a grossly inaccurate representation of the sales of physical products,” the organizations spelled out in a to-the-point joint statement.

Notwithstanding this and other concerns, though, Luminate is poised to implement the changes in just over two weeks, when its 2024 calendar year kicks off, per Billboard.

In explaining the decision to stick to the plan amid the aforementioned opposition, Luminate drew attention to a purported “‘consensus that the current weighted modeling should be retired.’”

Meanwhile, per Billboard’s description, the data company has indicated that it boasted as of mid-November 93 percent coverage for “the total U.S. physical market” as well as data inputs from 95 percent “of U.S. independent retail stores that reach over 1,000 sales per week.”

Behind the 95 percent figure, which may appear positive at a glance, logic suggests that more than a few record stores fail to hit the implied average of 143 non-secondhand products moved each day of the week – meaning that the percentage, in keeping with the vinyl organizations’ remarks, could potentially be far lower for all indie retail businesses.

Longer term, one needn’t stretch the imagination to grasp how the development may impact chart data in favor of certain super-popular projects.

In any event, Luminate is reportedly working with retailers to streamline reporting, including via support “resources,” with indie-specific bestseller stats expected to be forwarded to participating stores weekly once the retooled system is up and running.

Utopia Distribution Services and Proper Music Group MD Drew Hill. Photo Credit: Utopia Music

Notwithstanding the well-documented operational woes it’s grappled with throughout 2022 and 2023, Utopia Music has revealed that its UK warehouse shipped north of 3.3 million physical-media units during November.

The Switzerland-based company reached out to Digital Music News with word of the “record-breaking” November, which is said to be the “busiest month to date” for Utopia Distribution Services (UDS) since the September of 2022 purchase of Cinram Novum.

Despite this buyout’s having arrived about 15 months ago, it was only in late August that UDS, not to be confused with “film distribution and sales company” Utopia Distribution, opened the 269,000-square-foot Bicester warehouse (under a tie-up with Dubai World’s DP World) behind the initially mentioned distribution feat.

Then, we reported in October that Sony Music and Universal Music had seemingly swooped in with an asset-backed financial lifeline to keep UDS afloat. Though the precise details of the agreements weren’t publicly disclosed, regulatory filings shed light upon the stringent nature of the pacts, including the far-reaching powers held by the major labels over UDS in connection with the union.

In any event, Utopia Distribution Services specifically shipped 3,360,067 units (covering both physical music and visual-media products) throughout November, with a peak of 820,778 units moved during the month’s final week, according to the company.

The sum attached to the whole of November marks a 26.2 percent boost from October and its 2,662,314 units distributed, Utopia also signaled.

Particularly on the music side, the warehouse is said to distribute “70% of the UK’s physical music for clients” such as the aforementioned Universal Music and Sony Music as well as [PIAS] (in which Universal has a stake) and Cargo Music. Meanwhile, the final major label, Warner Music, has tapped UDS for “invoicing, cash collection and returns services,” per the latter business.

Addressing his company’s November milestone, UDS managing director Drew Hill emphasized the need for a capable and evolving distribution framework for physical products including vinyl.

“As demand for physical music continues to grow,” communicated Hill, “it remains essential that the recording’s business can benefit from a fit-for-purpose supply chain able to service the biggest major to the smallest indie.

“I am incredibly proud of the infrastructure UDS has built, with the success of our new warehouse being testament to the collective hard work from industry stakeholders to ensure physical formats can continue to thrive in years to come,” he concluded.

Photo Credit: Konstantinos Hasandras

A change to how Luminate reports indie vinyl sales has the Vinyl Record Manufacturing Association (VRMA) and the Vinyl Alliance bristling. Here’s the latest.

In Autumn 2023, Luminate announced a change to how it reports physical sales (vinyl, CD, cassette), relying on a direct representation of sales reported from indie retailers in the U.S. and Canada who have agreed to participate in Luminate data reporting. Historically and currently, indie sales are algorithmically determined due to the small number of record stores contributing to weekly sales activity.

Both the VRMA and the Vinyl Alliance believe this shift will unfairly minimize numbers, creating a change in the true insight of indie sales at physical retail stores. “With less than 5% of independent physical retailers currently reporting directly to Luminate, the data collected will be a grossly inaccurate representation of the sales of physical products,” the group believes.

“There will be an immediate break between the market reporting by the RIAA and the IFPI, both important and globally recognized industry organizations. Reviewing current data, the overall U.S. physical market reporting could be reduced by as much as 40% in units and 35% in value in retail dollars,” the Vinyl Alliance estimates.

“This break from the historic measurement process will have many consequences, most notably the decimation of market share currently held by independent retail. This reduction will have an immediate effect, and the downward perception of the value of the market will reverberate around the globe.”

“We agree that accuracy is the goal and with the proper amount of time dedicated to onboarding an expansive list of new independent retail reporters, we will arrive at the desired destination—an accurate measure of the market confirming the most popular artists in any given chart week.”

In 2022, vinyl record sales surpassed CDs for the first time in 30 years, marking a huge comeback for the physical format. Luminate reported vinyl sales YTD for 2023 are up 18.4% in the U.S. with fifty-two pressing plants in the U.S. producing around 200,000,000 record discs per year. That capacity is expanding, with close to 200 plants targeted to be online by 2024.

“The continued growth of vinyl sales was the impetus for starting the Association,” adds VRMA President and Chief Creative Officer of Hand Drawn Pressing’s Dustin Blocker. “This new reporting would be a widely imprecise reflection of the popularity of physical products and the strength of the industry as a whole, with the potential to have a large ripple effect on not just pressing plants but the entire vinyl value chain.”

“We have over 50 members from across the industry which include half the pressing plants in the United States, but also audio companies, plating, mastering print, packing, technology, record labels, and of course, record stores, all of whom would be affected.”

Photo Credit: UMG

Universal Music Japan opens a UMG retail destination in Tokyo, dedicated to serving music superfans.

Universal Music Japan has announced the grand opening of a concept UMG retail store dedicated to supporting music superfans. The four-story superstore opened to the public on Friday, October 20, in the heart of Harajuku, Tokyo — a world-famous destination for fashion, culture, and fandom.

Locate on Takeshita Street, Universal Music Store Harajuku will serve as a hub for UMG artists and fans from around the world to connect in person. Spanning four curated floors, the store will feature dedicated fan experiences, product launches, and retail pop-up shops, while also serving as a platform for artists to express their creative visions and share them with their fans through exciting, unique events.

“We are excited to welcome the new Universal Music Harajuku concept store to Tokyo’s world-famous Harajuku district, a gathering point for people, styles, and culture from all over the world,” said Naoshi Fujikura, President and CEO of Universal Music Japan.

“This store represents an exciting new venture for UMG and celebrates the incredible impact and role that fans play in supporting their favorite artists. In the coming months, the store will offer unique fan experiences for our artists, both domestic and international, creating new commercial opportunities for our artists and business.”

“Like Harajuku as a district, Japanese music fans are globally known for their dedicated fandom, and this store will only help to strengthen the connection between our artists and their fans, while becoming the go-to destination in Tokyo for all fashion, culture, and music lovers.”

The new music store features the launch of the RS No. 9 Harajuku flagship store — a brand born in London, now opening its second global location. In 2020, RS No. 9 opened a street-level store on London’s Carnaby Street, gaining widespread attention from fans of the Rolling Stones for its apparel, merch, and exclusive collaborations, both online and in-store.

The Harajuku RS No. 9 location features the Stones’ globally recognized lips and tongue logo and offers a variety of unique items on display and for sale. The shop also offers exclusive Japanese-only merchandise to coincide with the release of the Rolling Stones’ new studio album, Hackney Diamonds.

“We’re thrilled to bring the RS No. 9 brand to Japan to support our new album,” said the band. “We hope our fans are excited to experience everything the store has to offer.”

UMG will announce additional artist and fan experiences to feature across the four floors of the Harajuku store in the coming months. IFPI notes Japan is the world’s second-largest music market and leads the world in physical music sales.

Photo Credit: Courtesy Interscope Geffen A&M Records

The Rolling Stones partner with Major League Baseball to release limited edition team-customized vinyl pressings of their new album, ‘Hackney Diamonds.’

Major League Baseball has teamed up with The Rolling Stones to release a limited edition vinyl collection of the band’s upcoming album, Hackney Diamonds, dropping on October 20. Available exclusively on The Stones’ website, the collectors’ item features custom art for each of the 30 MLB Clubs in pocket jackets containing a single disc baseball-white vinyl.

The connection between the two might not be obvious to the uninitiated, but The Rolling Stones have had a long history with MLB. During the band’s Steel Wheels Tour in 1989, the Stones played half of their North American dates at homes (or previous homes) to Major League Baseball teams. In 1997, their Bridges to Babylon Tour saw the band play at Dodger Stadium, while their A Bigger Bang Tour in 2005 started off with two shows at Boston’s Fenway Park.

Hackney Diamonds is The Rolling Stones’ first studio album of brand-new material since 2005. Earlier this month, the band launched a globally livestreamed event from Hackney Empire in East London to promote the upcoming release. The premiere of the music video for “Angry” immediately followed the livestream, which has enjoyed over 15 million views.

The 12-track album includes two songs featuring the late drummer Charlie Watts: “Mess It Up” and “Live By the Sword.” Additionally, “Live By the Sword” features former Stones bassist Bill Wyman and piano from Elton John, who also plays on “Get Close.” “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” includes vocals from Lady Gaga with piano from Stevie Wonder, and Paul McCartney’s bass can be heard in “Bite My Head Off.”

Although The Stones hadn’t released an album of new material since 2005, the band has continued to smash records with a series of global sell-out tours. Their 2016 release, Blue & Lonesome, featured their versions of many of the blues tracks that helped shape their sound. Last year, they delighted European audiences on their 60th-anniversary Sixty Tour.

Photo Credit: Sam Jones

Warner Records releases ‘Extra Mojo Version,’ a digital re-release of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ 2010 blues album ‘Mojo,’ featuring two previously unreleased tracks.

On October 20 — the late Tom Petty’s birthday — Warner Records will release Extra Mojo Version, a digital re-release of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ 2010 album, Mojo, featuring two unreleased tracks. The first, “Help Me,” a Sonny Boy Williamson II cover, is out today with an accompanying video featuring newly discovered footage of Petty and the band.

The band’s most blues-influenced record, Mojo features a collection of guitar-driven rock songs beloved by Petty fans worldwide. With such strong blues inspiration throughout the album, “Help Me” fits in perfectly among the expanded version. Tom Petty often played blues-heavy music on his radio show, “Buried Treasure,” including Sonny Boy Williamson II’s discography; Petty & The Heartbreakers performed a cover of the song during the recording sessions for the album.

Extra Mojo Version will also include “Mystery of Love,” a second previously unreleased track. The rare outtakes will be featured exclusively on the forthcoming digital version, also available in Dolby Atmos. The album’s other highlights include the hit “I Should Have Known It,” a driving rock track written by Petty and lead guitarist Mike Campbell, along with fan favorites “Good Enough,” “First Flash of Freedom,” and “Something Good Coming.”

The special vinyl reissue of Mojo will also release on October 20, now available for pre-order. The highly requested reissue will be available in a limited-edition translucent ruby red double vinyl LP pressing, also in Dolby Atmos and Spatial formats.

Recorded live in the band’s Los Angeles rehearsal space, The Clubhouse, Mojo was released in June 2010, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. “With this album, I want to show other people what I hear with the band,” said Petty. “Mojo is where the band lives when it’s playing for itself.”

With the rise of audio technologies such as Dolby Atmos on streaming platforms, spatial audio has become unmissable for all artists. Whether we discuss the perspective of well-established musicians or emerging artists, there’s no denying that the music industry is evolving, and leaning more and more toward a potential new standard of audio experience.

Sweetwater has been a long-term partner of Digital Music News, which is proud to share this news.

Apple Music launched the Dolby Atmos format on its platform in 2021, making waves in music streaming by giving significant visibility to new immersive audio formats. The following year, the platform reported that most of their listeners (80%) had switched to the spatial audio format. What does that widespread adaptation mean for music professionals?

Spatial Audio Well On Its Way to Become A New Standard

First things first: spatial audio is special because it matches a human’s natural perception of sound. At any given time, the human mind perceives and registers multiple sources of noise from our environment. There are several sources of sound when we walk down a street, for example. But when we listen to music in a stereo format, we receive only two sources of sound. With spatial audio, sound sources instantly jump to 37.

Thanks to its partnership with Apple Music, Dolby Atmos is now one of the most well-known formats. Developed by Dolby Lab, it allows the listener to be surrounded in immersive 3D sound. However, that is only one of the many gifts spatial audio brings to the table.

It goes without saying that any spatial audio format has to be taken seriously by all music professionals — especially artists and producing teams.

But there are two primary reasons why industry professionals should stay up to date on the spatial audio trend, and fully embrace it.

• • • To fit the requirements of music streaming platforms and maximize chances of getting playlisted, Dolby Atmos mastering is quickly becoming crucial for artists. Over the last couple of years, the audience for spatial audio mixes seems to be growing. Reports also suggest listener engagement for this format is higher than older formats.
    • With spatial audio, artistic vision can attain entirely new dimensions of listener experience. Major labels are in a rush to re-record and remaster back catalogs of some of the most influential artists. However, these actions of remastering tracks are not binary. Re-coloring music and dividing parts of it is highly subjective and specific equipment is required to get the job done right. All in all, spatial audio is taking up more space. It is giving artists more freedom to engage and attain specific aesthetics that fit their creative vision during studio mixing.

Staying Ahead Of The Curve: The Best Practices

So what now? Spatialized audio does make significant new promises for the creative process. However, to ensure that mixes fit an artist’s unique goals and ideas, the right equipment is crucial. Whether we talk about a home recording studio or a more professional space, the right setup is key. Every artist, producer, or music professional has their expertise and specialty. But when we talk about technical recording details in a studio, not everyone is capable of tackling it effectively.

When setting up a studio with the intention and the gear to create music in these new formats, you need to rely on the right people to guide you and set it up.

This collaboration-led excellence is what Sweetwater had in mind. After starting as a recording studio, gearing up to be on the cutting edge of technology, they created a commercial audio offer that could potentially benefit any music professional. From designing to building, the equipment can be expertly handled and utilized. However, the way these tools are leveraged is what will make or break the final track.

It’s all about learning from experience and artistic perception — something Sweetwater launched in their studio with workshops and masterclasses. But what happens once the tracks are finalized as perfectly as possible?

Making Sure That Music Is Rendered The Right Way

If we’re working on creating better music, higher-quality audio, and finding a better way to convey emotion through music, listeners should be able to hear it anywhere. When composing and mixing in a studio, we consider how it would sound at home or in cars. However, venues such as stores, restaurants, or even elevators are often overlooked. This new technology and format demands novel requirements of how we play music in outdoor venues and businesses. If these places aren’t equipped with the right hardware to deliver new formats, how can we render the music the way it was created?

With a focus on solving this problem, Sweetwater launched their Commercial Audio service. This bespoke service designs, builds, and installs the entire sound system in accordance with architectural and budgetary limitations. For obvious reasons, nobody expects contractors or business owners to be well versed in sound systems’ and speakers’ technical aspects and placement in various spaces. Sweetwater will take the initiative to create the right spatial audio atmosphere for any public place.

Spatial audio has introduced a new vision of how music is formulated, created, and broadcasted. As a result of this evolution, the general perception of music is also gradually shifting. Demand for this format continues to grow, leading to inevitable implications for the music industry and the broader retail side.

About Sweetwater

From a recording studio to the first online retailer of commercial audio in the US, Sweetwater has made the journey deeply rooted in professional music. Having gone through the discovery of spatial audio and the testing and setting up of new equipment, Sweetwater has gained extensive experience of spatial audio, and how it will impact the industry. One of the first steps that should be taken is picking up the right hardware for listening to audio. That focus will vastly impact the creative process in a studio — and amplify the final listener experience.

With the capability of setting up sound systems in recording studios, hair salons, and even Olympic stadiums, Sweetwater is here to support upgrades and developments. Recording arts is a job in itself; yours is music!

Photo Credit: Sonospress

Sonospress is unveiling a new form of vinyl LP made from recycled plastic to drastically reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing vinyl. Here’s the latest.

Sonospress says the new LP is being launched in collaboration with Warner Music and uses polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as its base material. Traditional vinyl LPs are manufactured using polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which uses massive amounts of chlorine. PVC production accounts for 40% of use in the United States and releases chlorine—a building block of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Sonospress says pressing the new vinyl LP made from PET plastic requires neither natural gas nor steam and a test operation saw an energy savings of up to 85% compared to the traditional process. The first production line of EcoRecord vinyls has gone into operation today at its plant in Gütersloh, Germany following a series of tests last year.

“The tests were so encouraging that we gave the green light for extensive investment in the construction of a pilot line in the twelve-inch LP format,” adds Sven Deutschmann, Managing Director of Sonospress. “Life cycle analyses by independent third-party labs proved that we can significantly reduce emissions of climate-changing CO2 with our new process.”

“We’ve used the past weeks to check every production detail a hundred times over, comprehensively refine all production parameters, and optimize the quality of the manufactured products so that we can now move into regular production with complete confidence.”

“From the beginning of development, we set out with the ambition that the quality of the EcoRecord should match that of a conventionally produced vinyl LP in terms of sound quality. It should not only convince the experts, but above all offer the music lover an excellent feel and a great listening experience.”

The EcoRecord is produced and assembled by a new injection molding machine with a contact pressure of up to 300 tons. Alongside other necessary special tools and supplementary equipment also developed by Sonospress, the production line was completed in just a few months. It harnesses the same injection molding process that has been used for decades to create LaserDiscs, CDs, DVDs, and other digital storage media.

Sonospress says the EcoRecord line was launched as the global vinyl market continues to surge. A recent IFPI reported vinyl revenues increased 17.2% in 2022—marking a third year of consecutive double-digit growth for the format.

