There is no question that anxiety is high in the world right now.Everything changed overnight, the path forward remains unclear, and day-to-day life continues to be extremely volatile, leaving many folks hurting.In response, many of us are on a constant search for healthy ways to cope. Luckily, my dear friend Peter Rosenstein is one of those people. Peter launched his new CBD company, Stream Wellbeing, on May 1st at the height of the pandemic.Beginning in late 2019, Alex and I fell in love with (and, full disclosure, got involved with) Stream for various reasons. Whether it’s helping with sleep or recovery from athletics, Stream delivers on the promise of natural health. In addition, the founder is doing all of the right things to ensure he is running a truly “double bottom line” company that makes a positive impact and gives back. Peter is a godsend.This week we’re giving you the chance to be a part of the movement. Try the product with a 30% discount using code beatsbytes30 and listen to Peter this Thursday on Beats & Bytes Live at 5pm EST for a quick and dirty interview on the state of the CBD business, launching a product during Covid-19, and why Stream is for the people.
BEATS
Welcome to Rihanna's RevolutionUnderneath the veil of this superhero-ish, ultramagnetic, über-swaggy star, Robyn Rihanna Fenty was a real one—not fake real, but real real: a Black girl who wasn’t so caught up in her own celebrity that she couldn’t recognize another Black girl on the come up. (Harper’s Bazaar)
Spotify Thinks The Top 40 Is Over (And Other Key Takeaways From Its Q2 Results) In its financial results for the second calendar quarter today (reflecting the three months to end of June), Spotify revealed that the number of artists making up its “top tier” of acts now stands at over 43,000. (Music Business Worldwide)
COLORS, DSCVR, and NPR: The Growth Power of YouTube Sessions for Artist CareersGiven YouTube’s popularity as a site for music discovery and its significant impact on artist careers, the influence of its music channels on artist development merits a deeper investigation. With the world accustomed to COVID-19 as a standard part of life in 2020, YouTube as an alternative to live music assumes even greater importance. (Chartmetric)
Stream Wellbeing Is Pushing Cbd Wellness In Under-served Neighborhoods“We don’t think that wellness and feeling good is something that should be a privilege,” ardently expresses Peter Rosenstein, co-founder of Stream Wellbeing. “It should be a right.” That is what Stream Wellbeing, a CBD company, in essence, is. The products that Stream cultivates are about promoting the health and the wellbeing of those who use them. (Kulture Hub)
Four Ways A Brand Can Communicate With The Youth Through Music StreamingMusic streaming has become an essential part of a young person’s lifestyle. Spotify’s total monthly active users grew by 29% year-on-year to 299 million, according to its second-quarter earnings report.Digital audio is a new playground for marketers promoting their brands to twenty- and thirty-somethings. (Business World)
Ariana Grande & Lady Gaga Lead 2020 MTV VMA Nominations: See Full ListMTV announced the nominations for the 2020 Video Music Awards on Thursday (July 30). Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga lead with nine nominations each -- including a co-nomination for video of the year for "Rain on Me" -- followed by Billie Eilish and The Weeknd with six each. (Billboard)
The Brilliant Marketing of Taylor Swift’s Mysterious Bonus TrackTry to think of another time when a star released an album with a physical-only bonus track — but that physical product was only made available online, through one website, with a weeks-long shipping delay. Therein lies the marketing genius of Taylor Swift’s Folklore, which dropped on Friday, sans one rare track. (Rolling Stone)
How DJs Have Been Navigating The Coronavirus PandemicThe stay-at-home orders have put a strain on DJs as they have been trying to find their footing and remain creative and sane amid the pandemic. Pretty much all gigs are a no go for them right now including clubs, parties, and festivals. (Okayplayer)
T-Pain Markets TP With Cottonelle on Animal CrossingToilet paper saw incredible sales in the early days of the pandemic when consumers rushed to stock up on the essential product, leading to a 58% increase in bathroom tissue sales year-over-year in March and April. At the same time, Kimberly-Clark, parent company of Cottonelle, was up 45% in profits, with its products selling out across the country. (Adweek)
