Past:When I started in this business at the turn of the century, there was a very different landscape. Then, Napster happened, and for the decade that followed, it felt like the industry was being decimated by the digital revolution. There was very little opportunity and momentum outside of live music, which is why I ultimately decided to become an agent at the outset. In that phase of my career, I learned live brand strategy, how to rub sticks together to create heat, and all facets of the artist lens.Surprisingly, the decade after that would be even more rocky. But now, despite all of the ills of the business and the world at large, there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about music.Present:Firstly, music consumption is up thanks to streaming. And while there is work to do on payouts, equity, and tech’s attitude toward music creators, music is more ubiquitous than ever as a result of the digital shift.The big labels are making money hand over foot even as Indie music steadily takes market share. Profits are soaring again and the investments of the past decade have paid off. The music business is outperforming the NASDAQ and the DOW. For goodness sake, even vinyl is having another revival. Once the discussion of a TikTok ban subsides, there will be another big windfall for the labels.There are also somehow fewer gatekeepers and more artists who more frequently own their masters and get more equitable deals. The algorithm on social has changed. It matters less how many followers you have, and more whether your songs connect.The artist product business (Fenty, le FLEUR*, Rare Beauty, Cactus Jack) has empowered many as artists get savvier about creating their own brands and product extensions, taking a larger piece of the pie, and retaining their IP. Talk about a flywheel accelerating growth on every spoke of the artists brand.The publishing business is also thriving as savvy pub dynasties create efficiencies and opportunities for their catalogs.The live business, where I cut my teeth, is still doing fantastic. The big artists are packing stadiums night after night and breaking profit records. Taylor Swift is a billionaire and many more superstar tours are on the way for 2025. On the flip side, artist-led festivals are doing well (Flog Gnaw) as are niche festivals and residencies (Adele in Germany, ABBA’s Hologram, Cassidy in Vegas). As we look ahead, the technology for the live experience continues to improve (The Sphere, Cosm, The Intuit Dome). We are just getting started on how the live experience is being leveled up.Additionally, music tech investments are on the rise. What used to be taboo is now hot-button, with an identifiable cast of music-tech all-stars to watch. We’re seeing culture forward companies go public and win. Reddit’s IPO was a smashing success in 2024, and I expect a lot more action in 2025.AI is driving a new era of excitement and the rise of the amateur. There are big payouts coming to artists and rights holders, and so much innovation in the space leading to a whole new class of musician.Then there’s musicals and film tie-ins. The musical Wicked releases this week starring Ariana Grande and is going to be a monster success. The marketing rollout has been brilliant, taking a page out of Barbie’s playbook. We are living through a defining era of blockbuster roll-outs with the help of smart brand partnerships (hint, hint…we can build these type of strategies).New Wave:From where I sit, there is so much Blue Sky. Think for a second about the room for innovation and opportunity in:
Artist-to-fan connection
Livestream shopping
Blockchain
The global music economy (China, India, Afrobeats, Mexico to name a few)
Livestreaming concert experiences
Ticketing disruption
Fan club disruption
Collaborations with the sports industry
I’m just getting started, so stay tuned for the forecast issue at the top of 2025. It’s a crazy time, but there are crazy opportunities. As the world shifts again, let’s carve out our lanes and own our niches. That’s what we’re doing on the daily at Nue. We’ve seen the past, we’re living the present, and we’re staying ahead of the future!
BEATS
Continued Concert Boom Boosts Live NationLive Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter, reported strong momentum after a massive summer concert season, and anticipates further growth in 2025. Fans are paying more to attend shows and spending greater sums once they enter concert venues. Through October, the company had sold 144 million tickets for 2024 Live Nation concerts, up 3% from the same period last year. Onsite spending at Live Nation festivals and amphitheaters rose even more (WSJ).
Smirnoff Names Troye Sivan Its New 'Chief Vibes Officer'The vodka brand’s tongue-in-cheek campaign, created by Dazed Studio with production support from McCann New York, encourages people to ditch to-do lists and make more time for fun and going out with others (Adweek)
SoundCloud Expands AI Integrations With Tuney, Pex, Audible Magic PartnershipsNow, SoundCloud users will have access to six new assistive AI tools, including Tuney, Tuttii, AIBeatz, TwoShot, Starmony and ACE Studio. The company is also using Audible Magic and Pex to ensure that these new AI integrations are backed up by strong content identification tools that provide rights holders with proper credit and compensation (Billboard).
Timothée Chalamet: Becoming Bob Dylan with Apple MusicThis was my favorite interview of the week. How could you not be excitd about this film and the love hes putting into the craft?
YouTube Is Testing Music Remixes Made By AIYouTube is testing a new feature that will let creators use AI to “restyle” licensed songs for their shorts. The small group of creators with access can enter a prompt to change up different elements in a song, such as its mood or genre, and the expansion of YouTube’s Dream Track AI feature will generate a reworked 30-second soundtrack (The Verge).
