About 10 years ago, when I first moved back to New York from a 2.5 year stint in LA, I wanted to re-acclimate myself in the scene. I was a big believer that tech in many ways was going to be the savior to the music business and therefore wanted to immerse myself in the then emerging NYC tech scene. I signed up for the New York Tech Meetup and went to see what it was all about. I found it to be very interesting, funny, quirky and informative. This accelerated my education about the NYC digital culture while allowing me to make a lot of great friends and collaborators that I remain in touch with today. The times have certainly evolved over the last decade and NYTM is now the most subscribed Meetups in the world, with over 60K members in their community. Currently their monthly demo days are always sold out and although the room is no longer filled with familiar faces, it is instead a new room of interested, passionate New York tech enthusiasts.Tonight one of our new favorite clients, Stationhead, is showcasing at the Meetup and I haven’t been this excited about a Music Tech startup in a long time; possibly since we started working with Spotify in the early days. Stationhead essentially allows everyone to have their own broadcasting platform. You can play songs (It has deals with the streaming companies like Apple and Spotify), you can talk over the tracks and even call in friends and colleagues to put them on “the air” with you. The amazing thing about Stationhead is this, as you grow your channel and potentially amass listeners, every time you play a song, it records streams for the track based on the amount of people tuned in. So imagine J Cole has a show and 50,000 people have turned in, every track he plays gets 50,000 streams. Talk about a way to break a new song! Anyway, it’s the very early innings for Stationhead, they are still building out their community and working through early interactions for the platform. They are cool and are starting to get a music industry following. However, being a NY based tech startup as well as a music company, we thought it would make sense for them to demo at the NYTM. I’m excited to see how the larger New York Tech Community connects with this innovative new approach to streaming music.There are still a few slots available if you want to check it out live: NY Tech Meetup on May 8thI’ve been doing a weekly show on Stationhead appropriately titled Beats and Bytes. We have been utilizing it as a place to continue the conversation on each week’s newsletter and elaborate on some of my thoughts on current topics. I also play about 3 or 4 of my favorite new tracks of the week. It’s taking place Friday from 11-11:30 am EST on Stationhead. Just download the app here (link to app) and find the Zero Station at 3pm to tune in and see what it’s all about. I’ve been loving the show and it’s getting better each week as I hone my chops as a jockey. Hope to see you there soon or as they say on the platform #TalkHardP.s: Seems like a busy time in NYC this week. Blockchain Week kicks off with the ConsensYs produced Ethereal Summit May 11th and 12th.I’m taping an episode of our Hot 97 Show Hot in Tech at the 7th annual Tech Day on May 10th. You should check out TechDay, it’s the nation’s largest startup convention if you are around. Here is the link. We go on around noon.We also reconnected with one of our favorite former clients Wale for a show in the city at the beautiful SONY Hall. Ticket link is here. I also have a few slots on the guestlist so if you really want to come, write me an email on why you should be comped. He’s got a big show planned with some surprises up his sleeve.And finally, Wale is doing one of these really dope DJ experience sets with AirBnB on Wednesday in a boxing ring in BK. Only 50 tickets available to the public and he will be premiering some new music. Wale's surprise EP just dropped this morning! Check it out: Self Promotion.
BEATS
MelodyVR, World’s First Virtual Reality Music Platform Now AvailableMelodyVR, the world’s first dedicated virtual reality music platform that enables fans to experience music performances in a revolutionary new way, is now available. The revolutionary MelodyVR app offers music fans an incredible selection of immersive performances from today’s biggest artists. Fans are transported all over the world to sold-out stadium shows, far-flung festivals, and exclusive VIP sessions, and experience the music they love. (Fuat Arca – Music Tech News)
Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Launches Television Division (EXCLUSIVE)Jay-Z’s Roc Nation is launching a television production division to be headed by Weinstein Co. alum Patrick Reardon. As Roc Nation’s exec VP of scripted and unscripted television, Reardon will be responsible for building and running the TV department, focusing on developing and producing premium scripted and unscripted content. Reardon is a veteran producer and executive who had served as exec VP and co-head of Weinstein Co.’s TV department since 2015. (Shirley Halperin – Variety)
Live Nation Beats Wall Street Consensus, Reporting Revenue Up 19% in Q1In the first quarter of 2018, Live Nation beat the Wall Street consensus by $140 million to reach nearly $1.5 billion in revenue. Live Nation is reporting that the first quarter of 2018 has seen a 19 percent increase in revenue and a 24 percent spike in adjusted operating income. (Taylor Mims – Billboard)
How Muzik Headphones Raised $70 Million From Michael Jordan, Drake And A French Billionaire Scion"We didn't want to just be smart, we wanted to be sexy," Hardi says. "We think that smart is sexy. We didn't want people to continue to be looking down with their heads in their phones. We wanted them to be heads-up instead of heads-down." (Zack O'Malley Greenburg – Forbes)
