I’m a big holiday person. I love the hallmark holidays because any reason to bring people together is a good reason. Throw in a festive theme with history and tradition and I’m tripling down. Might f*ck around and cop a pet reindeer this year, LOL.Thanksgiving, though, is the be-all, end-all in my family, the only time some of us lets loose in one place. But in the last decade, a new holiday tradition has caught on that I’m particularly thankful for. No, I’m not talking about Cyber Monday although this newsletter’s archive might indicate otherwise. I’m talking about Friendsgiving.In many ways, Friendsgiving is more righteous than Thanksgiving. You not only spend it with people you choose, but it gives folks who can’t travel or might not have holiday-focused families a chance to feel the love. You really have to lean in to make it happen and often you’re doing double duty with a friends affair one night and a family affair to follow.That’s what’s happening this year when my buddy, the DJ/producer/creative extraordinaire, Sean Glass, is throwing a Friendsgiving party at Gospel on Thanksgiving Eve aka the second biggest party night of the year after New Year’s Eve. I’m on as a host and we’re doing a dinner beforehand from 7-9pm.If you’re around you should come. Nothing is more Thanksgiving than Friendsgiving.Gobble, Gobble, Turkey Time!
BEATS
America Isn’t Ready for Asian Rappers. They’re Taking Over Anyway88rising has pushed Joji, Rich Brian and other Asian hip-hop artists to the top of U.S. music charts, and it’s just getting started (Amy X. Wang – RollingStone)
Taylor Swift’s New Record Deal Affects Thousands of Other MusiciansWhen Taylor Swift announced her new record deal on Monday with Universal Music Group and Republic Records, she coupled the long-awaited deal with an unusual provision: As part of her joint contract with the label, UMG must promise to hand over to artists, on a non-recoupable basis, a portion of the windfall from its Spotify shares in the future. (Amy X. Wang – RollingStone)
Festicket Unveils $10.5 Million in Funding for a Major Global Expansion Festicket has announced a new fundraising milestone. The UK online booking platform has just secured $10.5 million in Series D funding. Transatlantic venture capital firm Beringea led the fundraising round. Jaguar Land Rover’s venture capital fund InMotion Ventures, Channel 4’s Commercial Growth Fund, Lepe Partners, U-Start, and Eelko Van Kooten, former CEO of Spinnin’ Records, also joined in. (Daniel Sanchez – Digital Music News)
MGM Acquires the Rights to Chance the Rapper’s Upcoming Movie Musical, HopeMGM has just acquired the rights to Chance the Rapper’s ambitious new project, Hope. The movie musical will trace a group of Chicago teenagers as they aspire to change their urban community through art. The group will “band together to turn art into action within their community,” which sounds like a narrative aligned with Chance the Rapper’s Chicago-focused philanthropy. (Paul Resnikoff – Digital Music News)
Who’s Telling the Truth: YouTube or the Music Industry? We’re About to Find OutYouTube says that Article 13, a controversial clause in a new European law, will destroy its platform. The music industry says this is a smokescreen. Who’s right? (Tim Ingham – RollingStone)
Research Shows the Best Way to Stop Music Piracy is to Scare the hell Out of PeopleJavert would probably be great at ending music piracy, based on the findings of a new paper from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. The paper, published this week in the Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, says that the best way to stop people from pirating music is a double whammy: Tell them the activity is illegal, and warn them that they may be monitored if they continue to do it. (Chase Purdy – QUARTZ)
As videos balloon in length, YouTube genres are shifting dramatically. Makeup tutorials are seldom less than 12 minutes, and the popular “storytime” video genre is bursting with creators who spin yarns that last 45 minutes or more. Making short, shareable videos designed to appeal to the broadest audience possible has given way to something, not only longer, but more niche. (Emma Gray Ellis – WIRED)
Art of a Manager: Purpose of an Album TodayThe industry and artists alike are questioning the purpose of an album today. We all partake in the endless debate over release strategy – Should it really be an album? Or could it be two EP’s? How many singles should come out before the album? Is only four new tracks on the album enough for the fans? Is the audience ready for an album from the artist? (Jake Udell – Art of a Manager)
MTV Relaunches ‘Spring Break’On the heels of acquiring the SnowGlobe Music Festival to build its live entertainment presence, MTV has announced it is bringing back an old chestnut – “MTV Spring Break” – which introduced North America to many new artists during its heyday. (Joe Reinartz – Celebrity Access Encore)
Mixtape GameIf you have three players and 30 minutes, you're ready to play Mixtape from Breaking Games. The "song and scenario card game" is a simple music-themed party game you're sure to enjoy. One player pulls a scenario card from the deck. Then, each other player plays a song — from memory or from a music source — to match the scenario. Whoever's judged to have picked the best song receives a point! More rules and action cards add extra fun. Whether you prefer classical or hip-hop, this multiplayer card game will add some musical excitement to the party. (Target)
BYTES
From Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, and Bruce Headlam, liner notes for the digital age. Digressions, arguments, back-stories, and random things to disagree with about music. The introductory episode is a conversation between Rick Rubin and Malcolm Gladwell, covering everything from Rick’s role in the very beginning of hip-hop to his role in introducing Johnny Cash to a new generation of writers, performers and music lovers.
Mariah Carey Reflects On Her Career In The Latest Episode Of ‘Genius Level’
musx makes it easier for friends to share music recommendations. No more missing awesome songs buried in texts, group chats, feeds or stories — with musx, your recommendations are all in one place.
Creed II soundtrack featuring Kendrick, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Bon Iver has arrived and gets us pumped to go to the movies this weekend.
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!