Welp. We made it to Inauguration Day.President Biden has declared his top priorities to be Covid, Covid, and Covid! He has vowed to deliver 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days. I’m hopeful that an expedited, coherent vaccine rollout will take place in America and that herd immunity will be achieved by year’s end. From there, the real work of rebuilding will begin.Right after “democracy,” culture is America’s most important export. The pandemic, the insurrection, and general social unrest are taking their toll on the former, so we need the latter more than ever. Not since 1945 has America undergone the type of trauma we’ve seen the past few years.I believe music can help us heal. But the arts and culture communities are at an economic standstill. Select industries (tech, stocks) are exploding in this K-shaped recovery but they are the exceptions. The creators that keep the nation’s heart beating have been less fortunate.There are talks of hiring a Dr. Fauci of Culture, or even putting together a full-bore Department of Culture. I would love to see a blueprint for a new federal cultural initiative that treats artists as essential workers and understand that culture is a linchpin of economic recovery.Time will tell. Biden and Harris have a chance to write the new history of this nation. Will the arts play a part? It won’t happen magically, so every brand marketer has a responsibility to pay attention. As Biden said himself, we need to “build back better” and I believe that means including artists, thought leaders, and marketers from the culture industries. This could be one of the great turning points in our lives. Get involved!
BEATS
Meet the U.S. #YouTubeBlackVoices Creator Class of 2021Black creators have played an important role in shaping the culture on YouTube. From fashion and comedy to politics, learning and wellness, Black creators have raised the bar for how creators engage with their audience, build community, and propel our platform forward. (YouTube)
Tom Hanks to Host Inauguration TV Special With Performances by Demi Lovato, Justin Timberlake and MoreTom Hanks will host a primetime TV special celebrating the inauguration of Joe Biden as President of the United States, with performances by Demi Lovato, Justin Timberlake, Jon Bon Jovi and Ant Clemons.The 90-minute “Celebrating America” special will be broadcast live on ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and MSNBC from 8:30-10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Jan. 20. (Variety)
25 Predictions for 2021These things are incredibly difficult to pull off with any amount of accuracy. What I was more interested in, though, was how folks think and process. And also if there was some insight into how a collection of talented executives and professionals are trying to wrap their brains around where the game is headed. To wit: couple of patterns emerged. (Jayson Rodriguez)
Kuke, A Classical Music Platform From China, Raises $50m In Us Ipo Classical music licensing company Kuke Music Holding Limited has become the latest Chinese music firm to float on the New York Stock Exchange. Kuke started trading on the NYSE on Tuesday (January 12) under the ticker KUKE, raising $50 million, having priced its initial public offering of 5 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) at a price of $10 each. (MBW)
D’Angelo, FKA twigs, Björk, and the Chemical Brothers Launching New Sonos Radio ShowsSonos has announced a series of new artist-curated radio stations, coming to Sonos Radio and Sonos Radio HD. D’Angelo, FKA twigs, Björk, and the Chemical Brothers have been announced as curators; the first station to go live will be D’Angelo’s Feverish Fantazmagoria program, which begins airing January 13. (Pitchfork)
Tidal And Soundcloud Now Neck-and-Neck In Revenue Terms, As Jay-Z Streaming Platform’s Growth Slowed In 2019The Jay-Z-founded streaming platform TIDAL saw its revenues grow 13.1% in 2019, according to a new financial document filed by parent company Project Panther Bidco in the UK. That took TIDAL’s total revenue that year up to $166.9m, but represented a slowing on the 26.4% rise the service saw in 2018. (MBW)
Gov. Cuomo Says Concerts Could Return Next Month With ‘Rapid Testing’This past weekend, Dr. Anthony Fauci — the top infectious disease expert in the U.S. — painted a far different picture. Fauci believes theaters and concerts may return sometime this fall after 70% of the population receives a COVID-19 vaccine. But in a press conference earlier today, Cuomo envisioned a faster return with rapid testing protocols in place. (Digital Music News)
Chipotle And The Shawn Mendes Foundation Launch Wonder Grants To Support Young Innovators In SustainabilityFor every Shawn Mendes Bowl sold, Chipotle will donate $1 toward the Shawn Mendes Foundation in support of changemakers.1 The new digital menu item features Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice, the brand's latest menu innovation that was launched earlier this month. This marks the first time Chipotle has launched a philanthropic entrée on its menu.
