Miami Art Week is in full bloom. Last night, Scope Art Fair had their friends and family dinner and it was a ball. I got a chance to re-connect with music tech all-stars, Julie Pilat and will.i.am.Today, the Art Basel fair launches and Magic City will be firing on all cylinders. By week’s end, things will quickly transition from an art crowd to a consumer/party crowd.I know a lot of people and brands decided to sit this one out in order to see how the election would impact the economy in Q1. Budgets have been tight and consumer spending is cautious at best.There are a lot of people taking notes and keeping tabs on 2024 to see if 2025 makes sense for bigger plays.But in recent years, Art Basel has become the most important cultural global event of the year. The city is flooded with folks looking to buy, exchange ideas, and end the year with one last extravaganza of art and commerce.Miami in December is IT. Even rappers rap about it (especially since Rolling Loud is here in December now). I’ve got a full dance card and a lot of work to do as we wrap up Q4 and pitch on Q1 biz. I’m personally excited for:
Art Basel’s opening on Wednesday. The Collectors Lounge is a movie!
Tierra Whack, En Vogue, and Google's Derrick Adams at The Edition on Wednesday
Marketing For The Now, live with Gary Vee & Avery on Thursday (This is one of my favorite marketing livestreams and podcasts… so excited to be a guest this time…stay tuned!)
Kelela at Scope Art Fair on Thursday Night. This is the cool kid art party! Hit me if you want to be on the guest list
The Tribeca Film Festival Activation, always a great curation
Complex’s ComplexCon follow-up event
Not to mention the circuit of shows, galleries, and dinners. The invites aren’t stopping!I’m also speaking on Monday at The Future Of Commerce in the Design District with some bright minds. I’m one of the closing fireside chats. Have a cocktail after and let’s talk shop. Let me know if you want to check that out RSVP here.The best part, of course, is all of the impromptu connectivity along the way. The serendipity muscle is primed and ready to see what can happen with all of this top tier talent descending on MYiami.So, if 2025 is your year…. I’ll have a great playbook for you. And now that you’ve read this, you know where to find me because it’s a safe bet that my phone will be set to DND.
BEATS
The Power Of Being A Music Industry OptimistExplore the plentiful ways the music industry has bounced back, with streaming, AI, artist-led brands driving growth, new tech, and more. Explore the power of being a music industry optimist (Jesse Kirshbaum).
All the Brands Chiming in on Kendrick Lamar's 'Mustard' ReferenceThe condiment-related enthusiasm comes in response to Kendrick Lamar’s new album, GNX, which surprise dropped on Friday (Nov. 22). Named after his ties to the 1987 Buick vehicle model, the 12-song album sees the rapper grappling with his role in the music industry and its interpersonal trials and tribulations, while also loosely continuing a series of diss tracks aimed at fellow rapper Drake (AdWeek).
30 Under 30 Music Edition: What The Future Sounds Like, And Who Makes It HappenFrom Grammy-winning sensation Noah Kahan to genre-bending artist Shaboozey, Forbes' 2025 30 Under 30 Music list spotlights a diverse array of rising stars and industry innovators who are reshaping the future of music through their artistry, entrepreneurship, and technological innovation.
Ringtones Have Proved To Be An Immortal Business. But Who Makes Money Off Them Is A Mystery.Ringtones, often sold through mobile carriers, were a vital piece of the music industry during the 2000s, peaking at $1.6 billion in inflation-adjusted US music revenues in 2007, the Recording Industry Association of America reported. That year, ringtones accounted for more revenue than both digital album and single downloads (Sherwood).
Music Smashes Box Office Records: Global Value Of Music Copyright Soars To $45.5bn, Now Worth More Than CinemaThat’s the purpose of this annual calculation, which now receives the collaborative support of the ‘big three’ international music trade bodies: (i) IFPI, (ii) CISAC, and, more recently (iii) the International Confederation of Music Publishers, who have initiated their own ambitious exercise in valuing the publishing sector and will report later this year. In addition, the National Music Publishers Association, Music & Copyright, and MIDiA have all made valuable contributions to completing this year’s puzzle (Pivotal Economics).
Fugatto: Nvidia Drops AI Music Editor Capable Of Creating Unheard SoundsNvidia has announced a groundbreaking AI music editor that can produce sounds never heard before, including a trumpet that meows. This innovative tool, named Fugatto, has the capability to generate music, sounds, and speech using text and audio inputs it has not previously encountered (Economy Middle East).
Taylor Swift Is a Perfect Example of How Publishing Is ChangingIf the value that publishers bring to authors can vary, the value that famous people bring to publishers has traditionally been significant. Shelley, the Hachette CEO and a self-professed Swift fan, told me that “obviously, I’d be lying if I said it wouldn’t be my dream for us to publish a Taylor Swift book,” (The Atlantic).
Fortnite Sets In-Game Attendance Record With Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Ice Spice Event — 14 Million+ Concurrent PlayersThe Epic-developed platform just recently revealed the sizable virtual turnout for Remix: The Finale, a concert from the mentioned Snoop Dogg as well as Eminem and Ice Spice. Additionally, the event featured a tribute to Juice WRLD and was promoted beforehand with a real-life performance in Times Square (Digital Music News).
The Earliest Known ‘Country’ Recording Has Been Found. The Singer? A Black Man.John Levin had no idea what he’d stumbled upon at first. About 10 years ago, the collector paid about $100 for a box of wax cylinders at an auction in Pennsylvania coal country. Those cylinders — the oldest commercial medium of recorded music — sat in his house for years until Levin put one of the unlabeled, decaying brown tubes onto his custom player and heard an old country song (Washington Post).
Searching For StarsIt’s easy to imagine that talent is a magical gift, and that we’ll know it when we see it (and that you have it or you don’t). And yet, over the years, Star Search has rejected each of these musicians, picking someone else to win the competition Aaliyah, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Alanis Morissette, Beyonce (Seth’s Blog).
The Challenge Is The OpportunityRodolfo Franklin—DJ Clark Kent—transcended his role as a legendary DJ, producer, talent finder, sneaker community advocate, and brand consultant to become a true catalyst for others' greatness. His enduring wisdom remains clear: it's never what you do, it's why you do it (The Bag by Nathan McCartney).
BYTES
LionTree’s James Lindsay chats with music blogger turned startup CEO Andy Apple, whose company Mellomanic provides artists and labels a unique, integrated platform for hosting listening parties, exclusive live streams, interactive chat rooms and more. In an era where artists are taking more direct ownership of how they market themselves, Mellomanic offers new ways to engage, and eventually monetize, superfans for the long haul.
Blockchain and Web3 technologies aim to give people the ability to exert more ownership over their content on the internet. For artists and creators, this could actually make it easier for them to profit from their work (Yahoo Finance).
The Art Basel app is your comprehensive tool for exploring Art Basel shows worldwide. An entirely new, personalized experience at your fingertips—crafted to make the most of your Art Basel visit. Discover, learn, find, and schedule with ease.
It’s official: Netflix’s League of Legends adaptation, Arcane, has come to an end. But just as with the intervening years between Seasons One and Two, fans can relive the series’ emotional highs and lows with its new soundtrack, composed entirely of original music inspired by the grounded fantasy world of Arcane (Rolling Stone).
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!