This Saturday is Juneteenth, a holiday that marks the end of slavery and is recognized by many African-Americans as their independence day in the United States.Although it has been celebrated in some communities for years, it’s exciting to see Juneteenth rise up throughout the country. In recent years, a number of local and national organizations have helped this holiday gain prominence.The country continues to experience what one might label The Great Reflection, finally attempting to take personal stock in and responsibility for the nation’s ills while cultivating knowledge and appreciation of African-American history, which is ultimately American history.Relatedly, In The Heights is in theaters now. It’s the best movie I’ve seen in a long time and I understand why they held off on releasing it until Covid let up. The visuals and dance numbers, all filmed in Washington Heights, are electric! The vibe is a full-on summer celebration of being outside in New York City. It would have been difficult to capture that feeling last summer or over the winter. This needs to be enjoyed on the silver screen.The film tells a classic tale of the American Dream but from a refreshing perspective. As with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s other smash, Hamilton, it’s extremely exciting to see the diversity of actors who are now bringing American stories to the masses.**I do want to acknowledge the conversation around colorism in the casting. This is an important issue. Still, it is wonderful to see so many Latinx friends and colleagues feel seen. We are seeing growth and progress, albeit slowly, every day.In The Heights and the emergence of Juneteenth are both cultural events that organizations, institutions, artists, promoters, and brand marketers have helped make happen and must continue to learn from. This is the kind of positive feedback loop we need. Let’s all continue to take as much time as possible to reflect and unify.
BEATS
Inclusion in the Music Business:Gender & Race/Ethnicity AcrossExecutives, Artists & Talent TeamsThe purpose of this study was to map the diversity of the U.S. music business across different positionsof power. Focusing on underrepresented racial/ethnic groups and gender in general and Blackexecutives in particular, we examined the rank and titles of 4,060 executives across 119 companies inthe music space. (USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative)
Future of Music 2021Thanks to the fierce pace of tech advancement and the insatiability of young, internet-grown audiences, the multibillion-dollar global industry is an entrepreneur's playground. Record-label bosses share a throne with engineers and algorithms; artists and songwriters are wresting real control of their empires for the first time. (Rolling Stone)
Music Is Getting The First Peer-to-Peer Decentralised Finance Platform Backed By Real World AssetsEarlier this year, music distributor and label services company Ditto Music announced that they’d be setting up a financial support initiative powered by blockchain called Opulous. It has raised over $6 million in investment by selling $OPUL tokens through fundraising platform DAO Maker. (Music x Tech x Future)
Jack In The Box Jumps Into The Virtual Restaurant Space With Jason Derulo CollaborationJack in the Box is the latest chain to tap into the virtual restaurant space, and it’s doing so by tapping into another major quick-service trend–celebrity promotions.The chain today announced a partnership with award-winning singer/songwriter Jason Derulo to launch the One in a Milli Virtual Restaurant out of 10 Los Angeles Jack in the Box locations. (Forbes)
Yellowheart Launches First-Ever Fan Community With Maroon 5 NFT SeriesYellowHeart, the NFT marketplace for music and ticketing, which accepts both crypto and credit card payments, is set to launch the first ever Fan Community Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) as part of an NFT series that will be released alongside Maroon 5’s latest album titled Jordi. In addition to the DAO, YellowHeart will be minting open edition animated album artwork and drawn portraits of Maroon 5 band members. (The Music Universe)
The Crucial Role Of The Direct-to-Fan Model In A Non-Live Music IndustryWell aside from the fact that maximizing the diversity of revenue stream is simply good practice, it’s also a contingency for unforeseen events. Like, for example, when a global pandemic effectively shuts down live music. When things like this happen, the agility to switch to a ‘non-live’ model can be the difference between an artist getting paid or not. (Music Business Worldwide)
Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine Team Up to Open High School in Los AngelesPlans for a new public high school project in Los Angeles, backed by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, were approved this month by the L.A. Board of Education.The school, currently being referred to as Regional High School No. 1, will be located at Audubon Middle School in the Leimert Park neighborhood in South Los Angeles. As detailed in an expansive Los Angeles Times piece about the magnet school project on Monday, transportation options for students outside the immediate local area will be offered. (Complex)
