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On Feb. 15, a snippet of Post Malone singing along to a forthcoming collaboration with Luke Combs surfaced on TikTok. Post Malone is signed to Mercury/Republic Records, Universal Music Group labels, and UMG’s catalog has been unavailable on TikTok since the start of February. This means that preexisting videos made with his hits now play without sound, and users can’t make new clips with his recordings. The video of Post Malone lip-syncing to the track was originally posted on Instagram Reels, but it migrated to TikTok anyway — most clips do — and the audio remained unmuted, skirting the UMG ban because the song has not been officially released.
“We can still use the platform to tease new music because until the master hits TikTok, nothing will happen” to it, says Tim Gerst, CEO of Nashville-based digital marketing agency Thinkswell. “We’re not really going to change our strategy much.”
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Artists silenced by the UMG-TikTok impasse have used this and other workarounds during the first month that they’ve been walled off from what is arguably their most effective marketing tool. Indeed, digital marketers say they haven’t noticed an exodus from the platform after the negotiations between the two companies fell apart.
“Artists impacted by this are just being more creative on TikTok about how they’re getting music out,” Shopkeeper Management digital marketing manager Laura Spinelli says. “People are doing acoustic versions of songs; they’re changing up the tempo [so that songs don’t trigger TikTok’s sonic fingerprinting system]; they’re talking around it.
“It’s not, ‘TikTok’s gone, so I’m going to go on [YouTube] Shorts,’ ” Spinelli continues. “It’s, ‘The masters are gone from TikTok; how can I still get my music out?’ ”
While there are plenty of digital platforms that artists can use to market their music, the reality is none have been able to consistently replicate TikTok’s impact over the past four years. “There’s really no other comparable digital marketing strategy or platform for exposure of new music,” says Tyler Blatchley, co-founder of Black 17, The Orchard’s top label on TikTok. “Trends are tied to songs on TikTok in a unique way. On Reels and Shorts, the audience cares less about the song, more about the video content.”
“TikTok is No. 1 for music discovery,” adds Johnny Cloherty, co-founder of digital marketing company Songfluencer. “These other platforms don’t lead to consumption the same way TikTok does.”
It’s also not clear that Reels and Shorts are even trying to challenge TikTok in the way they once did. When the two platforms were launched in 2020, they both seemed positioned to compete for TikTok’s market share — the app had recently been banned in India, and President Donald Trump was threatening to do the same in the United States.
In the years since, however, “both of these products, which came out as TikTok competitors, have evolved,” says another digital marketer who has worked with artists and brands. “They’re different from what they were, and the focus of the companies behind them have shifted.”
The digital marketer points to a recent blog post in which YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced that “YouTube’s next frontier is the living room,” suggesting the platform was increasingly interested in competing with a company like Netflix rather than other purveyors of short-form video. “It might not be what you’d expect,” Mohan wrote, “but people like watching Shorts on their TVs.”
Reels and its parent company, Meta, have also made significant changes over the last 12 months. In 2023, the company shut down the bonus system it had put in place to financially incentivize creator activity. (That program seemed like another attempt to compete with TikTok, which had announced its own $200 million creator fund in 2020.) A couple of months later, Meta launched another platform, Threads. Just as Reels once seemed aimed at capitalizing on the misfortunes of TikTok, the timing of Threads’ arrival seemed an attempt to capitalize on the troubles of Elon Musk’s X; Meta’s new platform also appeared to signal a shift in company priorities.
Even so, most artists have been, at a minimum, cross-posting TikTok clips to Shorts and Reels for several years, eager to find exposure wherever they can get it.
Shorts has helped artists grow their subscriber numbers on YouTube, and subscribers can be monetized in other ways. Harrison Golding, who oversees digital marketing for EMPIRE, has seen it function as “a discovery tool in countries where YouTube is their primary streaming platform,” like India.
