| There’s all of these moments where artists have strategically resisted that word, because what it does is limit what they seek to do. And it revokes their ability to define their work on their own terms. |
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“There’s all of these moments where artists have strategically resisted that word, because what it does is limit what they seek to do. And it revokes their ability to define their work on their own terms.”
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When Songs Are Bought
The proposed $4 billion deal announced at the end of last week between UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP and investor BILL ACKMAN's PERSHING SQUARE TONTINE HOLDINGS would give Ackman a piece of a hit song his grandfather co-wrote nearly 100 years ago and sold for $150. That's the equivalent of about $2,200 in 2021 dollars, a rather terrible price for the publishing of a song that, the Wall Street Journal's ANNE STEELE reports in a colorful behind-the-scenes story (paywall) about the UMG/Ackman deal, ended up selling more than 750,000 copies. "PUT YOUR ARMS WHERE THEY BELONG (FOR THEY BELONG TO ME)" was recorded by, among many others, HENRY BURR for the Victor label in 1926 and NICK LUCAS for Brunswick in 1927. Those are the two versions that remain available today in SPOTIFY. Lucas' version has been played 3,780 times. Burr's was added much more recently and play counts don't show up for it. Suffice it to say, over the life of Spotify, "Put Your Arms Where They Belong" has earned the 2021 equivalent of basically no money for anyone. Welcome to the music business, Bill Ackman. Some compositions and recordings gain value in Mercuriadian multiples over the years and decades. Some do not. It's hard to say if Pershing Square Tontine would be willing to buy the publishing to "Put Your Arms Where They Belong" (lyrics by LOU DAVIS, music by HENRY SANTLY and HERMAN ACKMAN) for $2,200 today for anything but sentimental reasons. But if it's included in the $4 billion package, it's a nice little bonus. ("If," because the Journal story doesn't make clear what exactly UMG owns, or whether it's a recording interest or a publishing interest.)
Also getting a new owner: the catalog of TOMMY BOY RECORDS, scooped up for $100 million by RESERVOIR, another music company that, like UMG, is planning to go public later this year with the help of a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. Reservoir, which has said it will be the first independent music company and the first female-founded one to go public in the US, has invested heavily in publishing and recording catalogs, and the Tommy Boy acquisition gives it a small warehouse full of iconic masters by the likes of QUEEN LATIFAH, DIGITAL UNDERGROUND, AFRIKA BAMBAATAA, COOLIO... and DE LA SOUL, whose classic albums have, to date, earned even less money in Spotify than "Put Your Arms Where They Belong" has. That's because they aren't available there or at any other legal subscription service, owing to longstanding problems over the label's cavalier approach to clearing samples in the early days as well as the group's unhappiness with the streaming split Tommy Boy was offering. After label founder TOM SILVERMAN re-acquired the catalog from WARNER MUSIC in 2017, the label tried to put De La Soul's music online but backed down after the band protested. Reservoir says it's now working with De La Soul to "bring the catalog and the music back to the fans," which would end one of the longest holdouts in the music streaming universe and help refill a glaring hole in hip-hop history.
Working for the Weeknd
Continuing his post-Grammys sweep of pretty much every award the Grammys didn't give him, the WEEKND won five JUNO AWARDS over the weekend, including artist, album and single of the year. No one else won more than one Juno in a ceremony that aired in two parts, both produced virtually, on Friday and Saturday. It was the 50th edition of Canada's most prestigious music awards.
Rest in Peace
House DJ/producer ELBEE BAD, aka "The Prince of Dance Music"... Argentine producer and label owner RUBÉN "PELO" APRILE... South African percussionist GABRIEL SEGWAGA "MABI" THOBEJANE... Actor CLARENCE WILLIAMS III, who played Prince's father in "Purple Rain."
