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This musical instrument repairman is scrambling to keep up with demand

Sep 19, 2022
After downsizing in 2019, Avery McDaniel of Beloit, Wisconsin, is having the "busiest rental season ever." What's up with the clarinets?
Avery McDaniel's shop in Beloit, Wisconsin, is running out of instruments to rent to schools.
Michael Hickey/Getty Images

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

Rolling Stones riff on entrepreneurship and managing their business

Chris Farrell walks us through the business factors behind the enduring success of one of the world's greatest rock bands.
A new documentary series on the Stones' rise to fame touches on lessons about growing a business and entrepreneurship. Above, frontman Mick Jagger and guitarist Ron Wood performing in 2006.
Cancan Chu/Getty Images

Merck Mercuriadis says hit songs are in an asset class all their own

Jun 14, 2022
The Hipgnosis founder says his goal is to make money for shareholders and “change where the songwriter sits in the economic equation.”
Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis says songs are a safer investment than assets like oil and gold because they’re less sensitive to market conditions.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for SXSW

From our listeners: music for the "Marketplace Morning Report"

Listeners sound off on the music they'd like to hear on the show and what those selections mean to them.
kjekol via Getty Images

How a choir teacher found new purpose during the pandemic

Aug 30, 2021
Jordan Leckband, the general music teacher at Windsor Elementary School in Des Moines, Iowa, figured out a new direction for his career.
About 20% of workers switched jobs during the pandemic, and 26% plan to look for a new job when the threat of the pandemic decreases, according to Prudential Financial’s Pulse of the American Worker Survey.
Photo by Graeme Robertson/Getty Images

Your responses to "Summer of Soul"

It seems this month’s documentary selection, “Summer of Soul,” was — in short — a hit. Many of you wrote in to share your delight in the music and the message. “What a gem! I was an 18-year-old college freshman at the time and I can remember the afros, dashikis, bell bottoms and mini skirts, […]

For public good, not for profit.

“Summer of Soul” producers on battling Black erasure to make the film

Jul 22, 2021
Why the Harlem Cultural Festival, known as “Black Woodstock,” was forgotten for decades.
The 5th Dimension performs at the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969, as seen in the new documentary "Summer of Soul."
Courtesy Searchlight Pictures

Spotify offers music streaming in more African countries

Jul 5, 2021
The expansion offers African music lovers another option and makes the landscape more competitive for local streaming services, like Gateway in Zimbabwe.
Spotify's streaming expansion is sparking competition with local platforms in Africa.
Rich Fury via Getty Images for Spotify

How a Seattle retailer hopes to navigate an uncertain holiday season

Dec 3, 2020
Sales estimates are all over the place. Small business owners are hoping to ride out the uncertainty.
 Tom Butcher, right, and Cindy Reichel, left, co-owners of Patchwerks in Seattle. The four-year-old store and online business specializes in synthesizers and other electronic music instruments.
Image provided by Tom Butcher