Foot Locker Celebrates Sneaker Culture In Star-Studded Holiday CampaignNew spots feature NBA stars Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball, and Grammy-nominated artist Coi Leray. Ads showcase such exclusive new styles as the Nike Zoom Vomero 5, Jordan 4 RM, Adidas Originals Samba OG, Adidas Anthony Edwards 1 Low, New Balance 9060, Puma MB.04 and Ugg Neumel Weather Hybrid (Marketing Dive).
Charli XCX Styles Iridescent Denim and Bold Accessories as New Face of Acne StudiosThe “360” singer is a longtime admirer of Acne Studios and even wore pieces from the brand during her “Sweat” tour with Troye Sivan. “I’ve been wearing Acne Studios forever in my personal life and the brand has become a really important part of this album, too,” Charli said in a statement (Wired).
A Quarter Of Indie Artists Now Put Their Music Straight On TikTok–No Label RequiredRecord labels used to have beef with TikTok, but now they increasingly consider it instrumental (no pun intended) in launching new songs and new artists. But as music creation and distribution have become more democratized, those record labels have shrunk to be “the smallest segment of the music creator economy,” MIDiA founder Mark Mulligan says (Tubefilter).
Jay-Z's NFL EndgameJay-Z's Roc Nation has extended its NFL Super Bowl Halftime Show production deal for another five years, marking not only a continued transformation of the show's musical direction toward hip-hop but possibly positioning Jay-Z for a future role in NFL team ownership or leadership (Zack O'Malley Greenburg).
Tyler, The Creator’s Golf Wang and Lewis Hamilton’s +44 Unveil CapsuleTyler, The Creator’s Golf Wang and Lewis Hamilton’s +44 are combining their respective powers for a new capsule collection, unveiled today. The unique neon glow of the Vegas Strip is a core component of the visual inspiration behind the limited edition collection, as is the wide world of car enthusiasts (Complex).
Beyoncé Set to Perform at Halftime of Ravens-Texans During NFL Christmas Gameday Live on NetflixBeyoncé is set to perform during halftime of the Ravens-Texans game as part of NFL Christmas Gameday live on Netflix. The singer will perform in her hometown of Houston during the second of Netflix’s two games, as the Houston Texans host the Baltimore Ravens at NRG Stadium at 4:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 25 (Hollywood Reporter).
A Surprise Charli XCX Concert in Times Square is Part of H&M’s Loyalty Strategy“These events need to continue on after they’ve over and not just be one drop in the ocean,” Li said. “Doing a Times Square concert with Charli XCX shouldn’t just be a one-off cool event. Our strategy is to continue the special occasion after the fact through marketing and curated collections. And we’re planning to do a lot of events along the same lines in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and other cities across the country,” (Glossy).
The Hypebeasts Take Las VegasComplexCon 2024, a hybrid event combining a streetwear trade show, music festival, and sneaker convention curated by Travis Scott, drew 60,000 attendees to Las Vegas where young shoppers waited in hours-long lines to purchase exclusive merchandise from rapper-affiliated brands and meet their favorite creators (New York Times).
Spotify Will Start Paying Video Podcast Hosts Based On How Well Their Videos PerformSpotify announced on Wednesday that it will start paying podcast hosts who make popular videos on its streaming platform, as the company looks to take on YouTube’s dominance in the video podcast space. The company announced a new “Partner Program” that lets creators monetizes their content beyond ad revenue (TechCrunch).
Lil Yachty x Nike Air Force 1 “Concrete Boys” Releases December 2024The Lil Yachty x Nike Air Force 1 “Concrete Boys”, initially a Friends & Family exclusive, is now set to release during Holiday 2024. This collaboration between Nike and Yachty’s Concrete Boys label reimagines the classic Air Force 1 silhouette, infusing it with Yachty’s personal touch and unique branding.
BYTES
In this raw and reflective limited audio series, Jermaine Cole takes listeners on an unfiltered voyage through his life, career, and personal evolution, using both released and unreleased music to guide the story. Through conversation with Ibrahim Hamad and Scott Lazer, Season 1 finds Cole recounting his journey from his early days as a young, aspiring rapper to finally seeing his dreams become a reality, despite the many hurdles and pitfalls he faces along the way (Inevitable).
Sabrina Carpenter unveiled the trailer for A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter during the final night of her Short n’ Sweet U.S. tour on Monday night. “Christmas is coming early this year,” the pop star says at the beginning of the teaser. “I wouldn’t count on a silent night,” (Hollywood Reporter).
Bluesky has emerged as Twitter's likely successor over Threads, gaining over a million new users since the recent election, as it better maintains Twitter's real-time information sharing capabilities while Threads' Instagram-like algorithmic approach struggles with timely content delivery despite having many more total users (275M vs 15M).
American musician Jon Batiste honors his classical music roots in his eighth studio album, “Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1),” which is out now on Verve Records/Interscope. Showcasing his interpretations of Beethoven’s most iconic works with the spirit of the blues, this album engages a broad genre spectrum and marks the first installment in Batiste’s new solo piano series project (WSJ).
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!