It was quite a week. From the passionate, heated debates at RapCon to flying into Chicago to work with some of the country’s brightest cultural brand marketers and up-and-coming artists, the depth of my conversations was vast and all centered around the state of the industry.One of the biggest stories in music this week is “Old Town Road” breaking a long-standing record with its 17th week atop the Billboard Hot 100. Kudos to Mariah Carey for passing the torch in true 2019 fashion, with a meme.The times are changing when it comes to charts and what they mean. Are people even listening to albums in full? ‘Cause they sure aren’t buying them. Chart success is becoming more of a branding milestone than an actual music success story, especially in a world where there’s so much music being released. In my opinion, the way the charts are calculated is contributing to their waning relevance.Take Lil Nas X, for example. His team knows that “Old Town Road” remix streams count as streams for the original song. So, every time the song’s buzz looks like it may fade, they drop a new remix. The BTS remix this week was a surefire way to keep the top spot.The New York Times podcast posted a really interesting conversation about the state of the charts. It’s a crucial, multifaceted debate. DJ Khaled recently shared his feelings about losing the #1 album ranking to Tyler, the Creator because certain bundles he used weren’t counted. Is that right? Both artists clearly used bundles and other tricks to manipulate the chart.Then there’s Chance the Rapper, who was giving out free albums with Lyft rides for his release on Friday. These weren’t considered a bundle on Billboard (so they don’t count towards sales) but the newly launched Rolling Stone chart is counting them.I’m excited that RS has entered the chart game. Steel should sharpen steel. Their chart is novel because it offers visual graphs of song units to see when they were listened to. They offer updates daily so you get a real-time picture. The difference between charts is purely algorithmic since there are very few sources of data. The difference is how that data is interpreted. Rolling Stone provides details on its calculation but Billboard and other charts do not.Are there better gatekeepers than charts? Absolutely. I trust playlists more than I trust chart position for my music discovery and if the chart makers don’t add a layer of transparency soon, the culture shapers are going to revolt.Remember the shot fired by Jay-Z on last year’s Meek Mill album?"I ain't got a billion streams,Got a billion dollarsInflating numbers like we 'posed to be happy about thisWe was praised in Billboard, but we were youngNow I look at Billboard like,"Is you dumb?”
BEATS
Behind the Screens: Design for Music in the Streaming AgeThe visual aspects of the music world have always been powerful tools for establishing performers' identities and monetizing an art form that is, fundamentally, meant to be heard rather than seen. (SVA)
Post Malone Unveils Playlist for New Shaboink Cannabis LineSince May, Malone has been teasing his latest venture — the Shaboink cannabis brand that includes pre-rolls, vapes and flowers, on point with the name of his 2016 debut album Stoney. (Hollywoor Reporter)
How To Promote Your Brand At A Music FestivalMultiday, multistage music festivals are still first and foremost about the performances. But savvy marketers know that offering fun, unique experiences at music festivals can make brands stick in consumers’ minds in ways that go beyond more traditional marketing approaches. (Ad Age)
DJ Khaled Named Apple Music's First Artist In ResidenceApple Music announced producer, recording artist, and entertainment mogul DJ Khaled as the streaming service's first artist in residence. Every month, Khaled will create and executive produce special editions of some of the platform's most successful playlists. (All Hip Hop)
46 Shows in 46 Cities to Elect the Next President: New Campaign Aims to Unseat Donald Trump With a Coordinated Music EffortThe 2020 election is about to get a whole new sound. With the Democratic campaign to unseat President Donald Trump already well underway, a pair of music industry veterans-turned-activists are announcing a new initiative entitled 46 for 46. (Billboard)
Record Labels Have A New Target: Streamers and GamersOn a quiet street in Vancouver, Canada, independent EDM record label Monstercat is carving out a solution to a problem that has plagued gamers and content creators for more than a decade: can streaming culture and the music industry coexist in a world where algorithms are used to track down unlicensed tunes, strip audio from videos, and dole out bans to streamers?
