My trip to Israel has been postponed, so I’m back in the other motherland for NFT.NYC.It’s crazy to think that the first NFT.NYC was three years ago and I’m already feeling nostalgic for an event that once was. I’m seeing a lot of the same people – almost like a traveling circus of the early innovators on the adoption graph – but the energy isn’t quite the same. Some people got lucky and hit it big on the bull run, but most people are hanging by a thread, hoping that history will repeat itself.The budgets for these conferences are different now. The open bars are shorter and the flashy installations are smaller in scale. The big brands are missing and the most prolific marketers are at closed-door gatherings honing their talking points and platform propositions.Still, the feeling of hope remains. Brands continue launching platforms in the space (GQ’s is going live tonight) and Amazon’s rumored marketplace is poised to appear this summer. I keep hearing whispers of great ideas that are coming! I’m hoping it will be less focused on tokenomics and more on practical use cases. Many of them will be “Web 2.5” and not necessarily on chain, but that’s fine by me. The tech is getting easier, the nomenclature is getting more digestible, and wiser people are entering the chat. It no longer feels like a band of misfits that just rolled off the playa selling a hallucinogenic dream of a utopian world.The Web3 music scene, which continues to lead on trends such as fan clubs, ticketing, royalties and live experiences, still needs an anth3m to solidify its standing. But this weekend it’s all about Coachella, which sets the tone for festival season all Summer and Fall. It’s always innovative and this year they’ll be livestreaming every stage.The most exciting part of Coachella is that it’s a cottage industry that supports an entire ecosystem of events: the house parties, Neon Carnivals, brand activations, art activations, and health and wellness hubs are unmatched. Coachella is inarguably the most epic music event of the year, every year. The show sells out before the lineup is even announced and spills over to a second weekend. The activation also leverages influencers at its core. Diplo dubbed it “influencers survivor” last year and I’m still crying laughing!Even though Goldenvoice’s prize festival is not the new, young, hip thing anymore, the bill is on the pulse and access is at a premium. It’s still where stars and fans alike come to flaunt their style and make an impact. It’s a tentpole moment through and through, and the hot weather is here just in time!
BEATS
Live Music Is Roaring Back. But Fans Are Reeling From Sticker Shock.Buying concert tickets has become a mess of high prices and surcharges, anxiety-inducing registrations and pervasive scalping as some of pop’s biggest acts hit the road again. (NY Times)
Warner Bros. Launches Candlelight Concert Series on Studio Lot, With Just a Bit of Fudging on WB’s Music HistoryAs part of its 100th anniversary celebration, Warner Bros. showcased its historic musical legacy with — of all things — a chamber-music concert Thursday night at its Steven J. Ross Theater on the WB lot in Burbank. (Variety)
Why K-pop's Future Is In Crisis, According To Its Chief GuardianBang Si-hyuk, who chief produces the megahit group BTS, gave the assessment in a rare press conference last month. He said K-pop's business growth has slowed or even turned negative in some markets. (NPR)
Inside Donald Glover’s New Creative PlaygroundHe changed the course of television with Atlanta and laid out a blueprint for a whole era of dark comedy. And now, out in Ojai, California, the multihyphenate star is preparing for the next phase of his career, building something even bigger and more ambitious that only he could have imagined. (GQ)
Bad Bunny Signs MLB Players to Newly-created Agency“San Benito” and his manager, Noah Assad, have joined with Jonathan Miranda to expand the Rimas talent empire into sports with some bold baseball moves. (Boardroom)
Maggie Rogers Thwarts Ticket Bots With In-Person SalesPop star Maggie Rogers isn’t going to let bots spoil her upcoming tour. The “Alaska” singer told fans in an email today that she’s getting a jump on automated scalpers by selling tickets the old-fashioned way: in-person sales. (Engadget)
Why Are My Secret Spotify Songs Following Me Around?What was going on? In search of more knowledge, I asked Spotify to give me a general explanation of the way “Discover Weekly” works. The company wasn’t going to reveal each of the “thousands” of factors that go into its algorithm, which would have ruined its business and also taken all day. (Vulture)
Global Music Streams Topped One Trillion During the First Quarter Alone, Making 2023 ‘The Fastest Year Yet to Reach That Milestone’Despite signs that streaming subscriber and revenue growth is leveling off, music-consumption volume continued to increase during 2023’s initial quarter, when global music streams reportedly cracked the one trillion mark. (Digital Music News)
Is TikTok Changing Your Taste In Music? Inside The Rise Of #MusicAd InfluencersFrom ‘Heat Waves’ by Glass Animals to Lola Young’s ‘Don’t Hate Me’, songs and soundbites routinely go viral on TikTok. Some more organically than others. Lydia Spencer-Elliott explores the booming business of #MusicAd influencers paid to make songs go viral. (Independent UK)
Mastercard Drops NFT That Unlocks Access To Its Artist Accelerator, Supporting Emerging MusiciansAt NFT.NYC 2023, the largest NFT conference in the world, Mastercard is dropping an NFT that launches its Web3 music program in support of emerging musicians. The limited-edition Mastercard Music Pass NFT is the key to unlock the Mastercard Artist Accelerator program. (Newsroom)
Jay-Z to Honor Andy Warhol & Jean-Michel Basquiat With One-Time Concert in ParisThis Friday (April 14), the Grammy-winning MC will hold a “celebratory concert” in honor of the Basquiat x Warhol. Painting Four Hands exhibition.
BYTES
In this episode, Dan Runcie broke it all down with MIDiA Research’s Tati Cirisano. Coachella started in 1999 as a niche festival for indie rock and quickly morphed into the biggest brand-name festival in the United States. These days, the Coachella brand is big enough to sell the experience itself, regardless of who’s performing — a rarity in the festival business.
How would an artist, whose performances take the form of DJ sets in front of massive audiences, curate an intimate and unique experience? But what the British songwriter and producer came up with is a reminder of what a Tiny Desk is at its best: an opportunity for artists to challenge themselves in such a way that it almost feels like they're making new music.
Ready for a blast from the past, LimeWire OGs? Play the #LimeWireGame and get the highest score before May 15 to win 100,000 LMWR. Very Cool.
Rae Sremmurd have dropped off their fourth album via EarDrummers and Interscope. The project boasts production from Mike Will Made-It, Zaytoven, Murda Beatz, Sonny Digital, and features from Young Thug on “Royal Flush” and Future on “Activate.” (Complex)
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!