We’re halfway through 2021, and what a wild ride it’s been.The long 4th of July weekend is upon us, which means it’s time to drop our annual Summer Mixtape!If you know me, you know I love mixtapes. I’ve been making them for decades. The fun part of the playlist era is they’re now living, breathing bodies of work. This mix will change and grow as the Summer takes shape, so make sure you smash that FOLLOW button on the playlist to keep up on the updates.This year we’re calling our jawn The Kick Back because, especially in New York, the party vibes have thus far been impressively responsible. We all miss the rage but we’re keeping it safe. There’s been a bunch of informal kick backs and they’ve been wonderful. It’s lovely to share experiences with people IRL again.The Kick Back is made up of our favorite songs of 2021. There’s no one genre or format. It’s an eclectic mix based on mood, ready for big backyard bumpin’ or solo dolo headphone hangs. It’s got something for everyone, including a few uncovered gems we need you to know about 👀So kick back and enjoy our curations. Let us know what you think. So far we’d say the song of the Summer is “Peaches,” but a lot can change in two months…Happy listening,
BEATS
Travis Scott Wants You to Drink His Cacti Seltzer to Win Astroworld TicketsCollaboration king Travis Scott is slowly making his way back into the music industry, this time utilizing one of his own creations to do so. Via a nationwide hunt akin to the tale of Willy Wonka, Scott and his Cacti spiked seltzer brand are inviting fans to track down 100 signed cans that will unlock two tickets to the rapper’s sold out Astroworld Festival. (Input Mag)
Jay-Z and Jack Dorsey Talk — Very Vaguely — About Future Plans for Their Tidal Streaming ServiceSince Square, the payments-processing company led by CEO (and Twitter founder) Jack Dorsey, announced plans to buy a “significant” majority stake in Tidal, the music and entertainment streaming platform run by Jay-Z, many have wondered exactly what it plans to do with the service. (Variety)
Robot Rock: Can Big Tech Pick Pop’s Next Megastar? For decades, talent scouts or record company A&R professionals used to find new singers, musicians and MCs by going to concerts, listening to radio, talking to people in record shops, receiving tips from well-connected pros such as gig promoters, and listening to unsolicited demo tapes. Over the last 15 years, though, the process has changed. (The Guardian)
Megan Thee Stallion Partners With Cash App To Give $1 Million Worth Of Stocks To FansMegan Thee Stallion is giving back to Hotties and encouraging financial literacy. On Tuesday (June 29), BET’s Best Female Hip Hop Artist partnered with Cash App to give away $1 million worth of stock to her fans. She also released a video teaching fans about investing and building wealth with stocks. (Revolt)
Snap Inks Deal With Universal Music Group To Bring Major Artists To The PlatformSnap wants people to discover and make content with music on Snapchat, and today, it secured a major deal to help it achieve that goal. The company has signed a multiyear partnership with Universal Music Group, the world’s largest record label group, to bring its artists’ tracks to the platform. This means Snapchatters can search for music from various artists like Justin Bieber, The Bee Gees, Katy Perry, and others, and include them in their content. (The Verge)
Facebook Launches Indie Music Program for Artists to Distribute Songs Across Social Giant’s AppsFor the Facebook Independent Artist Program, the company teamed with third-party music distribution companies DistroKid and TuneCore to help artists get their music on Facebook and Instagram quickly and at no cost to the artists. The program covers Facebook and Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels and everywhere else Facebook uses music. (Variety)
More Than A Trend: Entering The Metaverse Will Become A Necessity For BrandsJust like many in the early 2000s thought they would never need a social media presence (many leaving it in the hands of their summer interns manage and setup the corporate social media accounts), brands in the 2020s will need to start setting up metaverse teams that will help them enter the era of Web 3.0. (Forbes)
How Bandcamp Could Really Fix The Music BusinessOne of the great ironies of this era of empowered artists is that the empowerment only extends so far. Sure, they can choose whether to work with a label, whether to retain their rights, which distributor to use etc., but the vast majority are beholden to streaming. (Music Industry Blog)
YouTube's Lyor Cohen: 'The Music Industry Was Drunk On Subscription'YouTube's global head of music Lyor Cohen has told Music Week about how the company's "twin-engine growth story" is fuelling its bid to become the industry's number one revenue generator. Earlier this month, YouTube announced it has paid more than $4 billion (£2.8bn) to the music industry in the last year and added a record number of paid subscribers in Q1 2021. (Music Week)
The Sims Is Getting An In-game Music Festival With Simlish SongsThe Sims is the latest game to feature a virtual concert, but this one comes with a twist: some of the songs will be performed in the fictional Simlish language. Today EA announced “Sims Sessions,” described as an in-game music festival that will take place inside The Sims 4 from June 29th to July 7th. It’ll be headlined by pop star Bebe Rexha, who will sing her single “Sabotage” in Simlish. (The Verge)
BuzzFeed Valued at $1.5 Billion in SPAC Deal to Go Public, Will Acquire Complex Networks for $300 MillionBuzzFeed will become a publicly traded company through a merger with 890 Fifth Avenue Partners, a SPAC that holds $288 million in cash in its trust account after an IPO earlier this year. In addition, BuzzFeed secured $150 million in financing led by Redwood Capital Management and including CrossingBridge Advisors, Cohanzick Management and Silver Rock Financial. (Variety)
BTS Spot for Hyundai Is No. 1 on YouTube Global Ad RankingThe minimalist Hyundai spot, released in celebration of Earth Day 2020, features BTS members in natural settings, as part of the Korean automaker’s global hydrogen campaign. While the guys don’t sing in the ad, the avid BTS fanbase — aka ARMY — have helped push the 60-second clip on YouTube to more than 105 million views to date. (Variety)
The Pop Star Versus The PlaylistSuccess in the music industry used to rely on radio plays and premium retail “endcap” placements (where stores like Best Buy gave album releases prime real estate). It’s no secret that streaming has changed everything, providing unfettered access to the largest catalog of music in human history. (Vox)
BYTES
Music business mogul Scooter Braun partakes in a podcast with ‘Strictly Business’ to talk about his role as a manager to Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and J Blavin, his journey as a tech investor, and his powerhouse company Ithaca Holdings’ merge with South Korean entertainment company HYBE.
A new documentary, featuring rarely-seen footage, captures the magic of a 1969 music festival held at Mount Morris Park in Harlem, attended by 300,000 people. The festival had long been forgotten in the shadow of that other New York music festival, Woodstock. Contributor Hua Hsu talks with "Summer of Soul" director Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson.
Mandolin was named the best streaming platform at the latest Pollstar awards, having been just recently launched on June 1, 2020. Mandolin isn’t resting on any laurels under the assumption that music fans have made a major or permanent shift toward resting on couches.
The Kick Back is a living breathing body of work that changes, adjusts & evolves as the summer progresses. The playlist features an eclectic mix of multi genre artists of 2021 with a “kick back” mood setting. The tracks range from classic Rock bands to Hip Hop & Dance and includes something for everyone. Enjoy the Kick Back vibrations. Listen to Nue Agency’s playlist on Spotify:
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!