Drake Strikes Creative Partnership with SiriusXM, PandoraSatellite broadcaster SiriusXM announced that it has signed a wide-ranging creative partnership with Canadian rap legend Drake. The partnership includes a branded SiriusXM station that will feature a playlist of curated music from Drake, as well as special collaborations with other artists. (Hypebot)
Spotify And Apple Go Big On Independent Artist Aaron Smith… And Get Major Record Labels TalkingIt’s been a while since tensions between audio streaming services and record labels were at their height. This relative peacetime has largely been achieved thanks to the likes of Spotify dialling back their activities surrounding direct relationships with independent artists. (Music Business Worldwide)
Smart Speaker Sales Expected To Do Another $3BN In Revenue In The US This YearMusic streaming is still on the upswing, but the retail business around it is booming even bigger, according to new projections from the the Consumer Technology Association. The CTA released a glowing midyear report on Monday that forecasts U.S. consumer tech sales to hit a record $401 billion by the end of the year, driven largely by growth in audio products like smart speakers and wireless earbuds. (Music Business Worldwide)
A Look At The Future Of Music LicensingIf you're looking to use someone's music that you don't have the rights to, you'll need to get some form of official license from the copyright holder. These types of licenses are pervasive in every aspect of the music industry, but the ways in which music licensing works is changing across the board. Here we look at how. (Hypebot)
Customizing Salesforce For The Music IndustryWhen it comes to dealing with fans/customers, many artists and organizations within the industry rely on archaic and ineffective systems for keeping their teams in synch, which can lead to all kinds of inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Here we look at a more effective way in which groups in the music industry interact with potential customers. (Hypebot)
The $60 Gadget That’s Changing Electronic MusicDerrick Estrada, an electronic musician who performs under the stage name Baseck, had just showered and was nursing a cup of yerba mate in the back room of the Los Angeles home that a musician friend dubbed the “synth flophouse.” It was 10 a.m. on a recent Thursday; very early, he explained, for a house full of musicians. (New York Times)
The Success Of Streaming Has Been Great For Some, But Is There A Better Way?It's tough to recall a time when listening to music — and making it — wasn't completely synonymous with streaming. The idea of filling an iPod up with carefully selected digital files almost feels like a distant memory, though it wasn't that long ago that these kinds of players, and the digital library of songs you built through them, embodied the future of music. (NPR)
Spotify And Apple Go Big On Independent Artist Aaron Smith… And Get Major Record Labels TalkingIt’s been a while since tensions between audio streaming services and record labels were at their height. This relative peacetime has largely been achieved thanks to the likes of Spotify dialling back their activities surrounding direct relationships with independent artists. (Music Business Worldwide)
Kanye West Is Trademarking His ‘Sunday Service’ Church MerchKanye West is adding a new facet to his fashion empire.The rapper, 42, filed a trademark application on July 19 with the US Patent and Trademark Office seeking to register the phrase “Sunday Service” for bottoms, dresses, footwear, headwear, jackets, loungewear, scarves, shirts, socks and tops. (Page Six)
How Classical Music Is Becoming The Next Emerging Streaming MarketMany of the headlines that have emerged from the streaming era are dominated by the biggest pop stars and the music industry empires built up around them. But what about the centuries-old stuff, the music that existed long before it could made or played on a pocket-sized computer? (Forbes)
4 Ways To Build More Content From Your Music VideosCreating a music video can be a complex, lengthy, and above all expensive endeavor, meaning you should work to get as much out of the end product as you can. Here we look at four clever ideas for how you can utilize elements of your music video to create other valuable content you can apply to additional promotional efforts. (Hypebot)
Music Modernization Act A Start, But More To DoLess than a year ago, the Music Modernization Act (MMA) was passed by Congress and signed into law. While it is the most sweeping music copyright update in decades, public radio music stations hope that the MMA is the beginning of a more comprehensive music licensing reform effort that recognizes public radio’s role in music. (the Hill)
The World’s Highest-Paid DJs 2019: The Chainsmokers Topple Calvin Harris With $46 MillionBeneath electrifying Tesla coil disco balls, Marshmello ascended the glowing 360-degree rotating DJ booth shaped like his signature cylindrical mask. His headpiece immediately illuminated in rainbow, mimicking the multi-colored laser beams and special effects scattered throughout the 29,000-square-foot nightclub. (Forbes)
BYTES
Dan breaks down why distribution is so critical for today’s hip-hop artists and how it has created a partnership flywheel that benefits Jay Z, Rihanna, and countless others.
About 10 minutes into last week’s interview between the rapper Tyler, the Creator and the Hot 97 D.J. Funkmaster Flex, the facades began to crack.The two had been talking about the importance of staying true to your values, of not putting creativity into the world designed to please others more than yourself.
Songspace helps music creators collaborate, catalog, and share work with their professional team.
Upon the album’s release there was no physical list of featured guests. Instead, fans had to listen to it and work it out for themselves. One guest spot in particular that caused excitement amongst fans was Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, who appears on the album’s second track, ‘Do You Remember’.
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!