Record of the Day

What Record of the Day does

Record of the Day is a UK-based, privately held B2B media company operating under the legal entity Music Today Ltd. (Reg no 4546152, registered in England and Wales at 112 Richmond Avenue, London N1 0LS). The company publishes a daily email newsletter and a weekly email magazine aimed at music industry professionals, featuring editorially-chosen tracks with audio soundclips alongside curated news and analysis of the UK and international music business. It has operated continuously since its founding by Paul Scaife in 2002, reaching a milestone of over 1,000 issues published, and has built a subscriber base that includes executives and decision-makers at major labels, streaming platforms, broadcasters, and industry bodies such as Spotify, Warner Music, Sony Music, Universal Music, Island Records, Beggars Group, BBC Radio, PRS for Music, PPL, and the Official Charts Company.

The core technology stack is modest and content-centric: email-based distribution of newsletter and magazine content, a website with subscriber login, a searchable archive of historical issues and featured tracks, a music submission portal, and a job board. Payment processing is handled exclusively through Stripe, and the service is gated behind paid subscriptions. The platform explicitly relies on human editorial curation rather than algorithmic selection, with editorial decisions made by Music Editor Kevin Marston and Music Consultants Joe Taylor and Lee Thompson, all of whom have prior senior experience at UK music and broadcast organizations including Q, Kerrang!, Top of the Pops, Sky TV, The Box, and BT Vision.

The business model rests on three revenue streams: (1) an annual subscription priced at £220 providing full access to the daily newsletter, weekly magazine, soundclips, and searchable archive, sold directly through the website with a two-week free trial option; (2) a Featured Track paid placement service priced at £280 + VAT for UK and £280 for EU/Rest of World, enabling artists and labels to secure editorial-style exposure to the subscriber base; and (3) transactional job advertisements at £135 + VAT (Standard) and £195 + VAT (Premium) for music industry recruitment. The company has not raised institutional funding, has no parent company, and has remained entirely independent since inception, with a small permanent team of fewer than ten people.

Name

Record of the Day

Legal name

Music Today Ltd.

Website

https://recordoftheday.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Record of the Day is an independent UK-based B2B music industry news and discovery service that publishes a daily email newsletter and weekly magazine featuring editorially-chosen tracks. It serves music industry executives, A&R, labels, and broadcasters via a paid subscription model with ancillary paid placement and recruitment services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Industry Trade Media

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ)

Keywords

• Music industry news
• Music trade media
• Industry newsletter
• Music discovery
• B2B media

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Annual Subscription: Annual subscription at £220 providing access to daily newsletter, weekly magazine, soundclips, and searchable archive.
2. Featured Track Placement: Artists and labels can pay to have their track featured. UK pricing £280 + VAT, EU/Rest of World £280.
3. Job Advertisement: Standard job ads at £135 + VAT, Premium placement at £195 + VAT for music industry job listings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Record of the Day operates a B2B subscription service that publishes a daily email newsletter and a weekly email magazine covering music and media industry news, alongside editorially-chosen featured tracks with audio soundclips. The service is targeted at music industry professionals (A&R, label executives, streaming platform staff, broadcasters, publishers, and managers) and is complemented by a searchable archive of historical issues, a paid Featured Track placement service for artists and labels, and an integrated music industry job board.

Product overview

Record of the Day is a music industry B2B news and discovery service operating as a daily email newsletter and weekly email magazine. The core offering includes the Daily Newsletter delivering editorially-chosen tracks and music industry news, combined with a Weekly Magazine providing deeper features and analysis. Additional revenue streams include a Featured Track paid placement service for artists and labels, a Jobs board for industry positions, and a searchable archive of historical content. The company also previously operated an annual awards program for music journalism and PR.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Daily Newsletter Weekday email newsletter delivering the most relevant and up-to-date music and media news, with an editorially-chosen Record of the Day track and audio soundclip each day. Sold as part of the annual subscription package.
• Weekly Magazine Weekly email magazine providing in-depth music industry features, news roundups (Media Mongrel), and chart analysis delivered to subscribers each week. Included in the annual subscription package.
• Featured Track Service Paid placement service for artists and labels to feature a track on Record of the Day, including an editorial write-up and soundclip placement reaching the B2B subscriber base of music industry professionals. Priced at £280 + VAT (UK) and £280 (EU/Rest of World).
• Music Archive Full searchable archive of all previously featured Record of the Day tracks, allowing subscribers to access past soundclips and editorial coverage spanning the publication's 20+ year history. Included in the annual subscription.
• Job Board Job board for music industry positions with Jobs Offered and Jobs Wanted sections, available to the B2B subscriber base. Job advertisers can purchase Standard placement at £135 + VAT or Premium placement at £195 + VAT.

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Music Week: Long-running UK music industry trade publication with subscription access, breaking news and trade job listings. Overlaps with Record of the Day in audience and B2B news/job-board monetisation.
• Music Ally: UK-based B2B subscription newsletter covering the music industry, including digital transformation, streaming economics and rights. Closely comparable to Record of the Day in audience (music industry professionals), format (subscription email) and home market.
• Hypebot: Music industry news and commentary site serving artists, labels and tech builders with a free/email-newsletter model. Comparable as a B2B-adjacent music industry information source targeting similar tastemaker and marketer personas.
• Music Business Worldwide: Subscription-driven B2B news outlet covering the global music industry with deep focus on streaming, deals and labels. Direct competitor for the same A&R, label executive and music industry decision-maker reader.
• Complete Music Update (CMU): UK-based B2B music industry news service with paid access, daily news and explainer content. Same audience, same subscription business model and same home market as Record of the Day.
• Hits Daily Double: US music industry trade newsletter covering label sales, streaming data and A&R intelligence. Same subscription newsletter format and similar industry executive readership as Record of the Day.

Broad incumbents

• Billboard: Global music industry trade and consumer brand with charts, news, and Pro subscription products. Overlaps in serving music industry executives but operates at significantly greater scale and broader scope than Record of the Day.
• Pitchfork: Major music editorial brand covering new releases, reviews and industry news with significant audience scale. Adjacent to Record of the Day in artist discovery and editorial curation, but consumer-facing rather than B2B-focused.
• Variety: Long-established entertainment industry trade publication with subscription products and broad industry coverage. Comparable as a B2B subscription media brand serving senior industry executives, though focused on broader entertainment rather than music specifically.

Emerging players

• The Forty-Five: UK music discovery and editorial outlet with a newsletter cadence focused on new releases and A&R commentary. Comparable as a B2B-adjacent music curation product but younger and less established than Record of the Day.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/recordoftheday
• Facebookfacebook.com/recordoftheday
• Instagraminstagram.com/recordofthedaymusic
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/record-of-the-day

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Record of the Day