We tackle the weird words & strange phrases rising teams should know about when signing a record deal.
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Our team traveled back in time and dug up the different ways record deals have changed. Step inside the time machine to see where we're going next.
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Creative directors are extremely important in the music space. They shape worlds for musicians, & their fans. They're the x-factor in most artist careers.
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Some know Bach like the back of their hand, others have no clue who tf that is. Either way, music producers help craft the songs that soundtrack our lives. This Dream Team piece spotlights everything they do to help artists find their stride.
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From Katy Perry to Q-tip these women have produced, engineered and mixed some of your favorite songs. Now, it’s time to make room for many more women to do the same. Let’s get, celebrate, and keep #womeninthemix.
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The man behind one of music’s biggest radio promo companies, Dale Connone of in2une, explains why business is still booming.
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PR ≠ premieres. A good music publicist molds perception. Read what they’re all about.
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Music’s biggest producers dropped free knowledge with our parent company, Kobalt. Click through for can’t-miss wisdom from the folks behind “Sicko Mode,” “Nice For What,” and many more.
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Back in 2016, financial services juggernaut Goldman Sachs dug deep into music business economics. Their research team recently refreshed the study with new statistics, painting an ever-clearer picture of fan demographics, streaming adoption, and global business growth.
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A music lawyer has a massive impact on the music business writ large. Get to know them.
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Equal parts coach, utility role player, and, in their own way, franchise star, music managers, and the music management companies they sometimes work for, are mission critical for a successful artist career.
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Our entire team is grateful for a game-changing 12 months. Here’s what we’ve been up to.
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Is new music released around the holidays doomed to obscurity? Our team backtracks its way to the origin of this slice of music business conventional wisdom.
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We dive into the ever-changing world of corporate music collections, pay-to-play schemes, and fine-tuned pitches for busy curators.
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You’re on tour. You’re tryna figure out what’s good in each city. We’ve got your back. Dodge road boredom with AWAL’s PLACES. First stop: Pittsburgh.
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2000 people spent time in the AWAL Lounge at BBC Music Introducing LIVE to hear icons perform classics, masterminds share wisdom, and newcomers show and prove. Click through to see what went down.
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Learn how machine learning, affinity research, and product testing are redefining what it means to create and consume in the new music economy.
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Dig into the pros and cons of making music freely available on social networks.
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Our VP of digital marketing, Aaron Bogucki, talks smart speakers, emerging music economies and the laws that govern it all ahead of his Music Week Tech Summit panel discussion.
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Rising stars and seasoned execs explain why owning your master recordings is always worth more in the long run than surrendering control for that short term cash grab.
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When choosing a music distributor, you'll also likely have to choose between two types of deals: upfront fee or share in revenue. Here's the difference and how to pick which one is right for you.
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In the wake of Spotify’s new playlist submissions tool, artists will enjoy more opportunities for their music to make an impact. The open-door pitching portal will benefit teams that execute platform-transcending campaigns, both big and small.
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With Vevo "phasing out" its own website and mobile app properties, plus official Vevo channels merging with existing artist YouTube channels, we explore what this ultimately means for the music community
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While all-important personal contact between artist and fan is still the ideal, chatbots (or messenger bots) are gaining ground as a way to automate interactions and build those relationships.
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Last year, Help Musicians UK created Music Minds Matter to help artists dealing with mental-health issues. Here's how the organization provides support — along with other resources for musicians.
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Recently, Spotify announced some major changes with its latest app update, some of which directly impact artists and their fans. Here's what you need to know.
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A recent study of self-identified musicians found that depression and anxiety are on the rise among artists. Here are four major factors behind what's fueling this mental health crisis.
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Listen to Megan West, SoundCloud’s VP of Content and Community, chat with AWAL CEO Lonny Olinick about how the company is helping independent artists measure and redefine what success means to them.
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In a chat with DIY-musician guru, AWAL artist VÉRITÉ shares how she earned 173 million streams as an independent artist and created a sustainable, successful career without giving up control.
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Music industry experts Tom Windish and Jake Udell weigh in on why it's crucial to sustain a career as an artist in the long term — and how to get there.
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Music journalism as we know it may look very different than ever before, but it's still as vital as it ever was. Here's how it's changing — straight from writers and editors.
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Our latest edition of AWAL Sessions in London focused on the all-important topic of artists' mental health. Here are the top findings, which revealed the startling truth about the effects of the music industry on musicians.
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When it comes to getting your music on streaming platforms, choosing a reliable partner is so important. Here's how to make sure your tracks are receiving high-quality treatment from your distributor.
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For the first time ever, Spotify is "going public." Get the rundown on everything from its annual profits and losses, potential share prices, and proposed trading dates to data insights for playlisting, demographics, plus more.
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We're so excited to announce that we're partnering with SXSW to present “The Official Home for Independent Artists at SXSW” — the AWAL House. Here's what to expect.
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From vinyl to streaming, here's what happened in the music industry in the United States last year according to Nielsen's end-of-year report.
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No smoke and mirrors. No sheer spending power necessary. We catch up with AWAL/Kobalt's CMO, Ryan Wright, on a revolutionary and refreshing new type of marketing he's bringing to the music industry.
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From artist stories to industry tips, take a look back at 2017 on the AWAL Blog with our top 15 most popular posts.
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On January 15, we welcomed artists, managers, industry executives, and more to our first AWAL Sessions event in London. Here's the recap of what you may have missed — and how to make sure you're in the loop for future events.
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We're rounding out 2017 with 50 incredibly powerful quotes from around the music industry that every independent artist should keep in mind when planning for next year.
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You might already have a strategy in place to capture millennials' attention, but you may want to shift your focus to include the younger Gen Z: They're quickly becoming tastemakers in the way music is consumed.
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Get to know why synch licensing is such a valuable way for independent artists to get their music heard, earn extra revenue, and even get discovered.
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AWAL | Independent Artists Are Now a Billion-Dollar Market
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Why Independent Artists Are Ruling the Music Industry According to Willard Ahdritz
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Try to think like your fans when it comes to how you announce and release your music. Here's how to get started with your next single or album.
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AWAL | How Are Millennial Consumption Habits Going to Affect Your…
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Taking a closer look at the latest Goldman Sachs music industry report to better understand what the future of music streaming will hold.
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For today's artists, getting added to a hot playlist offers more than discovery — it's helping to build careers.
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Spotify, like you, is both a musical entity and a business, it has embarked on a data-collecting mission that goes right to the source: the listener.
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In today’s ever-evolving digital landscape, streaming has become the radio that fits the fast-paced, on-demand lifestyle of many music listeners. See how…
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