Many musicians tend to go through an artistic evolution over the course of their career, and there can be any number of reasons why a band or artist might seek fresh moniker at some point to during their time in the industry. That said major rebranding, as Chris Robley here explains, can be a risky proposition.

Few failures have had a more direct impact on the indie music community than the recent demise of PledgeMusic, not only for those owed millions of dollars, but also for the many others who had come to rely on the platform for pre-sales and fundraising.  In recent days, a variety of sources has accused the PledgeMusic board of being at the root of the failure. Here David Lowery takes his own critical look.

The accessibility of social media has made it easy for artists to fall into to much of routine when communicating with their fans and get lost among the herd of other bands and artists out there trying to make their mark. Here we look at some creative ways that artists can engage their base that will help them stand out.

Celebrity endorsements have long been a powerful force in the music industry, helping to propel certain releases on to massive success. Now, thanks to Cameo, these gold stars of approval are easier (and cheaper) to get than ever before.

Pandora is teaming with DJ Khaled, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Natti Natasha and Dalex among others for the third edition of its recurring “Sound On” series for the upcoming summer season.

Royalties are, in the many ways, the number one source of income for a lot of musicians, particularly once they start to make it big, which is why making sure you're registered in the proper place to actually see that income is so important.

The CEO of crowdfunder Indiegogo is exiting "for personal reasons" amid multiple reports of layoffs at the company. Former Reddit exec Andy Yang will takeover as Indiegogo CEO today.

Music sampling startup Tracklib has raised $1.7 million. The new funding for the Stockholm based company was led by the Sony Innovation Fund, WndrCo and Jörg Mohaupt, an early-stage investor who also has stakes in Discogs and Amuse.

Spotify has notified some users that their account passwords had been reset. In an email to some Spotify users, the streaming giant said the password was reset “due to detected suspicious activity.”

THURSDAY 5.23.19

Music Business News From Around The Web

Updated continuously under the More News tab

A new partnership with CloudBounce means that CD Baby users can now instantly master music from within their CD Baby dashboard for just $4.90 a track. The startup is an Abbey Road Red music tech incubator graduate.

Sofar Sounds has announced $25 million in new funding led by Battery Ventures and Union Square Ventures with participation from existing investors Octopus Ventures and Virgin Group. That brings total investments in Sofar to $31 million. Three months ago, former Spotify and The Echo Nest executive Jim Luccesse was name Sofar CEO. 

It's important to stay ahead of your competitors and Instagram and email are the two best platforms to make that happen. Pete Campbell breaks down the best strategy for Instagram promo, how to most effectively execute an email marketing campaign, and how to combine the two.