| Sampling is now a great part of jazz culture. |
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| Little Simz at Primavera Sound, Barcelona, June 3, 2022. |
| (Xavi Torrent/WireImage/Getty Images) |
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| quote of the day |
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| rantnrave:// |
The Deals That They're Making
DAN RYS' 4,700-word piece for Billboard on "The Changing World of: Record Label Streaming" is an interesting, well-reported deep dive into how labels have changed their release, marketing and promotion strategies to adapt to, and keep up with, the rapid growth of streaming—which now accounts, he writes, for 83% of recorded music revenue in the US. And how, in some cases, they haven't: "My job has always essentially been pitching songs to gatekeepers, which were the next step directly to consumers," ELEKTRA head of sales and streaming ADAM ABRAMSON tells Rys. "In the olden days, that was lobbying for listening posts and end caps and sale pricing and positioning and all that. But philosophically, it’s the same thing now." But one topic is curiously missing in those 4,700 words: pricing and revenue splits, and how those have changed, or haven't, over the years. Sale pricing? LOL. Not even INTERSCOPE VP of revenue NICOLE CSABAI, who serves as one of Rys' primary sources, is asked about revenue. Changing data expectations? Check. Shifting spacing of single releases? Of course. Globalism? Yup. But if there's a strategy around the changing, or not, world of streaming payouts, that's nowhere to be found here. An interesting choice, especially considering the conversations that are happening just about everywhere else. A curious emphasis track.
On Twitter, meanwhile, there's this from JEFF ROUGVIE, responding to KATE BUSH's sudden and belated ascension to the top 10 (!!!) of the Billboard HOT 100. Rougvie, who's working on a book about RYKODISC, the indie label where he used to be a VP, is thinking about NICK DRAKE, another artist from the olden days who once got a second life, long after the fact, thanks to a TV sync. Drake's "Pink Moon," Rougvie wrote, "would've been top ten if the VW ad happened today, but we wouldn’t have sold all those CDs & given his estate hundreds of thousands of dollars instead of $35.78 in streaming money." I have no idea how much money Kate Bush is going to get out of the "RUNNING UP THAT HILL" rediscovery, which was fueled by "STRANGER THINGS" and realized by a combination of digital track sales and streams, but let's stipulate it's probably more than $35.78 and less than the Nick Drake estate got. Where do the label VPs of revenue stand on this? Are they happy with the unexpected royalties no matter the amount? Do they think they ought to be higher? Am I asking the wrong questions? Is it about the exposure, not the money? The data? The sheer joy of discovery, of either a great '80s pop song or a cool '20s TV show? Can we talk about all that *and* the money, at the same time?
If we only could.
Etc Etc Etc
Collaborator to the stars SKYLAR GRAY says she had to sell her 2010s song catalog to pay for a difficult divorce, and while the songs are "still near and dear to my heart... it’s different now. Every time one of those songs get used in a movie or whatever, I don’t see any of that money anymore"... STROKES singer JULIAN CASABLANCAS sold a portion of both his masters and publishing to PRIMARY WAVE for an undisclosed sum... Billboard's Indie Power Players... TV and movie music supervisors, seeking such benefits as overtime pay, are trying to unionize, as are employees of MOOG MUSIC, where there's been a string of layoffs in recent months.
Rest in Peace
ALEC JOHN SUCH was a New Jersey club manager who had booked one of Jon Bon Jovi's early bands before joining him in a new band simply called Bon Jovi. Such, who was 11 years older than the singer, brought lead guitarist Richie Sambora and drummer Tico Torres into the fold. He hung around for five albums before leaving the band in 1994, and lived largely out of the spotlight in his remaining years... Atlanta rapper TROUBLE, who was noted for his collaborations with Young Thug, Drake, the Weeknd and others. He's at least the 13th rapper murdered in the US in 2022... Roots/blues/plus singer and slide guitar master KELLY JOE PHELPS... Jazz trombonist/composer GRACHAN MONCUR III... MARGO KNESZ, a pioneering female record-company executive who ran major radio promo campaigns in the 1970s and was general manager of Atco Records in the 1980s... Brill Building lyricist PAUL VANCE, who co-wrote Perry Como's "Catch a Falling Star" and Brian Hyland's 1960 novelty smash "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"... Salsa pianist WILLIE SOTELO, who had been the musical director of Puerto Rico's El Gran Combo since 2006... Fantasy artist KEN KELLY, who created album covers for Kiss ("Destroyer"), Manowar and others... British drill rapper HYPO.
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| - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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Vulture |
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| Sonic Youths |
| By Justin Curto |
| In Chicago with Horsegirl, the teen rock trio behind one of the year’s most confident albums. |
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Stereogum |
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| Post Malone Transcends The Algorithm |
| By Rachel Brodsky |
| While Post Malone has always led with genre experimentation, he has historically rooted his records in hip-hop beats and aesthetics. Now, the formula has been flipped. |
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Creem |
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| Kathleen Hanna Won’t Save You |
| By Laura Wynne |
| For decades the Bikini Kill frontwoman has been viewed as an avatar for female rage--turns out there’s still a lot to be angry about. |
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| what we're into |
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| Music of the day |
| “Welcome to the States” |
| Benny the Butcher |
| "Mass shooting in my city, eight minutes from where my block at / Saw innocent people shot at a supermarket I shop at." |
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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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