Tag: 2018

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The Old School Music Marketing Trick That Still Works in 2019

Music Newsletters

Marketing is everything in today’s music business. Between the increased number of artists competing for attention and the shrinking amount of attention people are willing to give talent they are unfamiliar with, marketing has become the primary focus of most day-to-day music professionals. It would be easy to say that trend will change in the years to come, but the chances are high that the competition will only grow fiercer from here.

A quick Google search for ‘Music Marketing Tips’ will return well over a million results, with dozens more added every week. The vast majority of these articles will offer you some variation of basic social media marketing tactics that apply to any business or personal brand. They will tell you to post regularly, preferably at peak traffic times, and to follow popular trends in an authentic voice. They will also encourage the creation of original content daily, and to make replying to comments or messages a priority.

All this advice is sound and valid, but it’s also what everyone — including your competition — will do in hopes of finding success. Everyone is screaming into the void that is the internet, just like everyone is doing their best to create original content that holds people’s fickle attention for long enough to promote or sell something.

When everyone is doing the same thing the chance any one person or group stands out is virtually non-existent. Social media is good for general engagement, but regarding audience retention and community development, its usefulness is limited.

The solution is, as it has always been, for artists to have their own newsletter.

Before social media gave everyone the ability to connect with anyone, newsletters were essential for creating meaningful artist to fan engagement. First distributed through the postal service before moving online with the rise of email, newsletters offer fans the chance to learn everything new and exciting about their favorite artist(s) without needing to cut through the clutter of the digital space. They provide album and tour information primarily, but they can be incredibly personal as well.

Starting a newsletter is easy. Most artists begin by signing up for a service like MailChimp or MadMimi. From there, artists can generate a shareable link that is then posted to social media (often on a recurring basis) and/or through a specific promotion, such as a song premiere. Fans then click the link and insert their email. All acquired addresses are kept on the newsletter platform, which then recalls the email information whenever a new mailing is created.

Some artists choose to make newsletters a premium offering similar to a fan club. For a small contribution, either one-time or monthly, fans can gain direct access to the latest news and information, as well as exclusive benefits such as music streams or tour pre-sales.

Given the low cost of creation and the potential for a high return on investment, starting a newsletter should be part of every artist’s promotional plans. It’s the one way to guarantee fans know what’s happening in an artist’s career, and it establishes a connection to an audience that no other service can offer (without regularly paying for ‘promoted’ content).

Cut out the middle man and take your relationship with fans into your own hands.

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Job Hunting Tips for the Music Business

Working in the music business is a dream shared by countless thousands of people around the world, but there are no clear paths to entry. Some get their start by booking shows or playing in bands, while others take the far more traditional route of earning a degree. A handful of lucky souls manage to get in through nepotism, and an even rarer select few find success through blind luck.

While it would be nice to believe that being passionate about music and the business of selling it would be enough to land any hard worker a decent paying, it’s not realistic. If everyone who gives a damn, and I mean really gives a damn, could find work there would be as many people employed in music as there are people in bands trying to build a career with their art.

If passion isn’t enough (it’s not), then those hoping to make a career out of music need to go above and beyond what those seeking employment in other fields must do to find work. Here are some tips on getting ahead, as selected by people currently employed in music:

Learn to Talk to Strangers (Networking)

There is an old adage about the entertainment business that claims getting ahead isn’t about what someone knows as much as it about who they know. For better and worse, that claim is valid. The people who excel the fastest in music typically do so through connections with people already making waves in the industry.

There are at least four ways to meet people who could help develop (or launch) a career:

  1. Start your own business and work with artists who attract the interest of bigger, more powerful businesses.
  2. Internships.
  3. Music conferences/Industry events.
  4. Digital outreach. This one has the lowest likelihood of generating a response, but considering the fact everyone in music is connected to their inboxes at all hours of the day it’s entirely possible to build connections through well-written and engaging messaging.

