This year’s election is the most important of our lifetime.In many ways, the country is at a fork in the road and our leadership will be key in determining the path we take.The next few weeks are going to be a wild ride and it can’t be stressed enough how important it is to exercise your civic duty and vote.Voting isn’t as simple as showing up to the polls, though. You need to register, of course, but you also need a plan. Are you voting with an absentee ballot? By mail? In person? You need to be informed, understand what is required by your individual state, and act NOW.To that end, we’re proud to provide our readers and viewers with the needed information to have their voices heard. Tonight at 9pm EST there will be an online “Pull Up & Vote” rally hosted on Complex and produced in part by the Nue Agency.The event will feature appearances by Barack Obama, Tamika Mallory (host), Questlove (DJ set), Yara Shahida, SZA, Usher, A$AP Ferg, Chloe x Halle, Jack Harlow, SAINt JHN, Jennifer Hudson, will.i.am, and amazing activists like Amanda Gorman, Elaine Welteroth, Nupol Kiazolu, and Congresswoman Ayanna Presley. The conversation will cover a bevy of topics including racial justice, climate change, police brutality, immigration and, most immediately, EARLY VOTING!To learn more, get inspired, and make your vote count, tune in tonight at 9pm EST on Complex.On a related note, we are approaching “Gala Season,” which clearly won’t be the same this year. One organization that successfully pivoted their event online is The Resolution Project. Their Resolve 2020 event is raising funds to lift up young entrepreneurs who want to make the world a better place. Ryan Leslie is performing on Wednesday as part of the final day’s festivities. I am on the TRP board, so if you’re feeling up to it, I’d love for you to support and attend. I’m a big believer in the founding team and their mission to support the entrepreneurial spirit globally among those who do not have the same exposure to education and resources. Learn more and support in other ways here: resolutionproject.org/gala/
BEATS
Audio’s Opportunity and Who Will Capture ItAs most of the major media categories — music, video and video games — have existed for decades, we tend to forget that media is technology. Instead, we think of technology as being used to express media, rather than media itself. (Matthew Ball)
The Present Future of Audio: Talk, Music, Video, InteractivityGustav Söderström, chief R&D officer (who oversees the product, design, data, and engineering teams) at Spotify -- the world's most popular audio streaming subscription service -- joins this episode of the a16z Podcast for a deep dive on all things audio with a16z general partner Connie Chan and editor in chief Sonal Chokshi. (Simplecast)
Apple Launches New 24-Hour Music Video Livestream — Apple Music TVApple says the music videos selected will include new music videos and premiers, specially curated music video blocks, and live shows and events. Chart countdowns and guests will also make an appearance. It sounds an awful lot like the old MTV format that was abandoned when reality TV took over. (Digital Music News)
David Byrne, Spike Lee, and Some Wisdom For Right NowIn the summer of 2019, before the start of the show’s run on Broadway, Byrne had the idea to adapt it for the screen. He invited Spike Lee, whom he’d been friendly with for years, to attend previews, then asked whether he’d like to direct. Lee loved the show—and the idea. The result, which comes out on HBO in mid-October, is not a glorified theatrical recording. It’s a real film. (Esquire)
Four Things Indie Venue Owners Must Do to Survive the PandemicThe live music industry has been crushed by COVID-19, pulling the plugs on essentially all major concerts and festivals around the globe. Even worse, many industry "insiders" believe live music won't return to any sense of "normalcy" until late 2021, at the earliest. (Billboard)
How 24kGoldn Went From Usc Freshman To Spotify-Topping Hip-Hop StarIn 2020, what 24kGoldn’s flexibility means is that he’s creating music that blurs the line between emo and hip-hop. Among the other charts that “Mood” has topped is Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, a home these days to acts like Post Malone and the late Juice Wrld who blend rapping and singing over tracks that fuse fuzzy guitars to throbbing beats. (LA Times)
Snapchat Now Lets You Add Songs to Posts, Launches With Preview of New Justin Bieber, Benny Blanco TrackSnapchat today is launching a new feature called Sounds — which, taking a page from TikTok, lets app users add song clips to their Snaps and Stories. Currently, though, it’s available only in the app for Apple’s iOS. (Variety)
The Flaming Lips Actually Performed Their First Bubble ConcertTaking place at the Criterion in the band’s hometown of Oklahoma City, the short gig was half test run for future concerts, half music video shoot (via Brooklyn Vegan). Setlist.fm notes The Flaming Lips performed a dance remix of “Assassins of Youth” as well as “Brother Eye”, both tracks from their latest LP, American Head. (Consequence of Sound)
Meet the 17-Year-Old Leaking Music From Some of the World's Biggest RappersOn communal leaking hubs like the RapLeaks subreddit or LEAKTH.IS, you can find a demographic of predominantly white male teens sharing and debating the latest unauthorised releases found on YouTube and SoundCloud. These are people who love the thrill of hunting down new music and compiling spreadsheets that painstakingly track every unreleased song in an artist’s discography. But how do these songs get from an artist’s private server or email, and onto a platform like YouTube? (Vice)
Trump, Triller, and the return of Ryan KavanaughTeenage fans of the addictive short-form video genre probably have never heard of Ryan Kavanaugh, the onetime Hollywood bad boy now back in the limelight thanks to his ownership of Triller, a video sharing app with a long-shot chance to dethrone TikTok, its more popular rival. (Fast Company)
Jared Leto, Scooter Braun And Troy Carter Are Backing Moment House, A Startup Recreating Live Events… DigitallyThe company touts itself as the simplest way for artists to create online events for their fans.For its first foray into live entertainment, Moment House is going to host a geo-fenced, location-specific tour for the musician Yungblud. Other ticketed events from Kygo, blackbear, Kaytranada, Denzel Curry and Ruel will follow, the company said. (Tech Crunch)
As Always, Hip-Hop Will Get Us Through This Political ChaosIt is 2020, and the patience of the people has worn thin. This is true on many fronts, including in our growing ambivalence toward the idea of celebrity. Popular culture will never be entirely free of its obsession with fame, but particularly during the pandemic, there has been a frustration, even an outright dismissal, of celebrity culture. (Hanif Abdurraqib)
Beastie Boys License a Song for an Ad for First Time Ever, for Joe Biden Spot Focused on Live Music ShutdownThe Beastie Boys had never before licensed any of their songs for an advertisement, but that commercial blackout came to an end during Sunday’s Steelers/Browns game, when the sounds of “Sabotage” accompanied a spot for the Joe Biden presidential campaign. (Variety)
BYTES
Cherie looks into the future with her music business crystal ball, sharing her predictions about Kobalt Music, audio on Amazon and Audible, and songwriting artificial intelligence. Award-winning music journalist Cherie Hu, who has been covering the intersection of music, technology, and business for over five years, gets into her hot takes on recent headlines and the future of the music business, from the TikTok ban to virtual singing competitions and Kanye West.
David Byrne’s American Utopia brings the Talking Heads frontman’s critically acclaimed Broadway show to HBO in a one-of-a-kind film directed by Oscar and Emmy-winner Spike Lee. Recorded during its late 2019 to early 2020 run at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre in New York City, Byrne is joined by an ensemble of 11 musicians, singers, and dancers from around the globe.
After two years of development, Jeremy Fisher launches River to reimagine content discovery. If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that misinformation thrives without credible context from all over the web.
Benny’s star has risen in recent years, alongside his cousins Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine. Those three form the core of the Griselda crew, whose mix of rugged beats, tough talk, and high art references has been one of the greatest hip-hop success stories of the past decade.
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!