“We’re pleased to work closely with Sonospress in the development of this sustainable vinyl format,” adds Salvatore Monteleone, Executive Vice President Global Operations at Warner Music. “It’s one of several green innovation initiatives we’re developing with partners to help reduce our industry’s environmental impact. Our goal with this project is to provide fans with the high-quality sound of vinyl, while minimizing carbon emissions in production and eliminating the use of PVC.”

Photo Credit: Yuri Efremov

Sometimes controversy sells – but not this time. On the heels of a disastrous New York Times interview, Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner has released The Masters, which is currently ranked 7,639th by book sales on Amazon.

77-year-old Wenner’s latest book, full title The Masters: Conversations with Dylan, Lennon, Jagger, Townshend, Garcia, Bono, and Springsteen, officially became available to the public yesterday. Spanning about 370 pages, the work, as its name suggests, consists of “new and collected interviews” with “some of the greatest rockstars,” including a “never-before-seen” discussion with Bruce Springsteen, according to the appropriate description.

(Springsteen today revealed that he “will continue treatment” for peptic ulcer disease “through the rest of the year on doctor’s advice,” with his planned shows postponed until 2024. The 74-year-old’s team is expected to announce the rescheduled dates next week.)

Meanwhile, the initially mentioned Times sit down appeared to experience heavy turbulence out of the gate, with Wenner acknowledging that he’d allowed his interviewees to edit their comments (directly on the transcripts) prior to publication. “It’s interview subjects clarifying what they want to say,” maintained the Like a Rolling Stone author.

Things hardly improved from there, for Wenner proceeded to downplay the lazy, defamatory, and extremely damaging “A Rape on Campus” article published by Rolling Stone in 2014.

And to top off the trainwreck of a conversation, Wenner provided a highly offensive and demeaning attempt at an explanation as to why he didn’t interview any female artists (“just none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level”) or black artists (“Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they just didn’t articulate at that level.”).

But the ensuing controversy, complete with a public denunciation from Rolling Stone, hasn’t resulted in a major commercial boost for The Masters, as highlighted at the outset.

Besides being ranked 7,639th overall on Amazon’s book-sales list and having received just one on-platform review, The Masters was at the time of this writing occupying the 96th spot in the ecommerce giant’s “Arts & Literature Biographies” category, the 24th position in the “Essays & Correspondence (Books)” category, and the fourth ranking in a decidedly specific category for Beatles books.

Additionally, the price of the book’s main Amazon listing had been reduced by 10 percent to $27 – with other sellers offering The Masters for slightly less than that. Not to be outdone, a seller on Walmart has moved to attract library-averse readers with an aggressive $23 price point.

Photo Credit: Travis Yewell

Travis Scott offered a discount code to longtime fans to drop the price of the vinyl version of Utopia from $50 to just $5. The strategy helped the album chart—but should it?

Fans of the rapper quickly latched onto a reddit post advertising a discount code for the vinyl titled, “$5 VINYL GO!” in August. Following that post, Luminate data reveals Scott sold 88,500 vinyl copies of the album, four week after release. Between July 28 and September 7, fans have purchased an estimated 331,000 double LPs.

Photo Credit: Statista

The growth of vinyl as a format has exploded in recent years. It is in its 17th year of straight growth, with 2022 seeing 41.7 million units sold—for 50% growth over the 27.5 million sold in 2019. Just a peek at this graph of vinyl sales from 1993 until now highlights how much the format has grown since 2006. Scott’s offering of $5 vinyls came through discount codes and bundled add-ons when fans bought merchandise from his web store.

But Billboard estimates the rapper did not make a profit on any of the albums sold for $5. “One manager who spoke on the condition of anonymity says he was recently quoted around $7 a unit to manufacture an order of double vinyl,” the report reads. So, if it costs $7 for a double LP, then offering it up for sale for $5 means Travis Scott can’t be making anything at all. This cost doesn’t even consider the mechanical royalties paid out by the song (around 12 cents per song).

Scott moves plenty of merch at sky-high prices, so taking a loss on an order of vinyl to help an album chart isn’t a surprising strategy. But is it one that should catch on? Billboard’s data collected by Luminate cannot distinguish between a vinyl LP sold for $5 at a loss or one sold at $50 to generate a profit. In its books (and charts), a sale is a sale.

Scott’s strategy is very similar to one employed by many authors to wind up on the New York Times best-seller list—simply because appearing on that list can generate additional sales. A 2004 study found that appearing on the NYT best-seller list helped increase debut authors’ sales by 57%. On average for non-debut authors, it helped increase sales around 14%.

So Scott is taking a loss on the backend by moving merch at a massive discount simply for the visibility it provides by remaining in Billboard’s charts from the physical sales boost.

Photo Credit: Warner Music Group

Newly remastered ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ album released on vinyl, CD, and Blu-Ray, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the original Pink Floyd release.

Pink Floyd and Warner Music, alongside Sony Music outside Europe, have announced the upcoming standalone release of the newly remastered “The Dark Side of the Moon” on CD, vinyl, and Blu-Ray, to be released on October 13.

Initially released as part of “The Dark Side of the Moon” 50th Anniversary Box Set, the new remaster of the classic album will be available for the first time on its own. The Blu-Ray contains the Dolby Atmos, a 5.1 Surround mix, and the remastered Stereo version. The package comes with commemorative postcards, stickers, and a 24-page booklet.

Since its debut in 1973, the album has become one of the most iconic and influential releases ever, continually finding new global audiences. “The Dark Side of the Moon” has sold over 50 million copies worldwide. The famous sleeve depicting a prism spectrum was designed by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis and drawn by George Hardie.

The 50th Anniversary celebration continues as Pink Floyd invited a new generation of animators to enter a competition to create animated music videos for any of the album’s ten songs. Pink Floyd has enjoyed a rich history of collaborating with animators from the band’s early days. In some cases, the visuals accompanying the songs have become synonymous with the music itself.

Animators can enter up to ten videos, one per song on the album. A winner will be selected from a panel of experts, including Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason and the band’s creative consultant, Aubrey “Po” Powell. The deadline for submissions is November 30. The event will take place on September 6 at Noon ET on YouTube.

In recognition of the album, a fully immersive experience with visuals of the solar system played alongside “The Dark Side of the Moon” in planetariums worldwide. The show is presented with a different theme for each track, all relating to a time and space experience with all-encompassing surround sound. Check your local planetarium for any screening details.

Utopia Distribution Services and DP World are preparing to open a previously announced UK music distribution warehouse later in August. Photo Credit: Adrian Sulyok

Utopia Distribution Services has kicked off a physical distribution partnership with logistics company DP World, and the businesses are set to open what’s described as the UK’s largest warehouse for media products.

Initially announced earlier in 2023, the tie-up between Utopia Distribution Services and DP World was just recently confirmed in a formal release from the latter company, which is a subsidiary of the government-owned Dubai World.

Notwithstanding several signs of operational difficulties within the overarching Utopia Music, it’s worth noting at the outset that Utopia Distribution Services and Proper Music Group have largely been insulated from less-than-ideal developments.

Specifically, salary delays didn’t impact Proper or Utopia’s distribution unit, according to the relevant reports and the Swiss company, which says it’s cleared “all outstanding tax debts.”

Back to the DP World-Utopia Distribution warehouse, the approximately 269,000-square-foot Bicester, Oxfordshire, facility is expected to open its doors later this month.

According to the involved parties, 70 percent of physical music and 35 percent of physical home-media products sold in the UK annually will pass through the warehouse, which is poised to service some 400 indie record stores, Amazon, and a number of others.

Moreover, a team of 240 human workers and north of 80 Locus Robotics robots will power the warehouse and drive its average daily handling capacity of roughly 100,000 units as well as an upper-end capacity (“during peak periods”) of 250,000 units, per DP and Utopia.

Addressing the warehouse’s imminent opening in a statement, DP World sales VP Jonathan Himsworth indicated that his company is “very excited about working with Utopia Music to support the renaissance of physical music in the UK.”

And in remarks of his own, Utopia Distribution Services MD Drew Hill communicated: “We’re pleased to be working closely with DP World on a smooth transition to our brand new state-of-the-art facility. With UDS distributing for over 50% of the UK’s combined music and video market, our investment in this infrastructure marks a bright and exciting future for physical entertainment.”

Notwithstanding the well-documented resurgence of vinyl (in the UK, the States, and other markets), CD Baby revealed its exit from the physical distribution game and shuttered its warehouse in May. That same month, Alliance Entertainment reported a double-digit Q1 revenue decline; in July, execs announced the conclusion of a 1,335,000-share offering that had priced these shares at $3 apiece.

Photo Credit: eBay

The Korean Fair Trade Commission is investigating major K-pop agencies over deceptive album sales practices related to photocards.

Entertainment agencies in the K-pop sphere have increasingly begun selling photocards of band members with their albums, a practice that increases the amount of units fans must buy to increase their chances of getting the photocard they want. Korea’s antitrust agency is launching a probe into whether the practice violates laws or disrupts the market.

Often included in albums, photocards are photos of K-pop stars that have never been released in other media, leading many avid fans to collect them in a show of affection. But because the cards are randomly placed in each album, the most die-hard fans purchase several copies of the same album to increase their chances of getting the photocard they want — and many K-pop groups contain numerous members.

The Korean Fair Trade Commission has stepped up its efforts to investigate major entertainment agencies to determine whether the practice is exploitative of fans. On July 31, SM Entertainment was investigated under this suspicion, as were JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment on August 1 and 2, respectively. The investigations follow increasing complaints about excessive spending on photocards, extras of which are often sold on secondary marketplaces such as eBay.

NCT, a larger idol group of 20 members, was cited as an example; in their 2020 album, 50 different photocards were launched. Because fans can’t preview which photocard is contained in the album before purchase, some purchased tens of hundreds of albums to secure photocards of their favorites.

As a result, the social media trend of album unboxing, or “album kkang,” emerged, where fans unbox multiple copies of an album to show off which photocards they got. That, unsurprisingly, leads to excessive purchasing from even more fans.

The FTC investigation is to determine whether the process of manufacture and sales are handled fairly, as many companies have been suspected of altering production numbers to make some photocards rarer among the same set, thus promoting additional sales.

Korean officials have rejected media requests for comment.

Photo Credit: Amazon Music / Bandsintown

Amazon Music rolls out integrated merch for nearly 600,000 artists in collaboration with Bandsintown.

Amazon Music has announced a new merch integration with leading global concert-discovery platform Bandsintown. Over 590,000 artists registered with Bandsintown for Artists are now empowered to leverage its suite of free marketing tools to easily promote their merch and music to followers and followers of similar artists through in-app notifications, email, and social media.

Merchandise available on Bandsintown is drawn from the Amazon Music Artist Merch Shop, developed and curated by the Amazon Music team. A centralized hub of merchandise ranging from apparel to physical music, the Amazon Music Artist Merch Shop is a one-stop shop for fans to discover authentic merchandise from their favorite artists.

“Amazon Music and Bandsintown are coming together to make it even easier for fans to find merch from their favorite artists,” said Sean McMullan, director of artist services for Amazon Music. “Merchandise and touring are uniquely intertwined, and we’re making it easier than ever for artists and fans to connect.”

“Merch is an opportunity to demonstrate fandom and a critical source of revenue at times when touring costs are rising,” said Fabrice Sergent, Bandsintown co-founder and managing partner. “We’re proud to come together with Amazon Music to further our mutual goals of helping artists and their fans.”

Amazon Music continues to carve out a mark for itself in the merchandise space as a fan destination for one-of-a-kind merch. Recent collaborations include exclusive merch for Latin superstar Rauw Alejandro’s Saturno Tour, Fall Out Boy’s So Much For (Tour) Dust Tour, and unique online merch drops for the North American leg of Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour.

Bandsintown for Artists’ free platform empowers nearly 600,000 registered artists with marketing tools and insights to build audiences, engage fans, and promote music, merch, and tickets to 80 million registered fans on Bandsintown. An audience of passionate live music lovers, Bandsintown’s user base has grown by 10 million in the last year alone.

Adidas is preparing to sell off a second batch of leftover Yeezy shoes beginning on August 2nd. Photo Credit: Adidas

About nine months after terminating its partnership with Kanye West, Adidas has officially announced plans to offload a second batch of already-manufactured Yeezys.

The German athletic-wear company detailed the forthcoming Yeezys drop – as well as the related donations it intends to deliver to “selected organizations working to combat discrimination and hate” – today.

For reference, late May saw Adidas kick off a massive sale for its reportedly $1.3 billion worth of remaining Yeezy inventory. Reports suggested that fans had been quick to scoop up the footwear, which will reportedly deliver a total of over $140 million to Kanye West (or 11 percent of each sold item) notwithstanding the well-documented implosion of his Adidas tie-up.

(On platforms including Ebay, profit-minded sellers appear to be asking for and receiving substantial sums for a variety of Yeezy items.)

In any event, Adidas communicated that the drop at hand will occur “in phases” after beginning on August 2nd, featuring “products which were initiated in 2022.” The precise availability and timing behind these phased releases “will also vary depending on location,” the company indicated.

Furthermore, besides becoming available to prospective customers through the CONFIRMED app, the Adidas app, and the Adidas website, the involved shoes will be purchasable via “selected adidas wholesale partners” – albeit on “their digital platforms only.”

Lastly, in terms of the sale’s specifics, Adidas relayed that the drop will encompass the Yeezy Boost 350 V2, 500, and 700 as well as the Yeezy Slide and Foam Runner, to name some. As part of an initiative with the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, certain Yeezy products sold directly by Adidas in North America will ship with “blue square pins,” per the business.

Upon posting its second-quarter financials – including €5.34 billion (currently $5.89 billion) in revenue – Adidas forecasted a 2023 operating loss of €450 million ($496 million), down from a prior estimate of €700 million ($771.55 million). “If successful, potential future Yeezy drops would further improve the company’s results,” execs noted.

Specifically in the music space, 2023 has brought the end of Adidas’ Ivy Park collaboration with Beyoncé, reportedly due to sluggish sales. Nevertheless, the entity is moving forward with a Bad Bunny union – the reimagined “Campus Chalky Brown” is expected to go on sale at $160 a pop tomorrow – and a Korn partnership. The products associated with the latter, among them sneakers, tracksuits, and t-shirts, are set to debut in October.

Photo Credit: Adidas

Bad Bunny continues his Adidas partnership with the launch of the newly reimagined ‘Campus Chalky Brown’ at $160 starting July 29.

Adidas has announced the latest in the Adidas Originals x Bad Bunny collaboration with the launch of the new Campus Chalky Brown on July 29. A simple, “timeless design, reimagined from the artist’s point of view,” the Campus Chalky Brown incorporates a warm palette of ochre and browns with a unique set of laces. 

The new shoe will be available in-store, online, on the Adidas CONFIRMED app, on Bad Bunny’s website, and in the Adidas flagship store starting July 29, with a price tag of $160.

“The latest iteration of Adidas Originals x Bad Bunny brings us one step closer to Benito’s personal style and musical influence, with all his spirit, inviting us to wear these shoes any time and any place,” says Adidas. 

“The shoe is a classic design with a padded collar, offering maximum comfort and reinforcements in the heel which together with a unique set of laces builds a premium silhouette, (featuring) a rubber sole and three stripes on the sides, the classic double set of tabs, and the characteristic eye symbol.”

Bad Bunny is currently on his first stadium tour in the United States and Latin America and is well on his way to setting more records. Thus far, he has set the record for the highest-grossing concert in each venue he has performed and the highest-grossing show by a Latin act. 

His fourth studio album, Un Verano Sin Ti, released in 2022, became the second all-Spanish album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Chart, behind another Bad Bunny release, El Último Tour del Mundo. Un Verano Sin Ti clocked the most significant streaming week ever for a Latin music album, with more than 356 million on-demand streams in its debut week. The album also set a record by having each of its 24 songs chart on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs.

Photo Credit: Onyx Record Press

A new vinyl pressing plant focusing on indies, Onyx Record Press, has opened up in Los Angeles with a plan to begin pressing vinyl as early as August.

Onyx Record Press is a new vinyl pressing plant opening in Los Angeles County, the brainchild of LA-based DJ and producer, Drumcell. Based in the city of Arcadia, the pressing plant is already taking pre-orders and is anticipated to begin pressing vinyl as early as August.

“We believe in investing in our music communities by prioritizing non-major labels and artists, creating access for customers that are faced with unrealistic timelines or flat-out denied, and having new state-of-the-art pressing machines for a quicker turnaround,” says Drumcell.

“Our team has over 25 years of experience in the vinyl manufacturing industry. We uphold the notion that getting records pressed is a distinguished compliment for an artist,” the statement continues. “We believe that the sum of feeling the weight of vinyl in your hands, listening to the needle translate the grooves into music, and admiring the large artwork is the ultimate form to experience recorded music. At Onyx Record Press, we are committed to delivering this quintessential music format in the highest quality possible.”

The news comes almost a year after a new vinyl-pressing plant opened in California, hoping to become “America’s premier vinyl production facility,” amid a trend of shortages and delays for plants worldwide. New vinyl pressing plants also opened in Germany and the UK last year.

US vinyl sales increased by 21.7% in the first half of 2023, according to Luminate’s mid-year report. Despite the continued resurgence in vinyl’s popularity, manufacturing delays and rising costs continue to strain the independent vinyl market; many smaller or indie musicians have been turned away from pressing plants in favor of more prominent artists, something Drumcell hopes to help alleviate. 

Photo Credit: NME

NME announces the return of its print magazine after a five-year hiatus, with a new bi-monthly edition featuring the best new artists and bands, industry insight, reviews, and more.

Music and pop culture brand NME is returning to print after a five-year gap with a new global bi-monthly magazine, showcasing the best contemporary artists and bands, industry insight, expert reviews, and new features. 

First launched in 1952, NME’s last printed edition of the weekly version of the magazine was released in 2018, with NME going on to reach its largest-ever readership as an online publication, alongside one-off printed specials and a title in Australia. The new version of the magazine seeks to entertain, inform, and inspire entertainment obsessives and the industry at large.