Reels is still an engine for increasing followers as well. “If you want to grow on Instagram right now, Reels is the way to do that,” Spinelli says. In addition, manager Tommy Kiljoy says Reels helped drive listeners to his client ThxSoMch’s latest release, “Hide Your Kids,” as well as Sawyer Hill’s “Look at the Time,” which recently topped Spotify’s Viral 50 chart in the United States.
But “we see more trends on TikTok,” says Hemish Gholkar, a digital marketer who works with all of the major labels. “We hardly see trends to a record on Reels or Shorts.”
While UMG’s catalog remains officially unavailable on TikTok, it has always been the case that any user can upload audio to the platform. Many viral trends start thanks to unofficial bootlegs, and “some artists are just putting up songs as original sounds,” according to Nima Nasseri, a former vp of A&R strategy for Universal Music Group.
Artists “are speeding up their songs a little bit, doing different edits,” and posting them on TikTok, Kiljoy notes. “I’ve seen people lean into [the absence of the music] more than anything and get a rise out of it.” (UMG artists’ music may also be still available if they collaborated with an act on another label: TikTokers can find Drake rapping on Travis Scott’s “Meltdown,” for example.)
In addition, artists have devised ways to keep seeding their music without the official recording. Singer d4vd, whose breakout hits got traction on TikTok and led to a record deal with UMG’s Darkroom/Interscope Records, recently posted a video labeled “d4vd songs that sound better live,” which shows him performing “Leave Her,” his latest release.
Gerst has had success promoting his clients’ older music in cases when it was recorded outside of the UMG system. “We’re going back and pushing a bunch of the back-catalog content,” Gerst says. A video his team posted soundtracked by “I’m Gonna Miss Her,” Brad Paisley’s goofy tribute to fishing, amassed over 30 million views across TikTok and Reels. The song was originally released through Sony in 2001, but a throwback that’s earning millions of views still keeps Paisley top of mind for fans as he moves towards a new album.
Even UMG artists who have expressed disappointment that their music isn’t available on TikTok keep posting anyway. “Two massive companies deciding what goes on with people’s art; it’s a bit f—ing daft,” artist Yungblud said in a TikTok video after the negotiations crumbled. “Everything can be taken away at the touch of a button.”
Still, he continues to post every few days, uploading a mix of onstage and backstage videos, an acoustic performance of “When We Die (Can We Still Get High?)” and interview footage. The same goes for Muni Long, who posted an interview to TikTok in which she called her music’s absence from the platform “a bummer,” and another clip of a group of fans screaming along to her single “Made For Me” at a basketball game.
The stand-off between UMG and TikTok is about to enter a new phase where any songs that have contributions from Universal Music Publishing Group songwriters disappear from the platform, meaning artists and marketers will have to adjust once again. “We’re not going to abandon TikTok,” Gerst says. “We’re just going to find new ways to do it.”
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Shōgun is a new 10-episode limited series based on the bestselling novel of the same name from author James Clavell. The first two episodes are available to stream on Hulu, while they’re also airing on FX starting on Tuesday, Feb. 27.
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Ahead, you can read on for ways to watch and stream Shōgun.
What Time Does Shōgun Premiere?
The first two episodes of Shōgun are available to stream on Hulu. However, the miniseries premieres on Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX. The remaining seven episodes drop every Tuesday morning at 12:01 a.m. ET/PT on Hulu, while it broadcasts later on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX.
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Where to Watch Shōgun for Free
If you’re a cord-cutter, then there are a number of ways to watch some of your favorite TV shows without cable — especially if you want to watch for free. Many streaming services, like DirecTV Stream and Fubo, offer free trials, so you can watch the season premiere of Shōgun on FX without spending money up front.
Keep reading for more details on how to watch Shōgun on Hulu, Disney+ (as part of the Disney Duo), DirecTV Stream and Fubo.
