The Music Industry Is Making Billions. Independent Musicians Are Still Fighting for Their Share.
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Making a Scene Weekly Music Business Wrap-Up
Another Week in the Music Business, and the Money Is Moving
There is something fascinating about watching the modern music industry celebrate another round of financial growth while thousands of working musicians are still trying to figure out how to make a decent living from their music. The companies that distribute recordings, manage catalogs, operate streaming platforms, and develop music technology continue to find new opportunities for revenue. Meanwhile, independent artists are juggling recording costs, touring expenses, marketing budgets, and the increasingly complicated business of getting paid for the music they create. The industry is certainly generating money, but whether enough of that money is reaching the people responsible for making the music remains a very different question
You Built Your Own Artist Website. Does Facebook Think It Can Use What’s On It?
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Meta’s proposed business terms have sparked a fight over website scraping, artificial intelligence, and copyright. For independent musicians, the bigger question is whether using social media to promote your music should give a technology company new permissions over the creative work you own.
You Own the Music. You Built the Website. Now Read the Fine Print.
Your Song Is Registered. But Is It Getting Paid? AI Uncovers a Hidden Problem in Music Royalties
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An AI investigation found recordings by Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson, and other legendary artists connected to the wrong musical compositions. If some of the biggest catalogs in music have questionable data, what does that mean for independent musicians who have no army of lawyers watching their royalties? StreamAlbums
The Music Industry Has a Problem Hiding Behind a Green Checkmark
Fender Studio Pro 8.2: The DAW Gets Serious About Mixing, AI, and the Working Musician
A New Name on the Door, but Who Is Running the Studio?
Somewhere in the great history of the recording business, musicians learned that every new piece of equipment arrives with a very impressive promise. The new compressor will make the vocals sing. The new microphone will change your life. The new software will make you creative, organized, and possibly attractive to people who have never heard your music. Then you spend three hours looking for a button that moved six inches to the left. Welcome to modern recording, where progress sometimes comes with a user manual and a mild headache.
Beet the System is a Bay Area roots-rock collective built from deep musical friendship, fertile collaboration, and a healthy disregard for genre boundaries. The band grew out of the creative soil left behind by beloved Bay Area group Chemystry Set, carrying forward that project’s adventurous spirit while planting something looser, groovier, and distinctly its own.
Tired of streaming pennies while gatekeepers cash in?
It’s time to take back control.
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“Breaking Chains” is a timely and insightful exploration of how decentralization is reshaping the music industry. Richard L’Hommedieu draws on deep industry knowledge to examine the shifting balance of power between artists, labels, and digital platforms. The book offers both a critique of the traditional music business and a roadmap for musicians seeking independence in a rapidly evolving landscape. With clear explanations and practical strategies, L’Hommedieu empowers readers to understand blockchain, streaming economics, and new models of ownership. More than just a guide, it’s a call to artists to reclaim control of their work and careers. A must-read for musicians, managers, and anyone curious about the future of music."