Each cover of the new incarnation of the magazine will feature an edition of The Cover, NME’s existing flagship editorial property championing emerging talent and elevating new artists and bands as part of NME’s commitment to global new music discovery.

“Print has always been a cornerstone of the NME brand, and we are thrilled to announce the return of an icon,” said NME Networks’ Chief Operating and Commercial Officer, Holly Bishop. “Our new global magazine will curate the very best of NME, championing emerging artists and bands and serving as the definitive voice in pop culture.”

“Today, we announce NME’s return to print with a brand new global magazine, offering an immersive journey celebrating the best in music, film, TV, and gaming,” says Meng Ru Kuok, Group Chief Executive Officer and Founder of NME parent company Caldecott Music Group, which also owns BandLab Technologies and Vista Musical Instruments.

“Building on our commitment to supporting the new talent shaping the future of music and the industry itself, we are prouder than ever to showcase and immortalize emerging artists in our new global edition.

“NME has never reached more people than it does today, and we’re excited to embrace our legacy, giving emerging artists the recognition and exposure they truly deserve while creating new synergies and opportunities for both talent and fans.”

The July/August issue of NME Magazine will have exclusive worldwide availability through music retailer Dawsons, alongside limited issue drops made available through artists, record stores, and select partners. Those interested can register for further information and updates on issue drops. The first issue will be available to order online at Dawsons starting Wednesday, August 9.

Photo Credit: Luminate

The music industry’s top physical sales of 2023 so far have been revealed per data from Luminate, further highlighting the relationship between K-pop fans and physical music sales.

While streaming continues to dominate as the most popular music consumption method, physical sales are also up across all formats — and super fans are helping to drive those numbers, according to mid-year data from Luminate. 

Luminate defines a super fan as a music listener aged 13+ who engages with an artist and their content in multiple ways — streaming, social media, purchasing physical merch or music, or attending live performances. In this case, super fans were participants who self-reported as engaging with their favorite artists in five or more ways. 

In the US, super fans account for 15% of the population, and they influence an artist’s relationship with their listeners. Fans who buy physical music in the form of CDs, cassettes, or vinyl are 128% more likely to be super fans, and they spend 80% more money on music each month than the average listener.

Top Physical Sales of 2023 So Far — CD & Vinyl

Luminate data reveals that K-pop fans are more than 69% more likely to purchase a vinyl record in the next twelve months than other primary genre super fans, and they’re more than 67% more likely to buy music to show their support for an artist. K-pop fans drive CD sales (46%) and cassette sales (23%) more than fans of other genres, and one in four K-pop fans have purchased a cassette in the last year.

Top CD Album Sales

1. TOMORROW X TOGETHER – The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION – 395,000 copies
2. Stray Kids – 5-Star – 322,000 copies
3. TWICE – Ready to Be – 258,000 copies
4. Seventeen – Seventeen 10th Mini Album “FML” – 233,000 copies
5. Agust D (Suga of BTS) – D-Day – 186,000 copies
6. Taylor Swift – Midnights – 176,000 copies
7. Jimin (BTS) – FACE – 168,000 copies
8. Ateez – The World EP 2: Outlaw – 129,000 copies
9. ENHYPEN – Dark Blood – 127,000 copies
10. Stray Kids – Maxident – 114,000 copies

Top Vinyl Album Sales

1. Taylor Swift – Midnights – 251,000 copies
2. Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd – 132,000 copies
3. Taylor Swift – folklore – 107,000 copies
4. Tyler, The Creator – IGOR – 104,000 copies
5. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours – 103,000 copies
6. boygenius – The Record – 100,000 copies
7. Melanie Martinez – PORTALS – 93,000 copies
8. Michael Jackson – Thriller – 85,000 copies
9. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon – 85,000 copies
10. Lana Del Rey – Born to Die – 84,000 copies

Photo Credit: Ronald Woan / CC by 2.0

Luminate’s mid-year report for 2023 reveals the top albums by sale so far — both physical and digital combined — with Taylor Swift and K-pop albums dominating the list.

It’s been a big year for Taylor Swift, and the music industry’s mid-year data from Luminate reflects that — in addition to K-pop groups’ continued phenomenal worldwide success. Over half of the top ten best-selling albums of 2023 thus far are from Korean pop groups or solo releases from members of BTS during the band’s hiatus.

Among the top handful of albums by sale for the first half of 2023 are Taylor Swift’s Midnights, three albums from K-pop bands — TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION, Stray Kids’ 5-Star, and girl group TWICE’s Ready to Be), and country star Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time.

The second half of the list is rounded out by Korean boy band Seventeen’s 10th mini-album “FML,” Metallica’s eleventh studio album, 72 Seasons, two solo albums from members of BTS (Suga’s Agust D project D-Day and Jimin’s FACE), and Melanie Martinez’s PORTALS.

Notably, this list does not account for Total Equivalent Album (TEA) consumption or on-demand streams and only considers verifiable physical and digital album sales. It also highlights just how important physical sales are to driving K-pop sales, landing several acts on this list thanks to their legions of super fans willing to buy physical albums in multiple formats (vinyl, CD, and digital sales) to support their favorite artists.

Top Albums by Total Sales (Digital & Physical)

1. Taylor Swift – Midnights – 607,000 copies
2. TOMORROW X TOGETHER – The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION – 399,000 copies
3. Stray Kids – 5-Star – 327,000 copies
4. TWICE – Ready to Be – 286,000 copies
5. Morgan Wallen – One Thing at a Time – 242,000 copies
6. Seventeen – Seventeen 10th Mini-Album “FML” – 236,000 copies
7. Metallica – 72 Seasons – 215,000 copies
8. Agust D (Suga of BTS) – D-Day – 200,000 copies
9. Jimin (BTS) – FACE – 196,000 copies
10. Melanie Martinez – PORTALS – 194,000 copies

Photo Credit: Amazon Music

Amazon is the official online merchandise partner for Beyoncé’s Renaissance world tour. Here’s the latest.

Beyoncé has partnered with the online retailer for a series of four distinct merch drops throughout the North American leg of her tour. Drop 1.0 includes five items that celebrate the iconography of the tour, available at Amazon’s Beyoncé hub. All online merchandise will be different from the product available at venues.

The collaboration offers customers around the world access to never-before-seen product and memorabilia styles only on the Amazon Music Artist Merch shop. The inaugural drop of this four-part collection includes five items including:

• Renaissance Tee | A custom dyed, premium heavyweight tee, with the iconic artwork that first announced the tour.
• Renaissance Marquee Tee | A custom dyed, premium heavyweight tee, featuring a custom Renaissance Marquee graphic. 
• Renaissance Marquee Sweatshirt | A custom died, premium heavyweight sweatshirt emblazoned with the Renaissance marquee graphic.
• Renaissance Marquee Pants | A custom dyed, premium heavyweight sweatpant, designed to pair with the crewneck sweatshirt.
• Renaissance Marquee Poster | A lithograph-style print featuring the Renaissance marquee graphic.

Future drops as part of the physical merchandise for the Renaissance tour will be announced on Amazon Music social channels. Each drop will feature exclusive Renaissance merchandise that includes designs that are different from the products sold in venues. 

Taylor Swift’s Eras tour is predicted to smash the $1 billion tour barrier this year—but this online merch drop could help Beyonce narrow the gap. Selling merch online through Amazon is a smart move, especially as exclusive merch drops have become a defining feature of live tours. Meanwhile, it speaks to the e-commerce power of Amazon featuring a tour drop for Beyonce with Amazon Music as the official partner. 

The merch drop is in collaboration with the singer’s Parkwood Entertainment company. Parkwood Entertainment produced The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour (2013-2014), The Formation World Tour (2016), and the ‘Homecoming’ performances at Coachella in 2018. It also co-produced the On the Run Tour (2014) and On the Run II (2018).

Photo Credit: antonbe

TikTok could launch an online retail store in the United States as early as next month, according to reports. 

The e-commerce store would sell goods from China, allowing the company to compete in the e-commerce segment. Amazon, Shein, and Temu would be the major competitors for the newly conceived ‘TikTok Shop.’ The report from Semafor suggests TikTok’s store will sell kitchen gadgets, toys, and other household items. These items would appear in the TikTok Shop tab, which currently exists in the app with businesses paying a commission to sell their products to TikTok’s user base. 

TikTok’s means of breaking into the e-commerce market in the United States is still developing. It launched TikTok Shop in November 2022, but the platform has yet to gain significant traction. TikTok is also experimenting with something it calls ‘Trendy Beat’ in the U.K. Products are sold and shipped by a Singapore-based company owned by ByteDance. TechCrunch spotted a trademark application for the ‘Trendy Beat’ feature in the United States, so this is likely an extension of the U.K. test. 

E-commerce is wildly successful for TikTok in Asia, where the industry at large is growing at astronomic rates. Southeast Asia, in particular, is a hot spot for the company. TikTok is aiming to quadruple the size of its e-commerce venture to $20 billion in gross merchandise value for 2023, compared to just $4.4 billion in sales last year.

“It’s very, very difficult to make either European consumers or North American consumers purchase from these social networks,” Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Kodali told Yahoo Finance. “That’s just not how we shop, it may be a little bit of how we discover, but it’s not how we buy.”

The e-commerce market in the United States is already well-saturated with established players. Even brick-and-mortar retail giant Walmart struggled to get its e-commerce business off the ground after Amazon had dominated the landscape for so long. It took purchasing an e-commerce retailer and adapting its business to Walmart’s needs. It’s also hard to get consumers to care about buying items from an untested store—especially if they’re items they can get elsewhere. TikTok is facing an uphill challenge in these markets, especially with its regulatory scrutiny. 

Photo Credit: Adidas

Adidas is finally releasing a collaboration with nu-metal band Korn in October, featuring shoes and apparel — 25 years after the band wrote a song about the brand.

First reported by Kicks Finder on Twitter in February, Adidas has finally announced an upcoming collaboration with nu-metal band Korn, to release in October. The Korn x Adidas project will consist of two pairs of sneakers and seven pieces of apparel.

Korn has long been associated with the German sportswear brand, with all members having frequently worn Adidas clothing and shoes during their heyday in the ’90s. The group even released a song called “ADIDAS” in 1997, with the title a play on the joke that the name stands for “All day I dream about sex.”

According to Kerrang, Adidas gave Korn plenty of free product to wear back then but was unwilling to sign the group to a proper deal. Instead, Korn signed a deal with Puma in 1998.

“We switched to Puma because they told us they’d put us in a commercial and give us a little money to wear their shit,” Korn frontman Jonathan Davis told Kerrang.

Nearly 30 years later, Adidas is preparing to release an official collaboration with the band in October. The Korn x Adidas Campus 00s will retail for $130, while the Korn x Adidas Supermodified will retail for $140. Both pairs of shoes will feature the band’s logo on the right tongue, guitar pick keychains, and art from Korn’s album Life is Peachy on the insoles. 

The Korn x Adidas apparel will include two t-shirts at $50 and $60 each, a black and white Korn logo hoodie for $120, and two tracksuits: one in sequins ($120 for the pants and $180 for the top) and one in black and white ($80 for the pants and $100 for the top).

All designs currently revealed are samples and may differ from the final retail versions.

Photo Credit: Ballantine’s

The first in a series of drops in collaboration with Ballantine’s, Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA has designed a branded “one-of-a-kind” vinyl turntable and Bluetooth speaker in partnership with Crosley Radio.

Wu-Tang Clan frontman RZA unveiled his branded Crosley vinyl record player in an unboxing video showcasing the first in a series of drops through his new collaboration with Scotch Whisky brand Ballantine’s. 

Designed and signed by the legendary hip-hop star, the Ballantine’s x RZA Crosley turntable comes with a Montero Bluetooth speaker, available beginning June 30. The limited-edition release coincides with the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and the 30th anniversary of Wu-Tang Clan’s debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

The record player, built by Louisville-based audio electronics specialist Crosley Radio, is the first in a wave of product releases between Ballantine’s and RZA, “whether it’s discovering new music, trying out new recipes, or getting your hands on a limited-edition capsule collection.”

“Whether you’re an audiophile or simply a lover of extraordinary experiences, this partnership invites you to witness the intersection of mastery, passion, and creativity,” reads the release on Ballantine’s website.

“Crosley is proud to announce a partnership with Ballantine’s Scotch Whisky and hip-hop legend RZA, commemorating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop,” begins Crosley’s announcement about the collaboration. 

“Together, we are releasing the Ballantine’s x RZA Crosley collection, featuring a bespoke C6 record player and Montero speaker. The distinctive design, rooted in a shared love for music, encourages self-expression across genres. By celebrating individual taste, Crosley, Ballantine’s, and RZA want to inspire you to embrace your passions and forge your own path.”

“RZA’s multifaceted background as a kung fu master, filmmaker, chess champion, producer, and actor aligns seamlessly with Ballantine’s pioneering spirit, dating back to its founder, George Ballantine, who challenged conventions in whisky-making since 1827,” the release concludes.

The limited-edition Ballantine’s x RZA Crosley record player is available beginning June 30 for $399. 

Photo Credit: Dawid Zawiła

Lobbyists in the U.S. auto industry are pushing back on lawmakers over proposed AM radio requirements in new vehicles.

After bipartisan lawmakers introduced a bill requiring automakers to retain AM radio functionality in their 2024 model year vehicles, the lobbyist group Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AIA) is pushing back, arguing that the functionality is unnecessary.

The AIA began making its argument to the House’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology today and in an upcoming hearing to discuss the proposed bill, called the AM for Every Vehicle Act. The bill aims to direct the NHTSA to issue a rule requiring automakers to retain AM radio in their vehicles at no additional cost to consumers.

Lawmakers in favor of the bill express concern that removing AM radio in vehicles might impact emergency broadcast situations, particularly in rural communities. That pushback had seemingly worked initially, as Ford CEO Jim Farley announced that his company would retain AM radio in its latest model year vehicles. But the AIA — a Ford-backed lobbyist group — is pushing back with the argument that AM radio has no impact on delivering or receiving emergency communication alerts.

“Whether or not AM radio is physically installed in vehicles in the future has no bearing on the multiple methods of delivering those emergency communications alerts to the public,” says AIA CEO John Bozzella. “Mandating audio features in a vehicle isn’t necessary. Congress hasn’t ever gone this route, especially in a competitive environment with so many choices — many of them free.”

AIA Vice President of safety policy, Scott Schmidt, testified to the House panel today that AIA members are “committed to ensuring drivers have access to free, public alerts and safety warnings through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.” 

“The intent is not for the public to rely on a sole source to receive the alerts but to create a ‘net’ of sources in which the public can receive them. In other words, the more, the better.”

Still, lawmakers in favor of the bill argue that in an emergency, such as a natural disaster, there are times when access to public alert systems is limited, meaning that AM radio could play a vital role. That includes times when there is no cell service, internet, or television, due to a lack of electricity, according to U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer.

Photo Credit: David Lezcano

Kanye West’s net worth has jumped by more than $140 million — but he’s still a far cry from his once-held billionaire status.

Following Ye’s removal from Forbes’ billionaires list in October 2022 after a slew of antisemitic remarks, the disgraced rapper was no longer at the top of the publication’s prestigious list. 

According to Forbes, the Adidas/Yeezy collaboration was worth around $1.5 billion at its peak; without that deal, Kanye’s net worth dropped to $400 million — and that was before the collapse of several other ventures in his name.

Sportswear giant Adidas struggled with what to do with the approximately $1.3 billion in remaining Yeezy stock after severing ties with Yeezy himself. 

The company announced in May that it would sell off the already-manufactured product and donate a “significant amount” of the revenue to “selected organizations working to combat discrimination and hate, including racism and antisemitism.” The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change are among those organizations.

But Bloomberg reports that Kanye West is entitled to 11 percent of each Yeezy product sold, regardless of the dissolution of that partnership. As a result, Adidas might be handing Ye around $143 million if it successfully unloads all its inventory.

Meanwhile, Kanye now has access to a previously-frozen Yeezy-brand bank account containing around $75 million. Last month, Adidas abruptly dropped a case against West that started in late 2022 to recover some of its losses from the partnership dissolution. 

Adidas maintains that it is entitled to that money. Still, a federal judge overturned the freeze on West’s account due to “Adidas’ failure to file a motion to confirm,” nullifying the previously green-lit order.

Though the judge overturned the court order, the arbitration process is still ongoing, and Adidas will continue to argue that it is the rightful owner of the capital in question. The judge has left things open for further requests to freeze Yeezy accounts and assets as the case continues. 

Adidas has resumed selling off its remaining Yeezy stock, with multiple variations of the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 going on sale for $230 a pair.

Photo Credit: Herb Snitzer

Unearthed at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Evenings at the Village Gate, showcasing the brief musical partnership between John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy is available to order now on Impulse! Records. 

Recently discovered at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, jazz icon John Coltrane’s Evenings at the Village Gate, a headliner performance at the celebrated venue in the summer of 1961, will be released globally on July 14 on Impulse! Records.

John Coltrane headlined at the Village Gate in the summer of 1961 with a lineup of musicians, including McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman, Elvin Jones, and Eric Dolphy. Evenings at the Village Gate captures the creative and transformative spirit that sprang from the pairing of Coltrane and Dolphy and the ever-evolving but short-lived quintet.

The recordings on the album — recorded by engineer Rich Alderson as part of a test of the club’s new sound system — were seemingly lost, then found, and then lost again in the vast sound archives of the Library for the Performing Arts. The tapes’ circuitous route over several decades mirrors Coltrane’s musical journey in August 1961.

Recorded during Coltrane’s month-long Village Gate residency with his quintet (often with a revolving cast of musicians), the album contains eighty minutes of never-before-heard recordings. It offers a glimpse into a powerful musical partnership that ended too soon — Dolphy sadly passed away three years later. This recording is the only version of their Village Gate performances ever captured.

In addition to some well-known Coltrane material, there is an incredible feature for Dolphy’s bass clarinet on “When Lights Are Low,” and the only known non-studio recording of Coltrane’s composition of “Africa,” that includes bassist Art Davis.

