What a year! Can you believe we are halfway done? Here are some themes we saw in Q2:Music Business Outperforms NASDAQ and the DowAs Q1 earnings wrapped, companies ONCE AGAIN delivered much better profitability than street expectations, but music business stocks, specifically, outperformed the NASDAQ and The Dow this quarter.The Music “Harvesting” ContinuesLabels are working to preserve music’s value. DSPs are looking to optimize by raising prices.Streaming Economy Thrives but Changes Are ComingOverall, Netflix won the streaming wars and now they are coming for live events. Prices continue to rise and bundling is on the horizon, but with music, the streamers are saturated. There is a continued shift in cultural value from streaming to social, which is bifurcating the music industry into two parallel consumer worlds: LISTEN, where streaming plays the role of passive consumption and PLAY, where social platforms have a grip on culture.The Creator Economy is Thriving and Driving CultureMusic has a big opportunity to grab hold of this landscape.AI Demand Is Far From Its PeakAI is the game-changing technology that is sweeping through the industry and posing both a great opportunity and threat. The next great companies are coming up. It’s still too soon to tell as we stare down the barrel of the technology and the full power of its use cases, but expect big tech to dominate this world.Conflict SellsKendrick vs Drake was the biggest story in music this quarter. The Juneteenth Pop Out was a KO.Live Events Can’t be StoppedLive had a tremendous Q1, driven by Live Nation, TKO Group, and Madison Square Garden Entertainment, but things are starting to slow down as there are a lot of choices. All of a sudden, shows are canceling and tours are falling because of slow ticket sales. The biggest winners are going to be live events that also nail live streams. Kendrick and Amazon did that with the Pop Out. More of that energy!Will Live Nation and Ticketmaster break up?And what will that mean for the music industry as a whole? I think this will have big implications and open up new doors for ticketing, data, and fan-to-artist relationships, not to mention Live Nation’s stock. If and when it happens, this will open up the next era of the live business.New Brands are Coming Into Live MusicIt’s great to see more brands entering the music space. The Gov Ball sponsorship roster was a great example.Social Media WoesThe Surgeon General is considering slapping a warning label on social media. How will that change things? And what will TikTok’s court battle bring? The next court date is in September, so TikTokers are safe for now, but in the meantime I expected a lot of hedges with creators picking up other platforms. My go to is YouTube Shorts.Sports are Leading the WayMedia giants relied on sports last year when they had to woo advertisers mid-actors’ strike during Upfronts. And NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) is taking a whole new shape now that private equity is getting deeper into the industry.Catalogs Continue to ClimbWhen you aren’t minting new superstars, the value of old superstars goes up! Queen’s catalog sold for a billion dollars, showing that the value of music is still on the rise for legacy acts. If everybody knows your name in an era where that's nearly impossible to accomplish, you’re in the money! The question is how do emerging artists generate value for their music IP?IMAX Movie ExperiencesThe realest works. IMAX is winning with their movie experiences. This is a space where artists can innovate, too. The demand is there and so are the venues.Search is Being ReinventedIt’s not just the way “Googling” is being redefined by AI; social media is becoming a major search engine, Reddit searches are also soaring, as is music. Music services – with their 100,000 new songs per day – are also creating a fascinating new search dynamic. Google your name or your favorite sports team on Spotify. You never know what’s going to come up.AR & VR Not Winning Yet in 2024I’m still a believer. The products keep getting better and more accessible. I picked up a pair of Meta Ray Ban glasses this quarter and I’m loving them. Expect a price drop across the board as these get in more and more hands. Apple Vision Pro won’t work at its current price, but what if you cut it in half?Web3 Remains Choppy but Builders are BuildingThere is so much action and opportunity in this space. It still feels like a weird and a foreign land but there remain big, interesting ways to disrupt ticketing, fan clubs, music ownership, payment royalties, and live experiences. This is happening. Beyond the ETFs, marketing manipulation, and missteps, builders are building and strides are being made that we don’t all see and feel yet.Growth of SaudiIt feels more and more like this is the next growth frontier for the entertainment industry. Sports is leading the way and music is next.AfroBeats Is WinningSo many of the next, great international stars are rooted in this sound.Music to WatchChappell Roan is next and people want personalities. This interview was another tipping point. That said, the charts don’t lie: it’s the summer of country music crossing over.I’m looking forward to Q3, 4th of July, Summer Music Festivals, The Olympics, more blockbuster releases, and the back to school rush. I expect the election to whip us into a complicated frenzy, with the debates, conventions, and the slow march to November 5th.
BYTES
For Gen Z, Music Is Its Own Social MediaGone are the days of solo listening, where you could indulge in guilty pleasures without fear of judgment. Instead, we’ve entered the era of social listening, where streaming services partner with social media platforms for easy sharing, and where startups repackage listening statistics into TikTok-able rundowns (Fast Company).
Jay Park Starts OnlyFans Account To Promote New Single, ‘McNasty’Over on his OnlyFans account, the K-pop star has since uploaded four posts, including behind-the-scenes footage from a video shoot, a suggestive selfie and a video message of him talking about his new single from inside a sauna (NME).
Rick Rubin Throws Secret Music Festival in Tuscany With Performances From James Blake, Arcade Fire Members and MoreOver the weekend, legendary music producer Rick Rubin organized an under-the-radar music event called Festival of the Sun in Tuscany, where performers included James Blake, Win Butler and Régine Chassagne from Arcade Fire, Rhye, Beth Ditto and Italian rapper-pop star Jovanotti (Variety).
