QUICK HITS: Beatport buys LabelRadar • Gimme Radio adds $3M • ‘Crypto Boy’ charity NFT raises $169K • Linkfire expands Apple Music Insights
Dance music hub Beatport has launched LabelRadar, a platform that introduces artists to labels, notifying them immediately when their demo is listened to, and paving the way for them to get signed.
LabelRadar will join ampsuite, Hype and LabelBase as part of Beatport’s Music Services division led by Alex Branson, SVP of Music Services.
For record labels, LabelRadar provides streamlined access to a steady flow of unsigned demos from a wide variety of genres submitted by artists based all around the world When an A&R team finds a track they love, they can view data on the artist, start a chat, and upon mutual confirmation, sign the track.
Gimme Radio raises $3M
Internet music broadcast netowrk Gimme Radio has raised $3 million in a new round of funding.
Gimme Radio allows artists to create radio-like shows and receive compensation via digital and physical subscriptions, virtual tipping, ecommerce, and ticketing To date 1,200 artists have seen $30 on average from tipping and artist merchandise.
It currently hosts metal and country/Americana fan communities and plans to expand into other genres.
Salem Ilese, Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova raise $169K for Reproductive Rights with ‘Crypto ₿oy’ NFT
Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Salem Ilese has partnered with Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova to create the artwork and launch an NFT drop of Salem’s viral song ‘Crypto ₿oy’ on Sound XYZ. The song quickly went viral and became a hit within the crypto community with the help of several artists including July, sad alex and good problem, who participated in Salem’s open verse challenge for it on TikTok.
In 24 hours, the drop raised 86.4 ETH equating at time of sale to $169,410 USD, with all the proceeds going directly to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Following its success, Salem Ilese also announces the official global release of “Crypto ₿oy,” which will arrive next Tuesday, May 31. Pre-save the song HERE.
The activation arrives on the heels of Pussy Riot’s Unicorn DAO launch and fundraiser – which raised $4.5 million to fight gender inequality in the NFT space and art world at large – and Nadya’s historic Ukraine DAO fundraiser, which raised over $7 million in 5 days for conflict relief in the Ukraine last March.
Linkfire expands Apple Music Streaming Insights
Linkfire is going beyond how link clicks translate into streams on Apple Music with an update. Users can now:
1. Access more detailed reporting – See user trends and a more detailed overview of your Apple Music Streaming Insights through daily, weekly, and monthly reporting.
2. See how fans interact with your music catalog – To help you better understand fan engagement beyond the first song they listen to, you can now see how listeners interact with your entire Apple Music catalog.
3. Identify your most engaged fans – Access “Add to Library” stats right from your Linkfire Insights. This is a crucial signal of fan engagement, as it indicates their intention to return and stream the track again.
Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.
