Portishead are commercially releasing their 2016 cover of ABBA‘s “SOS” for the first time, exclusively through SoundCloud‘s fan-powered royalties, the two groups tell Rolling Stone. The influential trip-hop act originally recorded their version of the Swedish pop hit for a film soundtrack; until now, it could only be found on …
Read More »Yungblud Covers Madonna's 'Like a Virgin' for Spotify Singles
Yungblud has recorded a cover of Madonna‘s “Like a Virgin” as part of the Spotify Singles series. His installment also comes with a new version of his song “Mars,” recorded with only a piano accompaniment at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles. “Recording at Sound City just blew my mind,” …
Read More »Hear New Trailer From the Obamas' Higher Ground-Produced Podcast 'Tell Them, I Am'
St. Louis rapper Mvstermind, Malaysian singer Yuna and Indian musician Zakir Hussain are among the musical guests slated for the second season of Tell Them, I Am, which will launch on April 12th, the first day of Ramadan. Created and hosted by Misha Euceph and produced by former President Barack …
Read More »Spotify Donates $500,000 to U.S. Indie Music Venues
All across the U.S., independent concert venues are revamping their marquees to include fun facts about artists that have played there in the past: Lady Gaga at Tampa’s Ritz Ybor, Childish Gambino at Portland’s Aladdin. The concept may sound simple — but it took a national deal with Spotify to …
Read More »Spotify Hops In on Music's Livestreaming Craze
“We’re making it easy for your fans to tune in wherever you are and wherever they are,” Spotify told artists in a blog post on Tuesday morning. The streaming service announced that artists can now list virtual events on their Spotify profiles, in an attempt to help mitigate the effects …
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 »Michael Buble Knows He's Great at Singing Covers
“It sounds like a cliché when I say this,” Michael Bublé admits at the beginning of this week’s Spotify Under Cover podcast. “But the songs pick me, as much as I pick the songs.I think if you asked me and gave me a truth serum what I’m best at or …
Read More »Streaming Platforms are Keeping More Money From Artists than Ever (and Paying Them More, Too)
Spotify has worked hard to improve its reputation amongst artists. The company has forged close ties with everyone from Shawn Mendes to Camila Cabello and Justin Timberlake in recent years – not long after it was being publicly harangued by the likes of Thom Yorke for both its business model, …
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