Is it me, or was June the best month of music ever?!?Maybe it’s me. I always need that new-new and I always gravitate towards hot, about-to-pop hits. Ask my mother. My first word was actually “hot.”I know I’m not alone when I say I was obsessed with mixtapes. I started making them for people during high school and I never stopped. But like the Myspace “Top 8,” mixtapes fell off in time. Music may be as ubiquitous and impactful as ever but mixtapes are dead, replaced by the discovery tool of the day: playlists. Now, one of the go-to pick-up lines on the dating scene is, “What’s on your ‘List?” You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my spins.Similar to the “Top 8” days, who’s on your ‘List reflects who you are. Data is piling up that suggests what you listen to says more about you than any social media platform ever could. If Instagram and Facebook show your “best life” -- the superficial you -- Spotify and Apple Music give real insight into your mood, your taste, and your passions. Playlists are personal. Sharing music has always been a rush, be it a live show or a Maxell cassette (R.I.P.), and the same goes for playlists. I can already see the rom-coms of our era asking, “What’s on your 'List?” (Nick and Nora were not harmed in the making of this program…)That’s why for the better part of a decade, Nue has put together mixtapes for the summer season. And we’re not letting the streaming sea-change stop us, even if the format’s flipped. So without further marination, here’s our eclectic playlist of barbecue bangers for your holiday listening pleasure. Kick back, relax, and enjoy the rising temps with Nue’s “Songs of the Summer.”Just remember who put you on ;)
BEATS
Spotify Generated $40M+ In Ticket Sales Last Year. Now, It's Accelerating It's Presence In Live Music Spotify’s work with Fans First – and those $40m in ticket sales generated last year – clearly demonstrate the power the platform can wield when it precisely targets fans who are most likely to buy tickets to an event. (Tim Ingham – MBW)
Tinder Hasn’t Brought Me Love, but Damn, It's Been Great for My Spotify PlaylistsThe truth is Tinder is secretly a trove of good music just waiting to be discovered. Sure, a lot of women in the New York City area do not even use the "My Anthem" feature, but the ones that do have introduced me to some real bangers. Now, I've practically given up on finding love. What I really care about is your anthem. (Michael Nunez – Mashable)
Apple Is Launching A Subscription Bundle Including Music, TV, and News – Report Apple is said to be plotting a single subscription package which would bundle up Apple Music, original TV shows and magazine articles for a single price. The first step towards a combined offering will be the launch, next year, of an Apple digital news subscription service, according to this report from The Information. (Rhian Jones – MBW)
One of the principal tentpoles of Red Bull’s foray into the music world has been its live music programming and festivals. Rather than partner with media publications to create content, Red Bull has bypassed the middle man and collaborated directly with musicians to help them realize their most chimerical creative visions. (Jeff Weiss – Forbes)
How Smart Speakers Are Changing the Way We Listen to MusicAlmost four years after the Echo and Alexa’s rather inauspicious debut—“The whole thing is a tad baffling, but also intriguing,” wrote TechCrunch at the time—smart speakers are now teetering on omnipresence. Sales tripled between 2016 and 2017, and analysts expect nearly 60 million units will be bought globally this year. (Eric Harvey – PitchFork)
Peloton Acquires Music Startup Neurotic MediaPeloton, the unicorn spin (and now treadmill) business that lets users work out via live-streamed classes, has today announced its first acquisition. The company acquired Neurotic Media, a B2B music aggregation and streaming service. (Jordan Crook – TechCrunch)
Jay-Z Has a New Venture Fund and a Silicon Valley PartnerJay-Z is behind a new venture fund called Marcy Venture Partners that is being launched with Walden Venture Capital managing director Larry Marcus and longtime business partner Roc Nation president Jay Brown, according to California regulatory filings. (Kirsten Korosec – TechCrunch)
Meet CashMoneyAp, Hip-Hop's Newest Entrepreneurial ProducersSuch is the case for producer CashMoneyAp. The 23-year-old earns a living by selling beats online, using YouTube as his main marketing platform. In just three years, his work has attracted nearly 500,000 subscribers, garnered over 100 million views and paved the way for placements with Lil Skies, Migos, Young Thug and Chief Keef. (Ogden Payne – Forbes)
48 Music Biz Jobs of Tomorrow -- And How to Get ThemThe CD-peddling, gatekeeper-guarded record industry is dead. But the meme-crafting, data-mining, spon-con-placing, royalty-chasing, wearable-designing, Chipotle-playlist-making industry is thriving, and to get a piece of the action, you’ll need a very particular set of skills -- and some clue where to start. That’s what you’ll find below: dozens of dream jobs in five categories, with the people who scored them explaining how they got there (and just what it is they do all day). (Billboard)
Vince Staples Stars In "F*#! That With Vince Staples" Snapchat SeriesThe show, F*#! That With Vince Staples, airs on Snapchat's discover page in collaboration with Uproxx. The format of the show is as follows: Vince comes up with an activity for one of his friends to take for a test run, with Vince delivering the final verdict on whether he'd "F*#! With That" or not. According to The Fader, the activities will range from rage rooms to beekeeping. However, the first episode, which aired on July 1st, tries something a bit more invasive. (Matthew Parizot – Hot New Hip Hop)
How to Build an Audience Through Spotify for Artists… According to SpotifyEarning those high streaming numbers, however, requires more than just getting music up on DSPs and hoping for the best. In order to grow a career via streaming, you have to first work on building an audience through the service. That’s why one of the biggest streaming services — Spotify — created Spotify for Artists. The platform gives artists access to tools and services to make the most of what Spotify has to offer as an artist when it comes time to upload and share your music. (Jennifer Masset – AWAL)
4 Ways Music Improves Your HealthWhile music's ability to make your feel has long been established, it turns out that the direct health benefits of taking in some of favorite tunes are actually fairly quantifiable. Here we look at four different ways in which music can improve your health. (Hypebot)
Best New Artists of 2018 (So Far)The diversity of sounds and styles on display is, as always, inspiring. Cuco's dream pop pairs nicely with Tierra Whack's madcap melodies—or you could wash down Rico Nasty's 180-proof punk trap with GRIP's jagged poetry. There's really something for everybody on this list, and we still have six months of music to go. Here are the best new artists of 2018, so far. (Pigeons & Planes)
BYTES
When should a band become an LLC? What can musicians write off? How can creatives safeguard against an audit? We answer these questions and more with accountants who work with artists. Guests: Emily Kingan / Jordan Michael Iannucci and Hunter Giles (Infinite Aggregate).
For the first in a series where British Vogue contributing editor Naomi Campbell meets designers making debuts at historic fashion houses, Campbell sits down with Virgil Abloh in his Paris headquarters.
Discover the DNA of the music you love! Scan your personal Apple Music, Spotify or iTunes library for samples, covers and remixes, and explore WhoSampled's entire universe of deep musical knowledge.
Here’s our eclectic playlist of barbecue bangers for your holiday listening pleasure. Kick back, relax, and enjoy the rising temps with Nue’s “Songs of the Summer.”
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!