Sony Unveils ‘Immersive Reality’ Concert Experience With Madison Beer at CESIt’s not the same as being there, but Sony unveiled a new technology — featuring Epic artist Madison Beer — at CES on Monday that at least looks a lot like an actual live concert.In it, Beer is a virtual avatar performing her song “Boyshit” at Sony Hall in New York before a virtual live audience on a virtual stage in a meticulous facsimile of the venue — although as the accompanying footage shows. (Variety)
On The Come Up: Q's With Hip-Hop's New Power Agent, Andrew Lieber, Founder Of The MAC AgencyAndrew Lieber prides himself on his perseverance. As the founder of MAC Agency, he has established a 100 percent independent agency that represents some of hip-hop’s brightest young stars. At 30 years old, Lieber is head of one of North America’s fastest-growing independent agencies, and he was able to shrewdly navigate his company through the COVID-19 pandemic without any layoffs by leveraging his merchandising business into a mask-production pivot that saw him supplying 7-11 stores throughout the country with masks. (Pollstar)
Ex-Geffen Head Neil Jacobson Plots $200m Us Ipo To Buy Music Rights, Tech Startupsew could argue against the fact that when Merck Mercuriadis floated Hipgnosis Songs Fund on the London Stock Exchange in summer 2018, it changed the face of the music business.That IPO saw Mercuriadis raise over £200m (approx $265m) via share issues before Hipgnosis started trading on the LSE. That money set Mercuriadis and Hipgnosis on their way to becoming the most frequently acquisitive company in the modern industry. (MBW)
pgLang X Calvin Klein Is Not Your Average Fashion CampaignAcross a series of eight short films written and directed by Dave Free, pgLang flips the traditional fashion campaign into raw storytelling by some of LA's most compelling creative voices. From artist Mecca Allah, to music star Baby Keem, actors Travis Bennett, Ryan Destiny, and Keith Powers, through to positivity influencer Amber Wagner, R&B singer Brent Faiyaz, and comedian vlogger Exavier. (High Snobiety)
Rally Launches Fan Community Cryptocurrency With Grammy Winner Portugal.The ManRally recently launched a cryptocurrency dubbed Creator Coin that will help influencers, content creators, and streamers run their own virtual economies. And today, it is announcing that Grammy-winning artist Portugal.The Man has joined as a coin partner. (Venture Beat)
Lose The Earbuds. Ditch The Phone. How To Get The Most Out Of Your Music.At some point during the pandemic, we’ve all sighed some variation on Willie Nelson’s timeless lyric: “Hello walls. How’d things go for you today?”Some moments were better than others, Willie. Battling fear, anxiety, rage, mourning and another furious wildfire season, during the most harrowing moments many of us, during the most harrowing moments, desperately lurched into recorded music’s ever-loving arms. (LA Times)
Barilla’s Spotify Playlist Timers Cook Your Pasta Perfectly The secret to cooking pasta to perfection lies in the right cooking time. That’s why Barilla, in collaboration with Spotify, launches ‘Playlist Timer’: music collections whose duration corresponds to the cooking time of the brand's most loved pasta shapes. (Ad Stream)
A State Of Dance Music 2020Despite the challenges of 2020, there have been many positive takeaways bubbling beneath the surface. Artists have had time to spend with friends and family, time that's often hard to come by when touring. Musically, artists have had more time than ever to lock themselves in the studio. We've already seen the results of their hard work, and we're so excited to hear the musical revolution coming in the days, weeks, and months ahead! (1001 Tracklists)
What TikTok’s 2020 Says About the State of the Music IndustryVirality has intruded into every aspect of our lives, and with the staggering popularity of TikTok, seemingly random moments can make artists superstars off 15-second clips and a healthy dose of luck. And with the Trump administration currently in courts fighting to ban the app from American phones, its future is far from certain. But in 2020, nothing altered the music landscape like TikTok. (The Ringer)
54 Most Anticipated Albums of 2021Despite these serious challenges, we’ve got plenty of great music to look forward to as the new year gets underway — from some of music’s biggest names returning to their thrones to rising stars making new breakthroughs. Some of these albums have confirmed dates and details, others are just highly intriguing prospects on the horizon, and they’re all reasons to be excited about the months to come. (Rolling Stone)
UMG Inks Major Licensing Pact With Equinox-Owned Fitness App VariisThe Big Three record label and Equinox Media, a subsidiary of the 29-year-old Equinox Group, recently closed the high-profile licensing deal, The Wall Street Journal revealed. Variis, a division of Equinox Media that bills itself as “the world’s most powerful fitness collective,” launched in March of 2020 for members at Equinox brick-and-mortar locations and in October for non-members. (Digital Music News)
BYTES
Have a listen or ask anyone in the marketing community, they will vouch for Nick’s consistent ability to listen and then tap into some of the most viral moments of the day. In Nick’s latest role, leading consumer marketing for TikTok globally, he’s already seen some pretty memorable moments.
After officially announcing the title of his upcoming album, Conflict Of Interest, Ghetts is kicking off 2021 with one of the album's key singles, "Skengman" with Stormzy. Fittingly, Tettey's visuals are just as dark, taking the monochrome aesthetic to new levels and framing Ghetts and Stormzy as battle-seasoned anti-heroes alongside their allies D Double E, Mist, Shaybo, and boxer Michael 'Venom' Page.
Instagram wants to help music artists make money—through avenues that include tipping mechanisms and shoppable merchandise—plus ramp up their exposure to new audiences and even elevate their stature at streaming music services like Spotify and Pandora.
In his single, "Edge of The Dark," Emmit Fenn challenges the overwhelmingly negative connotation of darkness and reminds listeners of the light that will inevitably follow. "Edge of the Dark" is the first release off of Fenn's highly anticipated debut album, Far From Here.
This week's newsletter was carefully curated by the Nue Agency staff and our editor Rachel Meisner. If you think we missed something this week or have any suggestions/comments for next week's newsletter, let us know!