As you know, we’re big fans of theme weeks here at Nue. Fashion Week. Social Media Week. Advertising Week. All the weeks! And this week marks the return of the absolute cult classic, the dondada of the seven-day promotions game: Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week.”They say the music business is the most cutthroat industry in the world. Breakout rap star Cardi B told Howard Stern that she’s experienced more ruthlessness in music than she did as an exotic dancer. But our industry doesn’t need to operate that way, anymore. There’s room for everyone. We should be welcoming new business and building a better workforce instead of pushing people out and leaving them to drown.I’ve been swimming with sharks for so long that staying above water is second nature. But, with changing tides the industry must adjust.Now it’s about transparency and creativity above all else. We’re changing ‘who you know’ into ‘what you know’ and ‘what you do’ into ‘how you do it.’ We’re building an open, exciting meritocracy with a new moral code: fish are friends, not food.
BEATS
TuneCore Now Allows Monetization on Facebook & InstagramIndependent digital music distributor TuneCore announced Wednesday (July 18) it will begin allowing users to monetize on Facebook and Instagram. Users can access the free new tool via their TuneCore dashboards, where they can sign up and select eligible tracks that they’ve already distributed through the service. From there, TuneCore will send that music to Facebook, where any earnings will be paid directly to the artists’ TuneCore account. (Monica Mercuri – Billboard)
Spotify’s New Tool Helps Artists and Labels Reach Its Playlist EditorsSpotify wants give artists and labels and easier way to submit their new music for playlist consideration. The streaming service this morning launched a feature, still in beta, that allows any artists with a Spotify for Artists account or labels using Spotify Analytics to share unreleased tracks directly with Spotify’s team of over 100 editors worldwide. (Sarah Perez – TechCrunch)
UnitedMasters Adds Distribution to Spotify and Apple Music Billboard reports that UnitedMasters’ distribution service went live on Friday, initially offering artists a pathway to Spotify and Apple Music with Pandora, YouTube, Amazon Music and more promised as coming soon. The new ‘Releases’ feature will see UnitedMasters take a 5% commission on artists’ digital royalties, and will tie in to the rest of its platform, offering tips on timing and other aspects of release strategy. (Stuart Dredge – Musically)
Mid-Year Touring Report: Will Slow And Steady Ticketing Win The Race?Artists who've experimented with the strategy so far -- including Jay-Z and Taylor Swift -- have endured criticism for the high prices and lack of sellouts. But when it comes to the goal of maximizing revenue, a central question remains as the touring industry's mid-year revenues dip below last year's levels: does the practice actually work? (Dave Brooks – Billboard)
On the track “I Might Need Security,” Chance raps “I bought the Chicagoist / just to run you racist [expletive] out of business.” He released a more traditional statement through WNYC, saying that he was “extremely excited to be continuing the work of the Chicagoist,” which he called “an integral local platform for Chicago news, events and entertainment.” He said that his focus on relaunching the site would be to bring Chicagoans “an independent media outlet focused on amplifying diverse voices and content.” (Jonah Engel Bromwich – The New York Times)
Red Bull Radio Focuses on Brand-building, One Princess Nokia Song at A TimeUnlike its rivals, Red Bull Radio specializes in indie artists. Though, one of their most listened-to fireside chat was with Kendrick Lamar, and that’s followed by Tony Allen and OneOhTrix Point Never. For a separate show called Headphone Highlights, the top shows have featured Princess Nokia, Madlib and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Red Bull Radio launched with about four show formats and now has 72. (Kerry Flynn – DigiDay)
Is Instagram About to Become the Music Industry's New Best Friend?IGTV wasn’t the only new feature that Instagram introduced that should excite the music industry. On June 28, Instagram announced that users will have the ability to add stickers to their Stories that play officially licensed music. (David Turner – MBW)
Festicket Integrates with Spotify to Help You Discover Festivals You’ll Like Festicket, the U.K.-based online booking platform for festivals, has integrated with Spotify to help you discover music festivals based on the music you listen to. (Steve O'Hear – TechCrunch)
Merck Mercuriadis Wants to Raise a Billion Dollars. And Then He Want to Change the Face of the Music Industry Merck Mercuriadis is in control of a lot of money. He doesn’t expect it to last very long. Last month, Mercuriadis – the manager of Nile Rodgers, and the former manager of Morrissey, Guns & Roses and Elton John – successfully raised £200m ($265m) for an acquisitive, publicly traded new music venture. (Tim Ingham – MBW)
Are You Ready for Facial Recognition at Concerts? It’s (probably) Going to HappenIn a press release issued last week, the firm (headed up by a former biometric specialist for the U.S. Department of Defence), announced the raising of another US$1.5 million to invest in the development of facial recognition technology. (Alan Cross – Global News)
‘F-ck It, We’ll Take the Bet’: The Gold Rush to Sign the Next Rap GodStill, nearly every record label wants to take that risk because the reward is too good to pass up: Rap has proven its staying power as America’s most popular genre, especially among younger listeners, so striking gold with one rapper is worth a handful of failed bets on others. (Amy X. Wang – RollingStone)
EU Partnerships Boss Stefan Baumschlager Exits RdioGerman exec Baumschlager previously spent five years at Last.fm, where he worked his way up to the company’s Head Of Music before leaving for Rdio. (Tim Ingham – MBW)
'Sound Thinking NYC' Music Education Program Launches to Help Young Women Pursuing Careers in the Music Industry: ExclusiveA pilot program launched by New York City's Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), City University of New York's Creative Arts Team and non-profit NY Is Music is aiming to address the gender disparity in the music industry. (Heran Mamo – Billboard)
BYTES
Despite being over a decade old, podcasting is still a new frontier for music licensing. As podcasts gain millions of listeners and big budgets, it’s more important than ever for artists to understand their rights when approached about music use. Entertainment and podcast lawyer Lindsay Bowen gives us a rundown of how podcasts *should* go about using music and how artists can protect themselves. Jacob Webb, licensing and podcast coordinator at KEXP explains how they handle music use and navigate the intersection between streaming songs and radio play. We also hear advice from Jonathan Menjivar, senior producer at Pineapple Street Media (former producer at This American Life).
A new trailer has been released for Bohemian Rhapsody, the upcoming Queen biopic starring Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury. Watch it below. Along with Malek, the film also stars Ben Hardy (Roger Taylor), Gwilym Lee (Brian May) and Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon). The movie is set to explore the band’s rise to fame, culminating with their performance at London’s Wembley Arena for Live Aid 1985. It hits theaters November 2.
Purchasing a concert ticket can be a major investment, and we want to make sure music lovers are getting the best value for their ticket purchase. Imagine us as the Rotten Tomatoes for live performances and the Yelp for music festivals.
The 1975 have released a new single called “Love It If We Made It.” The lyrics, which were teased in a packet sent out to fans and the press, mention the late emo-rapper Lil Peep, quote President Trump, and conclude that “modernity has failed us/and I’d love it if we made it.” This treatise is all set to a heavy drum beat, with a much bigger scope than the deliberately tinny first single “Give Yourself a Try,” as Matty Healy howls his worldview – Spin.
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!