| 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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| Cécile McLorin Salvant at the Jazz en la Costa festival, Almuñécar, Spain, July 17, 2018. |
| (Bianca de Vilar/Redferns/Getty Images) |
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| quote of the day |
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“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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- Cécile McLorin Salvant
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| 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.
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| - Matty Karas, curator |
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Culture Notes of an Honest Broker |
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| 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. |
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The FADER |
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| 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. |
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Dada Strain |
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| 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. |
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Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression |
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| 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. |
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WTF with Marc Maron |
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| 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. |
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| what we're into |
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| 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. |
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| Music | Media |
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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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