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Issue Nº 42Live · October 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
358 dispatches
Read by
5,000+ artists
AllStreaming123Marketing89Business62Touring16Money48Career20
All dispatches

Page 11

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.
Business

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

Daniel Brooks23 min read
An indie musician's late-night home studio doubling as a fulfillment room: a Focusrite interface and an open laptop showing a subscriber list with monthly recurring revenue totals, a small stack of hand-numbered cassette tapes and signed 7-inch sleeves on a packing-paper roll, a mailing label printer with a half-printed Bandcamp shipping address, a notebook open to a tier-pricing sketch in pencil, a half-cold mug of coffee, and a single warm desk lamp casting amber light across a worn pine desk.
Money

Bandcamp vs Patreon vs Substack vs Subscriptions: Where Should Your Superfans Live in 2026?

Daniel Brooks23 min read
An independent artist seated at a warm-toned walnut desk in late afternoon light, pen hovering over a multi-page contract, a calculator and a leather notebook open to handwritten royalty math, an unfolded BMI quarterly statement showing performance income line items, a half-empty mug of tea, and a closed laptop pushed to the side: the moment between reading the term sheet and signing the advance.
Money

Music Funding Alternatives 2026: Beatbread vs Gigmor vs Indify vs Royalty Exchange

Daniel Brooks29 min read
A backstage green room at the end of a show: a settlement sheet on a folding table next to a scientific calculator, a dog-eared printout of the night's box office, a half-eaten plate of catering with a fork resting across it, a sweat-soaked towel draped over a chair, a black ATA road case in the corner with stage tape labels peeling at the edges, two empty water bottles, a Sharpie, a pair of in-ear monitor packs, and a single overhead fluorescent strip casting flat blue-white light across the entire scene.
Money

Touring Economics 2026: What Indie Artists Actually Clear After Every Fee

Daniel Brooks29 min read
A music industry professional's small Manhattan office at twilight: a printed offer letter face-up on the desk with a fountain pen across the signature line, a salary worksheet on legal-pad paper covered in pencil math, a black calculator with the total still on the screen, a half-empty espresso in a small white cup, an open laptop angled away showing a muted PDF, and the warm amber of a single brass desk lamp catching the city dusk through a narrow window behind.
Career

Music Industry Salary Guide 2026: A&R and 14 More Roles

Daniel Brooks24 min read
Streaming

Amazon Music vs Spotify for Artists (2026 Comparison)

Marcus Vale8 min read
Streaming

Boost Collective Review 2026: Is It Legit? Pricing + Tiers

Marcus Vale13 min read
Streaming

Daimoon Media Review 2026: Is It Legit? Pricing and Results

Marcus Vale12 min read
Streaming

Groover Review 2026: Pricing, Real Results and Is It Legit?

Marcus Vale12 min read
Streaming

Indie Music Academy Review 2026: Honest Analysis + Alternatives

Marcus Vale12 min read
Streaming

Indiemono Review 2026: Is It Free and Legit? How to Submit

Marcus Vale10 min read
Streaming

Music Gateway Review 2026: Honest Analysis + Alternatives

Marcus Vale10 min read
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