It’s a hard time right now.The Amazon is burning in real-time. Global warming is causing environmental disaster after environmental disaster. Pollution is contaminating our oceans and eroding our ozone. Babies are being separated from their families at the border. Horrible mass shootings and acts of hate continue to plague the country. Big tech has lost control of its platforms and fake news is everywhere. It’s hard to know what’s real and what’s propaganda. The country feels divided and in flux. It’s clear to me why our collective mental health seems like it’s at an all-time low.How can you not feel the weight of the world on your shoulders? I’m constantly asking myself, what’s important to me right now? What can I uniquely do to make a positive impact?Where should I focus my energy for good?We take social impact marketing very seriously at Nue. We’ve been involved with several choice organizations over the years, one of which is Planned Parenthood. They are fighting such an important fight. Under the current administration, reproductive laws are changing for the worse. These laws affect us all, but they impact communities with limited resources the most. What happened in Georgia really scared me.When I learned about the #BansOffMyBody campaign that PP is doing, I knew I had to be involved. I’m such a big believer in their work. I was happy to get in the war room with them and to do outreach on their behalf. Proudly, we can say that nearly 140 artists from across the industry have banded together in support of abortion access and a woman’s right to choose, urging their fans to fight back against restrictions on reproductive health care. A new full-page ad in Billboard features these artists, which span every genre, making the message clear: the music industry opposes restrictions on safe, legal abortion and declares its strong support for reproductive health and rights.The artists signed on to the “Band Together, Bans Off” ad — which appears in this week’s issue of the magazine — include LIZZO, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Beck, Billie Eilish, Bon Iver, John Legend, Nicki Minaj, Demi Lovato, G-Eazy, HAIM, Sara Bareilles, Troye Sivan, Macklemore, Hayley Kiyoko, Megan Thee Stallion, Miley Cyrus, Kacey Musgraves, Carole King, Dua Lipa, Meghan Trainor, and more. Those who signed on are urging their social media followers to take action against these bans and to learn more about the threat to safe, legal abortion access in communities across the country. Specifically, the artists are asking their supporters to add their name to a national petition calling for an end to the abortion bans, with a goal of collecting half a million signatures by the anniversary of Roe v. Wade in January 2020.Over the next few months, Planned Parenthood will also join music festivals like Philadelphia’s Made in America and Music Midtown in Atlanta to educate fans about these harmful abortion bans. They will drive action to support access to sexual and reproductive healthcare and be working with a number of artists in new and innovative ways as they tour the country encouraging their fans to speak out.This outpouring of support from the artist community is further evidence that the American people do not support restricting access to safe, legal abortion. Nearly 1 in 4 women will have an abortion in their lifetime, and a record-high 77 percent of Americans don’t want to see Roe vs. Wade overturned.Add your name to the #BansOffMyBody petition and learn more at BansOffMyBody.org.
BEATS
NUE Agency's Jesse Kirshbaum on Brands' Evolving Relationship with the Music IndustryJesse Kirshbaum has a theory: brands in today’s congested marketing environment will need to double down on their music marketing efforts to break through the noise. (Entrepreneur)
Converting Weather Into Music With Dark Sky, Spotify For TychoIn a unique algorithmic twist, Tycho recently teamed up with Lee Martin to craft an app which employs the user's local weather forecast in order to create custom weather-based playlist. Here Martin walks us through the process of the app's creation, and how it works. (Hypebot)
How to Get More Spotify Plays and FollowersThese are easy tips and tricks to help you gain more streams on Spotify, gain new followers and get more plays. I have complied these from running over 7,000 campaigns via Playlist Push and working with thousands of artists of all genres of music over the past three years. (Medium)
Taylor Swift Explains How She Can Legally Re-Record All Her Old SongsTaylor Swift answered the big question everyone had after news emerged last night that Swift said she "absolutely" plans to re-record all her old music so she can own the rights on her new label: How, legally, can she do that? Swift was on Good Morning America today and addressed that during her interview with Robin Roberts. Apparently her contract with her last record label, Big Machine, doesn't allow it yet...but it will soon. (Elle)
Do Traditional Album Cycles Help or Hinder Artists? Two NME Writers Fight It Out Over the past few years artists have started to eschew these traditional album release schedules again, and it’s exciting! It’s boring being constrained by these rules, especially when it’s so easy to write, record and drop a song on Soundcloud in the course of the evening. And if it’s boring for us, it’s probably even more mind numbing for the artists. (NME)
