Music streaming services have raised concerns over the French government’s proposed tax on music streaming services. Amongst the companies slamming the new plans is Spotify, which has warned that such a move may lead to the company deprioritizing France in the future.

Antoine Monin, the Director General of Spotify France, expressed his dismay, labeling the tax a “monumental strategic error, which goes against the issues of economic, cultural and European technology”.

In an interview with French news channel France Info, Monin highlighted the potential adverse impact on European streaming companies, particularly Spotify and Deezer, compared to their US-based counterparts such as Apple, Amazon, and YouTube. 

Monin argued that the tax would disproportionately affect European platforms, given their dominance in the French streaming market and their primary focus on music streaming, in contrast to the diversified portfolios of the tech giants.

“The adoption of this tax is really a blow to the music sector, to innovation and to European independent platforms like Spotify or Deezer” according to a translated text of Monin’s interview with France Info

Trailblazers is an MBW interview series that turns the spotlight on music entrepreneurs with the potential to become the global business power players of tomorrow. This time, we speak to artist and producer, Russ. Trailblazers is supported by TuneCore.

As the name of this series suggests, and explains in the opener above, MBW’s Trailblazers turns the spotlight on some of the contemporary music industry’s most interesting entrepreneurs.

For the final installment of 2023, we caught up with Russ, an independent artist who has been challenging the power dynamic of the music business for more than a decade

Russ (Russell Vitale) is a rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, record label owner and best-selling author who achieved significant success independently before signing a deal with Columbia Records in late 2016, releasing his major label debut, There’s Really a Wolf, in May 2017. 

His career has been one defined by DIY ethics – writing, producing and engineering There’s Really a Wolf himself – and releasing a vast volume of self-produced work prior to achieving wider mainstream attention following the release of that album.

Russ points to his ‘do it yourself’ approach and high creative output on the track, I’m Here, from There’s Really a Wolf, in which he proclaims: “Singin’, rappin’, mixin’ masterin’, engineerin’ producin’/That’s every song with no exception, plus the catalog longer than a lot of veterans.”

He released 11 mixtapes independently between 2011 and 2014 and a song a week on SoundCloud for “two and a half years straight” prior to signing with Columbia.

CreateSafe’s artificial intelligence-powered music tech studio TRINITI has teamed up with music production platform SOUNDS.STUDIO to provide AI music creation and services for musicians and artists.

Starting Tuesday (December 19), SOUNDS.STUDIO will integrate TRINITI’s AI technology into its platform, allowing users to create and distribute music all in one place. This includes access to the GrimesAI voice model, which was developed by CreateSafe in collaboration with the artist Grimes.

The Canadian singer, songwriter and record producer Grimes launched her project with CreateSafe in May, using TRINITI to clone her voice and inviting users to create songs using that clone in exchange for a 50% share of the master recording royalties.

Over 1,000 songs have been created since the platform’s launch, propelling Grimes to Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in AI 2023.”

TRINITI’s new collaboration with SOUNDS.STUDIO will incorporate the GrimesAI voice model into users’ music. This allows distribution of the voice model to major DSPs through TRINITI’s distribution channels.

From Bad Bunny to Peso Pluma, from Iñigo Quintero to Karol G, Latin music has been one of the recording industry’s biggest breakout success stories of the past few years.

A large part of its momentum is coming from the US recorded music market, the world’s largest, where Latin music has seen several incredible years.

In 2022, it surpassed a billion dollars in US recorded music revenue for the first time, raking in $1.09 billion, a 23.8% YoY increase, and taking a nearly 8% share of the music streaming market, according to data from the RIAA.

Video-sharing platform TikTok has announced that it will be hosting its first-ever live music event, called ‘TikTok In The Mix.’

The live event is scheduled for Sunday, December 10, 2023, at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. It will also be streamed globally via TikTok Live.

The lineup features superstar artists headliners Cardi B, Niall Horan, Anitta, and Charlie Puth, along with emerging talent Sam Barber, Isabel LaRosa, Kaliii, and LU KALA from TikTok’s Elevate emerging artists program.

Music recognition app Shazam has unveiled a new hub within its app, allowing music fans to discover personalized live music events within their area.

The new feature, called ‘Concerts’, makes use of users’ Shazam history to deliver curated event recommendations. This provides users the ability to browse, search, and filter by artist, date, location and explore trending concerts all in one app.

In addition to event discovery, Shazam offers users the ability to save and revisit events. According to Apple’s Support page, the app also facilitates setting reminders for upcoming shows and provides notifications for exclusive content shared by artists post-performance, including set lists, tour photos, and more.