As June wraps up, New York City continues to celebrate its second annual New York Music Month, a program built by the office of Mayor de Blasio to highlight New York’s music & nightlife culture. Last week featured the independent music scene with Indie Week culminating in the A2IM Libera Awards Show.I ended up staying longer than expected at Cannes Lions (hello to all my new friends from the south of France!) so I missed the awards show & most of the festivities, but I got the debrief. I always like shining a spotlight on the indie scene. Last year, it was reported that the indie label market share amounted to over a third of the global recorded music market. Independent music and the DIY scene is essential to the progression of culture. Those who throw away the tether to what is normal or expected push creativity and innovation, making the world a better place for everyone.Here at Nue, we have been an independent boutique for 10 plus years now. Being independent has its advantages. It has taught us how to be entrepreneurial, crafty, savvy, nimble and keeps us constantly on our toes. Those traits can be especially useful in a business-like music where it is fast-paced, dynamic and constantly fluid. Now as the industry starts to reinvigorate itself with overall revenue on the rise across the board, I get excited to think what we can do with more resources. Whatever happens, I know that we’ll be keeping the spirit and hustle that we embody as an independent shop. That is just ingrained in our DNA.I look at the music business as a leader in media trends and culture. One of my favorite sayings is "if you want to know what’s hot in culture, look at what music the kids are listening”. That captures a fundamental truth. Music travels faster than any other medium. And as the dynamics in the music industry shift, more power is coming into the hands of the artists, which provides an exciting opportunity for artists and savvy managers. Technology broke—and continues to break—the status quo when it comes to working independently. More artists can control their careers and not be beholden to the gatekeepers like terrestrial radio and MTV. In the past, that was less of an option. There are more ways to build relationships with fans other than mainstream options. Now, if you are ready to play outside the boundaries of the traditional label, you can make more meaningful relationships with your fans and disrupt the system.Salute to all the indies both in music and as entrepreneurs: Fighting the good fight, taking chances big companies can't or won’t, leading the charge on the front lines, and upending the status quo with your vision and drive.Ps. Speaking of the spirit of the indies, one of the last great indepenent NYC music festivals is taking place this weekend & is most definitely the place to be. The 8th annual Full Moon Festival is on Saturday at The Knockdown Center and concepted & produced by my friends at Matte Projects. Some tickets are still on sale & you can get them here. Come kick it. It’s always super well done, a lot of fun and a great mix of a chic crowd of my favorite Brooklyn bohemians. In the meantime, check out their lineup promo video for a taste of what the festival has in store.
BEATS
Cannes Lions: Lyor Cohen on Reviving the Music Industry"It’s an incredible time to be in music, fortunes are going to get made," said the head of YouTube Music, promising online subscription services will drive a return to growth for the sluggish music business. (Dana Kennedy – The Hollywood Reporter)
Akon Gets Into the Cryptocurrency Game with AkoinAkon has joined the long list of musicians to launch their own cryptocurrency. He revealed plans for the prefectly titled "Akoin" during a recent appearance at Cannes Lions 2018 saying his digital currency will hit the market in early July. (David Renshaw – The FADER)
Jay-Z, Apple and A Moving History 'Lesson Earn Cannes Lions Entertainment Grand Prix Jay-Z's music video tribute to his mother, Apple's stunning Spike Jonze-directed "Welcome Home" film, and a moving integrated campaign from Dutch telecom brand KPM that makes a historical moment relevant for young viewers earned Grand Prix in the Cannes Lions Entertainment categories. (Ann-Christine Diaz – AdAge)
If You Think Streaming Royalties Are Bad, Radio AirPlay Is WorseTAccording to a post on Roconomic, a spin was worth an average of .00955 of a cent to the songwriters, based upon figures that have been publicly released by ASCAP, BMI, RAB, Arbitron, Nielsen and others. Contrast that to .0607 for a premium Spotify stream and .0152 for the free tier according to Audiam. (Musicpoint3.0)
Instagram now has 1billion users globally, up an impressive 200 million from September of last year. Anchoring its next chapter is an aggressive move into longer form video, including expanding the allowed video length for all users. (Hypebot)
