Tatiana Cirisano

The music industry’s weakest link: Getting from A to B “Super premium” streaming tiers, special-edition vinyl, and direct-to-fan revenue streams all have one thing in common – and no, it is not just that they are about monetising fandom. All of these...

More in this week's blog for @midiaresearch.bsky.social: www.midiaresearch.com/blog/the-mus...

More of this is needed: Investment in early-stage talent (followed by patience); tweaks to algorithms; and treating curation as a respected job that requires its own dedicated resources. The next generation of stars must be able to get from A-B, if there's to be a next generation of stars at all.

Some A-B innovations are popping up. SoundCloud's algorithm update is focused on getting artists played during the "critical post-release period". Online radio stations are re-emerging as tastemakers. And promisingly, many labels appear to be investing more in A&R.

There's a lack of clear discovery mechanisms. We're losing stepping stones like small venues and music media outlets. With tracks <1K streams demonetized, it's harder to keep the bills paid while trying to break into the industry. I could go on!

We lost "A-B" for a reason. Algorithms effectively punish tracks for starting at zero — if you don't immediately rake in streams, it's tough to get picked up. Labels have been incentivized to sign artists who have *already* broken, rather than investing in undiscovered talents.

Lately it feels like the music industry is full of ideas & innovations when it comes to getting artists from B to C — turning a foundational listenership into touring, selling merch, etc. But there is markedly less focus on A to B. Where are the tools to help artists starting from square one? 🧵

Who is ‘Spotify Music Pro’ Really For? Trapital · Episode

Who is Spotify's 'Music Pro' plan really for — and will it work? Listen to mine and @runciedan.bsky.social's thoughts on this week's Trapital ep: open.spotify.com/episode/20md...

What the Reuters AI copyright decision means for the music industry Last week saw a major AI copyright case judgement in the US – and it fell in favour of human creators. The case stems all the way back to 2020, when Thomas Reuters sued the legal AI startup ROSS Intel...

Last week saw a landmark decision in an AI copyright case, and it fell on the side of human creators. I hadn't seen a ton of information on what this case means for the music industry, so I asked around and did some research. Here's what I found: www.midiaresearch.com/blog/what-th...

For just about everything! Building a fanbase, testing ideas, selling merch and tickets, and even as a way to showcase their creative 'resume' for potential collaborators.