Beats Music buying Topspin Media
Beats Music is bringing more tools for musicians into the fold.
The new music streaming service is acquiring Topspin Media, a company that helps artists promote and sell their music and merchandise to consumers.
Ian Rogers, Beats Music’s chief executive and the former CEO of Topspin, said the acquisition will help artists connect directly with fans.
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“We’re committed to establishing Beats Music as a conduit for the artist-fan relationship, a platform where artists have a voice, and a provider of useful data and analytics on how fans interact with artists and their music,” Rogers wrote in a blog post on the Beats Music website.
“This acquisition puts our money where our mouth is.”
Financial details were not disclosed.
Beats has already integrated some of Topspin’s features into its service to let artists update their profiles with photos and merch offers.
Launched in January by Beats Electronics, the headphone company started by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, Beats Music offers a variety of ways to help people discover music, including play lists created by artists and taste-maker publications.
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It has emerged as a competitor to other digital music offerings such as Spotify, Rdio and Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio and debuted with heavy marketing, including a Super Bowl commercial starring Ellen DeGeneres.
Like many subscription-based services for streaming tunes, Beats Music costs $10 a month. Beats and telecommunications giant AT&T are offering a “family plan” for $15 a month.
The promise of better tools for artists comes as increasingly popular digital music services have come under criticism for how they pay musicians and record labels.
Topspin was founded in 2007, and its users, including musicians, comedians, labels, managers and filmmakers, number 55,000, according to its website.
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