We all have it. We all can do it. It’s not like playing saxophone or trumpet. We all can sing a song. It’s maybe not going to be great, but that’s all something that we can do for free for our enjoyment, for other people’s enjoyment.
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Wednesday March 22, 2023
REDEF
Cécile McLorin Salvant at the Jazz en la Costa festival, Almuñécar, Spain, July 17, 2018.
(Bianca de Vilar/Redferns/Getty Images)
quote of the day
We all have it. We all can do it. It’s not like playing saxophone or trumpet. We all can sing a song. It’s maybe not going to be great, but that’s all something that we can do for free for our enjoyment, for other people’s enjoyment.
- Cécile McLorin Salvant
rantnrave://
Everless

Music industry math! In April 2019, the INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE PHONOGRAPHIC INDUSTRY reported that global recorded music revenues in the boom year of 2018 had totaled $19.1 billion, representing the fastest year-over-year growth in the industry in at least 20 years, powered by an exploding subscription streaming market. By May 2020, when the IFPI was reporting another blockbuster year, those 2018 revenues had been slightly downgraded to $18.7 billion, a recalculation quietly slipped into the federation’s annual report. As of this week, another three growth years having elapsed, the IFPI is telling us the global recorded music market in 2018 was actually $17.5 billion. And, as industry analyst MARK MULLIGAN of MIDIA noted on Twitter, the IFPI also quietly adjusted its 2021 numbers, by a lot: A year ago, it reported $25.9 in 2021 revenues; as of this week, that figure had been trimmed to an even $24 billion. Global recorded music growth from 2021 to 2022? Nine percent, according to the industry. One percent, according to Mulligan. Check your royalty statements, kids. (And H/T Mr. Mulligan for the prompt.)

Whichever calculus you decide to use, the total dollar figure for 2022 (which includes streaming, downloads, physical sales, performance rights and synch, but not publishing or live revenues) is, as of this week, according to the IFPI, $26.2 billion. Growth is still strong, though the rate of growth has slowed. A maturing streaming market, the dominant source of recorded music income, grew 11.5% worldwide. A year ago, that number was 24.3%. While the pandemic—and fuzzy math—may have skewed some of those numbers in both directions, this year’s streaming growth was the slowest in several years.

The US remains the world’s largest market, with 2022 revenues topping a record $10 billion, but the growth appears to be elsewhere. The combined US and Canadian market grew 5% last year, compared with 25.9% in Latin America, 23.8% in the Middle East and North Africa and 34.7% in Sub-Saharan Africa. It’s no accident that labels and other music companies are expanding and investing in all those regions. It’s a matter of debate how much the regions, which all have thriving indie/local industries, need that major-label investment, but there’s little doubt the major labels need them. Unless the “inside-out majors” get there first.

He Loved LA

The writings of LA music and culture writer SCOTT TIMBERG, who died in 2019 at age 50, are collected in BOOM TIMES FOR THE END OF THE WORLD, published Tuesday by HEYDAY BOOKS. “In his death,” his friend TED GIOIA writes in the book’s heartbreaking introduction, “Timberg got turned into a kind of martyr, a patron saint for all the forgotten writers, artists, musicians, and other victims of the gig economy”—a subject he had chronicled in his 2015 book CULTURE CRASH: THE KILLING OF THE CREATIVE CLASS. But Timberg’s writings on pop, jazz and classical music, as well as film, literature and other subjects, showcase something else, Gioia says: the idealism and wide-eyed innocence with which he embraced Los Angeles. Rejecting the skepticism and cynicism of so much LA arts writing, “Scott had a knack for finding the best in the cultural scene on the dream coast... [He] loved his misread city. I only wish it had loved him half as much in return."

Etc Etc Etc

The LATIN GRAMMY AWARDS, mirroring their sister awards ceremony, are adding a Songwriter of the Year category this year. As with last month’s GRAMMY AWARDS, the honor will be aimed at songwriting professionals who write for other artists. To be eligible for a nomination, writers need to have credits during the eligibility year on at least six songs they didn’t write or produce. This year’s Latin Grammys will be held in Spain in November... ISLEY v. ISLEY... SPOTIFY v. ZEE MUSIC, one of India’s biggest record companies... META v. SIAE, the Italian copyright collecting society... BEN KWELLER remembers his son DORIAN at SXSW... What makes a good record store and have you been to Columbus, Ohio, recently?

Rest in Peace

JUD COST, who wrote for several music magazines including Blurt and Bucketfull of Brains and was a longtime contributing editor for Magnet. His specialties included indie rock, jazz and film... Romanian soprano VIRGINIA ZEANI... RIC DE AZEVEDO, a singer with ‘60s and ‘70s TV/pop stars the King Family who later had a brief solo career and worked in TV production.

