From the return of Pantera to TikTok’s growing Gen-Z influence, we’re bringing you the biggest music news stories of the week.
Can you believe we are already halfway through July? Not only is the year half over, but so is the seventh month? If you’re feeling like time is flying, you’re not alone. Back-to-school advertising has already started, and dozens of musicians have started promoting fall tours. Before we know it, Christmas music will be on the radio. **Shudders**
Working in music is hard enough. Learning about what is happening in the industry shouldn’t be an uphill battle requiring four websites, two premium memberships, and repeat daily visits to feel like you know what’s happening. You work too hard for that nonsense, so we’ve taken the liberty of scouring the net to find the biggest music news stories in places where learning won’t cost you a dime.
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 Biggest Music News Stories Of The Week:
As reported by Billboard, Pantera‘s surviving members — Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown — will be hitting the road for a long-speculated reunion tour in 2023. They’ve signed with Artist Group International to book their North American dates, with Dennis Arfa and Peter Pappalardo as the responsible agents.
“We are thrilled to be working with such an iconic band and bringing their music back to the fans,” Pappalardo commented.
Black Label Society bandleader and Ozzy Osbourne sideman Zakk Wylde and Anthrax’s Charlie Benante have been revealed as the guitarist and drummer for the tour.
Spotify Buys Music Trivia Game Heardle
Heardle, a music trivia game that popped up following the massive success of Wordle, has a new owner. Spotify has announced it’s buying the game. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. As The Verge notes, Heardle is Spotify’s first game acquisition.
Heardle is a straightforward game of name that tune. Players are given six attempts to guess a popular song. They hear one second of the intro at first. Heardle lets them hear a little more after each incorrect guess (they can also skip turns). There’s only one song each day for everyone to guess.
Whether or not you correctly identify the song, you can click through to hear the full track after finishing a round. That caught the attention of Spotify, which is pegging Heardle as a music discovery tool. Until now, the game has been using music hosted on Soundcloud.
“We are always looking for innovative and playful ways to enhance music discovery and help artists reach new fans,” Spotify’s global head of music Jeremy Erlich said. “Heardle has proven to be a really fun way to connect millions of fans with songs they know and love and with new songs… and a way to compete with their friends as to who has the best musical knowledge. Since its debut, the game has quickly built a loyal following, and it aligns with our plans to deepen interactivity across the Spotify ecosystem.”
David Bowie Doc ‘Moonage Daydream’ Arrives In September
Neon and Universal Pictures Content Group today announced that Brett Morgen’s David Bowie doc Moonage Daydream will hit theaters globally on September 16 outside of Japan, where it unspools in March of 2023. Neon will distribute the film in the U.S., with UPCG handling international.
The first feature doc on Bowie to have been sanctioned by the artist’s estate, Moonage Daydream will screen on Imax in select territories.
TikTok is coming for more than just its social media competitors.
Nearly 40% of Gen Z prefers searching on TikTok and Instagram over Google Search and Maps, according to Google’s internal data first reported by TechCrunch.
TikTok, which is the fastest-growing social media app, has exploded in popularity over the past few years — so much so that it inspired social media competitors Instagram and Snapchat to roll out copycat video features in Reels and Spotlight.
Now, a Google executive has confirmed that TikTok’s format is changing the way young people conduct internet searches, and Google is working to keep up.
Google senior vice president Prabhakar Raghavan told the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference that according to Google’s internal studies, “something like almost 40% of young people when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search, they go to TikTok or Instagram.”
Google confirmed this statistic to Insider, saying, “we face robust competition from an array of sources, including general and specialized search engines, as well as dedicated apps.”
Song of the week: Fellowship – “Until The Fires Die”
