From Bad Bunny’s surprise announcement to Soundcloud’s latest acquisition, it’s been another unpredictable week for music news.
April showers gave way to May flowers and a whirlwind week of music news we won’t soon forget. Maybe it’s the warm weather and sunshine or the upcoming summer festival season, but the music biz is thriving at the moment. Deals are being made, hits are being released, and technology is further decreasing the time it takes to go from thinking about your favorite artist to interacting with them. Isn’t the future amazing?
We cannot ease your workload or give you more hours in the day, but we can help you stay informed. Below you’ll find the biggest stories of the week, all covered by the best outlets in tech and entertainment. Click around, learn what’s happening, and use the weekend to prepare for the end of the month.
But let’s be honest. There is no way we can hope to cover everything that happens. If you see a headline we missed that people need to know, please do not hesitate to send james@haulix.com an email. We’ll include your links in the next update.
THE MUST-READ MUSIC NEWS OF THE WEEK:
SoundCloud acquires Musiio, an AI music curator, to improve discovery
An online audio sharing platform and streamer, SoundCloud has acquired Musiio, an AI music curation company. With Musiio’s team and technology, SoundCloud plans to strengthen its music discovery features. The terms of the deal are undisclosed.
Based in Singapore and founded in 2018, Musiio built an AI that can “listen” to music faster than any human possibly could, tag the audio and curate playlists. The technology helps predict which songs a listener would want to hear next, and if users spend more time on SoundCloud, then the company ultimately profits.
Major labels control 70% – 87% of tracks on major Spotify playlists
Spotify claims equal access to its playlists, but a new data analyisis by industry consultancy Music Tomorrow shows just how dominate the major labels are of the larger official Spotify playlists.
In its Made to be Found report released earlier this year, Spotify said that in 2020 and 2021 more than 150,000 artists were added to a Spotify offical playlists for the first time.
Deeper in the report, the company found major labels accounted for nearly 70% of the tracks added to Spotify’s ‘New Music Friday’ playlist -30% for UMG and19% each for Sony Music and WMG.
The control majors have over playlists is made clearer when you look at rap. On Spotify’s top hip-hop playlists ‘Rap Caviar’ and ‘Get Turnt’ major label dominance jumped to 86% and then to 87% on the ‘Today’s Top Hits’ and ‘Pop Rising’ playlists.
Spotify Island launches in Roblox, a first for any streaming platform
Roblox fans, pack your bags—Spotify is entering your world. Today, we are introducing Spotify Island, a paradise of sound where fans and artists from all over the world can hang out and explore a wonderland of sounds, quests, and exclusive merch.
Spotify is the first music-streaming brand to have a presence on Roblox, a virtual universe where users can create and play games and share experiences with friends. Through this interactive world, we’re creating a place where fans can link up and create new sounds together, hang out in digital spaces, and gain access to exclusive virtual merch. Spotify Island is an audio oasis that has it all.
Roblox users can mingle with artists, complete interactive quests, and unlock exclusive content. Players can also enjoy an immersive audio experience by creating music and exploring sounds at the virtual beat-maker stations powered by Soundtrap. The island will have other musical Easter eggs at every turn for eagle-eyed users to discover. Users can even climb to the top of “The Charts” by collecting points.
Bad Bunny shocks music world with surprise album, Un Verano Sin Ti, due out today (May 6)
After making his first-ever appearances at Tuesday’s Met Gala, Latin superstar Bad Bunny is preparing to release his fifth studio album “Un Verano Sin Ti,” or “A Summer Without You,” at 9 p.m. Pacific on Thursday. It is the follow-up to 2020’s “El Último Tour del Mundo,” which became the first all-Spanish-language album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
The Grammy-winning Puerto Rican singer released the new album’s artwork and track list on Wednesday morning.
Modeled after a mixtape, “Un Verano Sin Ti” will contain 23 songs split into two “sides.” Featured artists include Puerto Rican reggaetón MCs Chencho Corleone, Tony Dize and Jhay Cortez, as well as rising pop star Rauw Alejandro and indie darlings the Marías and Buscabulla. The Colombian cumbia-pop duo Bomba Estéreo will also guest on a track titled “Ojitos Lindos.”
The album will close with the balmy “Callaíta,” his 2019 summer jam with star producer Tainy.
SONG OF THE WEEK: Stray From The Path – III
