On April 8th, DJ Alesso is releasing a new dance/pop song called “Midnight” with former One Direction member and pop artist Liam Payne. Before that happens, the pair is enlisting the help of their social media followers — asking fans to send in recordings of themselves singing part of the …
Read More »'There's the Elephant in the Room': Inside the Beautiful Chaos of Clive Davis' Pre-Grammy Gala
For six hours at Clive Davis‘ pre-Grammy gala in Beverly Hills Saturday night, the music industry‘s most recognizable faces gently set the controversy shrouding the Recording Academy down on their tablecloth-draped banquet tables and poured out dozens of toasts and smiles — celebrating themselves, their colleagues, and the continued triumph …
Read More »Universal Music Debuts Its Own Artist Analytics to Rival Spotify's Program
Universal Music Group, home to acts like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, Queen, and Kanye West, rolled out an in-house artist analytics app Thursday that lets musicians and their managers see data from major music-streaming services as well as social engagement information from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The app …
Read More »Spotify Pivots on Global Cultures Initiative, Alarming Music Industry
In September 2018, Spotify announced a new “Global Cultures Initiative,” hoping to increase intercontinental musical exchange, and, ideally, transform more local non-Western hits into global phenomena. “We have launched numerous high-profile playlists and programs in the recent past,” Rocio Guerrero, then Head of Global Cultures at Spotify, said in September …
Read More »Future 25: Amy Jackson, Amy Jackson Consulting
In late 2017, Amy Jackson received a curious piece of mail. Her husband, renowned Memphis trumpet player Wayne Jackson, had recently died, and she requested a statement for “Last Night,” a 1961 instrumental recorded when Jackson was a member of the Mar-Keys. Over the years, the song had since become …
Read More »Def Jam's Fierce Gamble on the Future of Hip-Hop
It was either, depending on how you looked at it, a great blessing or a growing problem: Def Jam had way too many rappers on its hands. In a single year, the record label had gone on a mad signing spree for one young act after another, prompted by streaming’s …
Read More »High-Res Music Service Qobuz Launches in the U.S.
High-resolution music service Qobuz will make its much-anticipated American debut on Thursday, the company confirmed toRolling Stone.Qobuz — pronounced “co buzz,” and currently available in Europe, the U.K. and Ireland — offers both downloads and music-streaming subscriptions at CD quality and high-res quality, and its unique hybrid service will be …
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