SoundCloud ‘Redoubles Focus’ on Creators in First On SoundCloud Campaign says CEOSoundCloud is among one of the largest streaming sites in the world, claimed its chief executive, but unhappy with that, he is keen to differentiate it by redoubling its focus on championing the creative talent that helped build the open music platform in the first place. (John McCarthy – The Drum)
Create Playlists Simultaneously on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Napster, More Free with SoundsgoodPlaylist distribution and sharing app Soundgood has announced a new integration with Napster and an improved integration with Apple Music. The app, which enables playlist distribution and updates to multiple streamers simultaneously, is used by 19,000 influencers and music companies. (Hypebot)
Are Tech Companies The New Record Labels?[PIAS] co-founder Michel Lambot looks at how the economic structure of media consumption has shifted over time to one of renting vs. owning; and how tech companies bypassing record labels to make direct deals with artists is the next logical step in this progression. (HypeBot)
Misreading Spotify’s Stock Behavior "TMIDiA Research managing director Mark Mulligan says Spotify’s general tune has changed since the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in April and must now aim to become profitable. “As the bellwether of streaming, Spotify has been dictating the narrative for years, but always with the focus of being a partner for rights holders. Now that it is public, Spotify has found that tough talking trumps sweet talking,” wrote Mulligan in a June 12 blog post. “Speaking from the experience of months of deep conversations with large institutional investors, Wall Street has pumped money into Spotify stock not because of how it will help labels’ businesses, but because they expect it to replace labels, or, at the very least, compete with them at scale.” (Chris Castle – Music Technology Policy)
Kick off the World Cup with Nike, Adidas, Budweiser, and moreAdvertising is the World Cup’s hype man, designed to amp up our emotions and interest, and then channel that into a sale. This year, in addition to the usual suspects like Nike, Adidas, Budweiser, McDonald’s, and Coca-Cola, our collection includes ads from broadcasters, Icelandic vodka, gambling sites, e-commerce platforms, Spotify’s special playlists and content, and one goosebump-inducing spot from a beer in Argentina. (Jeff Beer – Fast Company)
10 K-Pop Hits To Help You Prep For KCON 2018 NY: ListenSome of K-pop’s biggest names and rising talent are heading to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ this weekend to participate in KCON 2018 NY. Part music festival, part convention, the highlight of this two-day Korean pop culture event are two headlining concerts. (Tamar Herman – Billboard)
25 Essential Podcasts For Music LoversPodcasts are more popular than ever right now. There are countless music-related podcasts out there, but all those options can be a little daunting. So we put together a collection of essential podcasts for music lovers. Whether you're new to podcasts or you're just looking for a hidden gem to make a long road trip go by a little faster, you'll find something worthwhile on this list. (Eric Skelton – Pigeons & Planes)
Hey Alexa, What’s the Best Voice Strategy for Musicians?More than 50% of people in the U.S use voice search daily (according to Google), the most popular use case by far? Listening to music. Voice is a brand new interface with new sets of rules for content marketing, search, and commerce and it’s the wild west right now. (Amber Horsburgh – Medium)
BYTES
Sonos CEO Patrick Spence sat down with The Verge’s editor-in-chief Nilay Patel for an hour-long interview on this week’s Vergecast. The discussion came a week after the announcement of the company’s latest speaker, the $399 Sonos Beam soundbar. Sonos continues to face more competition from Apple, Amazon, Google, and other big tech heavyweights. Customers are also still waiting for Sonos to execute on its vision of supporting multiple voice assistants on its products.
It had been nearly a decade since Rakim released new music, but that drought ended Friday when the godfather of rap lyricism and one half of the revered duo Eric B & Rakim released a new song, "King's Paradise." The track was written for Season 2 of Marvel's Luke Cage, which premiered on Netflix the same day, but it wasn't entirely new to select NPR staff; they heard it days earlier when the God MC performed at the Tiny Desk.
Bamboo Learning created Bamboo Music to help you learn and understand different elements of music theory, whether you are taking music lessons, or just want to learn more about music. Listen to music ranging from children's songs to classical pieces and complete exercises to learn about notes, instruments, scales, dynamics, chords, tempo, and intervals.
St. Lucia is back with not one but two new tracks, "A Brighter Love" and "Paradise Is Waiting." Both of the new songs are from the band's upcoming third album, which has yet to receive a release date. Further details about the record are expected soon.
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!