Learn About Everything, Master One Thing

Most aspiring industry professionals have an idea of what they’d like to do in the business. What happens more often than not, however, is that all up and comers are asked to complete a variety of tasks while cutting their teeth in the early stages of their career. With this in mind, it’s just as important for young professionals to master one skill set as it is for them to understand how the industry works as a whole. That way, those seeking employment are able to apply their knowledge and skills to as many opportunities as they can while working to the role they wish to acquire.

Use Only Relevant Information When Applying for Jobs

Any company hiring for entry-level positions is well aware that most newcomers to the music business will not have a wealth of experience. With that in mind, those wishing to apply for those roles should carefully curate their resumes to fit the job being offered. Potential employers seeking a recording studio assistant, for example, do not need to know about the two years in high school when someone flipped burgers for a fast food chain. Those same employees do not need to be told an applicant understands how to use Microsoft Word.

That said, applicants should include jobs held in high school if the skills gained or tasks completed reflect the work that needs to be done in the role being offered. Someone with management experience, for example, would be wise to detail that skill set on a resume. Those who understand complex programs, such as Photoshop, should include that knowledge (as long as it fits the demands of the role).

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News Podcasts

Inside Music Podcast #137: Goin’ DIY with Connor Skelly

Inside Music is a podcast about the lives of professionals in the music business. Each week, host James Shotwell chats with an artist or industry tastemaker to learn how anyone can navigate the world of entertainment.

On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell calls Beyond The Music founder Connor Skelly to discuss DIY with a catch. Instead of discussing bands finding success outside the traditional music business system, James and Connor chat about professionals who take their careers into their own hands and start something themselves. Connor recently quit his job with this very goal in mind, and though he’s only been at a few weeks he’s already seen some amazing results. Connor tells James of the trials he faced when trying to start something new and even offers advice to those hoping to follow in his footsteps.

In other news, Inside Music is now available on YouTube! Click here to stream the latest episode on our official channel. You can also subscribe to the show on iTunes, as well as any other podcast streaming service.

https://soundcloud.com/inside-music-podcast/137-going-diy-with-connor-skelly

Prefer video? We’ve got you covered:

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How Artists are Creating Albums with Haulix

The internet has given us many gifts. Among them, the ability to connect with like-minded people from all over the world ranks as one of the best. Anyone with access to the internet can find people with similar interests and work together to build something great.

Brockhampton, the Billboard-topping rap group/boy band, is a good example. The members found one another through an online music forum and began working on music together before they had met in person. That initial connect has since spawned multiple albums, numerous sold-out performances, and press from seemingly every important entertainment publication in existence.

The problem for many trying to develop a band or group through the internet is sharing ideas without allowing incomplete tracks to reach the public. Soundcloud has no security measures beyond easily shareable links. YouTube has the same problem. WeTransfer and Dropbox are good, but they still require a lot of effort to access material, hear it, download it, update it, upload the changes, and share it once more.

Haulix is a superior solution. Though known as a hub for new and pre-release music promotion, Haulix is also used by many music professionals to aid in the development of songs by allowing artists and their team to share material still being refined without fear of piracy.

Let’s use an example to further illustrate this approach:

Red Springs is a metal band featuring members located all over the world. The vocalist lives in Chicago, but the bassist and drummer live in London. The lead guitarist is from Spain, and the rhythm guitarist makes their home in Southern California. Getting together for practice is no easy feat, but getting together to write and work on new material is financially impossible.

To make their metal dreams come true without risking member changes or extreme debt, Red Springs use Haulix to share new and incomplete ideas. The drummer and bassist record scratch tracks and upload those files to Haulix as a new promo. Once complete, they invite the other members of the band to stream, download, and review the material. The other members then use their unique access links to engage with the ideas.

From there, each member of the band can add their own part to the material or choose to create and upload an idea of their own. Those members then share their latest work with the group, allowing everyone to access the content and work on new ideas or suggestions on their own time.