The first track from the fabled performances, “Impressions,” is now available before the full album release. A special edition orange vinyl variant is also available for pre-order.

Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy Tracklist:

1. My Favorite Things
2. When Lights Are Low
3. Impressions
4. Greensleeves
5. Africa

Photo Credit: Luminate Data

Record Store Day 2023 has become the most successful since its creation in 2007. We look at some revealing data — like how few vinyl record buyers own a record player — and the biggest stars of Record Store Day 2023.

For those who don’t have their finger on the pulse of the record industry, Record Store Day might sound like a madcap attempt to drum up enthusiasm for a niche resurgence in the physical format — even among some who appreciate the younger generation’s seeming interest in vinyl alongside the diehard enthusiasts.

Conceived in 2007 as a way to celebrate the fun and diverse culture surrounding independent record stores and the communities they serve, Record Store Day has also become a way to encourage and celebrate the unique culture of the physical music format space in an industry dominated by streaming.

But naysayers to the sheer volume that Record Store Day is capable of moving need look no further than the Luminate data revealed following Record Store Day 2023 to see the value in the promotion and to recognize that it’s more than just a nod to vinyl’s comeback in the industry.

Record Store Day 2023 is the best vinyl week on record for independent record stores since its inception. Participating independent record stores sold 1.7 million physical units (LPs, CDs, and cassettes) during the week — 82% of which were vinyl (1.4 million.)

Further, independent record stores were a significant contributor (64%) for the entire week’s physical sales, while the week (Week 17) is the biggest for physical sales so far this year, with a total of 2.6 million units sold.

The emerging star of Record Store Day in 2023 is as the event’s founders had hoped upon its inception: exclusive content. Vinyl buyers predominantly want to own content from their favorite artists not available elsewhere. In many cases, these are fans buying for the collector’s aspect rather than to listen to the physical format — the percentage of vinyl buyers who own record players increases as the listeners get older.

57% of Gen Z do not own a record player, while 52% of Millennials do not. Meanwhile, 35% of Gen X do not own a record player, while only 16% of Boomers do not. That means 84% of Boomer vinyl buyers own a record player and are most likely to buy a vinyl record to listen to it.

The Stars of Record Store Day:

1. Taylor Swift – folklore: the long pond studio sessions
2. Pearl Jam – Give Way
3. The Cure – Show (2023 Remaster)
4. Stevie Nicks – Bella Donna Live 1981
5. The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet
6. Grateful Dead – Boston Garden, Boston, MA 5/7/77 (Live)
7. Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes – The B-Sides
8. Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires – The Sound Emporium EP
9. Larry Lovestein & The Velvet Revival – You
10. The Ramones – Pleasant Dreams (The New York Mixes)

Record Store Day 2024 begins on April 20, 2024.

While music typically represents a small percentage of advertising budgets, Songtradr says it has the data to prove that smartly prioritizing music triggers big wins. Now, the company is trotting out research on how AI-driven music selection can help businesses gain higher brand recognition and customer loyalty, ultimately boosting revenue.

Neuroscientific research has proven that individuals react faster to auditory stimuli compared to visual ones. So far, however, those findings have largely remained academic on Madison Avenue. But could the curation of a unique sonic identity be the winning tool brands need to attain strategic business goals? And just how effective are music elements in influencing message processing?

Songtradr, a top sync-licensing company, has recently focused its research efforts on how AI-driven strategic music selection can amplify marketing efforts and deliver brands’ messages more powerfully. Throughout, Songtradr’s research has focused on how brands can forge deeper emotional connections with their target audiences. Just recently, the company partnered with DMN to disclose the findings across multiple reports.

To examine the connection between music and long-term business performance, Songtradr has been gathering music data for brands in the US beer and UK beauty industries. Songtradr audited individual pieces of paid and owned media used by these brands, extracting unique music tracks and feeding them into the company’s AI music tagging platform.

Songtradr’s ‘SmartMusic’ score for US beer brands, graded from ‘smartest music’ to ‘least smart music’ used in paid or owned media advertising.

Songtradr says its proprietary SmartMusic process merges human creativity with real-time data, AI and machine learning, and neuroscience — pinpointing the most relevant and effective piece of music to improve any brand’s marketing performance.

According to Songtradr, AI-tagging technology allowed the company to analyze brands’ music choices, profiling elements such as mood, genre, personality, target audience, music quality, and source of music. By harvesting this data, Songtradr could estimate variables such as category differentiation, consistency, and audience brand fit.

Analysis was conducted by splitting data into two independent streams, ‘MusicIQ’ and ‘Brand Performance.’

Songtradr explains MusicIQ as a sonic profile for each brand — an AI-powered composite metric quantifying how strategically a brand uses music on television, radio, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other ‘sounds-on’ media. It contained six components of music used in advertising content, which are consistency (musical coherence across brands’ paid and owned media), distinctiveness (relative uniqueness to other brands’ musical content), ubiquity (percentage of brands’ paid and owned media containing music), source of music (licensed, stock, or bespoke), engagement (volume of attention and response), and sonic branding (formation and presence of audio identity in media).

Brand Performance assesses how effectively a brand’s branding and marketing communications drove consumer behavior, such as sales, repeat purchase rate, and social evangelism. The score was calculated by conducting neuroscience experiments that collected rational (explicit) and emotional (implicit) data. This metric quantified the impact of emotions triggered by music on consumer decision-making and long-term memory encoding.

Comparing these two independent scores answered the big question: Did a brand’s strategic use of music influence its market performance?

Songtradr’s “Music of Beer” study assesses how specific beer brands’ use of music in advertising influenced their business performance. They discovered that consistent and strategic use of music in beer branding and advertising accounted for over 33% of overall business performance.

‘Music of Beer’ — Strategic use of music in beer advertising accounted for over 33% of overall performance.

The most successful brands used not only brand-aligned and distinctive melodies but also energetic and arousing music. Key findings of the study also revealed that brands could improve performance by taking a more strategic, consistent, and differentiated approach to music usage in advertising content. Moreover, choosing the wrong music (in terms of clashing sonic branding) could also damage brand preference.

By studying some of the most influential brands in the beauty industry from the lens of the UK consumer, Songtradr also measured the effect of music choices on a beauty brand’s overall market performance.

MusicIQ score for beauty brands in the UK — graded from smartest music to least smart music — used in paid or owned media advertising.

The beauty industry relies more heavily on user-generated content, alongside influencer and celebrity marketing than any other industry. According to YouTube statistics, 86% of the top 200 beauty videos on YouTube are uploaded by individual content creators rather than brands, and 62% of women follow beauty influencers on social media. Accordingly, it’s no surprise that beauty brands represent 25% of all influencer marketing activity.

This uniqueness of advertising methods revealed a significant challenge for beauty brands: how can a cohesive, distinct brand identity be established and maintained when such a wide range of third parties represent your brand? According to Songtradr, ‘Strategic use of music is the answer.’

According to Songtradr, beauty brands’ MusicIQ and Brand Performance displayed a strong positive correlation (reinforcing the results of ‘Music of Beer’). In essence, music performance drives revenue, and consistently strategic use of music in branding and advertising accounts for 15% of beauty brands’ overall business performance.

‘Music of Beauty’ — Within the beauty industry, strategic use of music in advertising accounts for 15% of brands’ overall business performance.

The study also made other insightful revelations. Researchers found that a hyper-focus on visual branding caused brands to blend in rather than stand out. They also discovered that none of the brands analyzed in the study leverage the true power of sonic branding.

If key findings from the two beer and beauty studies can be considered generalizable for other niches and industries, Songtradr says development and publication of curated music libraries could be the answer.

Soundtradr notes that this move will optimize production budgets, minimize brands’ exposure to copyright strikes, and provide insurance against takedowns and compliance issues. A curated library of licensed commercial tracks will also ensure advertising messages are musically aligned across all various media channels — custom-fit for the target audience.

Research in consumer behavior also suggests that musical structure in marketing efforts could maximize breakthroughs, deepen emotional connection, and promote brand preference.

Songtradr emphasizes that without developing a cohesive sonic profile in advertising efforts, brands could face implicit brand confusion, fail to grab attention, and miss out on consumer engagement. To reinforce a brand’s identity and index it into listeners’ memory, the right music is key.

Songtradr’s sync-matching technology offers this AI-driven music analysis to individual brands. The company believes that by creating a unique and memorable sonic identity, brands can win increased marketing performance, resulting in higher brand recognition, customer loyalty, and revenue.

Alliance Entertainment posted an almost 30 percent revenue decline for Q1 2023 amid “macroeconomic headwinds.” Photo Credit: Sean Benesh

Now a publicly traded company, Alliance Entertainment (OTC: AENT) has revealed that it generated $227.73 million during 2023’s initial three months – down about 28.93 percent from the same stretch in 2022.

The Florida-based media retailer, which merged with a special purpose acquisition company called Adara in February, just recently posted its Q1 2023 (Q3 of its fiscal year) financials. Notwithstanding a year-over-year (YoY) reduction in cost of revenues ($200.40 million total, down about 28.50 percent YoY), Alliance Entertainment’s aforementioned income falloff contributed to a $7.75 million net loss (or about 16 cents per share) on the quarter, according to the resource.

For reference, the company previously disclosed $3.71 million in net income for the opening quarter of 2022. Shifting back to the $227.73 million in quarterly revenue, vinyl led the pack by generating $75 million for the 13-year-old business, per its Q1 earnings report – although the resurging format’s sales volume is said to have decreased.

CDs, for their part, experienced a two percent average-price boost but nevertheless suffered a 17 percent revenue dip during Q1 as a result of reduced sales volume, Alliance Entertainment indicated.

“Along with other Retailers and Distributors in the United States,” Alliance wrote not long after CD Baby bailed on physical, “we are not immune to the macroeconomic headwinds caused by increased inflation and interest rates. … Our B2B wholesale customer base revenue was down 31% compared to prior year due to their relatively rigorous inventory management.”

Expanding upon the points, Alliance also relayed that vinyl sales had slipped by three percent to total $242 million during the nine months ending on March 31st, with CDs’ own revenue having declined by 24 percent throughout the window.

Addressing his company’s Q1 showing, Alliance Entertainment chairman Bruce Ogilvie touched upon subjects including the “incredible growth in Vinyl shipments at our Kentucky warehouse” and an adjacent automation push.

“Operationally, during the quarter we installed a cube-based warehouse automated storage and retrieval system that is now live and operational, supporting order fulfillment of 33 million pieces of inventory across more than 425,000 SKUs,” Ogilvie communicated in part.

“With our incredible growth in Vinyl shipments at our Kentucky warehouse, we needed a system that could reduce the distance walked to pick product, to store in a more compact form, and reduce the amount of labor needed to handle the product. This system is designed to support future capacity as we shift toward larger scale automation,” he finished.

Elsewhere in the report, Alliance disclosed that it had a $127.43 million revolving credit balance with Bank of America as of March 31st, with “two separate $250,000 promissory notes” having been in June of 2022 “executed between Adara and two of its then shareholders to provide cash to pay operating costs.”

The interest-free notes had an outstanding balance of $471,599 as of March 31st, according to the performance analysis. At the time of this writing, Alliance Entertainment stock was trading for an even three dollars per share.

Photo Credit: Bandcamp United

Bandcamp employees officially voted to unionize, 31-7, in favor of forming Bandcamp United, a union represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) in affiliation with the Tech Workers Union Local 1010.

The majority of eligible Bandcamp employees have voted 31-7 in favor of unionizing to create Bandcamp United, a union represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU). The results now await certification by the National Labor Relations Board, followed by a collective bargaining process.

“Bandcamp United and Bandcamp management are committed to working together to continue to advance fair economic conditions for our workers and the artists who rely on us,” reads a joint statement from Bandcamp co-founder Ethan Diamond and Bandcamp United. “We look forward to negotiating with an open mind and working in good faith to promote the best interests of all of our staff and the artist and label community we serve.”

“While we have won this election by 24 votes — leadership contested 16 ballots. These ballots were not counted,” says Bandcamp United in a tweet, indicating that contractors working for Bandcamp voted to unionize but were not eligible for inclusion. “To be clear, we will not leave our colleagues behind (and) plan to fight for the inclusion of everyone who is eligible in our union.”

“Forming our union is critical to our ability to do our best work and make good on the promise and mission of Bandcamp to provide fair economic conditions, direct support, and transparency for ourselves and all of our users,” wrote Bandcamp staffers in March when first announcing plans to unionize.

Epic Games, Bandcamp’s parent company as of 2022, has worked previously to counter unionization efforts within its own company, leading Bandcamp workers to call on the company to enable a “timely and fair election” when seeking to unionize. Bandcamp affiliated its unionization efforts early on with OPEIU’s Tech Workers Union Local 1010.

Photo Credit: Damian Barczak

Adidas has resumed selling its unsold Yeezy shoes stock, with plans to dump the rest throughout May 2023. 

The Germany sportswear company says it will sell the collection exclusively through the Adidas Yeezy website. “A significant amount will be donated to selected organizations working to combat discrimination and hate, including racism and antisemitism. These include but are not limited to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change,” the press release announcing the sale reads. 

This is the first time that Adidas Yeezy products have been available to purchase since the company terminated its partnership with the rapper in October 2022. The products available for sale are existing designs and designs initiated in 2022 for sale in 2023. “Additional releases of existing inventory are currently under consideration, but timing is yet to be determined,” the release continues. “Today’s announcement has no immediate impact on the company’s current financial guidance for 2023.”

Adidas says it explored multiple avenues when considering what to do with its unsold stock. “The process involved seeking feedback and listening to a diverse group of employees, organizations, communities, and consumers for how to responsibly manage the existing product. The company went ahead with already committed production orders after the partnership was terminated. This was done to help protect its supply chain partners from being negatively affected by cancellations,” Adidas continues. 

“After careful consideration, we have decided to begin releasing some of the remaining Adidas Yeezy products,” CEO Bjørn Gulden says. “Selling and donating was the preferred option among all organizations and stakeholders we spoke to. We believe this is the best solution as it respects the created designs and produced shoes, it works for our people, resolves an inventory problem, and will have a positive impact on our communities. There is no place in sport or society for hate of any kind and we remain committed to fighting against it.”

The Rhino High Fidelity limited-edition reissue of The Cars (1978). Photo Credit: Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group’s Rhino Records has announced a high-fidelity “quarterly premium vinyl series” that’s kicking off with reissues of The Cars’ eponymous 1978 debut album and John Coltrane’s Coltrane’s Sound (1964).

Rhino reached out to Digital Music News with word of the Hi-Fi vinyl series today, making clear off the bat that each of the two quarterly releases will be available to purchase exclusively through its website. Additionally, the WMG subsidiary emphasized that the involved records, contrasting the majority of vinyl today, will pull from analog masters as opposed to digital versions.

Of course, it was only last week that a judge approved an estimated $25 million settlement from Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, which was named in a class-action lawsuit (and subjected to ample audiophile criticism) over alleged misrepresentations. Specifically, the company is alleged to have attached an “Original Master Recording” label to products that incorporated “direct stream digital” into the production process.

But Rhino Hi-Fi vinyl is being “cut from the original analog master tapes by” veteran mastering engineer Kevin Gray, per the reissue product descriptions of The Cars and Coltrane’s Sound, which are limited to 5,000 numbered copies apiece.

Priced at $39.98 (plus another $7.99 for shipping and handling), the 180-gram Optimal-pressed records at hand will likewise boast “glossy covers and ‘tip-on’ jackets,” according to Rhino.

Plus, the products are expected to feature “exclusive content,” referring here to “a new interview with guitarist Elliot Easton” as well as “producer Roy Thomas Baker’s tracking notes for ‘Good Times Roll’” with The Cars. Coltrane’s Sound, on the other hand, will per Rhino include “notes and images from the master tapes” and “an archival essay by legendary producer Tom Dowd.”

Rhino is set to announce its next Hi-Fi releases “in the coming weeks,” higher-ups disclosed, and the project represents just the latest in a line of recent efforts to capitalize upon strong vinyl demand in the United States, Japan, and a number of different markets.

March saw Metallica purchase a 70,000-square-foot pressing facility, for instance, whereas Universal Music’s Interscope Records earlier in May unveiled a collection of (extremely) limited-edition vinyl from acts including Billie Eilish, Nine Inch Nails, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Dr. Dre, Blackpink, Lana Del Rey, Machine Gun Kelly, and 50 Cent.

Superfans willing to part with $2,500 – neither taxes nor an approximately $12.50 shipping charge is included in the massive price tag – can purchase the products, which are said to feature Gucci-designed packaging and new artwork crafted by high-profile visual artists. Net profits will be donated to the Iovine and Young Foundation, per Interscope.

Photo Credit: Target

Taylor Swift hands Target an exclusive vinyl release of ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ with a lilac marble design, available now for pre-order.

Taylor Swift’s “Taylor Nation” fan page revealed on May 18 that the vinyl for the upcoming re-recording of her 2010 album Speak Now is available for pre-order at Target while supplies last. The vinyl perfectly captures the album’s aesthetic with a lilac-marble color scheme.

Swift revealed during the first of her three shows at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on May 5 that Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) will arrive on July 7. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) follows Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) as the third re-recorded studio album of her original six.

“I first made Speak Now, completely self-written, between the ages of 18 and 20,” wrote Swift on her Twitter following the announcement. “The songs that came from this time in my life were marked by their brutal honesty, unfiltered diaristic confessions, and wild wistfulness. I love this album because it tells a tale of growing up flailing, flying, and crashing… and living to speak about it.”

In 2010, Speak Now became the first Taylor Swift album to cross the 1 million sales threshold in its launch week, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 1.047 million copies sold. According to Luminate, Swift’s third album has earned 7.8 million equivalent album units in the U.S. through April 27.

Luminate data revealed in its “Top Entertainment Trends for 2023” report also found that about half of vinyl LP owners do not own a record player. Of 3,900 U.S.-based respondents surveyed, 50 percent of consumers who bought vinyl in the past 12 months own a record player, compared to 15 percent among music listeners overall. 