Spotify’s Daniel Ek Talks Covid-19, Universal Deal, Launching in Russia and Moving AheadAhead of Spotify’s earnings call for its 2020 second-quarter results on Wednesday morning, the company’s cofounder and CEO Daniel Ek and CFO Paul Vogel got on the phone for a short call with Variety’s Jem Aswad and Todd Spangler. The conversation follows in full. (Variety)
Sony, Universal, Warner Music Ask Employees to Work From Home Until 2021The three major music companies — Sony, Universal and Warner Music — have asked employees to work from home as much as possible for the rest of 2020 due to concerns over COVID-19. (Variety)
Facebook Sets Music Video Launch in U.S., Taking a Big Swing at YouTubeWith the U.S. launch of music videos, which Facebook has been actively developing since at least last fall, the company has updated Artist Pages of musicians and singers with a new section to let users browse their official music videos. Users will be able to follow an artist directly from music videos on Facebook, and click through from a video to their Page to get info like when they’re performing next and how to purchase their music. (Variety)
UK Government Announces Millions of Pounds to Help Festivals and NightlifeThe government has revealed that its billion-pound arts funding commitment will cover the UK’s nightlife and events sector. The announcement follows an industry-wide campaign calling on the government to help save the industry from collapse. The #LetUsDance campaign, launched last week, asked the government to ensure dance music businesses badly affected by the pandemic. (Vice)
Getting Down With The Kids: Why Children’s Music Is A Key Investment Area For The Music BusinessIt might seem like an unlikely sector of the market for an EDM star – more used to Las Vegas residencies or performing within Fortnite – to move into, but the fact that Marshmello has created a kids’ brand says a lot about where the music market is today and even more about where the audiences of tomorrow will come from. (Synchtank)
The Weeknd Will Perform In A Virtual Tiktok Concert On August 7thOn August 7th at 8:30PM ET, TikTok will play host to a live virtual concert from The Weeknd, where he’ll perform a series of tracks from his latest album, After Hours, the social network announced today. Rather than appearing in person like a typical TikTok video or its previous live-streamed music events, The Weeknd will be represented by a digital avatar. (The Verge)
Travis Scott Drops Official Cactus Jack Hand Sanitizer, Face Mask, and SafeTouch ToolOn Thursday, La Flame's online store was updated to include logo-stamped hand sanitizer for $12, face masks for $25, and SafeTouch tools for $30. For the unfamiliar, the SafeTouch device is a "hygiene multi-tool" that aims to minimize the potential exposure to health concerns by providing a distanced way of touching surfaces. The Cactus Jack edition, notably, is emblazoned with the promise "I ain't touching that shit." (Complex)
Watch Diplo's Full "Higher Ground" Fortnite Dj SetThe Grammy Award-winning dance music producer appeared in the final show of his summer Fortnite residency last Friday, July 31st, placing a cherry on top of a sensational series of streams within the game's "Party Royale" mode. While Diplo's past performances saw him assume his country alias, Thomas Wesley, and join his moombah-pop trio, Major Lazer, his final concert was operated under the umbrella of his Higher Ground record label. (EDM.com)
BYTES
You’ve probably heard that you should talk to your plants. If you’re Prince Charles, you might even try shaking a branch or stem in an approximation of a handshake to “wish it well.”
Lollapalooza moved online this year, and the music festival kicked off in an appropriately online way: with the debut of a new music video from virtual creator Miquela. The video is an entirely CG affair, created remotely, for the single “Hard Feelings.”
On E.gg you create canvases — free-form mixed media collages/pages that let you express anything from your favorite films/albums/novels to a collage of succulent pics to, say, an about page for an app.
The vibrant cinematographic album was produced over the course of a year and features a diverse cast and crew hailing from multiple locations where it was shot, including New York, Los Angeles, South Africa, West Africa, London and Belgium.
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!