Once their latest material is complete, the band can schedule studio time or work on properly recording their material themselves. They can continue using Haulix to save songs as they are complete, and in doing so push their band forward without worrying about conflicting schedules or time zones.

Every new Haulix account receives one-month of service for free. You can visit the company website to review their plans and find the one that best suits your needs. Cancel anytime during that first month, and you will not be charged.

Have questions? Email james@haulix.com for more information.

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News

18 Problems Facing Music Blogs Today (And How To Solve Them)

Music blogs were once widely considered an integral part of any music promotion effort. Before the age of streaming services, dedicated genre flans turned to blogs for new song premieres, new artists, and tour information.

Opinions have changed in recent years. While some blogs are still considered gatekeepers to specific areas of music, many more have been written off as unnecessary or uninteresting (often both). Those criticisms, along with others, have birthed think-pieces, podcasts, and YouTube videos that question the relevancy of the blog market as a whole.

But such criticisms are short-sighted. Much like cassettes and vinyl before them, blogs may not be as vital as they once were, but that does not mean they are dead and gone. There are countless blogs operating today, with more launching every month. People still dream of becoming music journalists, and some even get paid to write about music regularly.

With that in mind, let’s explore the problems music blogs face today, many of which have only arisen in recent years.

1. Interviews are mostly irrelevant in the social media age. Why read an interview with someone who already shares every detail of their life on multiple social media platforms 24/7? What can blogs deliver that they can’t?

2. There will always be a need for a “water cooler” where the conversation on a band/genre takes place, but now there are more avenues for discourse than ever before. Blogs, podcasts, YouTube, Instagram live, etc.

3. Many sites have thrived by regurgitating press releases as fast as possible, but no one is faster than the artists who have likely scheduled the same announcement across all channels in advance of release.

4. Sameness is a disease that has plagued many sites for years. What does any blog offer that no one else can, and how are blogs utilizing that uniqueness to engage music fans?

5. When everyone can share their opinion all the time, why should anyone listen to a blog? Just because someone writes 1000 words on a new album doesn’t mean their perspective is better than what someone else can fit into a tweet. Creativity always wins.

6. Simply sharing content is not enough to build an audience. Where is a blog’s branding? Where is their investment? How are they making their content their own and not just another use of the same promo image every other site uses for the exact same coverage?

7. Single platform sites are dinosaurs. Does the blog have a podcast? How about a YouTube channel? Are they creating unique content for their Instagram and Twitter, or is everything the same everywhere?

8. Have sites made any effort to promote their content beyond having their contributors share links tagging talent? Artists are more inclined to engage fans than they are to try pleasing a blog that relies on them to bring clicks. Where is the authority?

9. Speaking of original content, does the blog edit their posts? Are they developing a voice? Do they curate image galleries rather than posting 50+ photos from a show they covered in 250 words, most of which can be summarized with “it was cool”?

10. What about your community? Has the site identified the type of person who reads their content? If so, have they asked readers why they choose that publication over the competition? Have they asked their audience who they want to know more about?

11. What is a site’s focus? Everyone listens to a little bit of everything, but no site is proficient or knowledgeable about every genre. Sites hoping to succeed need to identify what coverage performs the best and minimize the rest. Blogs shouldn’t trend hop just because Lil Whatstheirname is suddenly buzz-worthy.

12. Does everyone really need a site of their own, or would they be better suited for partnering with another site to create one powerhouse force? Is it ego or necessity that dictates that decision?

13. As far as advertising and promotion, what is a site’s target market? How did they identify them? What can they offer that group that other sites can’t or won’t?

14. Too many sites lack clear goals. Many are trying to be Rolling Stone, but that is a terrible decision because the business model of Rolling Stone is no longer working for that publication in today’s world. Sites need to set attainable goals and manage their expectations along the way.

15. If they do start a YouTube Channel or podcast, why? How are they working to differentiate that content from what already exists? The more specific sites can be the better. No one needs more “people who like everything talking about everything they like.”

