Gaming
The Score: Mapping Epic Games’ future music strategy
March 28 2023

It took nearly one whole year for the independent music community to see some initial fruits from Epic Games’ acquisition of Bandcamp.

Starter Packs
Starter Pack: Music in virtual worlds
March 06 2023

Music’s potential in virtual worlds is much more than just a game.

Artificial intelligence
AI and music copyright: A field guide for artists and developers
February 16 2023

Addressing artists’ legal questions about creative AI and ownership, through the lens of AI tools’ terms of use.

Gaming
The Score: More game studios experimenting with virtual K-pop groups
February 15 2023

Following the growing interest in music and gaming, we’re excited to announce a new format for The Score: A monthly newsletter distributed for free to all Water & Music newsletter subscribers. Each issue will round up and analyze the biggest music and gaming stories of the month, through Water & Music’s unique industry lens — forever curious about the latest tech innovations and eager to dive into the weeds, while also pulling out actionable insights grounded in music-industry needs and challenges.

Web3
Sidechain: Music NFT streaming apps under fire, FTX fallout impact, and songwriter challenges in Web3
December 11 2022

Capturing the W&M community’s unique, early-adopter, critical pulse on the music/Web3 landscape, backed by ongoing reporting from our Web3 research team that you won’t find elsewhere.

Gaming
The Score: How Beatstar generated $73M in revenue — including $16M to rightsholders — in year one
November 21 2022

In September 2022, Space Ape Games announced that its mobile rhythm game Beatstar had generated $73 million in revenue — and shared over $16 million of its income with rightsholders, in a revenue-share model that is almost unheard of in the video game industry.

Emerging tech
Are music deepfakes considered fair use?
July 29 2021
Big tech
What Google v. Oracle means for the music industry
December 07 2020
Artists
Why hasn’t the music industry’s pro-UGC mentality translated to merch?
July 07 2019