Ben Sisario

IHeartRadio’s parent company, iHeartMedia, filed for bankruptcy protection in an attempt to restructure part of the $20 billion debt load that has burdened it since a leveraged buyout a decade ago, on the eve of the 2008 recession. The company announced that it had reached agreements with creditors to reduce its debt by more than $10 billion. It said it would continue to operate its stations during the process. 

For the last year or so, the music industry has been buzzing with optimism that its fortunes have finally begun to turn around after more than a decade of digital disruption and plunging sales. Now it has proof. On March 30, the Recording Industry Association of America, the trade group that represents the major labels, reported that music sales in the United States generated $7.7 billion in retail revenue in 2016, up 11.4 percent from the year before. That is the industry’s highest sales figure since 2009 and its best percentage gain since 1998. The increase is largely the result of online streaming, which is rapidly eclipsing all other forms of consumption. Streaming contributed $3.9 billion in 2016, up 69 percent from the year before, and now makes up 51 percent of the business — the first time it has had a majority of sales in the United States.

Public radio and television broadcasters are girding for battle after the Trump administration proposed a drastic cutback that they have long dreaded: the defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The potential elimination of about $445 million in annual funding, which helps local TV and radio stations subscribe to NPR and Public Broadcasting Service programming, could be devastating for affiliates in smaller markets that already operate on a shoestring budget. Patricia Harrison, the corporation’s president, warned in a statement on Thursday that the Trump budget proposal, if enacted, could cause “the collapse of the public media system itself.”

But the power players in public broadcasting — big-city staples like WNYC in New York City — would be well-equipped to weather any cuts. Major stations typically receive only a sliver of their annual budget from the federal government, thanks to listener contributions and corporate underwriters. Podcasts and other digital offshoots have also become significant sources of revenue. Rural affiliates, however, rely more heavily on congressional largess, which can make up as much as 35 percent of their budgets. Mark Vogelzang, president of Maine Public, called the Trump proposal “the most serious threat to our federal funding” since he started in public broadcasting 37 years ago.

Tidal, the struggling streaming-music service controlled by Jay Z, has sold a one-third stake in its company to Sprint. As part of the deal, Jay Z and the group of artist owners who helped introduce Tidal, including Beyoncé, Madonna, Kanye West and Alicia Keys, will continue to run the service, and Marcelo Claure, the chief executive of Sprint, will join Tidal’s board. “Sprint shares our view of revolutionizing the creative industry to allow artists to connect directly with their fans and reach their fullest, shared potential,” Jay Z said. “Marcelo understood our goal right away, and together we are excited to bring Sprint’s 45 million customers an unmatched entertainment experience.” Tidal’s new partnership will give Sprint customers who subscribe to the streaming service additional content that is only available to them. Sprint, which has 45 million customers, is controlled by SoftBank of Japan.

How much are people willing to spend for streaming music?

For years, thanks to rigid pricing structures at streaming services, the answer has been stuck at $10 a month or nothing. But that model may soon be challenged by two giants of online media: Amazon and Pandora Media. Both companies are set to introduce new versions of their streaming services in coming weeks, charging as little as $5 a month, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the process was ongoing. The plans will put pressure on incumbent players like Spotify and Apple Music and offer the music industry a major test regarding the value of streaming music — including the crucial question of whether discounts will be enough to entice people to pay anything when virtually every song is also available free.

Independent music groups, angry with YouTube’s demands over licensing terms, have asked government regulators in Europe and the United States to intervene on their behalf.

Trade groups representing thousands of independent record labels and musicians said that they had appealed to the European Commission for “formal regulatory action.” They accuse YouTube, a division of Google, of offering unfair contracts for a planned subscription music service, and of threatening to block the labels’ content if they do not sign.

“YouTube are shooting themselves in the foot with their attempt to strong-arm independent labels into signing up to such low rates,” the singer-songwriter Billy Bragg said. “They’re in danger of launching a streaming service that lacks the innovative and cutting-edge sounds that independent artists bring.”

YouTube’s plans for a subscription music service have stalled over a dispute with independent record labels, which contend that the online video giant has offered unfair licensing terms and threatened to block their music from the site.

Members of the Worldwide Independent Network, an umbrella for various trade groups around the world, complained that the contracts YouTube had offered independents are “out of step with the marketplace for streaming,” and less favorable than those that have apparently been agreed to by the three major labels -- Universal, Sony and Warner.

Negotiations between independents and YouTube, which is owned by Google, have dragged on for months. But according to several people with direct knowledge of the talks, the indies’ decision to speak out was driven by a recent warning that if labels failed to agree to YouTube’s licensing terms, music on the indies’ official YouTube channels would be blocked.

In addition, those labels would be unable to collect advertising revenue from user-uploaded videos that included their music. In response, a YouTube spokesman said, “We have successful deals in place with hundreds of independent and major labels around the world; however, we don’t comment on ongoing negotiations.”