In addition to being a great night in sports, the Super Bowl is the biggest cultural moment for the U.S. market each year. And, of course, music is at the forefront. Here are some of the highlights from SB52...Love him or hate him, Justin Timberlake did his thing with a 15-minute halftime performance designed to demonstrate his versatility as an artist. As for that much-buzzed-about Prince tribute: it certainly helped drive a wave of interest in the icon’s music following the performance: streams on Spotify were up 214% on average across the board from the songs he performed. Even Prince saw a nice bump off the tribute.JT’s place as one of the most prominent lifestyle icon’s of our time was underscored by a genius collaboration with Nike in which he donned a custom pair of Jordan 3’s that were released via the SNKRS app immediately following the performance. The kicks sold out almost immediately. (P.S. The black Swoosh version is set to drop in March, so set your notifications now.)The music world as also ever-present throughout the evening’s many big brand ad spots. At $5 million a pop, why wouldn’t you enlist some of the biggest names in music—like Cardi B, Busta Rhymes/Missy Elliott, Big Sean, and Steven Tyler—to rep your brand? Even without artists present, music was core to many of the Big Game spots (how about when the Vikings sang Queen and T-Mobile transformed Nirvana’s “All Apologies” into a lullaby?). Maybe because I’m obsessed with Amazon Alexa these days but I think they had the best commercial by far. I’d love it if Cardi B and Anthony Hopkins were the voice of Alexa.In general, it felt like there was a lot more hip-hop in this year’s spots—a clear testament to the growing influence that hip-hop culture has on pop culture. It’s good to see brands & advertisers taking notice.The intersection of sports and music didn’t end with the final whistle, either. Eagles players were seen chanting “Free Meek [Mill]!” in the post-game celebration and Lebron got involved, too. Maybe Jason Flom, CEO and Founder of Lava Records, and creator of the “Wrongly Incarcerated” podcast can help his situation.Congrats to all you Eagles fans—hope you have some strong party playlists on deck.
BEATS
Cardi B, Big Sean & More Rappers Appear In Super Bowl LII CommercialsEvery Super Bowl Sunday consists of football, food, and new commercials. Brands tend to go all out for those spots that play during one of the biggest TV audiences of the year.Super Bowl LII saw several Hip Hop representatives contribute to the night's ads. Cardi B shined for Amazon, and Big Sean teamed with Keegan-Michael Key for Rocket Mortgage. (Yohance Kyles – The Maven)
Competition is heating up among the two of the biggest music streaming services: Spotify and Apple Music. Though Spotify has long held the No. 1 spot, Apple Music appears to be adding subscriber accounts in the U.S. at a faster rate, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The tech giant's U.S. subscriptions have been growing about 5 percent monthly, compared to Spotify's 2 percent, the publication said. (Ruth Umoh – CNBC)
Numbers on the Board: How Drake's Streaming Success Is a Lesson in the New Music Business ModelIt’s been nearly a decade since Drake flipped a mixtape into a retail project with 2009’s So Far Gone. At the time the move felt divisive, as the freebie version appeared to be the litmus test to see if a Canadian teen drama star could transform into a global rap sensation. A string of sold out American show dates, coupled with a Young Money badge, sealed Drake’s fate, and from that point on he remained a chart-topping beast. (Kathy Landoli – Billboard)
5 Things Songwriters Should Know About Their 44% Increase In Streaming RoyaltiesA recent legal win for songwriters brought the exciting news that mechanical royalties for interactive streaming will be kicking up by roughly 44% over the next five years. Here we look at five important facts artists should keep in mind regarding this increase. (Hypebot)
Sony Music & Tencent Launch Dance Music Label Liquid StateChinese streaming and tech giant Tencent Music Entertainment has joined forces with Sony Music Entertainment to create a new Asia-based label. The electronic dance music imprint will be called Liquid State and will focus on emerging Asian artists in the field, but also take on board talent from all over the world. (Rob Schwartz – Billboard)
How Blockchain Can Transform The Future Of EntertainmentAlthough blockchain technology remains far from mainstream adoption, it is poised to change the status quo in a wide range of fields. In this article, I want to focus on one industry that could be particularly positioned for disruption – entertainment. (Sunny Dhillon – Forbes)
These Big Name Rappers Think Cryptocurrency is The FutureThe value of cryptocurrency may be rising and falling like a cannonball attached to a bungee cord, but hip-hop seems to be a stable presence in the digital currency revolution. Case in point, the recent news that 50 Cent made a few million off of a Bitcoin investment four years ago. (Camilo Smith – Herb.co)
CRWN: MIGOSWhat better way for Elliott Wilson to bring back his CRWN series other than with the game’s hottest group, Migos. Taking place at New York’s Subculture. Quavo, Offset and Takeoff discuss their trials and tribulations, new fame, their latest album, Culture II and everything else in between. In this first of two part series, they discuss their work ethic, the girl power behind “Motorsport” and collaborating with the likes of Pharrell and Drake. (RapRadar)
BYTES
With relentless drive and boundless energy, my real life blood cousin Jesse Kirshbaum hustled his way from being a hungry Brooklyn kid to managing some major hip hop talent as the CEO of NUE Agency, Hot97’s Hot in Tech show host, and editor of Beats & Bytes. We discuss the music business and what it takes to evolve and remain relevant in any industry while staying authentic.
"Years ago I was introduced to a big producer... The devil tempts but he doesn't win." GATEKEEPER- The Short Film: The true story that inspired the song.
Record Bird informs you about new and upcoming music releases of your favorite artists and genres. Be the first to know of a new album or single by your favorite bands and musicians and share the news directly with your friends. With Record Bird, you will never miss a new release again.
"Each step Mahalia has taken so far has been perfect. Live, she's a precocious, ambitious performer, and this is matched by her studio work. New single 'Proud Of Me' is an important step forward, with Mahalia working alongside one of the best MCs in the country, Little Simz." - Clash Magazine
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!