That data indicates that half of the fans buying vinyl appreciate such items’ collectibility and exclusive nature rather than listening to the vinyl format. Since the vast majority of music revenue still comes from streaming services — 84 percent in 2022 — the numbers imply that “superfans” purchasing vinyl are completionist-minded, buying the merch but relegating their listening to playlist-oriented online avenues.

Photo Credit: Rockaway Records

Over 10,000 pieces of rare Rolling Stones memorabilia and vinyl items, including a 1977 promotional display designed by Andy Warhol, have been acquired by Rockaway Records.

During the 60th anniversary of the Rolling Stones, Los Angeles mainstay Rockaway Records has acquired an extensive collection of Stones vinyl and memorabilia with over 10,000 items, including rare LPs and 45s, vintage t-shirts, dozens of concert posters, promotional items, and more.

Notable highlights include a copy of “Beast of Burden,” the second rarest Rolling Stones picture sleeve 45, and a 1977 promotional hanging display designed by Andy Warhol. The collection comes from the estate of a longtime fan, collector, and famous skateboarder, Brad “Squeak” Blanck, a well-known and beloved figure in the Rolling Stones community.

Already creating buzz, the collection has attracted buyers like Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson (pictured), who purchased a rare set of 1978 U.K. promo posters for “Some Girls,” among other rarities.

“We have bought many amazing collections over the past 45 years, but this is definitely the most exciting one in a long time!” says Wayne Johnson, co-founder of Rockaway Records. “Some of the highlights are a 1967 ‘Satanic Majesties’ lenticular that is different from the one on the album cover, 1970s t-shirts that look like new, and a 1977 promotional display for ‘Love You Live’ that was designed by Andy Warhol.”

While many independent record stores in Los Angeles have long since shut their doors, Rockaway Records continues to thrive, having shifted focus to high-end vinyl and collectibles. Co-founders and brothers Wayne and Gary Johnson began aggressively acquiring extensive record industry and personal collections of vinyl, posters, autographs, and other similar rarities. 

Expert appraisers of music memorabilia, the Brothers Johnson have traveled the world buying and selling some of the most highly sought-after music collectibles. Rockaway Records continues to be a premiere destination for collectors seeking unique, hard-to-find music memorabilia from their favorite artists, having seen tremendous success with their Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Beatles, and 1970s punk collections. 

Photo Credit: Mediamodifier

A mysterious book topping the best-sellers list in recent weeks was driven there by Swifties and BTS fans battling it out in pre-orders.

Many Swifties speculated that the July 9 release date for the book would coincide with the release of her upcoming album. The speculation was fueled by a TikTok video posted by the owner of the Good Neighbor Bookstore in Lakewood, New York, sharing the fan theory that it was Taylor Swift’s memoir.

The untitled book scheduled for release on July 9 was described as a “4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023” in book store releases, convincing Taylor Swift fans that the book would be hers. They pre-ordered the book in masses, driving it up the Amazon and Barnes & Noble best-seller lists. 

A Macmillan spokeswoman has confirmed the book is about the K-pop boy band BTS and celebrates the 10th anniversary of the group—which formed on July 9. Macmillian says it expects to print a million hardcover copies of the 544-page book celebrating BTS for BTS ARMY fans. 

The owner of the original TikTok video that sparked furor among Swifties has taken down the post at the request of the publisher. He says he stopped taking preorders for the book after he had gotten over 600 requests—then cancelled all of them when he began to doubt the book was a release from Taylor Swift at all. 

“We connected the dots, but I feel like we connected the dots wrong,” says Bob Lingle, owner of the bookstore in Lakewood. Lingle says he began to lean toward the BTS side of the argument when he learned the significance of the date to the BTS ARMY fans. 

“What’s the most unhinged thing you’ve done because of Taylor Swift?” asked one fan on social media. “I pre-ordered a book I know nothing about on the SLIGHT chance its her memoir,” the fan continues, showcasing just how rabid fans became online over the possibility of a memoir. 

Photo Credit: Connor Houtman

Adidas will sell through its $1.3 billion dollar stock of unsold Yeezy shoes after all. Here’s the latest.

Adidas’ new CEO Bjørn Gulden says the company will sell through its stock of the shoes and donate the proceeds to charity. Gulden previously told shareholders that the company spent months deliberating on what to do with its unsold merchandise following its acrimonious split with the rapper in October 2022 following the latter’s string of antisemitic comments.

“What we are trying to do no over time is to sell parts of this inventory and donate money to the organizations that are helping us and that were also hurt by Kanye’s statements,”Gulden says of the move. Previously the CEO warned the company was wary of creating a black market for unsold Yeezy merchandise—since no more will be made.

While Adidas will be donating a portion of the sales to charity, their business arrangement with the rapper still stands. He will be entitled to 15% of all sales, which is one reason why Adidas considered destroying the unsold merchandise.

Adidas originally planned to rebrand the shoes and sell them without the Yeezy branding, cutting out the 15% it would owe the rapper. In a statement made in October 2022, Adidas said it is the “sole owner of all design rights registered to existing product. We intend to make use of these rights as early as 2023.”

Adidas’ Q4 2022 losses were around $1.3 billion, with much of that connected to the loss of Yeezy revenue. In the last two fiscal quarters, loss of Yeezy sales has amounted to an additional $441 million lost. Gulden’s Adidas has made the decision to sell the product regardless of the reputational risk just to wipe its hands of the issue and start with a clean slate.

Music celebrity partnerships haven’t worked out so well for the sports company. Aside from its disastrous Yeezy lineup, it also cancelled its collaboration with Beyonce’s Ivy Park clothing line. Instead, Adidas says it will focus on marketing with sports celebs.

Photo Credit: Batiste Safont / CC by 4.0

Interscope Records announces that only 100 copies of a limited-edition Kendrick Lamar vinyl LP are available for purchase, selling for $2,500.

Interscope Records has released a limited edition vinyl LP of Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 project, To Pimp a Butterfly, in collaboration with Gucci, of which only 100 copies are available. The album has been signed by artist Lauren Halsey, with custom packaging designed by Gucci, featuring an 11.5″ x 11.5″ gallery-quality giclée by Halsey, affixed to a tan custom-dyed linen vinyl jacket. 

The limited edition vinyl sells for $2,500. Each comes with a large-format Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined catalog. The vinyl begins shipping on Thursday, May 11.

The album is part of Interscope’s limited-edition vinyl series, Interscope Reimagined, together with curated social marketplace NTWRK, to celebrate the label’s 30th anniversary. Interscope and NTWRK will donate all profits from Interscope Reimagined to the Iovine and Young Foundation in South Los Angeles.

The Interscope Reimagined lineup includes albums and songs from Interscope artists like 2Pac, 6lack, Dr. Dre, Eminem, N.E.R.D., and more, with new artwork from visual artists like Amaoko Boafo, KAWS, and Kehinde Wiley.

Kendrick Lamar’s Big Steppers Tour, which has grossed over $100 million, has surpassed Drake’s previous tour record as the highest-grossing tour by a rapper as a headlining act. The tour has earned $110.9 million from 929,000 tickets across 73 shows, beginning in July 2022 following the release of Kendrick’s fifth album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, and ending that September.

More recently, Kendrick Lamar was named this year’s Met Gala “Ambassadors and Friends of the House,” along with iconic model Naomi Campbell, actor Margaret Qualley, and K-pop star Jennie Kim. This year’s event honored the late designer and former creative director for Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld.

Kendrick Lamar is scheduled to perform at several music festivals this year, including Chicago’s Lollapalooza and San Francisco’s Outside Lands.

Photo Credit: Alex Haney

Going on six months after its acrimonious split with rapper Kanye West, Adidas is still sitting on a mountain of Yeezy merch. A $1.3 billion mountain, by some estimates.

During its most recent investor call, Adidas’ new CEO Bjorn Gulden said the German sportswear giant is getting close to making a decision on what to do with the unsold merchandise. He told investors that the company’s “options are narrowing” following a reported $441 million in lost sales at the beginning of the year. Gulden says there are a lot of interested parties involved in the discussions, but no concrete decision yet.

Gulden became CEO of Adidas in January 2023, following the company’s split with the rapper. He says the company is trying to avoid destroying the merchandise, but also that the company is hesitant to offer the sneakers for sale since the rapper would earn royalties on each sale.

The company has even considered restitching the current stock of Yeezy shoes to remove the rapper’s brand, but ultimately decided that course of action would be dishonest. Adidas is also afraid that just giving away the unsold stock to people in need could lead to a booming black market for the Yeezy sneakers and people willing to pay top dollar for them.

Adidas has not disclosed how many unsold pairs of Yeezy sneakers it has in its warehouses. That’s because Gulden is afraid if consumers know how many are left, it could “impact demand.” Adidas is expected to take a 500 million euro loss this year if it does not move the remaining Yeezy stock. Net sales declined 1% in Q1 2023 and would have risen 9% had sales of the Yeezy line not been discontinued.

Adidas is currently facing a class-action lawsuit from its investors who say the company knew the risks of associating with Kanye West since at least 2018. The lawsuit aims to represent people who purchased Adidas stock from May 2018 to February 2023. The lawsuit points to comments Ye made in 2018 suggesting slavery is a ‘choice’ people make and reports of Kanye making antisemitic remarks in front of Adidas staff.

Billboard has officially announced plans to reincorporate select merch bundles into its album charts beginning on June 30th.

This latest sales-eligibility pivot was just recently announced, after Billboard in the summer of 2020 revealed that its charts would cease factoring for merch- and ticket- related bundles. In a more than 600-word-long explanation of the latter decision, the outlet nearly three years back made clear that it had “decided to eliminate the practice of counting albums bundled with merchandise and concert tickets on its album and song charts altogether.”

In the interim, Billboard reiterated the no-bundle policy on multiple occasions – including when explaining that Donda 2, which Kanye West released exclusively on his $200 Stem Player, wouldn’t make its way onto the charts despite moving a number of copies and generating a substantial sum. (Some 15 months following its debut, the Player is continuing to sell on Ebay at present – albeit for a good amount less than its initial price.)

But the rules are set to change once again on June 30th (and for the charts dated July 15th), according to Billboard, which says that it will begin counting on charts “limited combinations of merchandise and physical albums.”

These limited combinations refer specifically to merch-album combos dubbed “fan packs,” which “will be restricted to just two options per album release.” Additionally, the various components of said options – a t-shirt with a CD and a sweatshirt with an album’s vinyl edition, for instance – must be available to purchase separately “in the same web store.”

Meanwhile, the fan packs can consist only of physical music projects (not digital downloads) and merchandise (excluding tickets, NFTs, meet-and-greet functions, and more), Billboard indicated. As another requirement for chart eligibility, the outlet as well as Luminate will have to approve the described fan packs “in advance of their on-sale date.”

Needless to say, it’ll be worth monitoring the byproducts of the decision, which certain acts with highly dedicated fanbases could potentially capitalize upon to improve their chart positioning. In a testament to K-pop diehards’ continued commitment to Hybe groups including BTS, for instance, the South Korean company relayed in its Q1 earnings report that the WeVerse social platform had topped 9.3 million monthly active users.

That’s nearly double the number of MAUs that WeVerse had as of 2021’s opening quarter, and later in 2023, these ultra-committed supporters (who are nevertheless taking issue with the dynamic ticket pricing model that Hybe is now employing) will be able to purchase subscription memberships on the service.

Photo Credit: Chris Stone / CC by 2.0

Grateful Dead is releasing a massive 17-CD limited-edition box set of previously unreleased concerts from 1973. The $190 box set will be limited to 10,000 copies.

Here Comes Sunshine 1973 features audio from the group’s San Francisco and Santa Barbara shows and two performances in Washington, D.C., between May 13 and June 10 that remained unreleased until now.

“In my early tape-trading days, I only had a few 1973 shows, but my goodness, did I ever love them,” says legacy manager David Lemieux. “There was a fresh, nimble feel that was entirely different from the 1972 Dead sound taking all of the great elements of the Year of Europe and building upon that excellence.”

“Even with hundreds of tapes at my fingertips, I returned to these 1973 shows frequently,” he continues. “That old saying, ‘I listened to that show so often, I wore the tape out’? It was created because of shows like this.”

Among the songs featured on each tracklist are “Looks Like Rain,” “Loser,” “China Cat Sunflower,” “Bertha,” “Mexicali Blues,” “Tennessee Jed,” and “Wharf Rat.” The release also includes live performances of songs taken from Wake of the Flood, which the band wouldn’t officially release until the following year. 

The box set will cost $190, limited to 10,000 copies which, along with digital versions of the release, will be available on The Grateful Dead’s website. Each physical copy will feature vibrant artwork by Masaki Koike, liner notes contributed by Ray Robertson, and an illustration poster created by Mary Ann Mayer, with each live show in its own custom-designed segment.

The band is also preparing to release a 4-CD, 8-LP set of their show at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The “Ramble On Rose” performance from that show will see release as a digital single.

Last month, The Grateful Dead became the latest legendary group to create an official TikTok presence, posting a 30-second compilation of archival concert footage, interviews, and more from the late ’60s to the band’s final shows in 1995. The account will “serve as an outlet to celebrate the decades of music, generations of community, and (an) endless array of creativity that has woven the band and its fans into every new era of the world’s counterculture and consciousness.”

Photo Credit: Anthony Tedja

As part of its strategy to pivot away from its disastrous deal with Kanye West, Adidas says it will be refocusing on sports. 

“We want to double down on all of the things that are U.S.-centric, particularly around sport,” Rupert Campbell, Adidas’ North American President, told the Wall Street Journal about the sportswear company’s strategy shift. The German company officially terminated a lucrative partnership with the rapper in October 2022 over a tirade of unhinged, antisemitic remarks made in public. 

Now the company wants to focus on rebuilding its reputation as a sports brand. It has opened a new facility in Los Angeles where it will base its new basketball product team. It has also upgraded its main U.S. hub in Portland, Oregon. Adidas will open more U.S. stores and will seek to forge new partnerships with U.S. athletes, with a renewed focus on Major League Soccer. 

High-profile celebrity ventures just haven’t paid off for the company. Adidas says it expects to incur a $749 million loss writing off Yeezy merchandise. Sales of Yeezy merchandise was estimated to account for 8% of Adidas annual revenue by some estimates—leaving Adidas in the red for the first time in 30 years without those sales. But the Yeezy partnership isn’t the only celebrity venture that flopped hard. 

Adidas and Beyoncé mutually decided to end their Ivy Park collaboration in 2023. Reports suggest that’s because sales of the celebrity-endorsed clothing line didn’t meet expectations. Meanwhile, the collaboration with Pharrell William’s Humanrace fashion label saw sales plummet 70% compared to their peak five years earlier. Adidas says it will continue to pursue celebrity partnerships like these but that sports are now front and center focus for the company’s U.S. business. 

Adidas aims for its new Los Angeles location to be a place where its team can gather “real-time insights from a diverse consumer base.” It will also work closely with grass roots programs like Los Angeles pro-am basketball competition Drew League. This team will also be responsible for managing new celebrity collaborations going forward. 

Photo Credit: Andrea Cipriani

Record Store Day is on course to break sales records: “This is the largest single sales day ever for most Record Store Day participating independent stores.”

Alliance Entertainment, distributor of the world’s largest in-stock selection of physical media, from music, movies, and video games, to electronics, arcades, and collectibles, has confirmed 2023’s Record Store Day events as its most significant ever.

Alliance works closely with Record Store Day organizers and the industry’s distribution and label partners, who curate the available titles yearly. More than 800,000 units of vinyl were created and shipped to participating independent record stores around the country for this year’s Record Store Day event, with retail sales expected to surpass $32 million.

“Record Store Day has been a long-time partner to Alliance Entertainment, always collaborating to benefit the independent record store community,” says Alliance Senior Vice President of Sales, Ken Glaser. “We are pleased to see the continued growth of Record Store Day year over year, and 2023 results have surpassed our expectations.”

An annual event since 2007 held one Saturday every April, Record Store Day celebrates “the culture of the independently owned record store.” The event brings together fans, artists, and thousands of independent record stores worldwide.

Several albums are pressed specifically for Record Store Day each year, exclusively distributed to record stores participating in the event. Now in its 16th year, Record Store Day continues to play a significant role in the expansion and success of vinyl records. Last year, physical vinyl album sales surpassed 43 million units.

“Taylor Swift’s ‘folklore: the long pond sessions’ Record Store Day release could produce our first chart-topping album, and quite possibly a #1 album on the Billboard charts, a feat never achieved by a Record Store Day release,” adds Michael Kurtz, co-founder of Record Store Day. 

“Thanks in large part to Taylor, Pearl Jam, Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, Beach House, Stevie Nicks, and others, Record Store Day is on course to break the sales record for the most vinyl sold in a single day. This is the largest single sales day ever for most Record Store Day participating independent stores.”

AMPED Distribution, a division of Alliance Entertainment, also played a significant role in this year’s Record Store Day, working with its label partners to release 64 unique titles. These include releases from Eric Carr, Mr. Big, and more. 

Photo Credit: Live Nation

Music fan spending outside of the concert venue is a lucrative market—which is why Live Nation wants in. It’s launching Vibee a music-led destination experience company to achieve that goal.

“Vibee builds unforgettable immersive trips for music lovers in the most sought after destinations in the world,” reads the press introduction for the newest offering from Live Nation. Vibee is launching with confirmed partnerships in place with many of the biggest live event and festival producers including Country Nation, Insomniac, and C3 Presents, as well as other Live Nation festival properties.

The goal is to create a music destination company that offers a range of genre-diverse opportunities, from multi-day events on land and see to bespoke festival and residency packages. Vibee is focusing on the fan-to-artist connections in curated experiences, festival integrations, and Las Vegas Residencies. Here’s a peek at what the Live Nation front will offer concert-goers who want this type of experience.

Vibee will be the exclusive worldwide partner for Insomniac to produce curated experiences and festival integrations. Insomniac produces 10,000 concerts, club nights, and festivals for seven million attendees annually across the globe. Through this alliance, Vibee will produce:

• EDSea — A premium cruse and music festival experience based on the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC).
• Hotel EDC — A Resorts World takeover during the 2023 flagship Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas.

