Monday October 6th,
Thoughts from the CEO:
Kudos to the Sonos team for putting on a well curated Music Tech experience, this past week at NeueHouse in NYC! I got the chance to check out the Studio, which featured daily concerts, art exhibits, and interactive workshops.
Yep - Sonos quickly turned itself into a billion dollar music company, with customers touting & loving their products. Will they grow into industry leaders? I think there's real room for them to help the business, as it grows to new heights.
Their week long activation featured thought-provoking conversation, industry hangs - and performances, each with distinct vibes and verticals. From Richard Reed Parry playing a beautiful set from Music for Heart and Breath, to Action Bronson & Party Supplies turning up for SoundCloud and of course, Pandora bringing out Danny Brown - everything sounded first rate!
Keep your eye out for the next #CRWN episodes dropping tomorrow. We've received reviews that Elliott and B.I.G. K.R.I.T. had the best conversation yet.
STREAMING & SUBSCRIPTION
Grooveshark Responds to Lawsuit Loss Defiantly, Will Continue
via Hypebot
Judge rules for labels, against rogue music streamer
Almost 6K tracks uploaded w/o proper licensing
Have not been awarded damages or ordered to shut down - yet
CULTURE
This Interactive Map of NYC Is Made of 180 Morphing Speakers
via WIRED
Multimedia gallery, Sonos Studio, took week-long trip to NYC's NeueHouse
Featured 'Sounds of NYC': a giant, interactive Lite Brite that plays music
Moving map of sound: songs streamed from Google Play
TECH
Snoop Dogg Now Part Owner of Reddit
via VIBE
Reddit plans to improve site & community w/ $50M raised
Investors include Jared Leto, Marc Andreessen, Peter Thiel
New investors give 10% of their share to Reddit users as Thank You
Spotify IPO: The Only Thing Record Labels Care About
Labels have given up on selling music, pushing Spotify to IPO
Lack of sustainable business model for artists on the Internet
CEO, BitTorrent addresses being mistaken as company that "rips artists off"
SXSW Hints at Capping Unofficial Events, Moving Out of Austin
SXSW may have to "bid their event to other cities to sustain business model"
Hard to make distinction b/t official & unofficial SXSW events, causes problems
Money is bottom line, currently SXSW not profiting from unofficial showcases
Burning Man App Becomes Tool for Hong Kong Protestors
via Billboard
Uses Bluetooth, negating need for Wifi or cellular
200k+ downloads in 3 days
Working on protester-minded chat room apps like private messaging & encryption
Deezer Partners With Bose, Launches Paid Streaming Service
via Venture Beat
Service delivers music experiences to 26M+ fans worldwide
US users can sign up for Deezer through Bose products
Current promotion: $5/mo instead of $10
Thom Yorke's BitTorrent Release Hits 1M Downloads
via Mashable
Yorke's solo album, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, releases as $6 BitTorrent Bundle
BitTorrent keeps 10% of album proceeds, artist keeps 90%
# of paid album downloads vs free single downloads not yet confirmed
Childish Gambino Mixtape: Name-Dropping All My Tech Friends
via Tech Crunch
Drops 18 song mixtape, shout outs 7 tech founders & VCs
Gambino has been involved in the tech community for years
Rap Genius was unfamiliar with Gambino's tech friends, unable to decypher lyrics