Dear SXSW, I used to love you. You were the ultimate annual jam session, the bridge between music and tech, and the epicenter of innovation. It was so pure, so limitless. I would whisper sweet nothings into your warm Austin nights and watch magical dreams come to life. Twitter launched with you. So did Foursquare. There was nothing quite like your buzz. Be it a band on the rise or a massive artist looking for intimate eyes, everyone wanted a piece. You had so many meaningful conversations. But it’s no secret now: you’ve lost your luster. You’ve changed, and not for the best. There are better ways to spend my time; better spaces for ideas; better places to break out. You don’t get me high anymore. That said, I’d be lying if I didn't admit that you’re doing Cannabis right. I admire you for trying. Will it be enough to rekindle our love? Time will tell. Alas, I’m sitting you out this year. I do hope to see you again someday. I can’t thank you enough for the memories. You’ll always be “South By” to me. Best, - Jesse K.
BEATS
Want Your Brand to Be a Hit With Consumers? Try Partnering With a MusicianPairing musicians and brands like PepsiCo’s Super Bowl ads, including deals beyond just the typical product placement in a music video, could be quite fruitful for both parties. Still, it takes the perfect marriage of personalities and respect. (Ad Week)
Music’s Streaming Gold Rush Is a Global Game: Roll UpThe music business is entering a golden age thanks to a streaming boom that’s growing exponentially in real-time. This is remarkable because, just 15 years ago, the industry was nearly in shambles, scrambling to recover from a loss of $10 billion in revenue and more than 71,000 abolished music industry jobs in the U.S. alone. (Variety)
MyMusicTokens Keeps Tabs On Blockchain-Music StartupsAudioCoin, Musicoin, Opus, Aventus, Musiconomi and more… Music Ally has written about a variety of startups exploring the crossover between blockchain technology and the music industry, with several of these companies having launched their own ‘tokens’. (Musically)
The TikTok Takeover: How Gen Z’s New Favorite App Is Turning Memes Into HitsThe best example of TikTok’s power may be the viral phenomenon of iLOVEFRiDAY’s “Mia Khalifa,” which saw an explosion in popularity thanks to a meme that has become an identifier within the TikTok community. (Genius)
How Do Indie Music Blogs And Radio Survive? A Harsh Reality We often hear about supporting the artists, which is exactly what these independent platforms do. The people behind the indie platforms sacrifice their health, families, lifestyle and quite often go into debt struggling to pay for the necessary costs associated with running such platforms. (Music Think Tank)
Why Spotify and the Global Music Business Are Banking Their Future on India In the latest annual league table of recorded-music revenue generation, compiled by global music-biz body IFPI in 2017, India ranked at a lowly number 19. The $130.7 million accrued by labels and artists in the country that year was up 13.6 percent from 2016, but represented a per-head (capita) yearly spend on recorded music of just $0.10. (Rolling Stone)
Starbucks' Music Is Driving Employees Nuts. A Writer Says It's A Workers' Rights Issue You may not give a second thought to the tunes spinning on a constant loop at your favourite café or coffee shop, but one writer and podcaster who had to listen to repetitive music for years while working in bars and restaurants argues it's a serious workers' rights issue. (CBC)
DJ Tiësto Wants To Turn Your Next Workout Into A Dance Party The superstar DJ — and recent investor in cardio-dance sensation 305 Fitness — has composed his first original mix for the brand’s new, full-length home-workout video, out Tuesday. (New York Post)
Let’s Get Physical: How Independent Artists Are Reinventing The Physical Release Format It’s 2019, and a new generation of post-millennial music fans have caved to a life of Spotify Daily Mixes, music discovery through their cool mate’s Insta Stories, and a life of SoundCloud streams and supportive retweets in lieu of actual project purchases. (Mix Mag)
SHAVONE. Is Stepping Out of Tech and Into Her Own In an industry filled with pullovers, cargo pants and polo shirts SHAVONE. — the first Black woman in many of her roles in tech — has made a name for herself sporting double Nike socks, bamboo earrings and a daring hand of acrylic nails. Her unconventional style has already branded her as one of the most memorable women in tech, holding positions at Google, Twitter, Facebook, and most recently as the Head of Global Music & Youth Culture communications at Instagram. (Paper Mag)
Weezer Is the Next Artist to be Featured In Fortnite — Introducing ‘Weezer World’ After Marshmello shattered Fortnite player records, we naturally predicted that the game would become a vehicle for music talent promotion. Weezer is now the next artist to take advantage of this cultural phenomenon for promotion alongside Fortnite Season 8. (Digital Music News)
Facebook Wants Up To 30% Of Fan Subscriptions vs Patreon’s 5%Facebook will drive a hard bargain with influencers and artists judging by the terms of service for the social network’s Patreon-like Fan Subscriptions feature that lets people pay a monthly fee for access to a creator’s exclusive content. (Tech Crunch)
BYTES
Gary Clark Jr. tries not to put too much pressure on himself. That’s not surprising since outside forces seem to put a lot of pressure on Gary, with guys like Eric Clapton asking him to go on tour and outlets like Rolling Stone calling him The Chosen One.
Last week, Solange released her excellent new album When I Come Home. Now, she’s offered what she’s calling a “Texas Film” to accompany the new sounds. The 33-minute video was co-directed by Terence Nance and encompases most of the album’s run time.
The Artiphon INSTRUMENT 1 is a new kind of digital instrument that adapts to the way you play. It’s the first MIDI controller that lets you strum, slide, tap, and drum any sound on a single interface
The new 2 Chainz album RAP OR GO TO THE LEAGUE is out now. The 14-track record includes guest appearances from Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, Chance the Rapper, Young Thug, Lil Wayne, Travis Scott, E-40, and others.
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!