Vibee will also host exclusive hotel experiences at festivals including Lollapalooza, ACL Festival, and others to include accommodations at premier hotel partners and properties. These experience include the full VIP treatment for the weekend with limited-edition merch, exclusive gift bags, and on-site concierge and more.

Vibee says it will launch a number of curated events for 2023, including a fall trip to the Bahamas with “a legendary artist,” a four-day Cabo trip with “a top DJ,” and a bespoke Country music weekend in Nashville.

“Vibee was founded to build indelible memories between fans and their favorite artists in a new way,” says Harvey Cohen, President of Vibee. “We are poised to deliver a range of once-in-a-lifetime destination experiences for every type of fan in vibrant locations all over the world.”

Photo Credit: lilzidesigns

BPI says cassette sales hit a ‘near decade high’ in 2022, but is it just the result of increasing demand for vinyl?

Based on a new report from BPI utilizing Official Charts Company data, cassette sales grew for a tenth consecutive year in 2022, reaching annual totals not seen since 2003. This so-called “revival” of the audio cassette market is highlighted among other trends in the 44th BPI Yearbook: All About The Music 2023.

While sales of cassettes still pale in comparison to that of vinyl — having grown by 5.2% year-on-year to 195,000 units in 2022 — the format holds a significant role in the sales mix of some brand-new album releases. 

Cassettes account for over 10% of the chart sales of ten different No. 1 albums on the weekly Official Albums Chart, with some of these albums selling more copies on cassette than vinyl. In many cases, this is due to cassette versions appearing for sale when a vinyl release was unavailable, such as Central Cee’s 23, Digga D’s Noughty By Nature, and Blackpink’s Born Pink.

“For many of us growing up, cassettes were a rite of passage as we listened to our favorite artists,” says Sophie Jones, BPI Chief Strategy Officer and Interim CEO. “So it’s heartening that this once much-loved format is back in vogue, even if still a tiny part of music consumption overall.”

“Like vinyl, a number of contemporary artists are warmly embracing the cassette as another way to reach audiences, and on occasions, it has even helped them to achieve a No. 1 album,” Jones continues. “While streaming is by far the leading format, the renewed popularity of cassettes and vinyl highlights the continuing importance of the physical market and the many ways fans have to consume music.”

Arctic Monkeys had this year’s biggest-selling cassette with The Car, finishing ahead of Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, the top album across all formats. The top five cassette sellers were rounded out by Florence + The Machine’s Dance Fever, Muse’s Will of the People, and Central Cee’s 23. Artists including Blackpink (Born Pink), Machine Gun Kelly (Mainstream Sellout), Robbie Williams (XXV), and The 1975 (Being Funny In A Foreign Language) all finished in the year’s Top 10.

All but two of the Top 10 sellers saw more than 5,000 cassettes sold during the year, with 40 occasions in 2022 when an album sold over 1,000 cassettes during a single week — compared to only 34 titles doing similar numbers the previous year.

Even if the increase in cassette sales is due primarily to the demand for vinyl and the inability to meet that demand, a decade of growth for cassettes is a remarkable turnaround for a format that dominated between 1985 and 1992 before being overtaken by CD.

A UK man has been sentenced for selling millions of dollars’ worth of counterfeit vinyl records. Photo Credit: Steve Harvey

As the vinyl resurgence continues in nations around the globe, a UK court has officially handed down a major criminal sentence to a Dorset man who raked in about $1.5 million by selling counterfeit LPs.

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which is said to have coordinated with Dorset Trading Standards to target the illicit operation, just recently detailed the sentence issued to one Richard Hutter. Per the trade organization’s summary of the years-long crackdown, 55-year-old Hutter had previously pleaded guilty to 13 trademark and copyright offenses as well as one count of money laundering.

Also according to the BPI – which in March disclosed that domestic vinyl sales had grown 3.1% in 2022 to hit £119.5 million (currently $148.40 million) – the underlying investigation was set in motion when a fed-up fan complained after realizing that he or she had bought one of the fake products.

Available to purchase via Ebay, Hutter’s own website, and “an American website,” the vinyl records in question were confirmed to be inauthentic following subsequent “test” purchases and a review conducted by BPI reps, the London-headquartered entity relayed.

Needless to say, given today’s sentence, this confirmation set the stage for a search of the then-suspect’s home, from which authorities are said to have seized “a number of counterfeit records and sleeves” way back in July of 2018.

All told, the presiding recorder determined that Hutter had “benefitted by” approximately £1.2 million ($1.49 million) from the seemingly lengthy scheme, with £373,589 ($463,924) of the sum still in his possession at the time of sentencing. The vinyl records bootlegger was ordered to forfeit the remaining cash within three months post-sentence or face three years behind bars, the BPI emphasized.

Additionally, sentencing solely for the money-laundering charge, the recorder slapped Hutter with a four-month prison term suspended for two years, besides 250 hours of “unpaid work” that must be completed within one year as well as three months of an (electronically monitored) 8 PM to 7 AM curfew, the BPI indicated.

In a statement about the “serious crime” and the prevalence of counterfeit vinyl records in the UK, Paola Monaldi, head of the BPI’s content protection unit, specified that millions of fake products have been uncovered during the last three years alone.

“This is a serious crime that denies artists the rewards for their creativity, exploits fans, and impacts legitimate retail and the record labels that invest in music – but worse, it can feed into other forms of criminality that can impact us all,” Monaldi said in part.

“Over the last three years the BPI has delisted over 100,000 fake items from marketplace platforms and seized over 3 million counterfeit units across the UK – which underlines the scale of the problem,” continued the higher-up.

Outside the UK, 2022 data shows that the sales figures behind vinyl records are increasing in the US, Italy, Germany, Japan, and globally. Owing to this considerable demand, however, the format has long grappled with production woes that could potentially encourage piracy – prompting emerging manufacturers to arrive on the scene and compelling high-profile acts to invest in pressing plants.

Zac Brown Band’s website, powered by ONELIVE

Artist-centric ecommerce company ONELIVE is slated to drive over $300 million in GMV (Gross Merchandising Value) this year, according to details shared by the company with Digital Music News. That revenue haul is helping artists, labels, and merchandisers generate a more consistent flow of cash.

Making money is one thing. Generating a consistent flow of money is quite another. The latter has always been a challenge for musicians, though Dustin Hall, Chief Revenue Officer of ONELIVE, believes that artists usually miss out on the significant revenue opportunities offered by ecommerce. “They’re focused on touring, so they often overlook the valuable utility revenue hiding in plain sight: website and online store sales.”

As the world’s largest Shopify partner, ONELIVE operates quietly in the background, handling online growth challenges for artists. The company tackles online storefronts, websites, and order fulfillment, alongside artist services like VIP, fan clubs, ticketing, and even print-on-demand capabilities.

More broadly, ONELIVE is focused on enabling artists, labels, merchandisers, and DTC brands to tap into a more reliable and consistent revenue stream — something the music industry typically struggles with. Just recently, ONELIVE partnered with DMN to further expand its growing footprint.

ONELIVE provides a suite of tools and services that tackle every aspect of merchandising and related ecommerce sales — besides actual production. It’s a behind-the-scenes platform that could smooth the revenue streams for many artists and their teams.

In a nutshell, the company functions as an ecommerce technology and fulfillment partner for those that sell merchandise and other artist-related products to consumers. On this front, ONELIVE’s fulfillment center in Austin, Texas is consistently warehousing, shipping, tracking, and managing artist products with global delivery points.

Hall talks about ONELIVE bringing convenience to the table, saying, “Our clients want to be able to call one partner that can take care of everything related to their online store or website. It’s that simplicity that first engaged them.”

With a clientele that includes the likes of Willie Nelson and Zac Brown Band, ONELIVE has developed core competencies that focus on creating more sustainable revenue for musicians.

It’s no secret that individuals relying on the music industry for their bread and butter earn incredibly cyclical revenue. With peaks and valleys of engagements and album releases during the year, and the intermittent nature of touring, artists frequently find themselves in a quicksand of null income.

Hall believes this cyclical nature of revenue is why typical pricing models aren’t sustainable within the entertainment industry. What artists need are neutral and scalable options.

“At ONELIVE, our clients don’t have to pay anything upfront,” Hall explained. “Our fees are based on a small percentage of net GMV or Gross Merchandising Value. This model also resonates well with DTC brands in other industries.”

It appears that the scale of ONELIVE’s operations, especially within entertainment and sports, allows ONELIVE to receive significant (and even globally exclusive) discounts on software licensing. Alongside bulk rate discounts, this has allowed the ecommerce company to offer artists more profitable GMV outcomes.

ONELIVE has launched over 1,600+ storefronts since 2010 and actively manages about 1,000 sites on any given day — for a client portfolio that includes musicians, podcasters, 40+ sports teams, and well-known international brands. Most of these stores are run via B2B partners that offer ecommerce as a solution but don’t necessarily want to bring those resources in-house.

Willie Nelson’s website managed by ONELIVE

It’s important to note that while the Walmarts of this world — such as Amazon — are notorious for taking big swipes off artists’ GMV, they also hold fan data hostage.

Hall says ONELIVE is “not in the game of gaining rights,” adding, “We function on the backend to help artists scale. We’re creating the infrastructure for our clients to own their data and activate their fan base.”

By enabling all sorts of direct sales and seeing who’s buying their merch, artists can exert control over a steady and consistent cash flow.

Hall also talked about how artists that commandeer Amazon and similar services to get merchandising out “are doing nothing for the user experience.” Hall added, “That’s what we’re trying to solve on behalf of artists and bridge that gap. We know what works and what doesn’t.”

While discussing possibilities for enhancing the user experience, Hall said, “All artists need is a killer site and user experience to keep fans on the artist website. We’re removing friction from that process, creating revenue for artists, and fostering a more refined purchasing experience.”

ONELIVE’s broader mission is to allow artists (and those that serve them) to scale and grow their revenue. The company also appears to have multiple feature expansions in the works.

As part of their ecommerce fulfillment services, the company recently launched a zoneless 2-day air shipping program. This allows qualifying clients the ability to offer 2-day air delivery at a price that’s inline with ground rates.

On the ecommerce website development front, ONELIVE has developed the ‘3.0 Performance Framework.’ According to Hall, this expansion consistently drives online revenue growth for clients via SEO, conversion rate optimization, compliance and UX. “As our clients’ marketing teams drive traffic to their online stores, ONELIVE ensures those stores generate more revenue per visitor while also creating smooth, memorable fan experiences.”

The company is posting impressive compounded annual growth rates by reducing time, cost, and resources associated with selling products.

Looking forward, Hall says it’s ONELIVE’s mission to empower rights holders with leading technologies, more revenue, and increased ownership of fan data.

On the topic of what’s on the horizon for ONELIVE, Hall said, “From expanded ecommerce tech, to fulfillment and shipping capabilities and beyond, we will continue to leverage our unique expertise and size in service of rights holders and rockstar brands.”

Photo Credit: The Parent Company

Carlos Santana extends his Mirayo-branded cannabis deal with The Parent Company.

The Parent Company, a leading California-based cannabis company, has announced an extension of its license agreement with Mirayo by Santana, a line of premium cannabis products curated by legendary guitarist and longtime cannabis advocate Carlos Santana. Mirayo begins offering a new line of solventless hash rosin gummies this May.

The name “Mirayo” is a combination of “my” and “ray” in Spanish, honoring Santana’s Latin heritage and hoping to empower consumers to “follow your light.” Mirayo currently offers cannabis products, including whole flower and pre-rolls in specific strains or general categories of effects.

“Cannabis, to me, is a door to enhanced meditative reflection and creative expression,” says Santana. “With Mirayo, we hope to help more people tap into their creative zone and find kindness and compassion as well as spirituality, individuality, and higher consciousness. I’m excited to introduce our upcoming line of Mirayo gummies this spring, and I look forward to our continued partnership with The Parent Company. Together, we can think deep, high thoughts and sculpt a new life and world.”

“We’re thrilled to extend our relationship with Carlos Santana and the team at Mirayo,” says Troy Datcher, CEO and Chairman of the Board at The Parent Company. “Mirayo’s authenticity within the cannabis space and genuine commitment to wellness align perfectly with The Parent Company’s mission.”

“Mr. Santana brings a massive global audience while being a real believer in the power of the plant. The commitment Carlos puts into channeling good and positive vibrations through his music is seen in the quality of Mirayo’s products. We’re working closely with Mirayo’s team to launch more premium products this year and expand the brand’s reach to new markets.”

Mirayo and The Parent Company also plan to invest in advancements in product R&D, brand awareness, and marketing campaigns that will include a new website featuring e-commerce capabilities. The Parent Company, through its partnerships with top-tier creators and brands, “aims to elevate authenticity while fostering social equity and inclusion” and serving customers’ essential needs.

Photo Credit: BPI

BPI reports that revenues for recorded music in the UK rose for an eighth successive year in 2022, fuelled by streaming growth, continuing demand for vinyl, and substantial label investment in artists.

The BPI, the representative for major labels and a number of independent record companies across the UK, has reported that UK-recorded music revenue rose 4.7% year-on-year to reach £1.32 billion ($1.56 billion at current exchange rates) in 2022. 

This figure includes revenues from synchronization and public performance and represents an eighth consecutive year of growth, up by 36% on the £968.6 million reported in 2017. This number is the highest nominal annual amount on record, but when adjusted for inflation falls hundreds of millions of pounds short of the total reported in 2006 — the first year that includes sync and public performance.

Growth in 2022 was fueled once again by climbing streaming revenues which rose 6.3% year-on-year to £885 million, which now accounts for 67.2% of industry revenue — up from 66.2% in 2021. The rate of streaming growth and record label investment in A&R and marketing is enabling many more artists to succeed through music.

Photo Credit: BPI

Overall revenue from music consumption on physical formats fell by 10.5% to £215.7 million, with rising revenue of £119.5 million from the purchase of albums on vinyl up 3.1%, helping to offset a 23.7% drop in CD revenue to £89.5 million. Vinyl now accounts for 55% of the revenue from music on physical formats; vinyl generated more trade revenue in 2022 than CD for the first time since 1987.

“The hard work and creativity of UK artists and labels meant that 2022 was another great year for British music, but we must guard against any complacency in the face of growing challenges and keep promoting and protecting the value of music,” says Sophie Jones, BPI Chief Strategy Officer and Interim CEO. 

“That’s why labels continue to innovate and invest in new talent and areas to connect more artists and fans while driving additional revenues. The UK environment has always enabled recorded music to thrive — something we must safeguard — but now we need the music community to unite and create the impetus for further growth so that we can build on an already strong foundation to future proof the success of British music in an increasingly competitive global music market.”

Streaming revenue, up 6.3% (£885 million), was primarily shaped by paid subscriptions to services like Amazon, Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, rising by 4.8% to £762.8 million. Though worth less than a tenth of the value of subscriptions, ad-funded streaming income grew by over a fifth in 2022 (22.3%) to £62.5 million. Revenue from digital downloads continues to decline as consumption accelerates its shift to streaming, falling by 17.5% (which is still lower than the 23.2% drop in 2021). Downloaded tracks and albums still generated £27.6 million.

Photo Credit: BVMI

BVMI revealed that the German music industry generated €2.07 billion in 2022. This is not the first time the German music industry has hit the €2 billion mark — though it’s been a while.

Back in 2002, the industry made €2.21 billion, but two decades down the line, the breakdown of revenue source is completely different. According to a just-published BVMI (Bundesverband Musikindustrie) report, the €2.07 billion includes proceeds from streaming, downloads, and sales of CDs and vinyl LPs. However, 80.3% of this revenue is credited to streaming and downloading, with a mere 19.7% generated through physical music sales (mostly CDs and vinyl LPs).

BVMI is a globally recognized music organization representing over 85% of music consumption in Germany.

Germany is the world’s third-largest music market, and the €2.07 billion earnings represent a 6.1% growth in its recorded music market.

CEO of the BVMI, Dr. Florian Drücke, spoke about the streaming segment growth, saying, “An increase of 6.1% means growth for the fourth year in a row. The fact that the industry has passed the €2-billion mark for the first time in two decades is good news of far more than symbolic value. Looking at streaming, it will be exciting to see how the price hikes from the early providers we’ve seen recently will now play out in the broader market and also how short form videos will be monetized even more.”

The strongest market segment was audio streaming, accounting for a whopping 73.3% of total industry revenue. This represents a 14% increase from 2021.

CD sales were the second-biggest source of revenue, with a market share of 12.9%. Vinyl recorded a 6% share of sales, while downloads contributed a mere 2.2%.

Overall, digital revenue increased by 11.7% in 2022, while the physical business declined by 11.9%.

Although vinyl sales witnessed a 5.1% growth in 2022, this pales in comparison to the 20.1% growth reported in 2021. Drücke says that data has continuously placed vinyl records as a favorite among young people, adding, “From the summer of 2023, the culture pass could have a stimulating effect, both for fans and for the industry.”

Photo Credit: Ken Lund / CC by 2.0

Earlier this week, Alliance Entertainment completed its merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) – while also revealing that it wouldn’t list on the NYSE after all. Now, the deal has failed to generate the initially anticipated capital.

That Alliance Entertainment wouldn’t be trading on the New York Stock Exchange came to light in an official release late last week, just before the Florida-based media retailer confirmed that it had merged with the Adara Acquisition Corp. According to this announcement message, published specifically by the NYSE American, Adara/Alliance had “failed to satisfy the requirements for initial listing following a business combination.”

Alliance touched upon the development in a release of its own, concerning the initially mentioned completion of the Adara merger, and made clear plans to pursue a NASDAQ listing.

“Concurrent with Alliance Entertainment’s OTC quotation,” the more than three-decade-old company wrote, “Adara Acquisition Corp. has been delisted from the NYSE American. Alliance Entertainment also intends to seek to list on the Nasdaq Capital Market as soon as practicable after the close of the Business Combination and subject to satisfying the conditions for initial listing.”

