Venture capital has a diversity problem . BLCK VC , a new organization founded by Storm Ventures associate Frederik Groce and NEA associate Sydney Sykes to connect, engage and advance black venture capitalists, is ready for a new era in the industry. Their mission: Turn 200 black investors into 400 black investors by 2024. “We think of ourselves as an organization formed by black VCs for blacks VCs to increase the representation of black investors,” Sykes told TechCrunch. “You can look around and say well ‘I know five black VCs,’ but you can also say this firm does not have a single black VC, they may not even have a single underrepresented minority … We want to make firms reckon with the fact that there is a racial diversity problem; there is a lack of black VCs and every firm should really care about it.” BLCK VC has been at work since the beginning of 2018, building and expanding a network of black investors in the San Francisco area, Los Angeles and New York. They seek to provide a...
Spotify’s artist dashboard already allows musicians and their managers a way to track the success of their tracks and album releases, as well as view other data about their fans. Now, the streaming music service is debuting its first analytics tool aimed at music publishers. The new tool is launching into beta this morning, and will allow publishers to track daily streaming stats, including playlist performance, and view data across all the songwriters on their roster.
“We know that there are usually many more people involved in the creation of your favorite song than just the artist whose face appears on the billboard,” explains the company, in its announcement. “Spotify Publishing Analytics is the first analytics tool from a music streaming service built specifically for publishers, so they can better serve their songwriters.”
The platform was built in collaboration with partners, including BMG and Reservoir, who offered statements of their own about its launch. It’s designed to offer value across publishers’ responsibilities, from A&R to administration, Spotify says.
For the time being, the tool won’t change anything about how publishing royalties are accounted or paid, but instead will only be focused on providing data.
“One of our core missions at Spotify is to enable creators the opportunity to live off their art,” said Jules Parker, Head of Publishing Relations & Services, EMEA and APAC, Spotify. “The publishing community is integral in supporting the songwriters that create the music we love. With more information, publishers are empowered to make the most of the opportunities the global reach of Spotify provides, and the more information we can share with each other, the more opportunities we can help create for songwriters.” Parker added.
Patrick Joest, EVP Global Content Partnerships & Synch, BMG, said that the new streaming data will help them gain insights into new opportunities for songwriters, and more efficiently collect royalties on their behalf.
The launch of the new service comes on the heels of a significant change to U.S. copyright law, the Music Modernization Act, which impacts music copyrights – and, particularly streaming services. Designed to update music copyright law for the digital era, the act changes how royalties are paid so more music creators can reliably collect the money they’re due.
Spotify wants to be seen as supportive of artists and the wider music creator community, and has been steadily rolling out tools for this side of the music business, instead of just those aimed at consumers listening to tunes.
It has also recently launched things like a playlist submission tool, Co.Lab event series for teaching musicians about the industry, a way to upload music directly, and plans to offer tools for cross-platform distribution via DistroKid, which it invested in.
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