16. Networking matters. What kind of relationships are new sites developing with PR/Labels/Artists? Are they saying yes to everything? If so, stop that. Are they only saying yes if they promise to promote? If so, top that. Are they working together to create the best possible content that can help everyone? If so, do more of that.

17. Too many sites dream big but act small. If blogs try something new, they MUST put their all into it. Why should anyone else give a damn about what a website is doing if the site owners don’t give a damn? Quality breeds community.

18. Blogs need to listen to the music community more. Find a need and fill it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a complete list of tours currently happening in any specific genre? How about a playlist with all the new material from any one genre each week? These ideas and many more are waiting to be utilized.

These problems don’t even begin to address the problem of monetization, or they need to pay contributors, but both these issues can be solved AFTER an audience has been developed.

Blogs will never die, but it’s likely many sites that exist right now won’t be around in five years’ time. If you want to survive then you must adapt. Constant evolution based on analysis of trends and tastes will inevitably give way to longevity. Complacency only leads to death.

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News

In Mexico, 97% of the population admits to pirating music

A local anti-piracy outfit in Mexico has released new data that claims 97% of the population openly admits to consuming music illegally, with 50% doing so via stream-ripping. 

Less than a week after learning of BitTorrent’s continued dominance in global internet traffic, a new report has given us another perspective on piracy in 2018. The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) released data recently that shows virtually everyone (97%) in Mexico has pirated music. Another point claim indicates that eight out of ten Mexicans who consume pirate content believe that it’s not a serious offense.

Globally, Mexico is in the top five piracy-consuming nations, says Alfredo Tourné, general director of the Association for the Protection of Phonographic Rights (APDIF).

Ironically, Spotify has recently hailed Mexico for the city’s embrace of its premium streaming service. According to the company, Mexico City is the “streaming music capital” of the world, with 22 million citizens using the platform on a regular basis to consume music. That figure is larger than New York, London, and any other service.

In fact, Spotify says that the Latin American country now has “the biggest listener base in the world.”

How to feel about these figures is not so clear. On the one hand, more and more people appear to be embracing legal means of online music consumption. At the same time, however, piracy is rampant throughout the country. All we know for certain is that more work is needed.

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Albums are neither dead nor dying, so why do people claim otherwise?

RIP Albums

The industry is changing. Aside from the rise of streaming, which has completely altered the way people consume music and the way artists make money, the business as a whole seems more uncertain than ever about what might come next. Will festivals continue to grow in popularity? Will radius clauses force up and coming acts to choose between high-profile gigs and a series of smaller, more intimate performances? Will venues demand more substantial cuts of merch sales? Will fans still want physical media, and if so, in what format?

These questions and many more are pondered in offices and at conferences every year. They each create an excellent foundation for conversation, but the outcome is usually the same: We won’t know until it happens. Maybe the festival bubble will burst, but then again, perhaps it won’t. Maybe smaller artists will breakout from a single high-profile appearance, but they may fair better with smaller gigs that provide fans more access to the talent. It’s all up in the air all the time, and more importantly, not every answer works for everyone.

One thing that is certain: We will continue to debate the livelihood of albums until the end of time.

Every year for the past decade there comes a time, usually in the fall or winter, when significant publications debate whether or not the albums are practical. The most recent outlet to hop on this bandwagon is Rolling Stone, who just this week published an article claiming records are ‘in deep trouble.’

For those who prefer a TL;DR explanation, the latest round of ‘RIP Albums’ posts stem from a report released by the RIAA a couple months back regarding sales in 2018. According to the numbers, total album sales for the first half of 2018 were down 25% compared to the first half of 2017. If that figure continues for the second half of the year, which many believe it will, then total album sales will plummet 50% compared to the previous year. That is a major drop, and it’s being said that track-led consumption through streaming services. In other words, people love singles, and the popularity of playlists in the streaming arena has made the success of a single track, not to mention its ability to be placed, over the quality of albums.

