Here’s a digital milestone of sorts: artists can now earn Gold and Platinum awards in the US based on on-demand streams and video views of their songs, as well as sales. The RIAA announced the change yesterday, which uses a formula of 100 streams equalling one download – although it stresses that this is “an approximate barometer of comparative consumer activity; the financial value of streams and downloads were not factored into the equation”. Data from Mog, Muve Music, Rdio, Rhapsody, Slacker, Spotify and Xbox Music (among others) is being included on the audio side, and MTV.com, Vevo, Yahoo Music and YouTube for videos. The news follows the recent integration of YouTube and Vevo views into the main Billboard chart in the US (Bulletin, 21-Feb-13). As part of the new announcement, the RIAA awarded 11 gold, 18 platinum and 27 multi-platinum combined downloads/streams awards. Note: only official label/artist videos count, not user-generated videos – hence no gong for Harlem Shake yet.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…