Growing up, this week always featured one of my favorite holidays. No, I’m not talking about Passover. I’m talking about 4/20.The Cannabis business is one of the “Nue frontiers” we are most focused on. I pinch myself when I think about how much we’re working in this amazing sector. There is so much opportunity for impact and growth, both socially and financially. There are a lot of solid companies and smart players at the table already, even though the green revolution is still nascent here and abroad.As we understand the business and implications of having Cannabis legal in America (not to mention the rise of CBD and other cannabiois and terpenes), it’s important to understand the implications of this industry in terms of criminal justice.April 20th (“420”) is a cultural celebration of cannabis consumption, but the reality of its relationship to our culture is more bleak. Despite a rising tide of legalization measures in the United States: ● people of color continue to be arrested, incarcerated, and criminalized for low-level cannabis offenses at greater rates than their white counterparts (despite similar rates of use); ● the communities hit hardest by cannabis prohibition may be prevented from participating in or otherwise benefitting from the newly legal cannabis industry; ● people with records for activities no longer considered criminal continue to bear the yoke of criminalization, which impacts their access to education, housing, medical services, and nutritional programs; ● many would-be cannabis entrepreneurs face impossible barriers to entry because access to capital has been routinely denied to them; ● patients experience difficulty in accessing their medicine and may be prevented, de facto , from accessing their medicine altogether; ● legalization legislation lacks comprehensive environmental considerations.These are a few of the reasons why Nue is supporting the inaugural kickoff of 421 FOR ALL, a historic campaign to promote and advocate for a fair, equitable cannabis industry by focusing on criminal justice reform, social and economic empowerment, patient rights, environmental protectionism, inclusion, and diversity.Central to this day of justice will be a live-streamed fundraising event at New York City’s Chelsea Music Hall benefiting some of the organizations leading the push for cannabis equality: Drug Policy Alliance, Cage-Free Repair, National Bail Out, and Veterans Health Solutions. It begins at 8 PM.Let me know if you want to get involved and how. Visit www.421forall.com and follow them on Instagram and Twitter (both @421forall) for more information.RELATED: Hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy’s documentary, Grass Is Greener, is out on 4/20. Netflix describes the film as the connection between cannabis, music, mass incarceration, and people of color in America. As always, Freddy is right on time.
BEATS
At Coachella 2019, the Real Action Is Happening Offstage New films by Donald Glover and Beyoncé and an Easter Sunday Service from Kanye West are competing for buzz this year. (New York Times)
Five Things We Learned During Jennifer Lopez's CRWN InterviewEarly Tuesday afternoon (April 9), Jennifer Lopez sat adjacent to #CRWN’s host Elliott Wilson at NYC’s Manhattan Center to discussed the singer's legacy. Their talk was livestreamed via Tidal but there was also an intimate crowd of about 50 fans in the studio. (Billboard)
Why The Music Industry Needs The Video Gaming Industry’s Help To Scale Virtual Concerts Cherie Hu takes a deep dive into in-video-game concerts, following the huge impact made by Marshmello’s performance in Fortnite earlier this year. The MBW Review is supported by Instrumental. (MBW)
How DotMusic Limited Won the .Music Domain War How a small company with a big dream beat out heavy hitters like Google and Amazon for the coveted top-level domain extension. (Billboard)
7 Mac Apps for a Better Spotify and Apple Music ExperienceThe Mac apps for the two most dominant music streaming services—Spotify and Apple Music—have come a long way. Since they released, both have pushed several updates to sustain their growing user bases. (Make Use Of)
The First Four Things To Do If You Want To Make Money In MusicMusicians have more ways to self-monetize than ever before, but all too often, it feels like that money is just out of reach. Putting out music yourself is not as hard as it used to be. (The Verge)
How Vevo Is Boosting Views by Optimizing Video Thumbnails Apparently, people really do judge a book by its cover. Or at least they do it with music videos, according to new data that Vevo exclusively shared with Variety this month. (Variety)
Bitch Better Have My Money: A Brief History of Artists Not Paying Their Taxes It’s tax season, a relatively stressful and miserable time of year unless you’re obscenely rich — and, this year, it’s especially terrible if you’re Sigur Rós. (Vulture)
The Weeknd Buys Ownership Stake in Major eSports GroupThe Weeknd is gunning for eSports supremacy -- buying an ownership stake in one of Canada's biggest gaming franchises, TMZ Sports has learned. The singer is now a part-owner of OverActive Media -- which has teams competing in League of Legends, Overwatch, Call of Duty and more. (TMZ)
How FORM Arcosanti Turned A Hippie Desert Enclave Into The Talk Of The Festival BizFlorence + The Machine hit the road next month for a conventional string of dates: Two nights at Red Rocks, a headlining slot at New York’s Governors Ball, several arena gigs. (Pollstar)
‘Guava Island’ Creates the Music Festival Donald Glover and Rihanna Want to See Timed to coincide with Childish Gambino’s Coachella set, the hourlong Amazon Prime movie grapples with capitalism—and should leave viewers wanting more. (The Ringer)
BYTES
Daniel Ek, a 23-year-old Swede who grew up on pirated music, made the record labels an offer they couldn’t refuse: a legal platform to stream all the world’s music. Spotify reversed the labels’ fortunes, made Ek rich, and thrilled millions of music fans. But what has it done for all those musicians stuck in the long tail?
The multilingual K-pop juggernaut, BTS mashes up pop, hip-hop, rock and dance music with huge, infectious energy and kinetic choreography. It's one of the biggest bands in the world, and as of this weekend, it's got a Saturday Night Live performance under its belt too.
Jukely is a concert membership. Instead of buying tickets to individual shows, put yourself on the guestlist to any of hundreds of events in 16 cities for one flat monthly price.
After spending nearly three years working on his Malibu follow up, he took less than a year to redress it with Ventura. The soothing soul palette is back, this time coloring love songs and their sweet nothings, and Paak settles into his old polished grooves in search of comfort.
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!