But there’s more to the drop in sales than the popularity of singles. Cultural trends play a part in consumer behavior as well, and right now there are no two genres of music more popular than hip-hop and EDM. An artist in these areas can make a career out of one song. Sheck Wes, for example, landed a record deal with Kanye West’s GOOD Music off the strength of his viral hit “Mo Bamba.” Similarly, Cardi B found international success with “Bodak Yellow.” She was hailed as a new artist because of the release, despite the fact she had previously released multiple mixtapes.

Both Sheck Wes and Cardi B released albums in 2018, but when discussing their successes and failures, it’s the singles that lead any conversation.

And speaking of conversation, you can probably add social media to the list of things contributing to the belief albums are dead. It is far easier to not only digest single tracks but also to discuss them. It takes less than five minutes to stream most singles, and just a matter of seconds to tweet out one’s thoughts on the material. Albums, on the other hand, require far more time and attention. You could easily spend an hour listening to a record, and expressing your thoughts on the material in full will likely require more than 280 characters (the maximum length of a tweet). Culture has trained people to believe that if they’re not contributing to the endless chatroom that is social media, then they are somehow missing out, which in turn encourages people to stay on top of everything that can be consumed at a moments notice. Singles are more accessible, which means more people can make time to consume them. More people = more conversation.

Rock and country music work differently. Artists hoping to make it in those areas of music need to not only have good singles but also must tour heavily, which means performing numerous songs any given night. One great track may help start a conversation, or even land a meeting with label execs, but those who become household names must also possess a catalog of potential hits. Fans of these genres still buy albums, but because country and rock are less popular than they were ten or even twenty years ago the most successful LPs cannot hold a candle to the streaming numbers artists achieve in other genres of music.

Albums are not dead, and they never will be, but as consumer behavior continues to evolve there may be less of them garnering attention. This same trend can be found in all areas of entertainment. Paintings, for example, were once the height of entertainment. Most people can name iconic talents such as Van Gogh or Picasso, but how many modern painters do you know? There are galleries of all sizes in cities all over the world showcasing current talent all the time, so surely someone is paying attention.

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How Plagiarism is Treated In Music Writing Today

Plagiarism is a plague in the music business.

We live in the age of content overload. It is impossible for most people to keep up with a single feed, let alone multiple accounts across numerous platforms. Add to this the thousands of websites publishing tens of thousands of articles, each vying for the almighty click, and it’s no wonder people in 2018 would still believe people might not notice plagiarism. After all, nobody has time for everything.

Professionals never plagiarize. Professionals believe their purpose is to create, so they would never think to copy the work of another because it could never be a fitting representation of their creativity.

The amateur, however, lacks this mindset. The rookie wants to create and impress at the same. They take on more than they can handle and refuse to disappoint. They mean well but cannot follow through on their commitments because they have not yet developed the skills needed to do so. They also haven’t been able to realize and admit this to themselves.

Here’s the reality of plagiarism in music writing in 2018

Every music publicist worth working with has become a master of Google alerts and traditional online research. There is not a single post about their clients they cannot find because proving they got coverage for their client is crucial to their continued success. In short, they see everything.

When a new post appears that resembles or outright steals from another post, that publicist then contacts the author of the original post, as well as their editor. Together, those three decide how they wish to proceed.

There are three ways these situations tend to be handled:

1. No one does anything, and the plagiarized post remains up.

2. The editor of the offending site is contacted and made aware of the situation, thus transferring the responsibility of taking action to them and their website.

3. The alleged plagiarizer is contacted directly, often by the publicist who discovered the similarities or the editor of the site whose content was stolen, demanding answers

Of these options, the second method of response tends to be the most beneficial. Once the editor of the offending site is made aware of the problem they typically remove the plagiarized post and confront their writer. More often than not, the offending writer is then removed from the site’s contributor pool.

…But the fallout does not end there.

