I’m lucky enough to live and work in the greatest city in the world. In case you can’t tell, I am madly in love with the concrete jungle. The non-stop energy of NYC is contagious. Our sidewalks are runways, our hometown pride is unmatched and our people truly have the biggest hearts. It is especially incredible this time of year, when spring reaches full bloom. The city comes alive and fires on all cylinders. Something I’ve learned along the way is that although I never like to leave, when I do and then return home with fresh perspective, I’m always glad I took the journey. Tomorrow through the rest of the week I’m getting the chance to add a new stamp to my passport and check out Lisbon. This is a personal trip with no real agenda except to immerse my senses in foreign culture and see where the road takes me. Excited for a little down time to travel this city that I have heard so many great things about. I certainly want to check out a Fado club and see what this bluesy music about love lost is all about. It should be a wonder-filled weekend. Of course any more music related tips and recos are appreciated.
Tchau for now.
BEATS
YouTube Expands Its Music Charts, Adds Trending Chart For New ReleasesYouTube today (May 10) announced changes to its charts, expanding them to 44 territories -- including the U.K., Japan, Germany and Brazil -- and adding a new Trending Chart, which will update several times throughout each day to reflect new releases gaining the most traction on its platform. As part of the update, the company is also revamping its charts for Top Songs, Top Artists and Top Music Videos. (Dan Rys – Billboard)
Ex-Ticketmaster CEO Amasses $30M War Chest To Shakeup TicketingFormer Ticketmaster exec Nathan Hubbard recently announced plans to take on the ticketing giant with the formation of a brand new company he’s calling Rival. The Los Angeles-based startup has raised more than $30 million in venture capital over the last 18 months. (Hypebot)
How The Wild Honey Pie Is Reinventing The Music Festival BusinessOver the past few years, the music festival industry has ballooned into a corporate-backed money machine that has become less about the music and more about creating a scene. (KC Ifeanyi – Fast Company)
A War Is Brewing Between Billboard and YouTube Over Music ChartsFollowing Billboard’s decision last week to tweak the methodology of its music charts in favor of paid streaming services, YouTube, a free streaming service, is ramping up its own music charts. On Thursday, the company debuted “Trending,” a chart that refreshes multiple times a day with real-time data on music that is rising on the platform. YouTube also announced improvements to its existing weekly Top Songs, Top Artists and Top Music Videos charts. (Amy X. Wang – Rollingstone)
Spotify Announces New Hate Content and Hateful Conduct Public PolicyAWe have tens of millions of tracks on Spotify, growing by approximately 20,000 recordings a day. Nothing makes us more excited than discovering and sharing that music. One of the most amazing things about all that music is the range of genres, cultures, experiences, and stories embodied in it. We love that our platform is home to so much diversity because we believe in openness, tolerance, respect, and freedom of expression, and we want to promote those values through music on our platform. (Spotify NewsRoom)
Spotify Pulls R. Kelly and XXXTentacion From Playlists, Stirring a DebateThe company, which was valued at $26.5 billion after an initial public offering last month, introduced its new policy regarding “hate content and hateful conduct” by citing two artists — R. Kelly, the multiplatinum R&B singer, and XXXTentacion, the troubled young rapper and singer — who Spotify said had been removed from all official playlists and recommendation features on the service. ( Joe Coscarelli – The New York Times)
Wu-Tang Clan's debut album, Enter The Wu-Tang [36 Chambers], kicked off the legendary rap group's run when it was released in November 1993. With a tracklist consisting of bangers like 'Protect Ya Neck', 'C.R.E.A.M', 'Bring da Ruckus', and 'Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F*** Wit' the group became an inspiration for other legendary New York hip-hop artists like the Notorious B.I.G, Mobb Deep, and Nas. (VladTV)
From Player Pianos to Paper Notices: A Modern Update to Music Licensing Is Long Overdue (Guest Column)Rarely does a century-old musical instrument drive policy in Washington, but that’s exactly what’s happening in the music community at this moment. Everyone from Internet Association (IA) members to artists to record labels are supporting a new piece of legislation called the Music Modernization Act (MMA), that will help bring music licensing into the digital age. The bill passed the U.S. House unanimously recently and now heads to the Senate. (Michael Beckerman – Billboard)
Google Assistant gets 6 new voices, including John Legend'sGoodbye, Google-robo-Assistant. Hello, John Legend. You'll now be able to choose among six new voices for Google Assistant for your Android phone or Google Home, Google announced at its annual I/O conference within spitting distance of its headquarters in Mountain View, California. One of those happens to be celebrity singer John Legend. (Jessica Dolcourt – CNET) )
Instagram To Add Music To Posts, Code RevealsInstagram is planning to launch new features that allow users to add music, according to an analysis of code found within the Instagram Android app. The reveal comes just days after Instagram announced that it had teamed with Spotify to post the tracks they were currently listening to Stories. (Hypebot)
Deep Cutters – Honoring Music Marketing InnovationDeep Cutters honors the most creative marketing in the music industry. The Awards were founded in 2018 by 40 music marketers from the top labels, management, and technology firms. It is a place to discover innovative solutions to the marketing, strategy, and promotion of artists.
From Fenty Beauty to Savage: The Secrets to Rihanna's Business SuccessFrom her multimillion-dollar cosmetics line Fenty Beauty to her iconic collaborations with Puma and now her Savage brand, the singer is setting new standards for brand partnerships in the music industry -- all while working on a new reggae album. Forbes estimates that the star banked $12 million in 2017 (one-third of her pre-tax earnings that year) from her fashion ventures. Fenty Beauty -- notable for featuring 40 different shades of foundation to accommodate different skin tones -- racked up $27 million in earned media value within just one month of launch. Annual revenue for Fenty Beauty is on track to surpass those of rival lines like Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics and Kim Kardashian's KKW, according to Slice Intelligence. (Cherie Hu – Billboard)
BYTES
Cardi B tells Howard that the music industry is more cut throat than the strip club business and the streets. Hear more in this shocking candid conversation with Howard.
Childish Gambino's new single "This is America" has taken Genius by storm, becoming the fastest song to reach one million page views in the history of the site. The song page traffic has been driven by the track's symbolism-heavy lyrics and accompanying music video, with visitors looking to decode the messages Gambino weaved into the song.
Americas Greatest DJ, DJ FunkFlex brings you daily mixes, MC instrumentals from the biggest producers , breaking news, exclusive exciting content and you will have the ability to interact with FunkFlex direct.
Buddy is back, sharing “Trouble On Central,” his newest song off his forthcoming album, which drops this summer via RCA Records. The new record has a 1990s West Coast feel that is the perfect soundtrack for a long ride on a sunny afternoon.
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!