When I was a talent agent and manager, I was often reminded by my record label counterparts that they were the ones sleeping soundly at night, knowing their artists were locked into long-term deals. The labels were bulletproof, while everyone else lived one mishap away from being fired.Label relevance has waned in recent years, and more and more creator tools are being generated to empower artists. It’s exciting to see the industry change for the better and to see pressure put on major labels to innovate if they want to stay atop the artist-business ecosystem.Warner CEO, Steve Cooper, pronounced this week: "Becoming a more equitable and sustainable company is a moral, commercial, and creative imperative. “ That sentiment is important, and a flurry of deals that Warner announced seem to back it up.First, Warner released its inaugural Environment Social Governance report, “the first-ever stand-alone report from a major music company, created to set a baseline for WMG to measure its progress in areas including employee well-being, social impact, climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).”On top of that, Warner announced two blockbuster NFT deals with two great platforms, OneOf & Blockparty. OneOf has created a preferred partnership with WMG that will see the company create exclusive NFTs for a range of artists across WMG’s catalog of music, while the Blockparty deal grants WMG access to what Blockparty calls their “cutting edge Web3 technology in the world of the NFTs.” This means that WMG artists will be able to use Blockparty’s decentralized exchange, which they describe as a revolutionary, community-focused platform that gives collectors the ability to swap digital assets in ways they have not done before.Unlike OneOf, Blockparty is not creating exclusive NFTs with WMG. Instead, they are granting them access to technology that will allow WMG artists to engage in NFT swaps with creators (and vice versa) via Blockparty’s decentralized exchange platform.The main differences between the two platforms are: OneOf operates on an eco-friendly basis, using 2M times less energy per NFT than any other platform; OneOf is more music community-driven; and OneOf’s products typically feature important figures (Pia Mia, The Game, Whitney Houston), while Blockparty supports a wider range of creators that sell their products on the platform.The most monumental move, though, is Warner scrapping all recoupment balances for heritage artists (pre-2000 deals). Universal immediately followed suit, meaning countless artists are no longer holding debt.Warner seems to have taken inspiration from Sony Music Group, which started the trend last summer with their own heritage artists and songwriters. This is a triumph for creators and will help the industry move towards a healthier future.I expect more deals of this nature. I think every artist and manager would appreciate more transparent accounting, ownership of masters, increased diversity mandates, more favorable profit sharing spits and maybe equity or ownership in the overall label’s P&L. That’s where I believe the label system is headed.When I look at the four majors and most of the great labels of the past, none of them are still founder-owned or run. That’s a difference maker for a company that wants to continue innovating and trailblazing, versus a company seeking only to maximize profits and capitalize on brand equity or market position. Savvy deal-making helps, but I think the next crop of great companies in music will be founder-led. In a Web3 world, that means fans will have a hand in creating the next great artist development brands.That’s what I call equity.
BEATS
The Meta Trending Trends: 2022The edges are the sharpest, and the fringes are the future. To see what’s coming, we must respect the bizarre and validate the weird. These reports don’t. In the nicest way, one who perceives a Meta Trend as an emergent opportunity is late to the party. (Matt Klein)
Warner Music Group, OneOf Partner on Exclusive NFTs for WMG CatalogThe Quincy Jones-backed NFT platform OneOf and Warner Music Group have announced a partnership to create exclusive NFTs for artists across WMG’s music catalog. (Hollywood Reporter)
Exclusive Q&A: How Blockparty Is Empowering Warner Music Artists to Create NFTsWith this major-label partnership, Blockparty will enable Warner Music artists to be among the very first creators to receive access to their cutting-edge web3 technology. (NFT Now)
Spotify’s Quest to Own Your EarSpotify has been the dominant global music streaming platform. Through a combination of convenience, partnerships with rights holders, and on-demand listening, it outlasted music piracy and beat legacy platforms like iTunes. It has built the business that saved the music industry. (Trapital)
Driift On The Smile’s Game-Changing LivestreamThe new group, comprising Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and Sons Of Kemet’s Tom Skinner, played three consecutive live shows in just over 12 hours at Broadwick Live’s intimate new Magazine venue in London’s Docklands in real time via Dreamstage. (IQ-Mag)
How One Cheesy 2009 Pop Song Became The Most Massive Bar Mitzvah Hit Of All TimeHow did a song written by a West Coast hip-hop group, a Catholic pop star and a French DJ become a Jewish anthem second only to the hora? In 2009, at the height of Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie era, “I Gotta Feeling” was the song of the new century. (Forward)
I Have Seen Music Streaming’s Best Invention, And It Is Time-Synced Song LyricsLast week, shoegaze legends My Bloody Valentine furiously called out Spotify over the music streamer’s new lyrics function. “Just noticed that Spotify has put fake lyrics up for our songs without our knowledge,” the band alerted its followers on Twitter. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Music Taste Has Become The Latest Weapon In Our Online Dating WarMusic is still synonymous with romance – just ask West Elm Caleb. But dating apps reduce it to data points, and a digital playlist is no match for the mixtapes of old. (The Guardian)
Roblox Says Artists Can “Sustain Successful Careers Virtually” Without Playing Real-World GigsRoblox vice president and head of music Jon Vlassopulos believes some artists will be able to “launch and sustain successful careers virtually” without ever having to play real-life gigs (NME)
Folgers, Trombone Shorty Launch New Ad Campaign Featuring a Joan Jett ClassicTo reinforce its reputation as a brand leader and simultaneously bolster its connection with next-generation coffee drinkers, Folgers commissioned the Joan Jett & the Blackhearts classic “Bad Reputation” as the theme song for its perception-shattering campaign. (Billboard)
Roblox First Music Move Of 2022 Is A David Guetta DJ Party In Partnership With Warner And Wonder Works StudioToday’s news also follows Warner Music’s acquisition of David Guetta’s entire recordings catalog in June 2021, reportedly for over $100 million. A deal for future recordings was also agreed. (Music Business Worldwide)
Slip-N-Slide CEO Opens Tech Track At Florida HBCUSlip-N-Slide Records Founder & CEO Ted Lucas and Florida Memorial University plan to develop a program that will promote and position South Florida’s only Historically Black College or University as a technology and innovation hub. (Hits Daily Double)
BYTES
In the debut episode, Jim Jones and the Mining Diamonds crew of Nakia Booth and Beef Jones welcome James Beard award-winning chef, TV personality, and author, Chef JJ Johnson to the table. In this vibrant conversation, Johnson details how he went from an ambitious culinary student to launching a burgeoning food empire and what it took to start, fund, and scale.
It’s been nearly seven years since Cam’ron came to Hot 97 for a Funk Flex freestyle, but Killa Cam is back! Last time Cam’ron dropped by Hot 97 to rhyme – he was alongside Juelz Santana, Freekey Zekey and Jim Jones for a Dipset reunion.
Pop with a twist. Is it hyperpop? Is it digicore? Is it ketawave? Is it a genre that was only given a name so playlists of it could be more easily digested? All valid questions. Go past pop with our Beyond: Hyperpop collection of sounds, interviews and more. (Beyond)
Jesse Boykins III presents "Other Guys" a sonic scene from an unmade film that might be your theme song for this year when stepping up to things you deserve and highlighting your worth. Available on OpeanSea.
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!