| When you effectively create something powerful enough to move the bulls*** out of the way, all kinds of forces and energies may not like that. They may seek to corrupt and discourage, to disrupt and distract, to divide, and sabotage. |
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| Ms. Lauryn Hill at the Stockholm Jazz Festival, Stockholm, Sweden, July 19, 2005. |
| (Fredrik Persson/AFP/Getty Images) |
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| quote of the day |
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“When you effectively create something powerful enough to move the bulls*** out of the way, all kinds of forces and energies may not like that. They may seek to corrupt and discourage, to disrupt and distract, to divide, and sabotage.”
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- Ms. Lauryn Hill
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| rantnrave:// |
Vertical Killed the Radio Star
SPOTIFY has officially rolled out its new vertically swiped, video-rich interface, and if it reminds older users of old MTV and younger ones of current TIKTOK, neither of those associations seems to be accidental. DANIEL EK told Billboard after Wednesday’s “Stream On” event that he grew up on (and learned how to speak English from) MTV and that the music industry’s long-ago leap from radio to TV made things “a hell of a lot better.” But he also said he takes inspiration now from his two young kids, and they and their peers “are more interested in visual discovery, and all those things that they’re used to because of all the other apps and platforms and other stuff.” So stream on, but also swipe out.
Between “Stream On” and Spotify’s updated “Loud and Clear” website, EK and team rolled out a bunch of big numbers, including the nearly $40 billion it’s paid out to rights holders in the 15 years it’s been in business (“That makes us the single biggest source of revenue for the entire music industry,” Ek said) and the more than 10,000 artists who “generated” at least $100,000 in royalties in 2022. (The quotes around “generated,” a fuzzy word that clouds the issue of who actually received those royalties, are mine. Still an impressive number, for whoever was on the receiving end.) They introduced a variety of new bells and whistles, including merch and tour integrations for artists, a pre-save button for upcoming releases and an AI-assisted “smart” playlist feature, and introduced us to the human voice and human programmers behind Spotify’s AI “DJ,” as if to reassure us the machines aren’t entirely in charge. Not yet.
And then they spent quite a bit of time reminding us they do podcasts, too, and they want to do more of them and offer their makers more bells and whistles, too. Spotify, for better and for worse, shall not live by music alone. The company has talked about itself in recent years as an “audio” company rather than a “music” company. But Ek seemed to emphasize another word Wednesday: “creators,” which potentially telegraphs an even wider universe than “audio.” “What we’re building here at Spotify,” he said in his introductory remarks, is “the best home for creators.” The only thing limiting what, er, ridiculousness might lay ahead, as we continue scrolling vertically through Spotify’s ever-expanding feed, is the company’s imagination.
Etc Etc Etc
Music’s new billion dollar player (or maybe not quite?)... UNIVERSAL MUSIC and agencies including CAA, WME and WASERMAN MEDIA GROUP are among the music companies that have lined up behind LIVE NATION’s “FAIR Ticketing” proposal for federal anti-scalping legislation... Replacing human DJs “is the furthest thing from our mindset,” says CEO of the company behind RADIOGPT, which seems designed to do exactly that... LAINEY WILSON, KANE BROWN, CODY JOHNSON and JELLY ROLL are the top nominees for the CMT MUSIC AWARDS, to be held April 2 in Austin... Real EARTH, WIND & FIRE versus fake Earth, Wind & Fire.
Rest in Peace
CHAIM TOPOL, the Israeli actor/singer best known for playing Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof" both onscreen in Norman Jewison's 1971 film and in thousands of stage performances around the world. The Jerusalem Post said he was "Israel’s most famous export since the Jaffa orange"... Jazz singer TONI HARPER... Country pedal steel player (and founder of the internet's popular Steel Guitar Forum) BOBBY LEE.
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| - Matty Karas, curator |
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Bloomberg |
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| Apple’s Money and Snoop Dogg’s Songs Back This $1 Billion Music Startup |
| By Lucas Shaw |
| Former Apple executive Larry Jackson Jackson is pitching his company, Gamma, as an alternative to traditional record labels, which many artists feel have taken advantage of them. Gamma is promising artists more control over their work by agreeing to long-term licenses instead of ownership. |
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DJ Mag |
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| The Great House Music Swindle |
| By Harold Heath |
| Chicago’s Trax Records released some of the most influential records in house history, but decades later, many of the artists behind them are still waiting to be paid. Harold Heath investigates the long and complicated history of one of house music’s most infamous labels. |
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Chicago Reader |
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| The great touring gamble |
| By Leor Galil |
| Hitting the road is supposed to be how indie musicians survive the privations of the streaming economy. But it’s fast becoming another source of financial risk. |
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The New York Times |
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| Celebrating De La Soul, With Questlove |
| By Jon Caramanica, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Joseph Patel |
| A conversation about the group’s impact and legacy as its music finally arrives on streaming services, just weeks after the death of one of its rappers, Dave Jolicoeur. |
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The Ringer |
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| Turnstile Broke Hardcore. Now What? |
| By Michael Tedder |
| With a breakout album and crossover appeal, the Baltimore band took hardcore music to places previously thought unimaginable. Does that mean the next wave of punk’s most misanthropic subgenre is ready for the spotlight? |
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The Face |
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| RXK Nephew is America’s weirdest rapper |
| By Dylan Green |
| His outrageous lyrics take shots at high-profile celebrities and peddle bizarre conspiracy theories. Plus he’s dropped more music than anyone could possibly have time to listen to. |
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HipHopDX |
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| How J. Cole Really Makes Music |
| By Jeremy Hecht and Kevin Bernardez |
| This video is about what J. Cole is like in the studio, straight from the mouths of Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and Kill Edward. |
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| what we're into |
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| Music | Media |
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Suggest a link  |
| “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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