Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 57

I Can’t Go For That: John Oates On The State Of Music Monetization

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When John Oates first started working on his solo album Good Road To Follow, he thought he’d finally found the right launch strategy for the new music economy: releasing an album as a series of digital singles. In the end, though, the right business plan found him.

As he put out new song after new song online over a period of a month, his audience grew restless and perplexed. Comments started to pour in via social media, with confused...

From Amanda Palmer To Wu-Tang: Seven Music Mavericks Cashing In Outside The Major Label World

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What do Amanda Palmer, John Oates, Lindsey Stirling, Hanson and the Wu-Tang Clan have in common? Perhaps not much on the surface, but upon closer inspection, there’s one common thread: they’re all finding ways to have success outside of the major label framework.

These days, that’s more important than ever. Record companies have not only saved but strengthened their hold on the business by snapping up stakes in the music startups poised to dominate tomorrow’s music landscape, a...

Revenge Of The Record Labels: How The Majors Renewed Their Grip On Music

Last October SoundCloud–a free music-streaming service with a massive 175 million monthly users–appeared to be running out of cash. News broke that the Berlin-based company had lost $29.2 million in 2013, and when a rumored $2 billion buyout bid by Twitter fell through, it looked like music’s hottest startup might be in danger of going bust.

Then something strange happened: Warner Music Group became the first major record label to strike a licensing deal with SoundCloud, instantly legalizing...

Hip-Hop Cash Princes 2015: Aftermath & Analysis

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Last week, for the second time ever, FORBES released its annual list of Hip-Hop Cash Princes–the artists most likely to someday become Hip-Hop Cash Kings–and, just like last year, the results have been royal indeed.

Other outlets from VibetoBillboardtoXXLweighed in, with the latter offering a reminder that Cash Kings veteran Young Jeezy once rapped about the significance of media attention: “First the XXL, read about me in the Forbes / That’s a long way from trappin’ in that fou...

Cord-Cutting Easier Said Than Done, According To Report

In recent years, pundits have been predictingtheimminentdeath of cable television as video on demand services usecheap prices and wide selection to convinceconsumers to cut the cord. Turns out the reports of cable’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, at least according to a report released today.

Clearvoice Research, an independent firm,surveyed a group of cable and satellite subscribers in August, identifying 96 who said they’d be more likely than not to cancel service in the coming year....

Inside The Origins Of The Wu-Tang Album Fit For A (Cash) King

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Tarik “Cilvaringz” Azzougarh spent six years working as the producer of the Wu-Tang Clan’s secret album, The Wu – Once Upon A Time In Shaolin. His challenges included wrangling the far-flung group and recapturing its vintage 1990s sound. But his toughest task came after the completion of the album: telling members of Wu-Tang that they couldn’t hear the record they’d just finished.

The group had agreed to stick to the highly unorthodox...

From Texas To Abu Dhabi, Migos Traveling Road From Rich To Wealthy

It’s so busy in the lobby of the Hilton in downtown Austin, Texas, that nobody notices Migos—the trio of twentysomething rappers tucked away in a corner booth—each dripping with enough jewelry to outweigh a small dog.

The loquacious Quavious “Quavo” Marshall, his expressive cousin Kiari “Offset” Cephus and his mellow nephew Kirshnik “Takeoff” Ballcomprise the up-and-coming Atlanta-based group. They’ve played shows as far away as Abu Dhabi, but their frenetic schedule has allowed them little t...

Hip-Hop Cash Princes: The Class of 2015

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Miley Cyrus isn’t exactly known as a paragon of hip-hop music, yet “We Can’t Stop”—one of her most iconic songs—was crafted by one of the genre’s top up-and-comers, Mike Will Made It.

Born Michael Len Williams II, the 26-year-old rapper-producer has a knack for working a diverse cast of musicians. In addition to his eight songs on Cyrus’ Bangerz, he’s had a hand it hits by acts from Kanye West to Rihanna to Lil Wayne to Mariah Carey.

“When I do music, I don’t think about urban m...

For Tidal Launch, Jay Z Summons ‘The Avengers Of Music’

One by one, they took their places next to each other: the leading lady, the masked man, a duo in metallic suits–eighteen in all–and, in the middle, dressed in all black, their leader.

This was not a sneak peek ofThe Avengers: Age of Ultron. Rather, it was the launch of Tidal, the streaming service Jay Z recently purchased for some $56 million and is rapidly attempting to shape into a direct competitor to Spotify, Rdio and the like.

Alicia Keys strode to the stage, followed by a genre-spannin...

Hip-Hop Cash Princes 2015: Preview And Contest

Here at FORBES, we’ve been tracking the incomeof hip-hop’s top earners since 2007–and, starting last year, we’ve been keeping an eye on who’s next.

In March 2014 we debuted the Cash Princes list with the goal of predicting which acts would make the Cash Kings list in the coming years. We spotlighted J. Cole, and sure enough, he went on to make the Cash Kings list with earnings of $7 millionlast year.

Cole may soon be joined on that list by his fellow Princes from last year–and also by members...