It's been a big month for tech updates and in our May edition of the music tech round-up we highlight new feature updates from Spotify, Chartmetric, YouTube and Soundcloud, plus new app discoveries from the GLP team that include un:hurd the music marketing app that turns users’ data into a series of actions, SURF Music the digital tool and marketplace helping creators to sell their unreleased music to buyers. And we couldn't resist including that Grimes has offered to split 50% of royalties on any successful AI-generated song that uses her voice.
Chartmetric - Social Media Impact scores
Added to our Artist Profiles; these scores convey each artist’s standing within various social media networks by measuring the popularity of their first and second-degree connections. We’ve also updated the layout of the Artist Overview Sections to better highlight key metrics.
Spotify - Discovery Mode
Spotify’s Discovery Mode is a new tool that helps you reach new listeners and grow your fanbase, with no upfront budget required. When Discovery Mode is turned on for a track, it increases the likelihood that songs reach listeners in Radio & Autoplay. Starting today, you can set up next month’s campaign for the below artists and their tracks distributed through eligible licensors. To do so, log into the Spotify for Artists account and click “Set up Campaign” in the Discovery Mode Campaigns tab. You can also click each artist's name in the table below to be brought directly to their Campaigns tab.
SURF Music
SURF Music is a digital tool and marketplace for creators to sell their unreleased music to buyers across the global entertainment industry. They are re-energizing the music industry by providing transparency and accessibility for global music discovery, connectivity and collaboration.
Soundcloud new ‘Fans’ tool will allow artists to DM their superfans
SoundCloud is launching a new tool called 'Fans' that will allow artists to connect directly with their most-engaged fans on the platform. The tool is made possible by SoundCloud's 'Fan Powered Royalties' offering, which helps artists detect their most committed listeners based on indicators like comments, listening behaviour, and sharing habits. Users can opt-out if they don’t want to be contacted by their favorite artists.
YouTube Music - Podcasts
YouTube Music’s new update allows users watching podcasts on the main YouTube app to continue listening to them on YouTube Music. The YouTube Music Home tab now includes a new “Podcasts” tab that takes users to a dedicated feed displaying their favorite podcasts and recommended episodes to listen to. Read more on TechCrunch’s article here.
un:hurd
Transforming the future of music promotion, un:hurd is the number one music marketing app that turns users’ data into a series of actions that allows them to complete a data-driven marketing campaign in just a few clicks. From running well-targeted social media ads to pitching to playlists and magazines, un:hurd provides the tools to steer your marketing efforts in the right direction.
Grimes: AI-generated song
Grimes has offered to split 50% of royalties on any successful AI-generated song that uses her voice, claiming she has no label and no legal bindings. She didn't provide much detail on how this would work but suggested the profit sharing could apply to "viral" or "super popular" tracks made using her voice. Other artists, such as Holly Herndon, have also embraced voice cloning and artificial intelligence tools, but Universal Music Group recently claimed that training AI models on their artists' work was a copyright violation.