The music industry is small, and the music journalism community is even smaller. It is not a lie to say everyone knows everyone, even if we do not know one another on a personal level. As soon as plagiarism allegation arise the offender – otherwise known as the plagiarizer – may find it challenging to continue pursuing their work in music writing. After all, what site would want to work with someone who steals other writers’ work? What publicist or label or artist would wish to work with someone incapable of creating original content to cover their latest release?

Many who plagiarize claim they did so not out of a desire to mislead, but rather to make their deadlines and otherwise please those who demand they produce content. While this reasoning is understandable to an extent, it does not make stealing okay or otherwise acceptable. It is far more professional to admit you are incapable of meeting a deadline or otherwise finishing something you were assigned than it is to lie about how you completed the work. Lies will get you nowhere in the business. Just don’t it.

To avoid plagiarizing others works, even when you think your thoughts are original, please try these services:

Grammarly: Used by writing and business professionals worldwide, Grammarly aspires to improve your writing better through in-depth analysis. Not only can the service identify plagiarized works, but it can also help you tell your story more interestingly and originally. There are free and premium versions of the software.

Plagiarism Checker: Provided by SmallSEOTools, this site allows you to paste your written work and have it checked for plagiarism. It’s free. https://smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker/

BibMe: An emerging service in the grammar world, BibMe offers plagiarism review and grammar checking for writers of all types.

If you would like to learn more about plagiarism, as well as gain insight on how to emphasize the importance of originality in creative effort, we also recommend spending time at plagiarism.org.

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News

Meet the Companies Revolutionizing the Music Industry with Blockchain

2017 was the first year since the launch of Napster that music sales were trending up. Sales data is showing that consumers are choosing to pay for their music for the first time since the digitalization of music. Thanks to streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, the music industry is starting to see cash flood back into the market.

Source: VisualCapitalist.com

Music streaming is now the most common medium for music consumption in the U.S. and now makes up about half of the entire industry. While those numbers are staggering, musicians only received about 12% of the revenue generated in the $43 billion markets. Many entrepreneurs are working to fight this earning disparity using blockchain technology by infusing the music business with the basic tenants of the crypto industry – trustless, borderless, and censor-proof technology.

Choon

Choon is the creation of Gareth Emery, an international house music DJ. He’s passionate about adding transparency to the music industry when it comes to the allocation of music revenue. Choon is his answer to that problem.

“We have a system that was set up in the days of jukeboxes and sheet music,” Emery told Forbes. “It’s completely unfit for purpose in a modern world.”

Choon is a music streaming service that also acts as a digital payments ecosystem. Users can listen to music, build custom playlists, and share them with other Choon users. The platform is powered by Choon’s cryptocurrency token, called NOTE, which they believe will fuel the future of the music industry.

By acting as a hybrid of services, Choon provides a seamless way for musicians to publish and earn streaming dues in one place. The platform eliminates the issues associated with the skimming of music revenue as it trickles down to artists pockets. Whereas it can take a few years for artists to get paid for their music, Choon pays out artist royalties in real-time.

Emery’s project is also utilizing blockchain for most of their sensitive content, including contracts, financial distribution, and reporting data. That provides a secure and trustless way to ensure the security of potentially proprietary information. The music files themselves are stored on Gracenote. While Gracenote is not a blockchain solution, it provides instant streaming for users.

Access to Choon’s platform is free. They plan to expand their platform and launch a membership structure that’s similar to Spotify’s model in the future.

Hearo.fm 

Hearo is a community-focused music streaming site that positions itself as a social media network for music. Their global marketplace is designed to help music fans discover new music and support for independent artists. The platform initially launched in 2002. Now, more than a decade and a half later, the project is starting an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) to support its new cryptocurrency token, JAM.

The JAM token will be used to power Hearo’s new streaming service, called Tune.fm. Tune will be built on Hadera Hashgraph, which is an alternative blockchain protocol with faster transaction times than other popular protocols. Hearo plans to build onto their current marketplace model by creating a decentralized music streaming experience, with an emphasis on facilitating micropayments between fans and artists.