How to Watch Shōgun on Hulu
The best way to watch Shōgun is with a subscription to Hulu. New episodes of the limited series drop on the streaming service before it airs on FX, while you get access to other fantastic originals, including The Bear, Only Murders in the Building, The Handmaid’s Tale, American Horror Stories and more. You also get access to FX originals, like Fargo, Reservation Dogs, What We Do in the Shadows, Under the Banner of Heaven and others.
Hulu starts at $7.99 per month, or $79.99 per year for the ad-supported plan, while you can go without ads for $17.99 per month.
How to Watch Shōgun on Disney+
Looking to add Disney+ with your Hulu subscription? You can get Disney+ and Hulu in one streaming service with the Disney Duo. With sign up, you get a new hub called “Hulu” at the top of the Disney+ homepage, along with Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.
The first two episodes are available to stream with the Disney Duo too. Not a subscribers? You can sign up for the ad-supported plan for $9.99 per month, or you can go ad-free for $19.99 per month (or $139.99 per year).
How to Watch Shōgun on DirecTV Stream
A subscription to DirecTV Stream gets you access to live TV, local and cable channels, starting at $79.99 per month. The service even offers a 5-day free trial to watch Shōgun for free, if you sign up now.
You can watch local networks, like NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and PBS, while you can also watch many cable networks, including FX, AMC, A&E, Bravo, Cartoon Network, ESPN, FS1, VH1, Fuse, CNN, Food Network, Lifetime, CNBS, BET, MTV, Paramount Network and many others.
How to Watch Shōgun on Fubo
Fubo starts at $59.99 per month for the first month ($79.99 per month afterwards) with nearly 200 channels, including local and cable, that are streamable on smart TVs, smartphones, tablets and on web browsers. And with a 7-day free trial, you can watch Shōgun for free, if you act fast and sign up now.
The services gets you live access to local broadcast networks, like NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox, while it also has dozens of cable networks, such as FX, Bravo, TLC, ESPN, E!, FS1, MTV, CMT, ID, Ion, OWN, Paramount Network, TV Land, VH1 and much more.
More Ways to Watch
If you’re overseas and you’d like to stream Shōgun internationally, you can sign up for a VPN, such as ExpressVPN, NordVPN and PureVPN, which lets you access a number of streaming platforms, like the ones mentioned above, legally.
The samurai miniseries follows Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a feudal Japanese lord, who comes across a shipwrecked John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), an English sailor who clashes with Japanese culture in the 16th century.
It also stars Anna Sawai, Tadanobu Asano, Takehiro Hira, Tommy Bastow, Fumi Nikaido and others.
Shōgun is available to stream on Hulu and broadcasts on FX starting on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
In the meantime, watch a trailer for Shōgun below.
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Want more deals? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.
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BLKFAM, another streaming service, is entering the chat, and this one is all Black, has a Black owner, strictly for Black folks, and boasts Whoopi Goldberg as an investor.
The movie and television streaming space got a bit more crowded with the launch of BLKFAM, a new free, ad-supported streaming service created by digital marketer Larry Adams.
The View host and legendary comedian/actress is on board as an equity partner in the streamer, boasting that it is “the first and only Black-owned, Black-focused family streaming platform.”
Coming out of the gate, BLKFAM is offering potential customers access to its content library containing 20+ syndicated series, 1,000+ hours of new animation titles, and introducing new animated characters of color plus diverse gender experiences.
For those into music, don’t worry. BLKFAM has got you with hundreds of hours of original music-driven content.
As for the content, Deadline reports ten new original live-action and animated series are currently in development that premiere on the streamer during its first year. There will also be investigative journalism and news shows, fitness and wellness series, reality shows, and a Black History program for customers to enjoy.
Per Deadline:
Black culture and content is so often stereotyped, siloed or written off – so I wanted to create a platform where my kids and I can be entertained without having to face those same daily biases,” said Adams.
Goldberg has signed on as equity partner alongside Tom Leonardis, president of her entertainment venture Whoop, Inc., and will be steering the creative development of various programming exclusive to the platform.
“I am honored to partner with BLKFAM to assist in the creative direction of curated diverse content – for Black culture to be brought to broader audiences,” the EGOT winner said.
