Music Business Roundup: Labels Considering a Universal Release Date, Spotify and BandPage Partner to Sell Merchandise, and Billboard Announces Top Songwriters of Q2

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Each week on Songwriter U, Songspace recaps the top stories in the world of music business. Here’s everything you need to know from the week ending on August 1st.

Labels Considering a Universal Release Date for Music
Friday may soon be the day music is released, globally. For years the record industry staggered street dates by territory, depending on the consumer habits of each country. For instance, the same album could be released Monday in the United Kingdom, Tuesday in the US, and so forth. Thanks to, well, the internet, this means many fans are now are faced with a choice between accessing widely available leaked tracks or waiting until their respective street date to make a legal purchase. Supporters say a universally standard release date is better suited to fit the needs the modern music consumer.

Spotify and BandPage Partner to Help Artists Sell Merchandise
While streaming services generate pennies on the dollar compared to traditional CD sales or downloads for most artists, easy world-wide exposure means more potential fans to buy merchandise and concert tickets. That’s the idea, at least. In practice, many artists have gained little financially from all-you-can-eat streaming services. A new partnership between BandPage and Spotify aims to change that by making it easier for artists to sell merchandise directly to fans within the Spotify platform. According to a joint release release, all merchandise revenue sold via the service will go directly to artists, with neither BandPage or Spotify taking a percentage.