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Issue Nº 28Live · July 12, 2026Weekly · Tuesdays

The Brief.

A weekly dispatch on streaming, royalties, marketing and the music industry — written from real campaign data, not theory.

In the archive

294 dispatches

Read by

5,000+ artists

All Streaming109 Marketing68 Business48 Touring13 Money39 Career17

Business

Filed under Business

A music supervisor's late-night office: stacked production binders flagged with colored sticky tabs, an open contract with handwritten margin notes in pencil, Sennheiser HD600 headphones resting on a leather notebook, a half-full glass tumbler with melting ice, a calibrated screening monitor showing a paused dialogue scene, and a single warm desk lamp casting amber light across a worn walnut desk.

Sync Licensing Rate Card 2026: Real Fees by Medium

Daniel Brooks23 min read

A music industry analyst's late-night desk: a stack of printed industry reports flagged with colored sticky tabs and pencil margin notes, an open spiral notebook with handwritten percentage figures and arrows, a basic desk calculator with a long receipt tape curled across the wood, two ceramic coffee mugs with cold rings, a closed laptop pushed to the side, and a single warm desk lamp casting amber light across a worn walnut surface in a quiet windowless office.

The 2026 State of the Indie Music Industry: 14 Numbers That Define It

Daniel Brooks23 min read

An independent record store interior at golden hour: stacks of new vinyl LPs on a worn wooden counter with handwritten price tags, a customer in a wool coat thumbing through a classic-rock bin in the background, soft natural light from a street-facing window, a Fleetwood Mac Rumours sleeve visible on the front display, and a dust-covered turntable on a side shelf.

Vinyl Sales 2026: Industry Report (RIAA + Discogs Data)

Daniel Brooks23 min read

Ditto vs DistroKid for Music Distribution (2026)

Daniel Brooks9 min read

Producer Agreement Essentials for Musicians (2026)

Daniel Brooks14 min read

How to Protect Your Music from AI Cloning (2026)

Daniel Brooks16 min read

Music LLC vs Sole Proprietor: What Artists Need to Know (2026)

Daniel Brooks10 min read

The Independent Artist Business Guide (2026)

Daniel Brooks20 min read

Music Contract Red Flags: 5 Clauses to Avoid (2026)

Daniel Brooks15 min read

YouTube Copyright Strikes: How to Avoid and Fix Them (2026)

Daniel Brooks18 min read

Music Licensing for Film and TV: How to Start (2026)

Daniel Brooks18 min read

Sample Clearance for Musicians: Complete Guide (2026)

Daniel Brooks18 min read

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