Add BLKFAM to the list of entertainment hubs for Black television viewers, including names like BET+, Tubi, ALLBLK, and a particular one that will remain nameless.
Will you be giving BLKFAM a chance? Let us know.
Spotify paid out nearly $4.5 billion to independent rights holders in 2023, or roughly half of the more than $9 billion the streaming service paid to all labels and publishers last year, the company announced Tuesday (Feb. 27). The $4.5 billion total marks a new record for the indie sector (which includes DIY artists) and […]
If you don’t live under a rock, you are likely aware that Beyoncé released a pair of new songs earlier this month. One of them, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” has blanketed TikTok in recent days: Around 74,000 users had made videos incorporating the sound on February 18; this more-than-tripled over the course of a week, pushing the total number of clips using the track past 224,000 on February 25. “Texas Hold ‘Em” climbed from No. 2 to No. 1 on the latest Hot 100.
TikTok’s ability to help drive this kind of ubiquity has diminished in recent years — much to the chagrin of the music industry. “In 2019, you could catch a trend and go top five on Apple Music in like a day,” says Harrison Golding, vice president of strategic marketing at EMPIRE. “Now the platform is so mature that even if you get trends and user-generated content, the numbers may not correlate to streams.”
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And yet: “The virality of this Beyoncé record shows you the power of the platform,” says Nima Nasseri, a former vp of A&R strategy for Universal Music Group, where he worked on a team that ran TikTok campaigns for resurgent catalog hits like Trinidad Cardona’s “Dinero” and Phantogram’s “Black Out Days.” “It’s still there. You can’t discount it.” (Not that anyone was discounting it — more like lamenting the good old days when outcomes on TikTok were far easier to influence.)
The TikTok takeover of “Texas Hold ‘Em” carries extra weight because it feels like a potent reminder of the platform’s impact at a time when the music industry is eager to look for alternatives. Licensing negotiations between Universal Music Group and TikTok fell apart in January, which means that no official sounds from UMG artists have been available on the platform during February. And whenever TikTok faces a potential obstacle — U.S. politicians threaten to ban it, for example, or a massive song catalog is removed — music industry attention turns to Instagram and YouTube, which also have their own short-form video delivery systems (Reels and Shorts, respectively).
It’s possible that more music will come down from TikTok at the end of February — not just tracks by UMG’s artists, but also any songs that include contributions from Universal Music Publishing Group’s songwriters. It makes sense, then, that “artists and their teams are putting more strategy into all three platforms now,” according to Jen Darmafall, director of marketing for ATG Group. “Before, they would just make content that works for TikTok and then post it on the other platforms.”
Although recent history is littered with songs that exploded on TikTok and saw a correlated jump on streaming services, it’s always been much harder to find comparable examples associated with Reels and Shorts. “Reels is more self-contained,” Nasseri explains. “You can get 100,000 uses of a sound on Reels, and that won’t impact” plays on streaming services.
Historically, success on Reels creates “more of a passive following,” adds Ben Locke, director of A&R and marketing at the label Disharmony.
When it comes to Shorts, Golding includes it in all his rollouts, as do most music marketers. “Is it changing a record like TikTok can?” he asks. “No, not yet.”
Nasseri agrees: “You don’t see creates grow at the same rate on YouTube Shorts as they do on TikTok.” (Neal Mohan, YouTube’s CEO, recently wrote on the company’s blog that “Shorts is averaging over 70 billion daily views, and the number of channels uploading Shorts has grown 50% year over year.”)
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This all makes the recent success of Sawyer Hill’s “Look at the Time” that much more noteworthy: The song topped Spotify’s Viral 50 chart in the U.S. last week thanks in large part to listeners coming from Reels. “I’ve never seen virality from Reels like this that drove consumption in a meaningful way,” says Locke, who signed Sawyer Hill to Disharmony.
