Court battle over Ed Sheeran and Marvin Gaye songs could result in "less wonderful music" being made

It's yet the latest case of where to draw the line between the building blocks of music and intellectual property.
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As vinyl record sales eclipse CDs, LP pressing plants are thriving

May 1, 2023
Streaming is still king, but vinyl sales continue to grow.
Sales of vinyl records by volume overtook CDs in 2022 for the first time since 1987. The resurgence of the format has meant a boom in vinyl manufacturing, but there have been bumps along the way.
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Tower Records stores have actually been thriving all this time — in Japan

In the age of streaming, we looked into why physical music remains popular in the world’s second largest music market.
Tower Records' major location in Japan. Located in Shibuya, a big finance and commercial hub in Tokyo.
Courtesy of Rei Teraura

Musicians union challenges Spotify to raise royalties

Streaming accounts for the vast majority of recorded music income, but musicians and producers make fractions of a cent per stream.
The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers wants Spotify to increase the per-stream royalty for musicians and make its revenue data transparent. 
Sergi Alexander/Getty Images for Spotify

Listeners “care about community and humanity of the music," says Pitchfork’s Patel

The editor in chief of the music site talks about virality versus hooks, how musicians make a living and the future of criticism.
Musicians have had to find new venues since the pandemic started, and the growth of the labor movement has affected the music industry, said Puja Patel, editor in chief of Pitchfork.
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His life as a Chicago musician is starting to feel normal again

Nov 18, 2021
After more than a year and a half of working online, Seth Shulman is teaching lessons in person and back to a more regular show schedule.
People listen to music at a September festival in Brooklyn, New York.
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For public good, not for profit.

How NFTs could change the music industry ... for better or worse

Nov 2, 2021
The Grammys' announcement is an example of how the technology underlying cryptocurrency is influencing how musicians make their money.
EDM artist Steve Aoki, seen here at a 2019 performance in New York City, partnered with an Italian digital artist to produce a multimedia NFT during the pandemic.
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for All Nippon Airways

Vinyl records are selling at twice the clip of a year ago with no signs of slowing down

Sep 20, 2021
Foot-square covers, bonus tracks and poster inserts — what's not to like?
A shopper browses through vinyl albums in Paris, France's Lucky Records Store in March 2021. Vinyl sales have skyrocketed over the past year.
Kiran Ridley via Getty Images

Summer music festivals start comeback tour, with some pandemic tweaks

Jul 8, 2021
After most events were canceled in 2020, there are still questions about how comfortable concertgoers may be with crowds.
Bands and festival organizers are bringing back live music audiences this summer, said industry consultant Karen Allen.
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