More money made from digital royalties than radio for first time

Digital music royalties, from services such as iTunes and Spotify, have overtaken radio royalties for the first time.

PRS For Music have published figures showing that not only have digital music royalty revenues overtaken radio, but that they are growing faster than any other area. While traditional broadcast media showed only 3.1% growth, UK digital revenues increased by 32.2%.

The figures also showed that digital music players are actually the biggest source of income for singer-songwriters in the UK - as opposed to playing gigs at pubs and other live events.

Robert Ashcroft, CEO of PRS for Music said, "Copyright remains fundamental to the continued success of our members both at home and abroad, while the ever-increasing importance of licensed online services such as Itunes and Spotify underlines the value of music to the internet economy."

The Olympics meant that revenue royalties from live events fell drastically, particularly as Glastonbury did not take place last year, as they were 14.2% less than in 2011. However, with Glastonbury returning and Hyde Park planning a series of gigs, this is likely to see an increase in 2013.




The biggest source of income for UK music creators is international licensing revenue, even though it has fallen by 4% - as British artists such as Adele and Mumford & Sons helped contribute to a total of £180.1m.

Fortunately, the age of annoying mobile phone ringtones seems to be at an end. While five years ago, the revenue on ringtones was at £5.7m, it has now fallen to £900,000.


source: gigwise.com

Microsoft Returns to Digital Music With XBox Service

In an effort to challenge's Apple's iTunes, Spotify and other platforms, Microsoft is launching their own digital music service today, The New York Times reports. XBox Music users will be able to listen to a catalog of 30 million songs for free through Microsoft's XBox gaming console and on computers and tablets running Windows 8, the latest version of the software giant's operating system, which is set to begin shipping October 26th. There will be no initial limit for how much music can be streamed, though that may change in the future.

The new service is part of Microsoft's efforts to catch up with competitors, including Apple and Google, after previous attempts to establish itself in the digital music realm fizzled when products like the Zune music player and service failed to catch on with consumers. XBox Music seeks to combine elements of other music services, offering users the option to purchase music, to listen to Pandora-like channels built around songs or musical styles and to stream music on demand. There's even a $10-a-month ad-free service for Xbox Music that resembles Spotify's enhanced package.

Whether the new service succeeds depends in part on how well XBox Music works with gadgets including mobile phones: so far, the Windows Phone lags in popularity behind Apple's iPhone and phones that run Google's Android operating systems. To combat this, Microsoft plans on taking Xbox Music to Apple's iOS and Android next year.

Microsoft also plans to bundle XBox Music with Windows 8, which analysts could catch the eyes of wary antitrust regulators concerned that the company is using Windows to push its digital music service, though bundling XBox Music with Windows doesn't seem vastly different from Google or Apple including software for accessing their music services on their mobile devices.

article source: rollingstone.com