Support Independent Electronic Music Artists With Beatport's New Weekly Playlist

Discovering talented producers before they headline festivals is one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences for any fans of dance music. Now, finding underground artists is even easier thanks to Beatport.

The company will plug them in their new playlist, “Best New Independent Artists,” which will update weekly to illuminate promising talents without access to the big-budget backing of a major label. The groundbreaking playlist, which Beatport says is the first of its kind, will benefit both fans who want to discover new songs as well as the artists behind them, who will connect with new audiences around the world.

Beatport is collaborating with independent artist distribution partners like TuneCore, DistroKid and Music Hub to curate the playlist, according to a press release. These three partners are now actively accepting music submissions from independent artists who are looking to expand their reach.

It’s no secret that major labels wield their influence to market their artists and blitz the electronic music scene, making it particularly difficult for new artists to find their footing when promoting their music. By spotlighting the craft of emerging talent, Beatport is empowering them to forge connections within their strong DJing community.

“By curating a dedicated space for independent electronic music artists, Beatport is not only providing a platform for discovery but also ensuring that standout self-produced artists receive the recognition and compensation they deserve from the get-go,” said Raphael Pujol, Beatport’s Vice President of Global Curation.

“While other platforms may struggle with the distribution of small payments to artists with fewer streams,” she added, “our focus remains firmly on furthering the voices of independent creators and fostering a more equitable ecosystem for electronic music.

Listen to Beatport’s “Best New Independent Artists” playlist here.

DOJ Sues Live Nation and Ticketmaster Over Alleged Monopoly Practices

The Department of Justice, along with 30 state and district attorneys general, has filed a federal lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster, accusing the companies of monopolistic practices in the live events industry.

The suit marks a critical step in addressing long-standing concerns about the dominance of Live Nation and Ticketmaster in the concert ticket market. The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, alleges that Live Nation has used its market power to stifle competition, resulting in higher ticket prices and limited options for consumers.

The DOJ claims that the company’s tactics have harmed music fans, artists and smaller promoters by fostering an unfair market landscape.

“The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services,” Attorney General Merrick Garland stated. “It is time to break up Live Nation.”

“We’re here not because Ticketmaster’s conduct is inconvenient or frustrating… we’re here because it’s illegal,” he added.

In response to the lawsuit, Dan Wall, Live Nation’s Executive Vice President of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, argued that it “ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from rising production costs to artist popularity, to 24/7 online ticket scalping.”

Wall also noted that Live Nation’s net profits do not reflect monopoly power, calling such claims “absurd” in a scathing blog post.

“The defining feature of a monopolist is monopoly profits derived from monopoly pricing. Live Nation in no way fits the profile,” he said. “Service charges on Ticketmaster are no higher than on SeatGeek, AXS, or other primary ticketing sites, and are frequently lower. In fact, when Ticketmaster loses a venue to SeatGeek, service charges usually go up substantially. And even accounting for sponsorship, an advertising business that helps keep ticket prices down, Live Nation’s overall net profit margin is at the low end of profitable S&P 500 companies.”

Shares of Live Nation reportedly fell 5% following news of the lawsuit.

Music Royalty Transparency Platform Mogul Surpasses $100 Million of Tracked Funds

In the music industry, where financial transparency often feels like a mirage, Mogul is emerging as a lifeline for artists seeking clarity in their earned compensation.

Mogul addresses the longstanding problem of financial opacity in the music business by centralizing royalty data across all rights types into a single actionable hub, an effective go-to solution for artists aiming to simplify their finances and capture every cent of their earnings.

According to a press release shared with EDM.com, the platform has now tracked over $100 million in royalties since its debut in early February, a clear sign the company is establishing itself as a promising, transformative force for artists.

“Surpassing $100 million in tracked royalties so quickly is a clear sign that the industry’s opaque and fragmented nature needs to be remedied,” said Mogul CEO Jeff Ponchick. “Artists and their teams receive an ocean of data from each royalty source and have little to no tools at the ready to make sense of how their business is actually working. We’re thrilled Mogul is filling that need for new artists every day so that they can understand their business and generate more income.”

Ponchick has an established track record of success when it comes to developing artist-friendly tech tools. The serial entrepreneur famously founded Repost Network, an artist-facing distribution and promotional tool that was later acquired by SoundCloud in a $15 million deal in 2019.

“I’m excited about what Mogul can do for artists at all levels of the industry,” added Aloe Blacc, an early adopter of the platform and frequent collaborator of the late dance music icon Avicii. “To have a system to synthesize all sources of income in a transparent way is transformative tech we all need.”

You can find out more about Mogul via the company’s official website.

Unmuted: TikTok and Universal Music Group End Feud, Ink New Licensing Deal

The feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group over a hostile licensing dispute has ended after the companies inked a new licensing deal, according to a joint press release.

That means UMG, which wields the world’s largest music catalog of roughly four million songs, will soon unmute those tracks on TikTok. Music by Taylor Swift, deadmau5, David Guetta, Drake, Tiësto, Olivia Rodrigo and many more will reportedly return in the next two weeks.

After UMG in late-January shared a scathing letter that castigated TikTok for mistreating its artists, hundreds of millions of videos were muted on the platform as the company removed its songs from the app en masse. The controversy gripped both the creator economy and music industry at large, leaving artists to grapple with the fallout and turn to other platforms for promotion.

One of the cornerstones of the new agreement is protection against the scourge of generative AI for artists. TikTok has committed to working with UMG to improve songwriter attribution and remove unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform, which has over a billion monthly active users. The two companies “will work together to ensure AI development across the music industry will protect human artistry and the economics that flow to those artists and songwriters,” today’s press release reads.

As part of the deal, they will also work together to establish “new monetization opportunities” and develop campaigns to support UMG’s artists by virtue of TikTok’s business model.

“This new chapter in our relationship with TikTok focuses on the value of music, the primacy of human artistry and the welfare of the creative community,” said Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group. “We look forward to collaborating with the team at TikTok to further the interests of our artists and songwriters and drive innovation in fan engagement while advancing social music monetization.”

“Music is an integral part of the TikTok ecosystem and we are pleased to have found a path forward with Universal Music Group,” added TikTok CEO Shou Chew. “We are committed to working together to drive value, discovery and promotion for all of UMG’s amazing artists and songwriters, and deepen their ability to grow, connect and engage with the TikTok community.”

UMG and TikTok are now “working expeditiously” to reinstate the former’s music on the latter’s social media platform “in due course.”

Meanwhile, the fate of TikTok hangs in the balance after President Joe Biden signed a bill that will ban the app in the U.S. unless its Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, sells it to an approved buyer. TikTok reportedly plans to challenge the bill in court.