For some it’s back to school vibes again in the air! As the Summer concludes, it’s time to for others to flip into 4th quarter mode.I know I spent my last few weeks living up Summer. Even though this holiday weekend I did it a very un-New York way: by staying in New York. I love a good holiday weekend in the five boroughs with record lows of people and pandemonium. It’s a rare chance to get run through the city with the least possible congestion.But it’s never not popping in NY, let’s be honest. Drake’s tour was in town, and he sold out MSG and Barclays six nights in a week. One mic on stage doing overflowing basketball areas with no off-season. It’s awesome to see his impact. Barclays is a great venue to watch the show and Friday night he & this three aMigos had Brooklyn on it’s feet.Saturday I stopped by Electric Zoo to see the latest and greatest in EDM culture. Old friends and early Nue clients were shining. Shouts to Stookie Sounds for bringing out Raekwon, a necessary New York surprise on that Ezoo bill. I also dropped by PS1 for their predictably boundary-pushing curations. Lizzo didn’t disappoint.Time to click back into gear. Next time you blink it'll be Halloween. Then Thanksgiving. Then 6 weeks of Christmas. 2019 is coming. Time to bear down and finish 2018 strong. See you on the field.Best,
BEATS
How Joe Budden Became the Howard Stern of Hip-HopAs a rapper, Joe Budden had a hit 15 years ago — and then a string of bad luck and poor choices. Now he has emerged as a podcast star. (Iman Stevenson – The New York Times)
The Future of Music Festivals Is … the Internet?After the triumph of Beychella, it seemed as though the mega-music fest was stronger than ever. But the cancellation of several high-profile events and a serious market correction has the industry reconsidering its future. And one long-running festival thinks it has the answer: make festivals into content. (Victor Luckerson – The Ringer)
How Two Bit Circus is Turning It's 21st Century Carnival Into One Giant GameThe ‘micro-amusement park’ combines VR, escape rooms, and carnival games to create a grand, playable adventure. (Bryan Bishop – The Verge)
Will Virtual Reality Concerts Ever Go Mainstream?Although Virtual Reality tech dropped with a huge amount of promise this immersive entertainment technology hasn't quite taken in off in the way many thought, despite many efforts to the contrary. That said VR is far from dead, and could have a promising future in music. (Hypebot)
In the five years since launch, GTA V and GTA Online gamers have listened to more than 75 billion minutes of music, according to Rockstar Games. (Brian Crecente – Rollingstone)
The Sounds of Music in the Twenty-first CenturyWhen the hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, in April, reactions in the classical-music world ranged from panic to glee. Composers in the classical tradition have effectively monopolized the prize since its inception, in 1943. Not until 1997 did a nominal outsider—the jazz trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis—receive a nod. Lamar’s victory, for his moodily propulsive album “damn.,” elicited some reactionary fuming—one irate commenter said that his tracks were “neurologically divergent from music”—as well as enthusiastic assent from younger generations. (Alex Ross – The New Yorker)
Spotify Is Done Fighting Apple Music — and Ready to Take on AppleSpotify, by several measures the biggest music-streaming service in the world, has teamed up with Samsung, the biggest smartphone maker in the world. The two companies announced a major partnership on Thursday that makes Spotify the official music service provider for all of Samsung’s phones, televisions, tablets, watches and speakers. It means the Spotify app will be part of the set-up process on many new devices, as well as integrated into Samsung’s voice assistant program and better synced with Samsung’s smart-home apps. (Amy x. Wang – Rollingstone)
What is the ROI of a music video for developing artists in 2018?Marketing and band managers need to seriously re-think the value of polished video clips in 2018. The odds of Rage, V Music or MTV breaking a band no one has ever heard of is almost zero, so why do we do it? Well, there are only three reasons I can think of to justify spending $5k-15k on a polished video for your developing artists. (Luke Girgis – The Industry Observer)
Music’s ‘Moneyball’ Moment: why Data is the New Talent ScoutIn a world of Spotify, YouTube and Instagram, can algorithms discover tomorrow’s hits? (Michael Hann – Financial Times)
Ticketing site Eventbrite files to raise up to $200 million in IPO Eventbrite, a provider of online ticketing services and personalized event invitations, announced plans to raise up to $200 million in an initial public offering. (Jordan Novet – CNBC)
Tencent Music Set to IPO in October, with Expected $30BN Valuation Music’s next multi-billion-dollar IPO is on track to arrive before the end of October. Numerous credible reports out of China are suggesting that Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) is preparing to go public in the United States on Thursday, October 18. (Tim Ingham – MBW)
The Most Streamed Songs of Summer 2018It was the plea heard around the world; “Kiki, do you love me?” (Spotify – For the Record)
YouTuber Boxing Match Rakes in Over $8m this Weekend… and It’s Not OverLogan Paul and KSI are YouTubers — internet celebrities who became famous by livestreaming outrageous jokes and vulgar video game narration. But, over the weekend, the trash-talking rivals translated their e-stardom into a boxing match that packed historic Manchester Arena with 20k fans. And, thanks to 784k livestreamers, it pulled in more than $8.3m, making it one of the biggest British pay-per-view boxing matches in history. (The Hustle)
BYTES
“Sweetener” has taken the singer to new heights at a moment of transition for the top ranks of female vocalists.
Over Labor Day Weekend — the unofficial end of the summer — Childish Gambino dropped an animated video for his song “Feels Like Summer,” one of two seasonally-themed songs he released back in July. While not as densely packed with signifiers as his powerful and politically loaded “This Is America” clip, the new one is filled with recent hip-hop references.
Out Of Tune is a live music game where you compete to win a cash prize. All you need to do is correctly guess 10 songs. The game is played every weekday at 3:30pm and 8:30pm ET.
San Holo has teamed up with Bipolar Sunshine on his latest for some minimalist magic on “brighter days.” The track arrives via San Holo’s own Bitbird imprint, with airy vocal textures and wistful low-fi production that perfectly soundtracks that bittersweet late summer feeling.
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!