Universal Music Group Inks Exclusive Partnership With $28.5M-backed Fitness Technology Startup LiteboxerThe virtual health and fitness business soared during the pandemic, with Wellness app installs reaching 1.2 billion in 2020 alone.Liteboxer, an 11-month-old company operating in the connected exercise space, announced yesterday (June 9) that it has raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Nimble Ventures, bringing its total raised to $28.5m to date. (Music Business Worldwide)
Are Hip-Hop Catalogs The Next ‘Evergreens?’ Catalog sales are rocketing but there are a few artists who are dominating the headlines. Boomer rock acts such as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac and Paul Simon have made the biggest splash, prompting bidding wars as investors seek elusive ‘evergreen’ songs, aka the gifts that keep on giving. (Synch Tank)
Taco Bell Has Been Quietly Subsidizing Touring Bands for 15 YearsSince 2006, Taco Bell has been giving bands $500 worth of gift cards in $10 or $5 increments that work at any of their franchises. Less a traditional sponsorship than a no-strings-attached corporate subsidy, the program has become a secret weapon for any act that applies and hopes to turn a small profit from the razor-thin margins inherent to touring small venues and the occasional festival side-stage. For artists like Maroulis, the opportunity to eat free food in every town they visit can go a long way towards making the math work. (Vice)
Exceleration Music's Amy Dietz On Why 'True Independence' Is Important For Artists And Labels“Our desire is for the industry to know who we are, and [recognise] our level of integrity and knowledge that might fit for the various entrepreneurs who might be looking for these options [for investment],” Amy Dietz told Music Week. “One of the things that we talk about is, for anyone who’s creating music or is holding these rights, giving them maximum optionality to work with them how they would like to. (Music Week)
Sony Music Entertainment Is Waiving Unrecouped Debts for Legacy ArtistsThrough Artists Forward, Sony Music will look to prioritize “transparency with creators in all aspects of their artistic development,” according to the letter. And for veteran acts who signed with SME “prior to the year 2000” and haven’t taken an advance “from the year 2000 forward,” the text indicates that the Big Three record label “will no longer apply existing unrecouped balances” to royalty payments. (Digital Music News)
NFT Mania Hits Hollywood: ‘It’s Found Money’In intellectual-property-hungry Hollywood, NFTs have fast become the new frontier, and their popularity has set off a gold rush mentality as studios, producers, and even talent agencies scour for new revenue streams in the wake of COVID-19’s crushing effects. This enthusiasm hasn’t waned even as the NFT market has lost some heat from those heady days of . . . well, just a few weeks ago. According to a recent sales study by Protos, on May 3 there were $100 million in “crypto-collectible” sales on that day alone. (Fast Company)
What Can Music Learn From The Rise And Rise Of The Video Games Business?There is a real world comparison we can make as to how to deal with technological change really successfully, and how new formats can be additive rather than substitutional. And luckily we don’t have to look far – it’s a sector which targets fundamentally the same market, and has done so outrageously well over the past two decades: video games. (Music Business Worldwide)
Coachella 2022 Is an Instantaneous SelloutThe Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival’s fan base has again proven itself a faithful one, with the belief that the 2022 edition will have been worth the three-year wait manifesting in passes for both weekends selling out within hours of going on sale. (Variety)
Galaxy’s Fashion Resale Marketplace Is Almost HereFounded by Danny Quick, Nathan McCartney and Brandon Brisbon, Galaxy, the first fashion resale marketplace powered by live video, is launching this month. The site allows 2D photos and text to shop and sell and has leveraged video to livestream selling. (WWD)
BYTES
Apple Music celebrates Juneteenth 2021 with a collection of exclusively commissioned songs from artists like D Smoke, Willie Jones, Kirk Franklin, Kane Brown, Amaarae, and Tobe Nwigwe, just to name a few. Some have contributed original compositions, while others have chosen to cover existing songs that speak to the holiday. Listen to the full playlist:
Gibson guitars have long been in the game making legendary guitars for some of the world’s iconic heavyweights. Now, it has launched an app that is transforming the guitar teaching game.
In the latest episode of The Bob Lefsetz podcast, Merck Mercuriadis, CEO of Hipgnosis, talks about his latest disruptions and acquisitions within the music industry. Listen to the full podcast here:
Having started his career on YouTube at age 16, Bo Burnham has since released dozens of songs, four comedy specials, and starred in an Oscar-Winning film. Burnham’s 10 best songs written throughout his career were recently ranked by Variety.
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!