Eminem’s Publisher Sues Spotify For Copyright Infringement Over ‘Lose Yourself’ and Other TracksEminem’s music publisher, Eight Mile Style, has filed a lawsuit against Spotify, alleging copyright infringement. The suit claims the steaming platform didn’t get proper licenses for the rapper’s music and wants Spotify to compensate the publisher for billions of streams. (The Verge)
Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish & More Protest Abortion Bans With New Planned Parenthood CampaignThe music engagement side to the reproductive healthcare nonprofit's larger Bans Off My Body campaign launched over the weekend with a full-page ad in Billboard magazine, signed by dozens of artists. Over the next few months, Planned Parenthood will call fans to action at music festivals like Jay-Z's Made in America in Philadelphia and Music Midtown in Atlanta, with Georgia having just signed into law a so-called "heartbeat bill" banning abortion six weeks into pregnancy. (Billboard)
How Blockchain Is About To Change The Music IndustryWe hear music every day, we dance to it and sing along with it. Music moves us and even defines our mood and the ambiance of the space around us. But do we know how it is made? Writing music was indeed literally writing music notes on a manuscript, but this practice is now long outdated with modern technological advancements which have made musical endeavors accessible to more people. Today, all you need is a laptop and the relevant software. (Forbes)
Apple Music Connect: What Could It Have Become If It Wasn’t ScrappedApple’s Worldwide Developers Conference was almost over, when Apple boss Tim Cook, with three words – Steve Jobs’s classic “One More Thing” grand finale signaller – changed the digital music landscape. The world’s richest company then sent one of the globe’s biggest artists out on stage to publicly endorse its new music streaming service, Apple Music – and one of its key differentiating features, direct-to-fan social tool, Connect. (Music Business Worldwide)
I Promise That You’ll Never Find Another Brand Lover Like MeTaylor Swift’s new album, Lover, is out this week, and the marketing machine is running full speed. Soon you’ll be able to buy Stella McCartney x Taylor Swift fashion items to go with your deluxe edition CDs and Spotify-exclusive Swift-curated playlist, all purchased with your Swift-approved Capital One credit card. In 2016, Forbes reported that Swift was the most marketable musical artist in the entire global industry — and she’s successfully leveraged that power to elevate her brand like nobody else in the business. (The Outline)
Why Spotify and Netflix Need to Worry About a Global RecessionA growing body of economists is becoming increasingly convinced that a global recession is edging closer. The last time we experienced a global economic downturn was the 2008 credit crunch. Although the coming recession will likely be a bigger shock to the global economy, it nonetheless gives us a baseline for what happens to consumer spending habits. When consumer income declines or is at risk, discretionary spend is hit first and often hardest. (Music Industry Blog)
Artist Development In The Digital AgeThe music business is all about personal connection. Artists create, consumers absorb, and through art there is communication. The artists and repertoire (A&R) arm of the industry is responsible for introducing most music to the public. Talent scouts by instinct, and savvy business people by trade, A&R reps find undiscovered artists and propel them to the top of the charts and the forefront of cultural discourse. (Creator and Creatives)
Why Hasbro's $4 Billion Studio Buy May Trigger More Media MergersThe toymaker's move to snap up Entertainment One is another salvo in an M&A shootout that puts more smaller and mid-sized entertainment companies — such as Lionsgate, AMC Networks and MGM — in play. (Hollywood Reporter)
BYTES
Drawing on interviews with leading band members, music executives, managers and promoters and using the latest data on revenues, royalties, tour dates and merchandise, Rockonomics takes listeners backstage to show how the music industry really works - who makes money and how much, and how the economics of the music industry has undergone a radical transformation during the last 20 years.
Sony Music and Mark Ronson took advantage of Facebook opening up augmented reality platform Spark AR to all Instagram creators last week, as the music label and the DJ, artist and producer teamed up with the photo- and video-sharing network on the first-ever purpose-built music video for Instagram Stories.
Roo answers all your awkward questions about sexual health, relationships, growing up, and more. Chatting with Roo is free and private, so go ahead and ask the things you don't want to ask out loud.
What do Lil Nas X, Steely Dan and Lizzo have in common? Maybe nothing other than that they're all high up on former President Barack Obama's summer 2019 playlist -- but that's a pretty cool place to be.
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!