Locke actually found Sawyer Hill on TikTok (of course) late in 2022; “Look at the Time,” a parched power ballad riddled with reproachful guitar riffs, came out in June 2023. In the past few months, Locke says, Sawyer Hill “pivoted his strategy more to Reels, because he felt like there was less of an over-saturation of music on that platform.”
And recently, Locke continues, “his content is starting to get a ton of engagement.” The top comment on Sawyer Hill’s “Look at the Time” YouTube video is “Instagram brought me here, I’m glad the algorithm showed me this gem.” The second comment is more amusing — and more revealing: “Usually the songs that are advertised on insta SUCK but this is actually gorgeous.”
Tommy Kiljoy, who manages ThxSoMch, calls the success of “Look at the Time” “a major win for Instagram.” The platform “is still a little bit weird — you get more followers than engagement,” he says. But ThxSoMch’s latest single “Hide Your Kids” also recently enjoyed a boost from Reels. (Sawyer Hill and ThxSoMch are not signed to UMG labels, so their music is currently available on TikTok as well.)
It’s too early to know if this activity on Reels is an aberration or the start of a trend. On Friday, “Look at the Time” enjoyed its fifth day at No. 1 on Spotify’s U.S. Viral 50. Sitting nearby at No. 3 was Djo’s “End of Beginning.” Unlike Sawyer Hill, though, Djo’s success can be attributed directly to TikTok users, who have embraced the 2022 song in droves.
This just goes to show, “in the digital space, no one has the formula right now,” as Golding puts it. “We’re constantly trying to figure out what type of campaign is going to actually convert a new fan. It’s a few drops in a bucket here, a few drops there, and hope you catch a viral moment.”
Songwriters and publishers are due nearly $400 million in additional payouts following the Copyright Royalty Board‘s Phonorecord III final determination in August, according to information the Mechanical Licensing Collective (the MLC) released on Friday (Feb. 23). During the Phono III blanket license period (2021-2022), the MLC reports that digital service providers like Spotify, Amazon Music, […]
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The enemies-turned-to-lovers romantic comedy, Anyone But You, is officially available to watch at home. Inspired by the Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing, the movie was met with success at the box office, even landing a 2024 People’s Choice Awards nomination — and now you can own it digitally through Prime Video and Apple TV.
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Anyone But You follows Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell) who hit it off after a romantic first date, but after a miscommunication, their feelings turn sour towards one another. After a year, the two come face-to-face for Bea’s sister, Halle (Hadley Robinson) and the sister of Ben’s best friend, Claudia’s, (Alexandra Shipp) wedding. Ben and Bea decide to put their hateful feelings aside and pretend to be a couple to make Ben’s ex-girlfriend jealous, and prevent Bea’s parents from trying to set her up with her ex-boyfriend. What they don’t know? The wedding guests are all conspiring to make the two realize they’re perfect for one another.
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Keep reading to learn your streaming options to watch Anyone But You online from home.
How to Watch Anyone But You Online
You can own Anyone But You on digital through Prime Video and Apple TV for $19.99. You don’t need a Prime membership either to own the movie. Once you purchase the film, it’ll automatically download to your library to stream at home or on your smart devices. The movie is also yours to keep, so you can watch Anyone But You on-demand whenever you want.
Apple TV is another platform that is offering the movie VOD and you won’t need an Apple TV+ subscription to watch Anyone But You online. Just make sure you have the app or an Apple TV device and you’ll be able to purchase the movie for $19.99 to stream at home or on the go.
How to Watch Anyone But You Online Free
While Anyone But You is expected to hit streaming services soon, the only way to watch it right now is by renting it on Prime Video or Apple TV. There isn’t a way to watch Anyone But You online for free as of yet.
Collectors can also preorder Anyone But You on DVD and Blu-ray, which will be released on March 12. If you preorder the movie now, you can score it for 36% off, dropping the price down to $25.
