By Randi Zimmerman, Content Specialist, Symphonic Latin America was one of the fastest-growing recorded music regions in 2024, with revenue up 22.5%. Today, the region continues to shape global pop, […]
Tag: Caribbean
Posted inNews
Question Mark Entertainment’s Simon Baptiste: ‘I believe that there’s a different way…’
2020 was the 20th birthday of Question Mark Entertainment, but it was a tough year for the Trinidad and Tobago-based company.
Posted inNews
Amazon Music set for livestream from Notting Hill Carnival 2023
Amazon Music will be livestreaming performances and interviews from this month’s Notting Hill Carnival, via its latest partnership.
Posted inNews
Skygge x Grimes: ‘I love the idea of artists taking the lead…’
The impact of creative AI on musicians is a hot topic in 2023, but French artist Benoit Carré has been exploring it for much longer.
Posted inCampaigns
Behind the Single: Libianca
5K Records is a relatively small label within the Sony Music family. When the team signed the track “People” by Libianca in early December 2022, the industry was preparing for a rush of Christmas hits to enter the charts and offices to shut down.
Posted inCountry Profile
Country Profile – Caribbean 2023
The Caribbean is one of the musical hot spots of recent times and Its music industry is thriving – although there is room for structural improvements.
Posted inNews
Music Ally Startup Files: Freeme invests in Afrobeats’ bright future
Freeme – pronounced “free me” – is an independent distributor & label services company based in Lagos. Founder and CEO Michael Ugwu has international industry experience: he was previously general manager at Sony Music West Africa, and is the first Black person to be appointed to the Merlin Board.
As a business, Freeme has twin focuses: providing services in the Nigerian market, and acting as a bridge between Afrobeats culture and curious markets in the rest of the world.
Freeme has recently relaunched, with a new platform, Freeme+, providing A&R, marketing, sync licensing and publishing services for independent African rights holders. Freeme+ will operate under Freeme Digital’s new premium label services and distribution arm Freeme Music.
Ugwu’s explanation of what Freeme does is simple: “We offer access to the African content. We’re in Lagos, working with Afrobeats. Our focus is squarely on music of African origin. Our African DNA and roots makes us different, and we educate and guide clients across the industry.”
Posted inNews
Liveblog: Spotify ‘Stream On’ event
Spotify is holding an online ‘Stream On’ event today, to announce… well, we’re not quite sure what the company is announcing, but we’re expecting some new product features; updates on how its tools for artists and ‘two-sided marketplace’ is evolving; plenty of podcasts talk and… well, we’ll find out.
Stick with us, and you will too (and you can watch along via the embedded video below). We’ll be updating this post in reverse-chronological order during the event, then flipping it back to chronological afterwards.
Posted inNews
‘Who are you Jan Thiel?’ Zola Jesus uncovers new Spotify mystery
Musician Zola Jesus posed a question this weekend. “I opened Spotify for the first time in months. Clicked on a random playlist. Played a random song that has 1.5 million streams. The album said it was released Jan 31 2020. Searched off Spotify for artist: nothing comes up. FAKE F**KING MUSIC. WHO ARE YOU JAN THIEL?” she tweeted.
The thread of replies that follows makes for interesting reading, with people running their own investigations into the mysterious Thiel; some pointing Jesus in the direction of articles from the ‘fake artists’ controversy a few years ago; and others suggesting that Thiel may be one of the musicians working with Epidemic Sound, the production-music company that has been releasing some of its catalogue to streaming services.
Update: Epidemic Sound has confirmed to Music Ally that it has nothing to do with Jan Thiel or their tracks.
Posted inNews
Dave to top the bill at Apple Music’s first ‘Agenda’ UK concert
Artist Dave was the star of the Brit Awards earlier this week, with his new verse for his song ‘Black’ calling Prime Minister Boris Johnson a racist; drawing attention to the differing […]
Posted inNews
Spotify says ‘global cultures’ initiative is growing, not stagnating
Spotify has been facing some questions about what’s happening with the ‘global cultures initiative’ that it announced in September 2018, promising that it “promotes and advances culturally diverse music, surfacing hits from […]
Posted inNews
Apple Music UK launches a Black History Month ‘superroom’
In the UK, October is ‘Black History Month’, a celebration of the contributions made by black Britons down the years. Apple is celebrating the month too with what it’s describing […]