Fall is back and it’s highkey bustling. This week alone is Fashion Week, The Met Gala, and The VMAs in NYC. Concerts and art shows are happening all over the city. Even though we’re all navigating the Delta variant, it’s tough to not want to go out and touch the town.Last night’s opening of the Dior exhibit at Brooklyn Museum married all of these elements for one of the strongest exhibitions of branded content imaginable. The rich history of this label is being elegantly told in a wonderful setting.The five boroughs are also home to the most attended sports event in the country, The US Open in Flushing, Queens. As you know, I’m a massive tennis fan. This is always one of my favorite times of year. And while a lot of my favorite racket wielders are sitting out or have already been eliminated, that leaves room for new heroes that the sport needs right now.Responsibly, the tournament organizers canceled the Kids Day celebration that usually features a big musical performance. Although I don’t see tennis impacting music as much as I’d like, tennis culture is hotter than ever. The sport is thriving and streetwear brands are doing some awesome collaborations to push it further.I absolutely love the Kith x Wilson drop. Fila, Nike, and K-Swiss are ramping up their tennis fits, too. It’s particularly fun for me because our friends at Furi dropped their new lifestyle brand TFP. They’re challenging the status quo and boldly ushering in a new era of wearing white after Labor Day!Long story short, I’ll be in the mix this month. It’s going to be a great September that will set the stage for the 4th quarter. Stay safe and let’s connect.
BEATS
Fender Partners with Mattel for New Barbie Collection Song Lessons on Fender PlayThe unlikely partnership was struck up to promote the new Netflix film, Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams, and allows aspiring young guitarists to learn to play songs from the film – picking up some key skills and techniques along the way. (Guitar World)
Selena Gomez Launches $30 Ice Cream Sundae at Serendipity3Created by Gomez, the $29.95 dessert features Cookies & Cream remix ice cream covered in hot fudge, cream-filled cookie crumbles, pink sugar and whipped cream and is topped off by a banana and a cherry. A percentage of proceeds from the sundae will go to Gomez’s Rare Impact Fund to support access to mental health resources. (Variety)
Oye, mi gente!: TikTok Latinx Creatives Incubator Program with MACROOn TikTok, la #FamiliaLatina is made up of users, creators, and artists who trace their roots back to Latin American countries from around the world. Whether it's celebrating their culture, breaking down stereotypes, inspiring people to enjoy life through authentic content, or just creating relatable and funny clips, Latinx creators are making an impact across culture and entertainment. (Newsroom)
Kanye Just Obliterated the Creative Full StopGiven simple but powerful tools, it turns out that the consumers like to be creators too. First it was pictures and video, but now it is audio’s turn, and Kanye’s Donda Stem Player could prove to be a pivotal step in that journey. (Music Industry Blog)
IKEA Is Organising A Virtual Music FestivalIKEA – yes, that IKEA – is putting on a 24-hour online music festival on September 16.The programme is split across various areas of music and design, but will include a series of 'Home Concerts' — where acts will perform from their personal addresses — as well as a 'DJ Relay', which will include the likes of Loraine James, ZULI, Kaytranda, Badsista and TOKiMONSTA. (The Quietus)
Music’s Next Big Challenge: Licensing For The New Wave Of Social PlatformsArguably one the of the biggest challenges facing the music industry is what comes next. Streaming has provided the short term answer but how do fandom and social platforms work together? (SynchTank)
Hipgnosis Founder Merck Mercuriadis' Message to the MajorsThe music mogul has consistently spoken of his intention to be a catalyst for changing where the songwriter sits in the economic equation as a consequence of his extraordinary spending spree since launching the song management company in 2018. (Music Week)
Hidden Bands Gamifies New Music Releases With Custom Events In Augmented RealityThink of it like geocaching new music. Or playing Pokémon GO, but the reward is new music instead of a new digital monster. For music superfans, Hidden Bands gives players a location-based augmented reality game to find, discover, and rate unreleased rock songs from up-and-coming artists. (Digital Music News)
BYTES
There have been other biographies of Roger Federer, but never one with this kind of access to the man himself, his support team, and the most prominent figures in the game, including such rivals as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Roddick. In The Master, New York Times correspondent Christopher Clarey sits down with Federer and those closest to him to tell the story of the greatest player in men's tennis. Listen on Audible.
Drake’s new album, Certified Lover Boy continues to draw people’s attention especially in his most recent eccentric music video, “Way 2 Sexy”, featuring Future and Young Thug. The video starts off with a warning which includes: “Repeat viewing may lead to a pregnancy.” Well.. we’ll have to see about that!
Anghami, an Abu Dhabi-based digital music service app, has crucially shaped the global music industry in the Middle East and North Africa region, garnering over 70 million registered users along with having nearly 60 million songs in its library.
DJ Mode is the official DJ for the US Open and NYCFC, make sure you don’t miss out on the talented music director, producer and DJ as he’s one of the best in the business!
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!