It’s a new year and music streaming and social media platforms have unveiled some interesting new features. Here’s the lowdown on the most important industry news stories from the past month that you should be aware of.
1. LÜM Launches The First Direct-to-Artist Virtual Gifting System
The Story
LÜM’s new virtual gifting system allows artists to grow and monetize their fan base by allowing users to earn and buy “Notes”, LÜM’s in-app currency. Users can use these “Notes” to support their favorite artists, earning rewards and achievements along the way. “Notes” can either be bought in-app or earned through streaming music and engaging on the platform. LÜM has eight levels of virtual gifts, with each gift representing a specific number of “Notes”. A “Note” has a set value that is slightly greater than the royalty payout per stream of other streaming alternatives.
Why This Matters
LÜM (Live Undiscovered Music) is an exciting and unique streaming platform that champions independent artists. LÜM's goal is to decrease the disparity between mainstream and undiscovered music by combining the best elements from streaming and social media. The new virtual currency is a great opportunity to start earning some extra income from super fans which you could attract on the platform.
Since launching in July over 30,000 artists, including some from the BrandMan Network, have uploaded tracks to the app. Early adopters are certainly seeing the benefits, especially due to the fact that the platform offers unlimited free uploading for artists, meanwhile, users can enjoy unlimited ad-free streaming. It has also proven to be a great space to drop demos and beats to measure the potential success of a track. If you’re an artist based in the US with an iPhone you should definitely put your music on LÜM.
2. SoundCloud Users Can Now Edit Their Tracks On iOS
The Story
SoundCloud users are now able to edit their track information on their mobile app for the first time. Artists will have the opportunity to change their album artwork, track title, description, genre, and privacy settings with the tap of a button. SoundCloud Pro subscribers with an iOS device can also Spotlight tracks using the app. The track editing feature is available now on iOS and is coming soon to Android devices.
Why This Matters
This feature has been a long time coming, especially when you consider what a simple and essential function editing track information on the go really is in this day and age. This update has been at the top of the community list on SoundCloud for years.
Meanwhile, the other top request still hasn’t been added - track uploading directly from your phone. Although there is a strange exception, recordings made directly from an Android device using the SoundCloud app can be uploaded.
3. Twitter Is Considering Adding A Tipping Feature To Its Platform
The Story
Twitter is considering adding a new feature to the platform which will allow users to send money to each other directly from their tweets. This is something which reportedly is already happening in a partnership between Twitter and Square which lets users make donations to politicians through tweets.
Why This Matters
If you’re thinking about or have already given up on using Twitter to build a fan base and promote your music you may want to reconsider. While this new feature is not being implemented in the immediate future this could open up a whole new revenue stream for the platform and give it a new lease of life, particularly for creators and influencers.
Twitter has struggled to keep up with the likes of Instagram and TikTok in recent years, with monetization playing a significant role in this shift away. However, with tipping entering the fold along with new features such as disincentives for trolls and improved lists, plus a pledge from the company to pick up the pace with innovation, it may not be time to give up on Twitter just yet.
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Sources: Platform & Stream, Digital Music News, FlipWeb
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