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| Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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Bloomberg |
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| Universal Music Turned Dominant Roster of Stars Into $42 Billion |
| by Thomas Pfeiffer and Lucas Shaw |
| While some artists have rebelled publicly against UMG's control over their careers, more have joined its roster in the belief that it will give them the best chance of becoming a superstar. “Universal has traded for a long time by saying, ‘We are the biggest and the best -- we can do this for you,” said analyst Mark Mulligan. |
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Music Industry Blog |
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| The productisation of music rights |
| by Mark Mulligan |
| External finance has long played an important role in the music business, but never before at this sort of scale. |
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Slate |
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| BTS Are Playing—And Winning—the Billboard Charts Game Fair And Square |
| by Chris Molanphy |
| Is anyone surprised that BTS’s newest English-language single became an instant hit? |
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Variety |
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| De La Soul’s Music Will Be Coming ‘Back to the Fans’ -- and Streaming Services -- New Label Owner Pledges |
| by Jem Aswad |
| The group’s early recordings have been mired in legal issues with its label, Tommy Boy Records, stemming from the extensive use of uncleared samples and the group’s contract with the company, which the members signed when they were teenagers. |
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Pitchfork |
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| Trippie Redd, Travis Scott, Kid Cudi, and the Commodification of Rage in Rap |
| by Alphonse Pierre |
| Plus more highs and lows from the world of rap this week, including Young M.A’s latest song of the summer contender and a throwback review of Tupac’s performance in the 1997 movie Gridlock’d. |
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NPR Music |
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| Twee Your Mind: How Tiger Trap Taught Me That Tenderness Is Punk |
| by Maria Sherman |
| Rarely does a life-altering album reveal itself, right away, to alter your life. But for Maria Sherman, Tiger Trap's 1993 album was a swift sonic gateway to reconsidering the power of soft sounds. |
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Trapital |
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| Jonnyshipes on Cinematic Music Group, Indie Hip-Hop, and Building the Supreme for Music |
| by Dan Runcie and Jonnyshipes |
| Cinematic Music Group founder and CEO Jonnyshipes came on the pod to talk about how he’s built Cinematic into an influential entertainment company that other labels are trying to follow. Shipes worked with Smoke DZA, Nipsey Hussle, Joey Badass, and more. |
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Synchblog |
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| Synchtank Summit Takeaways: Merck Mercuriadis on Rewriting the Rules of the Songs Business |
| by Emma Griffiths |
| The Hipgnosis boss on his mission to revolutionize music publishing and change where the songwriter sits in the economic equation. |
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The New York Times |
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| New York City Plans a Central Park Mega-Concert to Celebrate Reopening |
| by Ben Sisario and Emma G. Fitzsimmons |
| The mayor’s office has asked the producer Clive Davis to sign up musical stars for an event on the Great Lawn in August. |
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The Quietus |
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| Staying In For the Summer: How The New Acoustic Movement Helped Me Navigate My Teens |
| by Tom Clayton |
| In his new book, "When Quiet Was The New Loud," Tom Clayton seeks to re-assess the oft-derided music of Coldplay, Travis, Turin Brakes et al. |
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Billboard |
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| Upside/Downside: As Spotify's ARPU Drops, Subscriber 'Lifetime Value' Has Grown |
| by Glenn Peoples |
| Family plans and other subscriber deals are causing tension between the company and creators. |
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Los Angeles Times |
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| How Philip Glass turns the circus into opera that's magical and profound |
| by Mark Swed |
| Philip Glass' new 'Circus Days and Nights' is the latest example of the composer's operas proving to be a prime source of experimentation during the pandemic. |
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Vulture |
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| For Vijay Iyer, Jazz Isn’t About Coolness — It’s About Defiance |
| by Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding |
| The pianist’s new improvised album tackles racism and injustice without saying a word. |
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Variety |
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| Most Content Creators Are Still Underpaid -- It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way |
| by Paul Goldman |
| In order to track down wayward credits, you need to sift through petabytes of information from all over the world while making sure nothing gets lost in translation. This requires next-level technology, but the result is simple: more data processed equals more revenue for creators. |
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Pitchfork |
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| Jam City on His Journey From Experimental Electronic Music to Producing Olivia Rodrigo |
| by Eric Torres |
| Jack Latham made a name for himself via the avant electronic label Night Slugs. Now, he’s working with Rodrigo, Conan Gray, and Troye Sivan. |
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Billboard |
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| Kindness on Making the Industry More Inclusive: ‘Share information -- It’s Quite a Powerful Thing to Do’ |
| by Nolan Feeney |
| The acclaimed producer discusses meaningful ways to empower marginalized artists. |
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The Forty-Five |
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| 00s Pop-Punk was a white monolith. The 20s will be better |
| by Jenessa Williams |
| As the world collectively gets giddy over the 00s pop-punk revival, Jenessa Williams cherishes the opportunity for a more diverse landscape of leading female artists. |
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Slate |
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| Punk Was Never Just for White Dudes |
| by Sofia Andrade |
| Underage rockers the Linda Lindas aren’t just punk rock’s future—they’re a throwback to its feminist origins. |
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CBC |
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| How the Junos' TikTok stars found a way to fame during the pandemic |
| by Jackson Weaver |
| Tate McRae, Powfu and Curtis Waters gained fame on the app that is forever altering our music landscape. |
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WTF with Marc Maron |
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| WTF with Marc Maron: Episode 1232 -- Danny Elfman |
| by Marc Maron and Danny Elfman |
| Danny and Marc talk about Batman, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Simpsons and his new solo album, his first in 37 years. |
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"I know you might not like this one / So press the skip button." From "Reflection," out now on Hyperdub.
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Monday morning record collector porn. A raw 80-minute video of Analog Planet editor Michael Fremer going through a collection of 200 10-inch reel-to-reel tapes one by one, nothing more, nothing less.
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| Music | Media | Sports | Fashion | Tech |
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“REDEF is dedicated to my mother, who nurtured and encouraged my interest in
everything and slightly regrets the day she taught me to always ask ‘why?’” |
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| Jason Hirschhorn |
| CEO & Chief Curator |
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