• Essentially, the EC says that Apple charges "high commission fees on each transaction in the App store for rival apps" to Apple Music (like Spotify) and places restrictions on “informing iPhone and iPad users of alternative, cheaper purchasing possibilities” within their apps.
• This leads to "higher prices for consumers for their in-app music subscriptions on iOS devices."
• The Commission’s executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager said, in a statement, “By setting strict rules on the App store that disadvantage competing music streaming services, Apple deprives users of cheaper music streaming choices and distorts competition."
• Apple issued a statement saying that, "Spotify does not pay Apple any commission on over 99% of their subscribers [...] they want all the benefits of the App Store but don’t think they should have to pay anything for that."
• Spotify, meanwhile said that it was “a critical step toward holding Apple accountable for its anticompetitive behavior, ensuring meaningful choice for all consumers and a level playing field for app developers.” 
• It’s important to note that this is a preliminary view, with the EC making it clear that sending a statement of objections “does not prejudge the outcome of an investigation”.

• Japan has a population of 125.5m, with strong internet and smartphone penetration: 161.1m internet users and 100m Smartphone users.
• The recorded music market lost 19% of value in the first half of 2020, despite an increase in digital revenue of 11% – but it was a drop that was expected, given the impact of COVID-19. 
• Physical sales are still strong in Japan, but Music Ally Japan contributing editor Jay Kogami says that there are a number of reasons why CD revenue has declined.
• “A-list artists have postponed their albums; the physical record shops have
  all been shut down during the state of emergency; the meet-and-greet sweepstakes and autograph signing events for CD purchases have all been cancelled, which has resulted in people stop buying CDs,” says Kogami.
• There's now a focus on finding new streaming subscribers to kick-start growth again.

Understanding the intricacies of the biggest streaming platforms and how they're evolving is critical to success in the modern music industry. By the end of this course you'll be able to evaluate the key differences between platforms so that you can make informed decisions, and better exploit the commercial opportunities available.

But first, we must comprehend the fundamental shift in how we listen to music:

• The "playlistification of music" is here - the majority of listening happens within playlists: fans listen to several different artists rather than listening to one album by the same artist.
• Thus there's huge importance on artists being playlisted to generate streams for a release.
• When users listen to music on playlists, there are no visual clues or storytelling to connect them with the artist on a deeper level.
• This makes it incredibly hard for artists to stand out and build artist-fan relationships on the platform: an artist might have millions of streams due to passive playlist listening, but that doesn’t always translate into passionate fanbases.
• Therefore, it's essential to create these relationships on other channels – and then drive the fans back to the streaming platforms.

• A surprisingly long thread of indie bands standing in fields of oilseed rape 
• 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' VHS tape never returned to store leads to felony charge
• Octopus of the week.
• That hoverboard you ordered for 2035 is here a little early.
• Four turntables, no microphone... Thinking of digitising your own vinyl collection? Take inspiration from the Internet Archive's methods.
• The cautionary tale of the man who accidentally joined a Chinese boy-band reality TV show, pleaded with viewers to vote him off and gave a series of half-hearted performances... which naturally meant those viewers kept voting for him right through to the final.