From the ongoing Spotify controversy to the Silk Sonic’s arrival in Fortnite, it’s been another crazy week in the music industry.
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The Biggest Stories Of The Week
Neil Young + Other Musicians + The White House Versus Joe Rogan and Spotify
The Spotify troubles continued this week. Many more joined his efforts after legendary rock artist Neil Young made headlines by demanding his music be removed from the streaming service following Spotify’s refusal to remove controversial podcast host Joe Rogan. Multiple musicians, including all of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, have claimed to request removal from Spotify. Even the White House weighed in by saying the app “could be doing more” to prevent the spread of misinformation. HOWEVER, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek remains seemingly unphased, telling staff this week that Rogan is necessary for the streamer to achieve its ‘bold ambitions’ and ‘find leverage’ over competitors.
Silk Sonic Usher In A New Era of Music And Gaming Cohesion
Bruno Mars and Anderson . Paak’s Silk Sonic has officially joined Epic Games hit video game Fortnite in partnership with Fortnite and Atlantic Records. The ‘Icon Series’ launch includes new in-game outfits, an in-game radio station, and a player tournament. Described as the “first of its kind,” Icon Radio launches today (February 3). It allows players to tune into the new station inside cars and listen to tracks from the An Evening with Silk Sonic album, with funk icon Bootsy Collins sitting in as radio host.
Inkcarceration announces 2022 lineup: Korn, Disturbed, more
Inkcarceration, Mansfield’s rock and metal music festival, returns to the Ohio State Reformatory this summer, featuring headlining acts Korn, Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin, and Evanescence. The festival is set for July 15-17, and tickets are on sale now at Inkcarceration’s website, with day and weekend passes available, along with camping packages. Beyond the headlining slots, Inkcarceration will feature a string of heavy-hitters, including Lamb of God, Seether, Falling in Reverse, Three Days Grace, Theory of a Deadman, and more.
Sony generated $7.5bn in revenue last year across music and publishing, up a startling 24% YOY
Big bucks aren’t just for catalog sales. In terms of recorded music revenues across the calendar year of 2021, MBW calculates that Sony Music generated USD $5.77 billion – up 25.2%, or $1.16 billion, on the equivalent figure from 2020. In terms of music publishing revenues (generated by Sony Music Publishing and its sister company in Japan) in calendar 2021, Sony turned over $1.72 billion – up 19.7%, or by $284 million, on the equivalent figure from 2020.
HitPiece finds itself in hot water after allegedly attempting to sell NFTs of copyrighted material
Something strange happened this week. A new NFT Marketplace known as HitPiece began circulating online. The site offered one-of-one NFTs featuring various artists from every level of the industry. Big-name acts currently selling out theaters appear alongside bedroom recording artists who have never performed in front of a crowd. The common thread? None of the artists agreed to the NFTs, the site, or the price of the non-fungible token. Most knew nothing of the site whatsoever until one label, Needlejuice Records, started making a fuss on Twitter.