- Matty Karas, curator
boom times
Billboard
Universal Music Group Trims Radio Expenses as Format’s Influence Wanes
By Elias Leight
The move comes at a time when there is debate around the music industry about the most effective methods of spending promotion dollars.
Music Business Worldwide
gamma, Downtown, Utopia, and the rise of the ‘Inside-Out Majors’
By Hunter Giles
Traditional majors focus on owning and acquiring as many copyrights as possible, while inside-out majors proudly sell themselves as empowerers of creator independence.
Slate
You Can See a Lot of Taylor Swift’s 'Eras Tour' on Twitter and TikTok. That’s a Good Thing
By Nadira Goffe
 Fans are spoiling the “Eras Tour” on purpose, and gladly.
Culture Notes of an Honest Broker
Boom Times for the End of the World
By Ted Gioia
I pay tribute to culture writer Scott Timberg (1969-2019) whose posthumous book is published today. He deserves to be far better known.
Music Ally
Global recorded music revenues grew 9% in 2022 to $26.2bn says IFPI
By Stuart Dredge
The global music industry made $26.2bn from recorded music in 2022, according to the IFPI. That’s up 9% year-on-year.
Pollstar
Live Music's Glass Ceiling: Broken, But Not Yet Smashed
By Debbie Speer
“Until nearly every executive suite is 50/50 men and women, we haven’t made it."
The Washington Post
Nashville singers band together in support of LGBTQ rights
By Emily Yahr
At a benefit concert, musicians raised money and criticized Tennessee for criminalizing drag shows and banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youths.
Rolling Stone
Ed Sheeran Confesses: Tears, Trauma, and Those Bad Habits
By Brian Hiatt
When he became a dad, his ‘party boy’ days ended. Then tragedy struck, forcing him to face his hidden dark side -- and hit his hottest creative streak.
Genius
How Girls Make Beats Is Shaping The Future Of The Music Industry
By Ken Partridge
Founder Tiffany Miranda discusses her mission to get girls producing, engineering, and DJing.
Do the M@th
RETRO READ: Interview with Cécile McLorin Salvant
By Ethan Iverson
"I’ve been really getting interested in people who can’t really sing but who are singers. I really love to hear all the flaws."
end of the world
The New Yorker
The Fraught Dance Between Artist and Interviewer in “Rewind & Play”
By Harmony Holiday
A new documentary by Alain Gomis turns footage from an interview with Thelonious Monk into a commentary on the submerged violence of the star-making process.
The New York Times
Reconstructing Kyiv, One Synth Wave at a Time
By Jason Farago
“Kyiv Eternal,” by the composer and sound artist Heinali, submerges listeners in the sounds of the prewar Ukrainian capital.
Mixmag
Sudan Archives' violin-charged R&B is detonating classical conventions
By Cici Peng
Cici Peng speaks to Sudan Archives about the wild playing style of West African violinists, being kicked out by her family for pursuing music, and creating her own home in music.
The FADER
100 gecs, seriously
By Alex Robert Ross and 100 gecs
Dylan Brady and Laura Les speak passionately about making playful music on The Fader Interview.
Rolling Stone
Blood, Sweat, and Blackmail: How an Iron Curtain Tour Ruined a Rock Giant
By Jon Blistein
In 1970, Blood, Sweat & Tears were the biggest band in America. Then the State Department tapped them for a tour they couldn’t refuse.
Music Business Worldwide
Fewer DIY artists generated over $10k on Spotify in 2022 than they did in 2021 (according to Spotify’s own figures)
By Tim Ingham
As the years tick by, more and more DIY artists will earn a liveable chunk of annual cash from Spotify. That’s an inevitability, right? Wrong.
Dada Strain
Bklyn Sounds: Kevin Beasley's 'A View of a Landscape'
By Piotr Orlov
At first, Kevin Beasley’s “A View of a Landscape” was a solo exhibit that opened at New York’s Whitney Museum in December of 2018. It rearranged a lot in my head about art and music inside art institutions, about engaging the work of music-based artists (as opposed to musicians — but why “opposed”?), and to the possibilities of stories that use these elements.
KQED
How Filipinos in the Mission Recorded the First Asian American Rock Album
By Adesh Thapliyal
A new generation is discovering Dakila, who found fame in the early '70s while proudly singing in Tagalog.
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
Free Speech + Other Dirty Words: Melissa Etheridge
By Ryan J. Downey and Melissa Etheridge
In the ‘90s, Melissa Etheridge made waves when she came out as gay after struggling with self-censorship during her first three records. In her interview with host Ryan J. Downey, Etheridge recalls this pivotal moment in her career, along with other free speech issues, including Eminem’s homophobic lyrics controversy in the early 2000s and more.
WTF with Marc Maron
WTF with Marc Maron: Episode 1419 -- Laurie Anderson
By Marc Maron and Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson says she never made art to express herself, she didn’t care about having a “style,” and she sure didn’t think about building a “brand.” Laurie and Marc talk about her time in New York City as part of a booming art scene, her days hanging with Andy Kaufman, and her many musical collaborations.
what we're into
Music of the day
“Wuthering Heights”
Cécile McLorin Salvant
Kate Bush cover, from “Ghost Song” (2022). With Paul Sikivie on bass and synthesizer. Salvant's seventh album, "Mélusine," is out Friday on Nonesuch.
Video of the day
“Cécile McLorin Salvant and Sullivan Fortner mini concert August 2020”
Cécile McLorin Salvant and Sullivan Fortner
A pandemic throwback!
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