As part of this new platform, Hearo is also creating a non-exclusive hybrid music license, which combines performance, mechanical, synchronization, download, and streaming licenses into one versatile contract. According to their whitepaper, this license also allows artists with existing labels and publishing deals to use their platform without legal issue. That all lives on the Blockchain and could be a tremendous opportunity for artists with predatory publishing deals.

The JAM token will be used as currency on the platform, going to artists as royalty and reward payments. Unlike with existing artist pay-out structures, there are no fees associated with credit card or banks and payouts are accessible worldwide.

The JAM token pre-sale is on-going. Learn more here.

BlockFi 

BlockFi is the leading crypto-to-USD lender in the U.S. They offer USD loans using cryptocurrency as collateral. For many crypto investors, selling your crypto is the last case scenario. Artists are leveraging BlockFi as an easy way to fund an album or a tour without having to sell their crypto.

“Customers turn to BlockFi to help them fund anything from a real estate investment to paying off credit card debt,” said BlockFi CEO and Co-Founder Zac Prince. “With the growth of blockchain-based music projects, we’re seeing an increase in musicians looking to fund their projects with us without having to sell their crypto. It’s exciting to be able to help artists achieve their dreams.”

With the rise of blockchain projects paying out artists in cryptocurrency, BlockFi provides an exciting funding option that doesn’t involve banks or credit scores. The interest paid on their loans can also be tax deductible, creating positive tax implications for their customers.

The company currently services customers in over 45 U.S. states, including California and New York. In July they raised the first institutional investment into the crypto loans sector from Mike Novogratz/s Galaxy Digital Ventures worth $52.5 million. They’ve since expanded their platform to support international lending. In the future they plan to offer crypto-backed credit cards, providing a new option for musicians to fund their project on a purchase-by-purchases basis.

Applying for a loan on BlockFi takes less than two minutes. Customers can go from application to funding in as few as 30 minutes. Learn more at BlockFi.com.

Brad Michelson is a crypto master and freelance writer. You can follow him on Twitter for more insight into cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

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News

YouTube Music update enables search by emoji and lyrics

The music business is changing fast, and so is YouTube Music.

Spotify and Apple Music are large platforms that enable well over 100 million people to stream music every month, but their subscriber numbers pale in comparison to the number of people that visit YouTube for music videos and song streams. According to a corporate blog post from this past May, the company claims that over 1 billion people use the service to be part of music culture and discover new music. That’s roughly 14% of the total world population!

That explains why YouTube launched an app catered explicitly to music fans earlier this year. YouTube Music is billed as “a completely reimagined app and desktop product with official albums, playlists, singles and more.” Subscribers pay $10 a month to access ad-free videos, songs, albums, and playlists, as well as recommendations based on their taste. Users can also access their favorite content offline, which mirrors the offline streaming tools made available on major music streaming platforms.

Now, YouTube Music is separating itself from the competition by changing the way people search for material. A recent update to the platform allows subscribers to search using emojis, a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion, as well as song lyrics.

The photo below shows the new update in action. By using the baby emoji and the number one emoji, users can now discover Brittany Spears’ timeless single “Hit Me Baby (One More Time).” Check it out:

Not sure about the title of the song you’re looking for, but know the word “bee” appears in it somewhere? Emoji search can help you there as well:

Looking for “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” from Disney’s Frozen? Input the ‘snowman’ emoji and search away!

If you’ve got the line from a song stuck in your head but can’t think for the life of you who it’s by or what it is called, with YouTube Music search you can type in the lyrics and if they have the lyrics in their database (they do for most songs) – BOOM! The song will magically appear.

With all the recent developments from Spotify and its competition, YouTube will likely continue to roll out more updates of their own in the coming months. Follow Haulix on Facebook and Twitter for more news, advice, and guidance concerning music marketing in the digital age.

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