But as Digital Music News reported, the per-share stock quotation displayed on Alliance’s OTC profile plummeted during the first day of trading. Notwithstanding an almost four percent rebound from yesterday’s close, Alliance stock was worth even less when the market closed today, to the tune of $3.98 per share, the same profile shows.

According to Billboard, the price decline resulted from minimal participation on the part of Adara shareholders. Those who chose to carry over their stakes into the combined company possess a cumulative total of approximately 167,000 shares, the outlet relayed, of 10 million total shares.

Calculating at $10 per share for good measure, the resulting $1.67 million is insignificant when considered alongside the $480 million valuation assigned to Alliance in the leadup to the merger. The company, which reportedly achieved north of $1.4 billion in revenue during its prior fiscal year, had intended to use the SPAC merger’s capital to bankroll additional acquisitions, per higher-ups.

More broadly, the previously red-hot special purpose acquisition company space has cooled dramatically in recent months, and SPACs and/or proposed SPAC deals involving Liberty Media, SeatGeek, The Music Acquisition Corp., and Triller fell through in 2022.

But select SPAC deals – those involving Middle Eastern streaming service Anghami and Paris-headquartered streaming platform Deezer chief among them – managed to wrap before the sector’s relative collapse. Shares in each company have plummeted in the interim, though; Deezer stock (DEEZR on the Euronext Paris) finished at €2.49 per share today, compared to $2.16 per share for Anghami stock (NASDAQ: ANGH).

Photo Credit: Clay Banks

Last summer, Alliance Entertainment announced plans to execute a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. Now, despite the SPAC sector’s relative collapse, the deal has officially wrapped.

Alliance Entertainment, which bills itself as “the largest wholesale distributor of home entertainment audio and video software in the United States,” just recently completed its merger with the Adara Acquisition Corp. The transaction values Sunrise, Florida-based Alliance at approximately $480 million, though the price of the post-merger entity’s shares (OTC: ADRA) was down substantially at the time of this writing.

Building upon the latter, the NYSE American revealed on Friday that it had “determined to commence proceedings to delist” Adara because it had “failed to satisfy the requirements for initial listing following a business combination.” But Alliance has emphasized that it “intends to seek to list on the Nasdaq Capital Market as soon as practicable.”

In any event, Alliance says that it stocks north of 485,000 “unique entertainment products,” items from each of the major labels among them, and is the “exclusive distributor” of approximately 57,300 vinyl, CD, DVD, and video-game products. Additionally, the decades-old business owns indie distributor Amped (which says that it counts as clients Believe, Exceleration, and Reservoir, to name some) and operates online retail platforms such as Deep Discount and Import CDs.

As disclosed last summer, the GameFly owner Alliance is expected to retain its existing management team, with Bruce Ogilvie staying on as chairman and Jeff Walker continuing to serve as CEO of the combined business.

Predictably, the cash-flush operation is now positioned to invest “in growth including automating facilities” and upgrading proprietary technology, higher-ups indicated. Furthermore, execs made clear that Alliance can likewise pursue “inorganic growth through a roll-up strategy of acquiring and integrating competitors.”

Ogilvie drove home the SPAC merger’s acquisition-related byproducts, communicating in part: “Moreover, this business combination will further enable our significant focus on a strategic roll-up strategy of acquiring and integrating competitors and complementary businesses which we believe will drive an accelerated competitive position and value creation.”

Regarding the initially noted SPAC collapse, both The Music Acquisition Corp. and Liberty Media’s SPAC shut down with zero acquisitions in 2022.

Also in 2022, after Pershing Square’s since-dissolved SPAC abruptly dropped a deal to buy 10 percent of Universal Music in 2021, special purpose acquisition company mergers involving SeatGeek and Triller failed to close.

That said, certain SPAC mergers – the most notable being Deezer’s combination with I2PO SA and Anghami’s union with the Vistas Media Acquisition Company – did wrap last year, and the aforementioned Triller is still acquiring companies in spite of obstacles including licensing lawsuits from UMG and others.

Photo Credit: Henry & Co.

Beyonce’s line of streetwear fashion with Adidas is struggling with weaker-than-expected sales.

Adidas’ partnership with the singer’s Ivy Park clothing brand hasn’t reached sales expectations, reports the Wall Street Journal. The result is a $200 million hole in the company’s annual projections. Sales of Ivy Park dropped more than 40% last year—well below projections of $250 million in sales for the year. “The documents show Ivy Park has been losing money for Adidas, and Beyonce gets about $20 million in annual compensation,” reads the WSJ report.

Adidas’ partnership with Beyonce ends in 2023 and executives are discussing ending or revamping it. The company has refused to comment and says the Ivy Park partnership is ‘strong and successful.’ “We continue to be inspired by our collective vision and are proud of the work we have created together,” an Adidas spokesperson told the Journal.

Adidas’ future outlook was already pretty grim with the implosion of its multi-billion dollar deal with rapper Kanye West. Kanye West went on a tour of antisemitic comments in 2022—resulting in his bank dropping him and the end of his Adidas and Gap partnerships. Now it sounds like the Beyonce Ivy Park partnership isn’t paying off, either.

Beyonce created the Ivy Park clothing brand in 2016 through a partnership with Philip Green. The singer later bought full ownership of the brand in 2018 following allegations of worker abuse. In 2019, Adidas announced it would collaborate with Bey, who called the deal a “partnership of a lifetime.” Adidas was hoping Beyonce’s status as a world-famous pop-star would attract female fans the same way Kanye could sell sneakers.

“In five of the last six Ivy Park releases, roughly half of the merchandise that was produced went unsold,” according to documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. Beyonce unveiled the latest Ivy Park release in Dubai last month—while throwing an exclusive concert for a resort opening in the city.

Photo Credit: Record Store Day UK

The 1975 is announced as the official ambassadors of Record Store Day UK 2023, following previous ambassadors like Taylor Swift, Noel Gallagher, Elton John, and The Big Moon.

Record Store Day UK has announced that Manchester natives The 1975 are this year’s official ambassadors, following the likes of Taylor Swift and Sir Elton John. As part of their role, the band will release their 2016 live performance with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra on vinyl for the first time for this year’s Record Store Day, Saturday, April 22.

Following their fifth consecutive UK Number One album, a world tour, and three 2023 Brit Award nominations, The 1975 are “poised to fly the flag for the unique culture and heritage of independent record stores and the teams behind the counter who help shape the UK music scene.”

Matty Healy, the frontman of The 1975, said, “The guys and I are really proud to be ambassadors for Record Store Day this year. Independent record stores are the lifeblood of the music industry and have played a crucial role in our story so far. It couldn’t be more important to support their vital community and culture.”

The band has long been known to inspire music lovers to get into collecting vinyl by creating limited edition versions of their albums only found on the shelves of independent record stores. The release of their latest album, Being Funny In a Foreign Language, was accompanied by an exclusive white vinyl made only for record shops, and their vinyl release for this year’s Record Store Day will only be available at participating stores.

Record Store Day is widely considered one of the driving forces behind the vinyl resurgence over the last 15 years. Now in its 16th year, the event’s success has led to a considerable turnaround for record stores in the UK, helping them fight back the effects of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

“We can’t wait to be taking part in Record Store Day again this year, and to have a Manchester band like The 1975 putting our local musical heritage on the map and celebrating the culture of record shops in this way is fantastic,” said Louise Jackson of the record store Wax and Beans, just outside Manchester.

“Like all the stores involved in the day, we work incredibly hard all year round to keep our shop thriving as a hub for the music-loving community,” Jackson continues. “Bands like The 1975 are a product of independent music scenes like ours all over the country who back emerging talent, so it feels great to see them championing indie record shops just like ours in such a meaningful way.”

Hundreds of UK shops will participate in Record Store Day on April 22, with a complete list of over 400 official releases for Record Store Day UK 2023 coming soon.

Photo Credit: Manuel Sardo

Warner Music Group has released its second annual Environmental Social Governance (ESG) report. It reveals the music company is continuing its shift away from 180g vinyl to reduce environmental impact during production.

WMG says it has invested significantly over the years to reduce the environmental impact of record manufacturing. The company is investing in ways to produce records without using PVC, in addition to adopting vinyl recycling from production offcuts that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Avoiding the use of virgin materials helps lower carbon emissions, reduces plastic waste, and increases transport efficiency. 

After experimenting in 2022 with a large-scale release of re-vinyl for Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres album, WMG continued on with other re-vinyl releases. They include the Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ European release of their new album, Return of the Dream Canteen and The Staves’ 10th anniversary album reissue of Dead & Born & Grown.

WMG also ran a workshop series on WMG’s Global Green Product and Packaging Design Guidelines to help teams learn how to design better packaging for vinyl, cassettes, and C.D.s to reduce their environmental impact. A top recommendation during that workshop was to press new album releases on 140g vinyl instead of 180g vinyl. 

“We’re thrilled to report that in 2022 we pressed roughly 60% of our global vinyl products on 140g discs, reducing our output of virgin raw plastic by approximately 470 tonnes,” the ESG report reads. “Additionally, we’re poised to produce nearly three times the number of discs in the U.S. for the U.S. market in 2023. This will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from sea or air freight that would have otherwise come from European-based manufacturing facilities.”

WMG’s vinyl manufacture in the U.K. saw 94% of new vinyl releases pressed on 140g vinyl, reducing the use of raw plastic by 27 tonnes. 

Why is vinyl manufacturing so hard on the environment?

The main component in a vinyl record is plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is made from petrochemicals. Pressing plants can use antiquated steam boilers and a toxic brew of chemicals to make records, giving vinyl 12 times the greenhouse gas emissions of other physical media production like CDs.

“The demand for recycled components is still in the minority, but it does seem like it’s been gaining some steam over the past couple of years,” says Matt Earley, owner of the Cleveland, Ohio pressing plant, Gotta Groove Records. 

Photo Credit: Douglas Johnson / CC by 2.0

What are the best-selling albums of all time? We look at the top ten based on total certified copies sold versus claimed copies sold — and why it’s so difficult to determine how many copies an album sells.

While it might seem simple to list the best-selling albums of all time, there’s more involved than you might expect. Artists and their record labels often post much higher claimed sales than can be certified by companies and organizations like the RIAA. 

It also makes a big difference when an album was released. The percentage of certified sales needed to support claimed sales figures increase the newer an album is, so albums released before 1975 are only expected to have their claimed figures supported by at least 30% in certified copies. 

Newer albums such as Adele’s 21 are expected to have their claimed figures supported by at least 70% in certified copies because more markets instituted certification systems by the ’90s.

There are instances where double-length (two-disc) albums count as two sales. This results from RIAA and Music Canada’s methodology, where each disc in a multi-disc set is counted as one unit toward certification.

As of 2016, certification no longer reflects the shipment of units alone. RIAA included streaming numbers to track and album sales based on the “album-equivalent unit” concept for certification purposes. This change gives “Greatest Hits” compilations an advantage in updating certification under the new criteria.

Below are the top ten best-selling albums of all time, in order by certified sales, but the claimed sales will also be listed beneath each one. For simplicity’s sake, “Greatest Hits” compilations are not included on this list.

#1 – Michael Jackson – Thriller 

Certified Sales: 51.2 million

Claimed Sales: 70 million

Going purely by certified sales, Michael Jackson’s Thriller is the undisputed champion. Released in 1982, the album’s music videos for “Thriller,” “Beat It,” and “Billie Jean” are all widely viewed as having transformed music videos from a niche concept into an art form. 

The album debuted when funk and disco were phasing out while rock and pop began dominating the airwaves. Thriller takes advantage of all these genres, leading to the best-selling album of all time.

#2 – The Eagles – Hotel California 

Certified Sales: 31.8 million

Claimed Sales: 42 million

While The Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits compilation technically beats out Hotel California with over 10 million more in certified sales, its status as a compilation album omits it from this list. Interestingly, both were released in 1976.

As a standalone album, Hotel California is the Eagles’ best-selling record of all time. It has often been featured on lists of the greatest albums, while its title track has been listed as one of the greatest songs of all time.

#3 – Shania Twain – Come On Over

Certified Sales: 30.4 million

Claimed Sales: 40 million

Almost a decade before Taylor Swift’s debut album, there was Shania Twain. Shania was so successful in the late ’90s as a country-pop crossover artist that there was a three-year period where you couldn’t avoid hearing one of her singles on the radio. Her 1997 album Come On Over is the best-selling country record of all time.

Of the album’s 16 tracks, 12 were promoted as singles over three years, such as “You’re Still the One,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” The album sold consistently for years.

#4 – Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV

Certified Sales: 30.4 million

Claimed Sales: 37 million

Released in 1971 as Led Zeppelin’s magnum opus, the album was technically untitled, with many fans trying to interpret the four symbols each band member chose to include in the LP’s sleeve as a title. The album has been reprinted and reissued several times, helping to boost its sales numbers.

With only eight tracks considered “all killer and no filler,” the album features “Stairway to Heaven,” the band’s signature song. According to Led Zeppelin, the album is a “fully realized hybrid of the folk and hard-rock directions.”

#5 – AC/DC – Back in Black

Certified Sales: 30.1 million

Claimed Sales: 50 million

AC/DC’s seventh studio album but the first with vocalist Brian Johnson, Back in Black came out in 1980. The band embarked on a year-long world tour to support the album’s debut, cementing their place among the most popular live acts of the early ’80s.

#6 – Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

Certified Sales: 29.3 million

Claimed Sales: 40 million

The eleventh studio album by Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, was released in 1977 and showed immediate appeal with a mass audience. The album was so successful that the band embarked on a seven-month North American tour following its release.

The album became the band’s first number-one record on the UK Albums Chart, while the singles “Go Your Own Way,” “Dreams,” “Don’t Stop,” and “You Make Loving Fun” all reached the US Top 10. Much praise for Rumours has centered on its production quality and the harmonies between vocalists Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, and Lindsey Buckingham.

#7 – Whitney Houston – The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack

Certified Sales: 28.7 million

Claimed Sales: 45 million

Released in 1992, The Bodyguard soundtrack was essentially a Whitney Houston album to accompany the film of the same name, which starred the singer alongside actor Kevin Costner. The movie is considered one of the best made about the music industry and helped make the soundtrack sales successful. 

The record won Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards, supported by six singles that all received solid radio play — but its biggest break-out hit was “I Will Always Love You,” originally written by Dolly Parton.

#8 – Adele – 21

Certified Sales: 27.1 million

Claimed Sales: 31 million

Adele’s second album, 2011’s 21, dominated the charts in more than 30 countries as the best-selling album for two years in a row. The title comes from the singer’s age at the time of the album’s production, with her previous record being titled 19 and her next called 25.  

#9 – Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill

Certified Sales: 25.4 million

Claimed Sales: 33 million

Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill is a pure alt-rock album released in 1995 at the height of the genre’s popularity. The record was her first international release and won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. At the time, Alanis was the youngest artist to win the award at age 21, until Taylor Swift took that title at age 20.

#10 – Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon

Certified Sales: 24.8 million

Claimed Sales: 45 million

Considered to be one of the best records ever made, The Dark Side of the Moon is a 1973 release and a hallmark in progressive rock albums. It’s a concept album that utilized many experimental techniques at the time, leading to new sounds not heard before in music. The number of remasters and rereleases has helped increase the album’s sales.

Honorable Mentions

Other albums with impressive sales that didn’t quite make it to the top ten include Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction (22.8 million certified sales), Metallica’s Metallica (22.7 million certified sales), the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (22.1 certified sales), and Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell (22 million certified sales).

Photo Credit: Susan Mohr

Sweetwater has announced it reached $1.57 billion in sales for 2022, achieving revenue growth of 9.5% YoY.

This marks the third consecutive year that Sweetwater has managed to break the $1 billion revenue mark. It illustrates that despite rising struggles for the retail industry, customer satisfaction remains an important driver of sales for the company.

“I am immensely proud of the Sweetwater team’s accomplishments in 2022,” adds CEO John Hopkins. “In a year when the world dealt with economic uncertainty, geopolitical challenges, lingering supply chain difficulties, and many other issues, we were still able to provide exceptional customer service to millions of music makers. What a privilege it is for us to have this role in the music industry; music has the power to inspire, offer hope, and promote healing.”

In addition to the record customer growth and sales performance of 2022, Sweetwater also launched its new Gear Exchange in July 2022. It allows music to buy and sell used music gear on a trusted platform, knowing the transaction is safe. Sellers can avoid fees using the platform by opting for a payout in the form of a Sweetwater gift card.

While Sweetwater launched its Band & Orchestra program in 2021, it has continued to experience significant growth throughout 2022. It now serves more schools and students with a wide selection of band & orchestra instruments.

To help reach customers across the United States more quickly, Sweetwater announced its Distribution Center in Arizona—its first facility outside of its headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The distribution center allows Sweetwater to deliver its products to West Coast customers more efficiently and it shipped 50,000 orders in just three months of operating, creating 100 new jobs in the process.

Throughout 2022, Sweetwater focused on providing its employees with a supportive workplace. It implemented a record number of promotions, increased 401K company match percentages, and launched new management development courses in addition to its new tuition reimbursement program. Sweetwater also continued its significant philanthropic support of more than 400 music, arts, education, and social service agencies—giving monetary donations of more than $750,000 and $600,000 in instruments and audio gear to schools, music programs, and other groups.

Photo Credit: Ineffable Music Group

Live Nation alternative Ineffable to waive all venue merch fees for artists in a continued push for a more equitable music business.

All venues owned or operated by Ineffable Live, Ineffable Music Group’s live division and an alternative to Live Nation, will no longer collect venue merchandise cuts from artist merch sales. This new policy goes into effect immediately at all venues and shows owned or operated by Ineffable, including The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, Ventura Music Hall, Golden State Theatre in Monterey, and many more.

“When bands go on tour, their revenue streams are almost exclusively a share of ticket sale revenue and band merchandise sales. Historically the standard business practice in the US for music venues has been to collect a percentage of revenue generated from merch sales,” explains Ineffable’s official statement regarding the updated policy.

