As artists look for ways to nab the biggest bucks for their work, streaming platform LÜM is gaining popularity with music makers and fans alike and has a star backer with industry knowledge.
Max Fergus, LÜM co-founder, said the allure of the platform lies in its ability to make connections between music lovers and creators, like singer and songwriter Ne-Yo, who is now partnering with the company.
"LÜM's a social music community for the next generation of artists and fans. Effectively, the LÜM platform combines music streaming and music discovery with a social media platform," Fergus told Cheddar.
While the year has been a struggle for many industries, last month LÜM closed a $3 million Series II funding round and gained a notable partner in Ne-Yo. A staunch advocate for artists, particularly independent artists, Ne-Yo told Cheddar the partnership is ideal as he navigates ways to help artists better reap the benefits of their work.
"Taking nothing away from the other streaming sites, but they're kind of designed to be in the favor of people that kind of have this big machine push behind them, that allows them to be in higher places on these playlists that are so important. That's not so much the case with an independent artist," Ne-Yo said.
The advantage for artists joining LÜM, according to Fergus, is that it not only helps with playlist placement and music discovery but when compared to other streaming platforms, LÜM's payouts are "8 times as much." While the platform doesn't pay music royalties, artists are able to generate income from direct fan gifting.
"Outside of being the future of music in the platform, about six months ago, LÜM became the first platform to allow fans to directly monetarily support artists on a music streaming platform through virtual gifting technology," Fergus said.
For Ne-Yo, fan engagement on LÜM was also a driving factor in his decision to get on board, he noted. Today's method of music consumption is vastly different than even 5 or 10 years ago; fans now rarely have opportunities to interact with artists at events like in-store meet and greets.
"I feel like LÜM is kind of trying to help bring back the importance of the relationship between the fan and the artist," he said.
Facebook parent Meta officially has changed it’s ticker symbol from ‘FB’ to ‘META’. Paul Meeks, a portfolio manager, Independent Solutions Wealth Management, and a professor of practice in the Baker School of Business at The Citadel, joined Cheddar News to discuss why the tech giant has had to make big changes to its name, its ticker, and its business plans. "When you see what's happening in digital advertising — and there was a slowdown there even before the threat of a recession, which could cause a even more drastic slowdown next year — they had to pivot," he said. Meeks noted he sees Facebook dominating in the metaverse space going forward — whatever that may end up being.
Sports merchandising company Fanatics announced it will be making trading cards featuring college athletes, a deal made possible by the NCAA's change to NIL rules for its players. Anchors Kristen Scholer and Ken Buffa break down the deal for Cheddar.
Catching you up on today’s top business headlines with household wealth falling in Q1 for the first time in two years, Meta officially changing its ticker symbol from ‘FB’ to ‘META’, and updates on Tesla.
The European Union has approved a 40 percent quota for women to sit on company boards. This comes as only 9 of the 27 EU member states have gender equality legislation.
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Officials and power operators are bracing the public for blackouts caused by higher-than-average temperatures this summer. Utility officials in California and Arizona are warning of potential interruptions this summer due to the strain on energy supplies. Heat waves and drought conditions weaken power grids and available electricity reserves. This also makes hydroelectric power less reliable and raises the risk of wildfires.
Cisco DeVries, CEO of OhmConnect, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
The markets opened lower on Thursday as investors hold their breath ahead of the May consumer price index, which will give investors a better picture of the state of inflation in the United States. Michele Schneider, a partner and the director of trading research and education for MarketGauge.com, joined Cheddar to discuss. "If the CPI read is softer than what's expected, we actually might get a rally," she said. "If it's more than expected, then I think it will spook the market."