Amazon
“Anyone But You”
$24.99
$38.99
36% off
$24.99
$24.99
Already, Anyone But You‘s Blu-ray has landed on top of Amazon’s bestsellers list for romance movies. The DVD includes a digital copy along with the Blu-ray disc and bonus features for hours of content.
Check below to watch the trailer for Anyone But You.
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Get ready BLINKS, Jennie is taking her acting skills beyond The Idol and is participating in a new South Korean unscripted reality series called Apartment404. The variety show, from TV network tvN, is available to watch in the U.S. on Prime Video and will feature new episodes weekly, with eight episodes in total.
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Set within an apartment building, the “Pink Venom” singer will compete against five other residents including Running Man‘s Yoo Jae-suk and Yang Se-chan, Moving stars Cha Tae-hyun and Lee Jung-ha and Oh Na-ra from Alchemy of Souls to unravel mysteries based on true events that occur within its units. The cast will be split into two teams with only one contestant crowned at the end of the season.
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“Each episode will have a unique setting and take place in a different period,” according to Prime Video‘s official press release. You can also expect surprise guest appearances throughout the season to spice things up.
Want to watch Apartment404 online? Keep reading to learn the streaming options available.
How to Watch Apartment404 Online
Apartment404 is a South Korean series that airs live on tvN, but for those residing in the U.S. or countries that don’t receive tvN through cable, Prime Video will be airing the episodes every Friday. Prime members can watch Apartment404 for free when you log into your account and head to the Prime Video library.
Don’t have a Prime membership? Amazon is offering a 30-day free trial for new users who sign up, which means you can watch Apartment404 online free, in addition to all the other Prime member perks. Click here or the button below to start your free trial.
Besides Apartment404, you’ll also have access to the entire Prime Video library including exclusive and original TV shows and movies such as Marry My Husband, Gen V, The Boys, Citadel, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Underdoggs, Saltburn, Invincible, Red, White & Royal Blue, The Summer I Turned Pretty and I’m a Virgo.
To expand your content library, you can also add premium channels to your lineup through the Prime Video library like Paramount+, Starz and Max.
Prime members can also take advantage of other member-exclusive benefits such as one-day free shipping, Prime Day, member-only discounts, grocery delivery, Prime Premiere, Prime Try Before You Buy, Prime Reading, Amazon Music Unlimited and more.
If you’re outside of the U.S., you may be able to watch Apartment404 through a VPN from ExpressVPN or NordVPN.
Check below to watch the trailer for Apartment404.
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In September 2020, Kanye West fired off a series of “NEW RECORDING AND PUBLISHING DEAL GUIDELINES” on Twitter, the app now known as X. He called for artist-friendly income splits — 80% to the musician — and contracts that are easy to understand. “The artist owns the copyright in the recordings and songs,” West proposed, “and leases them to the record label / publisher for a limited term.”
His new album Vultures 1, a full-length collaboration with the singer Ty Dolla $ign, arrives with even fewer strings attached — he doesn’t have a label partner, just a distribution company (Label Engine) to help ensure the music’s presence on streaming services. This arrangement outside of the major label system means that West and Ty Dolla $ign are likely taking home even more than the 80% cut the rapper tweeted about in 2020. Although Label Engine advertises that clients get 82.5% of revenue, stars like West almost certainly have the leverage to push that number significantly higher.
Billboard estimates that Vultures 1, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, earned a little more than $1 million in its opening week in the United States, mostly from streaming (around $892,000 from close to 169 million on-demand streams) plus a little extra from sales (roughly $145,000). If West and Ty Dolla $ign are giving up 5% for distribution — which might be high — they take home around $986,000. (More when you factor in global streams and publishing.)
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Contrast this with the situation West faced at the start of his career in the major label system: Images of old contracts he tweeted in 2020 indicate that when he made The College Dropout, he earned a 14% royalty on albums sold in the U.S. As is typical in a royalty deal, West’s old contract notes that “no royalties shall be due and payable… until such time as all advances have been recouped.” That recoupment comes out of an artist’s share, meaning that measly 14% rate has to do all the heavy lifting to earn the advances back.