Ujo Music Founder Says Blockchain Can Fix the Music IndustryThe music industry is broken because artists are not getting paid what they should, said Ujo Music's co-founder Jesse Grushack, and he can fix it with blockchain technology. Ujo Music is part of the Consensys studio, led by Joe Lubin, the co-founder of the blockchain-based computing platform Ethereum. More than 80 artists, including Imogen Heap, RAC, and Giraffage, are on Ujo Music's platform. No money can be exchanged yet, but Grushack said eventually artists will be paid with Ethereum. (Jacqueline Corba – Cheddar)
Music Streaming & Payments Blockchain Platform, Choon Officially Launching May 1Blockchain and cryptocurrency are two of the hottest topics in the music business now. Choon is a new company looking to use both as a solution to the outdated model of payments, publishing and distribution that is slow, riddled with errors and prone to exploitation. It is a music streaming and digital payments ecosystem that looks to use blockchain to more efficiently run a service that works better for artists. The service has been in the works for some time, but it will officially launch tomorrow, May 1 at 12 p.m. PST. (Magnetic Mag)
Pirate Radio Stations Explode on YouTubeA trick of YouTube’s algorithms has led to the blossoming of hundreds of unlicensed, independent radio stations on the site, reminiscent of an age of underground broadcasts in the previous century. (Jonah Engel Bromwich – New York Times)
App makers are trying to make sharing easier on Facebook’s Stories products. During its annual developer conference F8 this week, Facebook released the ability for apps to enable direct sharing to Facebook and Instagram Stories. As launch partners, GoPro and Spotify integrated their apps with Instagram Stories. Spotify and SoundCloud launched with Facebook Stories, where users can listen to songs without leaving Facebook’s apps. (Kerry Flynn – DigiDay)
Steve Angelo is Introducing a "Lifetime Pass" for Free Backstage Entry to All Future ShowsAfter reuniting with Swedish House Mafia in Miami earlier this year, it seems as though Steve Angello has returned to focusing on his own solo career. Angello has recently introduced a new concept for his fans, which he calls the 'Lifetime Pass'. Presented in a credit card form, the Lifetime Pass is exactly what it sounds like, promising its future owners not only unlimited access to Steve's future shows in perpetuity, but also free meet and greets and backstage access for life. (Valerie Lee – Mixmag)
Migos Cross The Finish LineIf you're an A-list rapper or a pop star in 2018, your portfolio of moneymaking efforts just isn't complete without a sneaker deal. Kendrick Lamar, for instance, has created two different signature shoes for Nike. The Atlanta MC Future works with Reebok, while Rihanna helped drive her fashion-obsessed fans to Puma. And then, of course, there's Kanye West, who boosted Adidas as a legitimate rival to industry leader Nike with his beyond-hip Yeezy line. (Jonathan Ringen – AdAge)
Pandora Shares Up 8% After Surprise Earnings Beat"Pandora is exactly where we want to be: at the center of a growing market with huge potential,” said Roger Lynch, CEO of Pandora, in a statement. (Katie Roof – TechCrunch)
#1 iPhone App Is About Music and You've Never Heard Of ItThe most downloaded iPhone apps globally is dominated by Facebook and its owned apps Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. But new Sensor Tower data shows that the most downloaded app globally for the last 3 months is music related. but you've likely never heard of it. (HypeBot)
This 13-year-old Startup Just Got $100 Million and is Valued at Over $1 Billion — Now it's Taking on Amazon, Google, and Apple Chinese tech giant Tencent is leading a huge $100 million funding round for SoundHound, the startup announced on Wednesday. Hyundai, Daimler, European carrier Orange, and Chinese appliance maker Midea are some of the other companies contributing to this sizable round. SoundHound did not disclose its valuation following this round, but a person familiar with the company says it's worth over $1 billion, making it a unicorn. (Kif Leswing – Business Insider)
BYTES
The Gatekeepers of Disruptive Behavior aka The Disco 2 aka Michael Rapaport & Gerald Moody are here to go Hard Body Karate and discuss: David Fizdale being hired as the Head Coach of the New York Knicks, if this means LeBron James is coming to NY, how Drake should stop sitting Courtside at Raptors games & how Rihanna thinks he’s corny, The Rachel Dolezal Divide Documentary, wanting to make a Eric B and Rakim Doc, The Race Summit at the White House hosted by DTRUMP, Gerald ‘Air’ Moody Dunk Date, Sick F*cks of the Week & a whole lotta mo’! This episode is not to be missed!
John Lennon would date Chase Cohl, hell he would pursue her to no end. And if he heard her homage like track “Stay Down” I guarantee he would ask for her hand. – LadyGunn
Stationhead, in partnership with Apple Music and Spotify, allows anyone to have and host their own radio station. Your station runs 24/7. You decide what to play and what to say. Talk live ON AIR to your listeners + call in friends as live guests. Discover music and hear your favorite songs, hosted live by friends and influencers.
Childish Gambino has released a new song, “This Is America” along with a politically charged music video full of easter eggs. The song features background vocals from Young Thug, 21 Savage, Quavo, Rae Sremmurd’s Slim Jxmmi, and BlocBoy JB.
This week's newsletter was carefully curated by the Nue Agency staff and our editor Maria Tejada If you think we missed something this week or have any suggestions/comments for next week's newsletter, let us know!