“The myriad of expenses bands have, such as their travel, production, and health insurance, have increased significantly in recent times. The same can be said about the costs associated with printing and shipping t-shirts and other merchandise,” the statement continues. “Independent touring bands that have loyal fan bases rely on support from their fans via merchandise sales to make ends meet. The margins in merchandise are incredibly vital to the economic feasibility of touring.”

Ineffable Music Group CEO Thomas Cussins notes, “We are on the ground and hearing from artists every day. We are seeing how much the costs of everything have gone up — from buses to hotels to flights. So even though the club business is a marginal business, any action we can take to help to (ensure) a healthy, vibrant concert ecosystem is important.”

“This industry only works if artists of all levels are able to afford to tour,” Cussins continues. “When artists are able to tour sustainably, and fans can afford to buy a t-shirt because the all-in ticket price is reasonable, everybody wins.”

Ineffable head talent buyer Casey Smith adds, “We’ve been able to make our live business work even with increased expenses by having a number of venues and being able to create routes for artists, offering them a number of shows in secondary and college markets between their big city plays.” 

“Since we’ve made it work for ourselves, we want it to work for the artists as well,” Smith concludes. “This move is fully aligned with Ineffable’s independent spirit, and in hearing the needs of independent artists, we believe it’s important to put them first.”

Photo Credit: Warner Music / Sony Music

Pink Floyd releases a monster-sized, $300 ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ box set.

Warner Music and Sony Music announced the upcoming release of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon as a deluxe box set in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the album’s original release. The newly remastered box set will be released on March 24, 2023. Sony Music will distribute the collection, while Warner Music is in charge of European distribution.

One of the most influential albums of all time, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon continues to find new audiences worldwide. The album is the eighth studio album by Pink Floyd, originally released in the US on March 1, 1973, and in the UK on March 16. The Dark Side of the Moon has sold over 50 million copies worldwide.

The new deluxe box set includes CD and gatefold vinyl of the new 2023 remastered studio album, with Blu-Ray and DVD audio featuring the original 5.1 mix and remastered stereo versions. The collection features a new Blu-Ray disc of Atmos mix plus a CD and LP of The Dark Side of the Moon – Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974. 

Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon 50th Anniversary Box Set:

• CD 1 – The Dark Side of the Moon Remastered 2023, by James Guthrie, in gatefold sleeve with 12-page booklet
• CD 2 – The Dark Side of the Moon – Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974, mixed by Andy Jackson in gatefold sleeve with 12-page booklet
• LP 1 – The Dark Side of the Moon Remastered original studio album in gatefold, with original posters and stickers
• LP 2 – The Dark Side of the Moon – Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974, in gatefold, with two posters

Blu-Ray 1 (Audio) – Original album in 5.1 and high-resolution remastered stereo mixes in a dedicated wallet:

1. 5.1 Surround Mix – 24-bit/96kHz Uncompressed
2. Stereo Mix – 24-bit/192kHz Uncompressed
3. 5.1 Surround Mix – DTS-HD MA
4. Stereo Mix – DTS-HD MA

Blu-Ray 2 (Audio) – Original album in Atmos and high-resolution remastered stereo mixes in a dedicated wallet:

1. Dolby Atmos Mix
2. Stereo Mix – 24-bit/192kHz Uncompressed
3. Stereo Mix – DTS-HD MA

DVD (Audio) – Original album in 5.1 and remastered stereo mixes in a dedicated wallet:

1. 5.1 Surround Mix – Dolby Digital @448 kbps
2. 5.1 Surround Mix – Dolby Digital @640 kbps
3. Stereo Mix (LPCM) – 24-bit48kHz Uncompressed

160-page Thames & Hudson Hardback Book – with rare black and white photographs from the 1972 – 1975 tours of the UK and the US, taken by Jill Furmanovsky, Peter Christopherson, Aubrey Powell, Storm Thorgerson

76-page Music Book – of the original album

Memorabilia:

Replicas of 2×7″ singles in Harvest bags:

1. 7″ Single 1 – “Money” / “Any Colour You Like”
2. 7″ Single 2 – “Us And Them” / “Time”

Replica of EMI Pamphlet and Invitation to the preview of The Dark Side of the Moon at the London Planetarium on February 27, 1973

Simultaneously, the CD and first-ever vinyl issue of The Dark Side of the Moon – Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974, will be released independently. Originally recorded in November 1974 as part of Pink Floyd’s winter tour, this is the first time it will be available as a standalone album.

London, England. Photo Credit: Benjamin Davies

Thanks largely to continued streaming and vinyl growth, UK music industry sales increased by about three percent during 2022 and approached £1.99 billion, according to a newly released preliminary report.

This and other interesting data points came to light in an analysis from London’s Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA), which bills itself as “the trade body representing digital services and retailers offering music, video and games.”

According to the organization, which counts as board members execs from Spotify, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, and others, the total value of the UK home entertainment market jumped roughly 6.9 percent to crack £11.08 billion in 2022.

Within the figure, music sales accounted for £1.99 billion, the highest total since 2003 and a year-over-year (YoY) uptick of approximately three percent, as initially noted. And in keeping with longstanding trends, the lion’s share of the UK music industry sales total derived from streaming, the resource shows.

Specifically, the UK music industry generated over £1.66 billion from streaming during 2022, per an estimate provided by the ERA and the British Phonographic Industry, up five or so percent from 2021.

Also in keeping with well-documented trends, the UK’s physical music sales declined by 3.8 percent YoY to £280.4 million, compared to a 17.5 percent YoY falloff for downloads (£45.4 million total), according to stats from the Official Charts Company and included in the ERA report.

The physical sum consists of £150.5 million attributable to vinyl (up 11 percent YoY) and £124 million from CDs (down 17.4 percent YoY). 2022 was the first year since 1987 to see vinyl outsell CDs by value in the UK, the ERA communicated.

While the entity will confirm precise full-year figures (and disclose additional data) in its final report in March, higher-ups have already confirmed that perennial bestseller Harry Styles had released the most popular album (Harry’s House) and track (“As It Was”) in the UK music industry on the year.

(Spotify Wrapped previously identified the same consumption benchmarks – besides indicating that Taylor Swift had racked up the most on-platform UK streams of any artist during 2022.)

Meanwhile, vinyl’s years-running stateside growth is showing few signs of slowing down, as the format’s sales during the week ending on December 22nd reportedly reached a high not seen since at least 1991.

Additionally, vinyl is reportedly performing well in Germany, and 2022 brought positive developments (including a funding round for record manufacturer elasticStage and the debut of a new pressing plant in the UK) that could alleviate the format’s production woes.

Photo Credit: Jamakassi

Vinyl sales in the United States have reached highs not seen since 1991 thanks to the holidays. 

Data from Luminate shows that 2.32 million vinyl albums were sold in the week ending December 22–the last week before Christmas. According to Billboard, that’s the single-largest sales week for vinyl albums since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991. Vinyl album sales in the US also reached the 2+ million milestone in December 2021–showing the everlasting presence of albums as Christmas gifts. 

Holiday shopping helped fuel vinyl album sales by 46.7% in the week ending in December 22. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular album sold was Taylor Swift’s Midnights selling 68,000 copies. Part of that success can be attributed to the availability of five vinyl variants–including one exclusive to Target. 

Vinyl album sales for the year of 2022 stand at 41.891, which is a 3.6% increase when compared to 2021. The vinyl format continues to make up the bulk of all physical album sales–with 63% of physical sales in the vinyl format. Limited stock of factories compared to the huge number of labels worldwide helps contribute to supply constraints for vinyl records.

The vinyl era of the 1960s and 1970s peaked in 1978 with unit sales of 341 million and revenue of $2.5 billion before a steady decline. The vinyl market finally bottomed out in 2005 at just $14 million in sales that year. But upticks in LP sales and have brought in $1 billion by the end of 2021, representing 7% of all music revenue and 12% of total units sold. 

What are the motivating factors for a new generation who are being exposed to vinyl LPs for the first time? An appreciation of the ‘authenticity’ and warmth’ of vinyl records is the key motivating factor in a study of vinyl consumers from 2021. But vinyl ‘newbies’ are also placing more value on the packaging and artwork of albums they consume–both old and new. 

Photo Credit: Zoran Veselinovic / CC by 2.0

‘Michael Jackson: In the Studio’ chronicles Jackson’s recording process across multiple decades, featuring interviews with legendary producers Teddy Riley, Rodney Jerkins, Bill Bottrell, and J-Roc Harmon.

Fans of the King of Pop will get an up-close look at his recording process this spring in Michael Jackson: In the Studio. The book takes readers from his childhood Motown days with The Jackson 5 through the making of his legendary solo albums: Off the Wall, Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory, Invincible, and his posthumous LP Xscape.

Featuring exclusive interviews with many of Jackson’s key creative collaborators, including Teddy Riley, Rodney Jerkins, Bill Bottrell, Timbaland co-producer Jerome “J-Roc” Harmon, and longtime Jackson session drummer John “J.R.” Robinson, the book also includes sourced commentary from Quincy Jones, Dallas Austin, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Stevens, Slash, Berry Gordy, and other Jackson collaborators.

Award-winning author Jake Brown’s 55th published book, the In the Studio series has been in publication worldwide for three decades. Featuring highlight titles co-written with Heart, late Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister, the Tupac Shakur Estate — and award-winning chronicles of the record-making process of Rick Rubin, Tori Amos, AC/DC, Tom Waits, Dr. Dre, and Iron Maiden — Brown’s series has been published in the US, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Canada, and many more.

“We’re excited to be partnering with Jake Brown to make Michael Jackson: In the Studio available to music history fans worldwide,” says Anne Fonteneau, Chief Sales Officer for Blackstone Publishing, the entity through which the book will be distributed in North America.

“The book has much to offer anyone with an interest in pop culture, and especially Jackson’s singular contributions to it musically.”

“Michael pulled me out of the room while I was working on the demo for ‘Remember the Time,'” says writer and producer Teddy Riley in an excerpt from the book. “I’d just finished working in the studio on 60 or 70 tracks for him to listen through. That was the 5th track I played for him, and he loved ‘Remember the Time’ from the first time he heard it.”

“It was important to give him something that would shock the world, where people just have no choice where it’s undeniable,” Riley continues. “With ‘Remember the Time’ and the hard drums, he just wanted stuff that would hurt you on the dance floor. That’s what he would always say, ‘I need you to hurt me with this record. The mix, I need it to hurt me; I need to be laying on the floor from the kick drum, banging the room out!’ That’s the one thing about Michael; he loved his music so loud that the engineer Bruce Swedien and I had to leave the room sometimes!”

Photo Credit: James Sutton

Album success in 2022 is shared across the regions of the UK, while new album releases lead a predicted 15th successive annual uplift in vinyl LP sales, with eight of the year’s Top Ten sellers released in 2022.

Music talent is flourishing across the UK, with most of the year’s biggest-selling new albums across all formats released by artists from nearly every region. The Top 10 LPs of 2022, according to the analysis of Official Charts data by the BPI, feature eight titles released within the calendar year, including albums by Harry Styles, Arctic Monkeys, and Liam Gallagher — compared to only three in 2017.

While US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift led the charge in 2022’s vinyl albums market, most of the year’s biggest-selling new albums across all formats combined were by artists from nearly every nation and region in the UK. There were 30 different Number One albums by UK artists throughout the year, with 10 of the UK’s 12 regions being represented across a diverse range of genres.

Outside London, Northwest England was one of the most heavily-represented regions with five chart-topping albums in 2022, led by Cheshire-native Harry Styles. Styles’ third solo album, Harry’s House, spent six weeks at Number One, the longest chart-topping run of the year. Other Northwest England artists topping the charts this year include Liverpool band The Wombats (Fix Yourself, Not the World), Stockport group Blossoms (Ribbons Around the World), Manchester-native Liam Gallagher (C’mon You Know), and Cheshire band The 1975 (Being Funny in a Foreign Language).

Yorkshire and the Humber showed strong musical representation in 2022, with four artists from the region reaching Number One: Olly Alexander’s solo project Years & Years (Night Call), Yungblud (Yungblud), Louis Tomlinson (Faith in the Future), and Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott (N.K.Pop).

Official Albums Chart Number One in 2022 by UK Artists

• The Wombats – Fix Yourself, Not the World
• Years & Years – Night Call
• Don Broco – Amazing Things
• Bastille – Give Me the Future
• Frank Turner – FTHC
• Ed Sheeran – =
• Central Cee – 23
• Stereophonics – Oochya!
• Rex Orange County – Who Cares?
• Charli XCX – Crash
• Wet Leg – Wet Leg
• Digga D – Noughty By Nature
• Blossoms – Ribbon Around the Bomb
• Florence + The Machine – Dance Fever
• Harry Styles – Harry’s House
• Liam Gallagher – C’mon You Know
• George Ezra – Gold Rush Kid
• Paolo Nutini – Last Night in the Bittersweet
• Jamie T – The Theory of Whatever
• Kasabian – The Alchemist’s Euphoria
• Steps – Platinum Collection
• Muse – Will of the People
• Yungblud – Yungblud
• Robbie Williams – XXV
• Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott – N.K.Pop
• The 1975 – Being Funny in a Foreign Language
• Louis Tomlinson – Faith in the Future
• Stormzy – This is What I Mean
• Olly Murs – Marry Me
• Sam Ryder – There’s Nothing But Space, Man!

“It’s no surprise that most of the UK talent who reached Number One in 2022 are from outside London,” said SJM Concerts artist manager Conrad Murray, who represents artists like Blossoms, Paul Heaton, and Jacqui Abbott. “As a Manchester-based manager, it’s been evident for a long time that you don’t have to be in the capital to succeed — the artists I represent are a testament to that.”

“Blossoms started out a decade ago in Stockport, where they grew up, and have now scored three Number One albums, including Ribbon Around the Bomb,” Murray continues. “And since the first Housemartins LP back in the Eighties, tellingly called London 0 Hull 4, Paul Heaton has been living proof of the exceptional music talent that exists across the entire UK. All these years later, alongside his long-time collaborator Jacqui Abbott, he is still making brilliant Number One albums.”

Newly-released albums are claiming an increasingly more significant share of vinyl LP sales, with the year’s ten biggest sellers to date featuring eight titles released in 2022, according to analysis of Official Charts data by the BPI.

Taylor Swift’s Midnights ranked as the year’s most popular album on vinyl in the UK, on a list that included 2022 releases by Harry Styles (Harry’s House), Arctic Monkeys (The Car), Liam Gallagher (C’mon You Know), Wet Leg (Wet Leg), The 1975 (Being Funny in a Foreign Language), Fontaines D.C. (Skinty Fia), and Muse (Will of the People).

The sales of these 2022 albums contributed to a UK vinyl market expected to grow for the 15th successive year, reaching its highest volume level since 1990. The BPI will announce the final figures for vinyl LP sales in 2022 on January 4, 2023, as part of its Official 2022 UK Music Market Update. The update will also report on CD and cassette sales along with the total volume of audio streams for the year.

Such a high number of current albums among the year’s top sellers marks a further notable shift in the vinyl market, whose revival over the past 15 years has primarily been driven by catalog titles. Half of the ten biggest vinyl LPs of 2021 were albums released that calendar year, while five years ago, classic albums by artists like The Beatles, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, and Oasis dominated 2017’s Top Ten sellers. That year, new releases by Ed Sheeran, Liam Gallagher, and Rag’n’Bone Man were the only new titles to appear on the list.

“Vinyl’s revival has been one of the most welcome success stories of recent times,” said Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI, BRIT Awards & Mercury Prize. “While initially this renaissance was built largely on older music fans reconnecting with treasured past albums and on younger generations newly discovering classic releases, increasingly the ongoing rise in LP sales has been driven by brand new releases.”

“A diverse and growing number of contemporary artists have recognized the enduring magic of this most beloved format, from global superstars such as Taylor Swift and Harry Styles to breakthrough UK talent including Wet Leg and Yard Act. As the LP marks its 75th anniversary in 2023, it’s as relevant as ever, highlighting that, in an age of streaming, physical music purchases remain an essential and healthy part of the music market.”

Official Vinyl Artist Albums Chart 2022

1. Taylor Swift – Midnights
2. Harry Styles – Harry’s House
3. Arctic Monkeys – The Car
4. Liam Gallagher – C’mon You Know
5. Wet Leg – Wet Leg
6. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
7. The 1975 – Being Funny in a Foreign Language
8. Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia
9. Arctic Monkeys – AM
10. Muse – Will of the People 2022

Photo Credit: Justin Bieber Instagram

Justin Bieber has criticized the H&M collection that features his face on Instagram.

The singer took to Instagram Stories to express his disappointment with the merch collection. “I didn’t approve any of the merch collection that they put up at H&M all without my permission or approval,” the post reads. “SMH I wouldn’t buy it if I were you. The H&M merch they made of me is trash, and I didn’t approve it. Don’t buy it.”

Following the post on Instagram, H&M reached out to news outlets to clarify the company’s position.

“As with all other licensed products and partnerships, H&M followed proper approval procedures,” the spokesperson told CNN. Justin Bieber has worked with fashion outlets before to create merch collections for fans. In 2016 he worked with Forever 21 on the ‘Justin Forever’ fashion line, which was tied to his Purpose concert tour at the time. 

The H&M merchandise collection features a short sweatshirt dress with a black and white picture of the singer emblazoned on it. Another piece in the collection is a bright pink hoodie with the words “I miss you more than life.” That’s a lyric from Bieber’s hit song, “Ghost.”

Following the news that Justin Bieber didn’t officially endorse the merch, many fans said they were canceling their orders. “One the one hand I understand it, it’s his image and he didn’t approve it, but on the other hand, there are many who want to have Justin’s merchandise, or anything related to him, but they don’t have enough money to buy official merchandise,” one fan writes underneath the post criticizing the H&M merch. 

Justin Bieber released official merchandise for his Justice World Your, but the event was canceled. Bieber was recently diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare condition that can cause facial paralysis and other debilitating symptoms. Bieber also has his own clothing brand called Drew House which he launched in 2018 alongside creative director Ryan Good.