In a theoretical example, if West was in this deal and he had just $1 million in recoupable expenses (such as an advance) associated with an album — which would be low for him, historically speaking — that release would need to generate more than $7 million in total sales income for him to recoup and start earning money from his music going forward. (In this simple hypothetical, an artist is only generating income through sales, not synchs or other ancillary sources, and the royalty rate isn’t increasing when an artist hits certain sales thresholds.)
To generate around $1 million in royalties for its creators, as Vultures 1 did for West and Ty Dolla $ign in just one week, the album stuck in a 14% royalty deal would then have to earn an additional $7 million in total sales revenue. Translated to on-demand streams, that would mean around another 1.3 billion plays.
Since West is no longer affiliated with a major label, the commercial success of Vultures 1 has been lauded on social media as a breakthrough moment for the independent sector. But while calling the rapper independent is technically accurate — he’s not working with a major label — it’s also misleading. Imagine if Lebron James retired and people started describing him as an amateur basketball player because he was no longer on an NBA roster.
The term independent gets thrown around a lot these days. gamma boss Larry Jackson recently called Usher “the first independent artist to ever play the Super Bowl.” (Usher, by the way, has the No. 2 album in the country with Coming Home.)
Both West and Usher built their superstar careers within the major-label system, however. They were thrown lavish budgets to make their albums. And they benefited from the full weight of the record companies’ promotional muscle at a time when those companies had a lot of influence over what the public heard.
In West’s case, images of recording agreements he tweeted in 2020 showed that Universal Music Group forked over an $8 million advance for Yeezus, along with another $4 million for recording and sample clearances. The contract photos also indicated that Universal was prepared to pay a $3 million advance and an additional $3 million for recording and clearances for The Life of Pablo. UMG also poured money into marketing and radio promo over the years. It’s hard to imagine West — who has since arguably become as well known for his troubling history of antisemitic comments, which have lost him numerous business deals, as for his music — reaching the level of cultural ubiquity he achieved without that investment from the majors.
And even if the rapper is enjoying a larger share of profits from his music these days, the real money may be coming to him from outside of the music industry: West recently claimed he made more than $19 million off of clothing sales in a single day.
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Netflix is just one of the various streaming options out there to entertain you with fresh and original TV shows and movies. As more media production companies come out with their own platforms, it can make streaming the latest and greatest programs pricey.
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Even as the competition to get subscribers becomes more cutthroat, Netflix is still dominating the entertainment sphere with around 260 million paid subscribers worldwide, according to data collected from Statista during the fourth quarter of 2023. This is partly due to the hit original content that the streaming platform has in its library, including Love Is Blind, Bridgerton, Griselda, Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Vince Staples Show, One Day and upcoming content like the live adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Plans for Netflix start at around $6.99/month, but rather than add another monthly cost to your budget, there are some current promos going on that can score you free Netflix. That way, you can use your savings toward that merch you’ve been eyeing on the official Netflix Shop.
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Keep reading to learn the current promos and deals going on.
How to Get Free Netflix With T-Mobile
Need an excuse to switch your phone carrier? T-Mobile’s Netflix On Us promo gets you Netflix’s ad-supported plan for no additional cost. You just need to be a part of a qualifying carrier plan such as: any Go5G or Magenta plan with two or more lines, Go5G Next, Go5G Plus or Magenta MAX plan. Military, First Responder and 55 plans are also eligible to receive the promo.
New and active account holders can activate the discount by going to their account, select add-ons and then manage data and add-ons. From there, you’ll be able to create a Netflix account or add an existing one.
How to Get Free Netflix Through Verizon
You can also bundle Max and Netflix for $10 a month with an Unlimited Welcome, Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Ultimate plan — and, since a Max subscription is $9.99 a month on its own, you’re basically getting Netflix for free. This promo will give you access to both of the streamers’ ad-supported plans. You can add existing streaming accounts to your MyPlan — no canceling required.
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