Create Music Group, At $1 Billion Valuation, Raises $165 Million Investment Round 532 SharesMusic industry veteran Charles Goldstuck also joined the funding round, which is understood to see the Flexpoint-led group acquire close to a fifth of Create’s equity. Create says it will use the money to fuel further global expansion and execute an “ambitious acquisition strategy”(Music Business Worldwide).
Custom Nike, Travis Scott Shoes Sent To Guests Of Michael Rubin’s Fourth Of July Party In Hamptons: ‘Don’t Puke On These!’After the invitations for Fanatics mogul Michael Rubin’s upcoming July Fourth party in the Hamptons were created by artist George Condo, Rubin and Travis Scott found out a way for the 350 guests lucky enough to get invites to show up in style, too (Page Six).
Clipse X Carhartt Is The Merch Collab Deserving Of Hip-Hop's Finest ReunionClipse x Carhartt is the merch collab that one of hip-hop's biggest reunions deserved. Clipse's logo with the Carhartt "C"? Come on, too perfect. Clipse, the duo comprising brothers Pusha T and No Malice (formerly Malice), has reunited before, technically (High Snobiety).
Mainstream Is The New NicheFive years ago, we made the call that ‘niche is the new mainstream’. Today, this dynamic is so fundamental to music and culture that we are firmly in the stage of second order consequences (Midias Research).
Did Charli XCX Go Mainstream, Or Did The Mainstream Just Go Niche?“I’m famous, but not quite,” Charli XCX sings on ‘I might say something stupid’, a moment of honest insecurity amidst the brash club anthems that make up her new album Brat. It is a familiar refrain for the artist, who has spent her decade-plus career wavering between the mainstream and counterculture (Midias Research).
The Verdict Is In: Music Is Podcasting’s Biggest Missed OpportunityGiven the universal appeal of music podcasts, even across age and gender, there is a huge opportunity for DSPs to improve crossover recommendations on platforms that include music and podcasts in the same place (Midias Research).
Master P Launches Miller Family Foods To Offer Healthier Alternative Food ProductsDuring an interview with CBS News Pittsburg in Pennsylvania (see below), Master P said he intends to not only ensure the Miller Family Foods line will be available on grocery shelves, but he also aims to ensure he can do the same for other Black-owned businesses (AfroTech).
Macy’s Kicks Off Summer With First Campaign Under New CMOMacy’s this week launched a campaign celebrating the carefree spirit of summer, according to a press release. “Summer’s Greatest Hits” features a new version of Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day” reflecting the campaign’s theme of finding joy in every moment. The tune is sung by Grammy-nominated R&B artist Amber Mark and produced by Grammy award-winning producer Ryan Tedder (Marketing Dive).
Celebrity Homes You Can Actually Rent For Your Next VacationCelebrities are increasingly welcoming fans into their extravagant mansions. These lavish vacation rentals, which range from coastal homes to mountain hideaways, provide a once-in-a-lifetime chance to live like your favorite celebrities (Travel Noire).
Phoenix Suns Star Kevin Durant Continues His Nike Producer Pack Sneaker Series With Music Producer Bink!Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant’s decision to feature legendary music producer Bink! in the most recent Nike KD17 Producer Pack shocked him. Before their joint studio sessions in the winter of 2023, the basketball star and rap beatsmith had no working or personal relationship. After those sessions with Durant, Bink! randomly got a cold call from Nike to inform him he would receive his own sneaker (Andscape).
The Lefsetz Letter: Queen For A BillionBut Queen is unique. From an era when that mattered, when me-too was anathema (in sound, not behavior). The band melded prog rock with straight rock without synthesizers and had hits as varied as not only “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You.” The breadth alone gives the band gravitas (Lefsetz).
Coke Studio: KAROL G “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido”Karol G brings her new single “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” to life in this exclusive Coke Studio Session (YouTube).
M.I.A. Launches Ohmni Streetwear Brand Catered to Radiation and 5G-BlockingThe collection boasts a $100 “Tin Foil Hat,” which has “100 percent brain coverage” and a “reversible, two-tone design”; a $200 “Data Protection Dump Bag,” which blocks “99.99 percent” of “electromagnetic radiation”; and a $200 “Full Protection Poncho,” which has a “full coverage of brain, gut, lungs, heart, and womb,” (Complex).
Amazon Teams Up With Megan Thee Stallion To Promote Its 10th Prime Day Sales Event On Tuesday, the rapper unveiled a new original song called “It’s Prime Day.” An accompanying music video shows her purchasing a pink dog collar, fake eyelashes and other items from Amazon. The online retailer’s two-day discount bonanza is set to take place on July 16-17 this year (AP News).
In his latest book, Vaynerchuk argues that today’s fast-growing businesses, brands, content creators, and influencers have one thing in common: They mastered storytelling in areas of underpriced attention, which predominantly exists across a handful of social media platforms (Audible).
The concert marked Lamar’s first live performance since his highly publicized beef with Drake and the setlist featured the live debut of several of Lamar’s Drake diss tracks, including “Euphoria,” “Like That,” and “Not Like That,” (Consequence of Sound).
Past data has shown that the global educational app market is expected to reach USD 70.55 billion by 2025, with music learning apps playing a significant role. Additionally, apps targeting children have experienced a substantial increase in downloads over the past two years (We Rave You).
Seventeen years of celebrating new talent have led to the 11 artists that make up the 2024 XXL Freshman Class. Welcome a tongue-twisting rhymer from Texas, a Brooklyn Don, the coldest out of Detroit, a Florida slick-talker, two of Dallas’ top contenders, a Philadelphia fly girl, a sexy drill general, Atlanta’s ladies’ man, an animated Bronx MC and Boston’s mesmerizing voice. Get familiar with this motley crew.
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!