Our wisdom and advice for the scrappy music industry self-starters out there this week covers where to focus your promotion efforts, some simple but effective ways to engage with fans, why getting your metadata right is so important, and more.

In this roundup of the past week's music industry news, we revisit  the evolution of third party playlists and what they mean for streaming, Amber Grimes' move from Spotify to Capital, a judge's confirmation of a five million 'Blurred Lines' judgement against Robin Thicke, and more.

VIP experiences are on the rise in the music industry, giving cash-laden fans premium access and a variety of perks, and while organizers and attendees both seem to win out on the face of it, getting VIP ticketing right is easier said than done. Here we look at four tips for ensuring both customers and venues come out on top.

T-Series, the biggest global music label and and movies studio that you've likely never heard of, is within weeks of surpassing PewDiePie as the world's biggest YouTube Channel with more than 75 million subscribers. It's also the company that Spotify just cut a deal with as its preps entry into India.

In this piece, Bobby Owsinski observes how US pop hits which once permeated the world over have given way to more local music in every area except when it comes to the holidays, where American Christmas classics from the 50s and 60s still reign supreme.

Some of the greatest musical acts have faced rejection at the hands of labels, and being passed over by the powers that be is as old as music itself. That said, it doesn't make the stamp of disapproval easier. Here we look at five ways to appropriately weather rejection in the music industry.

The most popular articles from the pages of Hypebot this week explored why some Spotify users are becoming so disenchanted with the platform, Tencent's IPO situation, Mariah and Ariana's YouTube successes, and more!

Apple Music is shutting down its  Connect artist to fan social platform.  Apple's previous attempt at building a music focused social network, iTunes Ping, launched and shutters in months.

The use of facial recognition at live events has become public with the recent report that it was used at Taylor Swift’s Rose Bowl concert on May 18th to spot potential stalkers. 

FRIDAY 12.14.18

Music Business News From Around The Web

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While a lot of airtime and marketing energy is put into landing a track on an official playlist, less attention is given to thriving sub-industry of third-party playlisting, and how artists can use it to their advantage.

Hypebot contributor Kyle Bylin writes about the rise of midsize cities. He believes these places are the next platforms for music ideas. Local residents are choosing to build their businesses where they live rather than relocating to pursue their dreams. These small businesses, fused with state personality and pride, are poised to reshape the music landscape in the coming decades.

YouTube Music is adding playlists for YouTube Charts in 29 markets. Each will get five chart playlists - three specific to the country and two global. With 1B monthly users, the charts and playlists offer a unique global overview, alongside a local snapshot.

[UPDATED] MAC Presents founder Marcie Allen was a keynote at the XLIVE conference in Las Vegas this week, where the branding guru shared that tour sponsorships are no more. “First of all, you need to know that tour sponsorships are dead. I don’t sell them anymore. I can’t sell them,” Allen noted.

Although necessary, promoting your music is usually an pricey proposition. Social media platforms, however, provide a largely inexpensive, risk free space for artists to hawk their wares. But, as CD Baby's Chris Robley explains, this still requires a careful, measured approach in order to be successful.

Amber Grimes is leaving Spotify for the newly created role of SVP,  Global Creative at Capital Music Group. Gimes had been the  senior manager of urban independent at Spotify, and  her move is the latest of many significant exits from the streamer over the last year.

It appears as though an ever increasing number of bands and artists are avoiding traditional record label and instead taking the indie path, sometimes by choice and sometimes because of difficulty of signing with a major label. Whatever the reason, indie labels are soon set to contribute to 40% of the global music economy, with no sign of slowing down.

Judge John A. Kronstadt has confirmed the nearly $5 million judgement against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and Williams' More Water From Nazareth Publishing company. 

Alison Wenham is stepping down as the CEO of The Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) after 12 years with the global independent music industry trade group.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its 2019 class of inductees. Of the 15 nominees, seven were chosen. Three made it into the Hall on the first year that they were eligible. Here they all are, in alphabetical order:

THURSDAY 12.13.18

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After opening at $14.10, Tencent Music ended its first day of trading Wednesday up $1.00 at $14.00 or 7.69% above it's $13.00 target IPO asking price. At one point in the day, the stock was trading at $14.75. 60,190,565 shares of TME traded hands on Wednesday.

In this new edition of The Business Of Indie, Amsterdam based music distributor FUGA expands, indie label Fearless promotes two to co-presidents and legendary soundtrack label Varèse Sarabande turns 40.

She Is The Music, the non-profit founded by Alicia Keys, Jody Gerson, Global Chairman and CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group and others has launched the first global of women working in music.

Neil Turkewitz challenges some of the common narratives that have recently been spread regarding copyright, including the idea that copyright limits freedom of expression for artists, and works to the advantage of the already rich and powerful.

CD Baby's DIY Musician Conference is moving from Nashville to Austin " to connect with a fresh community of musicians in another deeply musical city." Presentations, workshops, mentoring, jam rooms and more will be held at the downtown Hilton August 16-18, 2019.

Tunefind has released its statistically driven Top TV and Film Sync lists of 2018 and for the second year in a row ABC's  Grey's Anatomy is televisions most influential show when it comes to music. Ruelle tops the artist sync ranking.

While emails certainly do a lot for driving ticket sales, it's easy to wonder if they could be doing more, and artists frequently vacillate between sending too few emails, and bombarding their market base and over-saturating them. Here we look at new data on how to get it right.

"Bohemian Rhapsody,” the iconic song by Queen, has became the world’s most-streamed song from the 20th Century, as well as the most-streamed Classic Rock song of all time more than 40 years after it was recorded.