We typically do our CRWN series with the hottest artists when they’re at their most relevant. But when it comes to Amir "Questlove” Thompson and Tariq "Black Thought” Trotter of The Roots, that’s tough to do. They’re always reaching new heights and finding ways to make an impact. These guys stay working.Case in point: On Saturday, I attended Infatuation’s EEEEEATSCON at my favorite venue in New York, Forest Hills Stadium. Questlove manned the keynote panel with legendary music manager, Shep Gordon. The session was named Mixtape Potluck after Questlove’s new book dropping this week. To hear these two wax poetic about food completely changed my perspective.You see, I’m not a foodie. I generally eat for fuel. If something is supposed to be out of this world, of course I want to experience it, but for the most part I fous on eating healthy and clean. Still, the way Quest and Black Thought compared certain potlucks to classic Wu-Tang albums completely opened my third eye about food. I gained a new appreciation for food being a creative art that can only be enjoyed “in the moment.”The next day we had the honor of hosting the two Roots mainstays on CRWN in front of a live audience. Elliott Wilson, our host and the newly appointed Chief Content Officer at Tidal, dove deep into their career highs and lows, providing tremendous insight. I love the way these guys think; true hip-hop connoisseurs (and nerds!) who stay true to themselves. They’ve been working together for an unthinkable 32 years.The timing of this episode was based around their new AMC show, premiering this Sunday night after The Walking Dead. It’s called Hip-Hop: The Songs That Shook America and I’ve had at the pleasure of screening it in its entirety. Spoiler alert: it’s a real gem and it was more than edutaining to hear them discuss the production process alongside longtime collaborator Shawn Gee.The show dives deep into so many classics, revealing the stories you might not have heard about the songs you definitely did. Episode 1 is about the making of “Jesus Walks” -- back when Kanye was making music that mattered. Check out the full CRWN live-stream on Tidal today at 3 pm (email me if you need a trial code for Tidal) and catch Songs That Shook on Sunday.
BEATS
Post Malone Is Apparently a Fashion Icon Now, But Who the Heck Is Buying His Stuff?While a celeb endorsement never hurts, Post Malone’s sartorial sway seems debatable. What kind of “trend” is he really driving? And who exactly is his audience? Has the wispy-haired singer, whose skipped-a-shower style and face tattoos seem perpetually ripe for SNL impersonation, suddenly gone from being a pop star to a fashion star as well? (Rolling Stone).
What Comedian Jacqueline Novak Is Listening to Right Now If dick jokes are some comedians’ bread and butter, then Jacqueline Novak is the head baker at a five-star boulangerie. Her one-woman show, Get on Your Knees, which ends its Off-Broadway run October 6, is a 75-minute dissertation on fellatio. Novak enters the stage to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer,” then, exuding the erudition of a tenured Yale professor, intellectually prods at the penis in all of its wilted, temperamental glory. (Pitchfork)
The 2020 Definitive Guide to AudioAudio may be the oldest formof communication, but weare still learning the wondersof how the brain processesaudio to trigger emotions, stirmemories, paint pictures, andmotivate people into action.“Screen time” isn’t just aboutTVs and mobile devices; today,it encompasses our entirefield of vision, be it indoors,on the street, in an airplaneand even at the beach. Whereamong these places have wenot seen marketing messages? (Pandora)
Leaving Legacy Behind - Music Marketing Responds to StreamingMarketing music has never been straightforward. That’s whyback in the day, label executives would use the single as theshortcut to finding an audience on which to propel the artist,and even more importantly, their latest album. (Pollack Media)
The Strange Evolution of Viral Music StardomAt the start of the 2010s, the earth beneath the music industry was still quaking. The digital-spurred downturn of the previous decade hadn’t quite been solved, and the platforms that artists and labels would soon rally around—Spotify, Instagram, SoundCloud—were still emerging. (Pitchfork)
Why the Surprise Album Drop is Falling in PopularityIt’s been close to six years since Beyoncé changed the world with that digital drop by releasing her fifth album Beyoncé out of nowhere.She wasn’t the first to do it, Radiohead had already snuck out In Rainbows several years earlier, but Bey’s notoriety in the pop world was enough to start a revolution. For the next few years, you’d enter every week with the possibility that your favourite could drop an album at any time. (The Music Network)
Back To The Past: Why The Vintage Sound Is Becoming So Popular In Indie MusicWhile nostalgia in entertainment is nothing new, the indie music scene has been witnessing a particularly large wave of it recently with a number of bands adopting an audio aesthetic heavily reminiscent of the 70s/80s and even earlier. Here we explore why, and where the trend is headed. (Hypebot)
Why Short Form Content Resonates with Younger GenerationsThe average attention span of a millennial is 12 seconds, which falls to a staggering eight seconds for Gen Z. 15 second short-form videos work wonders in this formula and setting. Users are given the flexibility to discover more videos at a faster rate, according to their preferences. To put it simply, this formula fits their lifestyles and social media habits. (Midia Research)
Music Streaming is a Potent Tool to Engage with MillennialsThe most interesting part of this disruptive market is that as consumers’ media consumption habits are evolving, brands are seeking better technology to target them with relevant content and occasions. Audio is one of the most effective mediums to do so, since an advertiser gets to reach consumers in a personalised environment in an uncluttered way. (Financial Express)
China’s Tencent Is Setting a Trend That Spotify May Have to FollowTME’s paywall strategy helped drive its music streaming subscriber audience to new heights, hitting 31 million and growing by 2.6 million in just three months — its highest quarter-on-quarter increase for more than a year. This, in China, represents remarkable progress for a nation not accustomed to paying for music: according to the IFPI, the average citizen in the country shelled out the equivalent of just $0.37 all year on recorded music in 2018. (Rolling Stone)
A.I. Musicians are a Growing Trend. What Does That Mean for the Music Industry?The most prolific musical artists manage to release one, maybe two, studio albums in a year. Rappers can sometimes put out three or four mixtapes during that same time. However, Auxuman plans to put out a new full-length album, featuring hot up-and-coming artists like Yona, Mony, Gemini, Hexe, and Zoya, every single month. How? The power of artificial intelligence of course. (Digital Trends)
Column: How the Rise of Streaming Could Turn Hollywood Musicians Into an Endangered SpeciesHollywood musicians, those foot soldiers who bring the work of celebrated composers such as John Williams (“Star Wars”), James Horner (“Titanic”) and Hans Zimmer (“Dunkirk”) to life, have faced a mound of professional challenges in recent years.(LA Times)
BYTES
In the premiere episode of The Cultural Renaissance Podcast in partnership with Mondo.nyc is conversation between Frederick Steinmann and Jesse Kirshbaum of the Nue Agency to discuss the dangers and opportunities of cancel culture. Check out Mondo next week in NYC and use code NUEAGENCYMONDO for a 20% discount.
Swift performed “Lover” on the show—this solo rendition a piano ballad with something of a Regina Spektor flavor as she belted out amorous lyrics at Studio 8H, amid tones of green and cascading sheet music frozen mid-air. (Collider)
Muze is the most fun way to take any video and add your voice to it. It’s like sitting around watching TV & chatting with friends. Why use text, comments, dm’s, and tweets to express yourself when you can do it with your voice?
Our Summer intern at Nue released his first single. Originally from Brooklyn, now at Harvard, Wiley has been blowing up in the live student scene on campus and around Cambridge with his sardonic alt-pop takes on gen-z angst. His first single Music Boy comes out ahead of his debut solo EP, Holocene, independently written, recorded and produced, to be released in November.
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!