All signs point to this being a great era for the music business. More music is being created and consumed than ever before. More artists are touring and the live business as a whole is very healthy. Just look at the biggest player, Live Nation, and their continual growth.The streaming business, although beginning to flatline a bit, has overcome its biggest issue: the perception that music is undervalued or even “free” due to rampant piracy. Now, people are willing to pay monthly and, in many instances, to do so for multiple services.There are also high-growth markets taking shape. We see it with Chinese conglomerate Tencent buying into Universal Music Group. China presents a huge opportunity for the industry and Universal has given itself a leg up with this move. I wrote about the deal for Music Business Worldwide.Venture capital is also flowing into music. A space that 10 years ago was taboo is seeing cash infusions by institutions willing to acquire assets and take chances on innovation.I am of course excited about the potential to increase brand partnerships in the industry. While the songs themselves may no longer be undervalued, “the music business” is. Music is the prime commodity in the competition for attention and brand marketers are starting to see this. Importantly, as I’ve mentioned many times, artists are more open to brand partnerships than ever.We’re starting the new era off with what may be our biggest CRWN to date. Elliott sits down with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence live at the Apollo this Thursday!!! Before the interview, you can catch a screening of Bad Boys II. RSVP here.I hope the break treated you alright. Let’s get back to the rhythm of the work.
BEATS
Tencent’s Move To Buy 10% Of Universal Music Group Shows The Global Music Business Is In Excellent HealthAs the global music industry turns its head to 2020, Tencent, one of China’s largest internet and entertainment companies, shook the music business the last day of the year as it agreed to purchase 10% of Universal Music Group from its parent company Vivendi for $3.36 billion. (Music Business Wordwide)
Why Your Favorite Celebs Are Ditching Twitter For An App You’ve Never Heard OfThe world first got a hint of Community’s existence in January 2019, when Ashton Kutcher, whose Sound Ventures is an investor in the startup, originally tweeted out a hint, in what the company now calls an “alpha test” with its telecom carrier partners. Community officially launched six months later, when Kutcher once again tweeted out his phone number. (Fast Company)
Hype House and the Los Angeles TikTok Mansion Gold RushHype House was formed in December by some of TikTok’s most talked-about stars. They introduced themselves with a Backstreet Boys-esque photo shoot, and within minutes #hypehouse began trending; videos including the hashtag #hypehouse have accrued nearly 100 million views on TikTok. (NY Times)
'Do Something Weird That Works On Tiktok': How To Write A Pop Smash In 2020 This decade of pop music has arguably seen more rapid change than any before it. The insatiable appetites of the digital age and the sheer quantity of music that fills out Spotify’s weekly New Music Friday playlist make it harder than ever to cut through the noise. So what is it like to be a professional hitmaker in such an unstable and competitive time? (The Guardian)
Analysis: The Music Industry Enters 2020 On A Wave Of Growth – And OptimismBarring a major surprise, 2019 will have been the fifth straight year of growth for the global recorded music industry. Over those five years, its annual revenues have grown from $14.2bn to $19.1bn, taking it almost back to its 2004 level. If 2019 matched 2018’s 9.7% growth, we could be talking about $21bn last year. (Musically)
The Biggest Music Business Stories of the DecadeThe last ten years have been among the music industry’s most celebratory, and at the same time, the decade has introduced seismic shifts in consumption, culture and technology. Only the strongest survive still holds true — witness how Universal Music Group fortified its global presence to market share leader by a mile — but so do those with conviction, be it an artist like Taylor Swift or Beyonce or a company like Spotify. (Variety)
Music Industry Analysts On The Trends To Watch In 2020It’s that time of year again! As 2019 comes to a close, Synchtank asked some of the brightest minds in the music industry to talk through their predictions for the trends and issues that will shape 2020. (Synchtank)
Spotlight: How Bob Boilen Turned NPR's 'Tiny Desk Concerts' Into One of Music's Biggest StagesIn July 2019 there were few who would have said no to Lizzo, then on the cusp of enjoying her first Billboard No. 1 hit with the massive, culture-defining single “Truth Hurts.” Count Tiny Desk Concerts creator, producer and creative director Bob Boilen as one of the exceptions. (Billboard)
When Kanye West Has 24 Hours to Release an Album, He Calls This CompanyAt around 10 a.m. on Christmas Eve, Roy LaManna, who runs a music tech company named Vydia, got a call from Kanye West’s management team. West had promised to release an album titled Jesus Is Born on Christmas Day; the project was almost complete, but now the rapper needed a distribution partner that could move Jesus Is Born quickly and cleanly onto streaming services. (Rolling Stone)
Justin Bieber Docuseries Is a YouTube Record at $20 Million-Plus DealJustin Bieber is planning for a big 2020, announcing a new single and docuseries, “Justin Bieber: Seasons,” to premiere on Jan. 27 on YouTube. The 10-part series will premiere two episodes weekly — on Mondays and Wednesdays — each of which cost the video streaming giant upwards of $2 million each, according to insiders privy to terms of the deal. (Variety)
Jimmy Iovine Knows Music and Tech. Here’s Why He’s Worried.The biggest story in music over the last decade was the industry’s reconciliation with tech — after a decade fighting the internet, the music business fully embraced it in the 2010s. Streaming has now finally returned the business, which was nearly decimated by the shift from physical to digital formats, to growth. (NY Times)
The 10 Best Artists of a Decade That Atomized MusicAt the dawn of the decade, even though we couldn’t fully grasp it then, a new language was being written online for both music artists and fans. Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram—they were tangible proof that eccentric, one-purpose technologies could not only endure but revolutionize how we understand, consume, and make music. Engagement was mandatory. Now, in its dimming tints, which arrived at warp speed, the here and now is defined doubly: by obsessives and obsessive technologies. (Wired)
BYTES
The story takes place at a moment when hip-hop was taking over pop culture, and the world’s two most famous rappers were a former theater kid from the Bay Area and a one-time crack dealer from Brooklyn. In just a few years, they changed music forever. They went from friends to enemies. And they ended up victims of a deadly rivalry between two rap scenes.
“Futsal Shuffle 2020” is Lil Uzi’s first standalone song since “Sanguine Paradise” and “That’s a Rack.” Prior to those two singles, he released his song “Free Uzi,” which was named one of Pitchfork’s “100 Best Songs of 2019.” His much-anticipated next album, supposedly titled Eternal Atake, currently does not have a release date. (Pitchfork)
Check out TikTok. They are about to own 2020. Let’s connect on the app. My user name is @Jessekay3000
This year Obama seemed to signal his attunement to the diffuse state of popular music, where genre-agnosticism is often a virtue, by noting that his picks ranged “from hip-hop to country to The Boss.” He included American breakouts Lizzo and DaBaby, Nigerian artists Burna Boy and Rema, and Rosalía and J Balvin’s "Con Altura." (Vanity Fair)
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!