From Stranger Things’ Metallica moment to Irv Gotti selling his masters, we’ve gathered the week’s biggest music news.
Another wild week of music business is in the books! The last seven days have seen legacy acts brought to the front page of virtually every entertainment publication while other icons sold their masters for big-time bucks. Elsewhere, tech companies continued plotting the industry’s future as crypto bros panicked over the ongoing devastation to the NFT marketplace. It was absolute chaos, but what else would you expect? Nobody gets into this business for a calm and relaxing existence.
Whether you’re toiling away on a new release or helping your favorite artist plot their global takeover, we know how difficult it can be to stay abreast of everything happening in music. 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 Biggest Music News Stories Of The Week
Metallica’s ‘Master of Puppets’ earns 400% increase in streams post-‘Stranger Things’
Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” is the latest recipient of the coveted post-“Stranger Things” bump.
According to Billboard, the title track off the metal legends’ 1986 album has seen a 400% increase in streams since it was used in the season four finale of the Netflix sci-fi series.
While that certainly is a major bump, “Master of Puppets” still has a long way to go if it hopes to match the resurgence of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” which soared all the way to the top five of the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 after its use in an earlier episode of “Stranger Things” during the fourth season.
Metallica previously commented on the show’s use of “Master of Puppets,” which is heard during a significant scene involving the Dungeons & Dragons-loving character Eddie Munson, sharing that they were “beyond psyched” about the song’s placement.
“We were all stoked to see the final result and when we did, we were totally blown away,” the band said.
Irv Gotti Sells Murder Inc. Master Recordings In Reported $300 Million Deal
Irv Gotti has sold his stake in Murder Inc’s master recordings in a deal worth a reported $300 million.
Irving Lorenzo founded Murder Inc in 1999 following his success at Def Jam Records. The label helped launch the careers of artists like Ja Rule, Ashanti, Charli Baltimore, and many others. The deal sees Irv Gotti sell a “50% ownership stake of his masters, with additional funding for various film and television projects.”
Gotti sold his stake to Olivier Chastan’s acquisition vehicle, Iconoclast. The Los Angeles-based firm entered the music rights acquisition space in February 2022 following the purchase of Robbie Robertson’s music publishing, name, likeness, and recorded music interests.
YouTube Touts Success Of TikTok Rival, Shorts
In data shared exclusively with Bloomberg, the social media site said artists are using Shorts, its TikTok competitor, to rapidly grow their subscribers. In addition to JVKE, others benefiting from the product include singers Madilyn Bailey, Cooper Alan and Emeline, who increased their subscriber counts by 480,000, 290,000 and 150,000, respectively.
“It is a very important opportunity that both the fans and the artists have,” Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music, said in an interview.
Cohen is excited about the music industry’s opportunity in the short-form space, though he’s also “deeply concerned” some viewers might only watch short-form content without exploring an artist’s deeper, longer-form work, like music videos and interviews. He called short-form videos that don’t link to long-form content “junk food.”
“I think short-form video could help crowdsource and make it easier for kids to find the soundtrack of their youth, but then you have to be prompted, and it has to lead you [to long-form content], so it’s not empty calories, but it leads you to learning and discovering and becoming a fan,” Cohen said.
Crosby, Stills, & Nash Return to Spotify
Crosby, Stills & Nash music can now be streamed on Spotify once again, five months after David Crosby, Graham Nash and Stephen Stills requested their labels remove their recordings in support of Neil Young‘s decision to leave the streaming service.
Their music is available via Spotify as of Saturday (July 2). CSN will donate proceeds from streams to COVID-19 charities for at least a month, a source tells Billboard.
In February, the band members commented, “We support Neil and we agree with him that there is dangerous disinformation being aired on Spotify’s Joe Rogan podcast. While we always value alternate points of view, knowingly spreading disinformation during this global pandemic has deadly consequences. Until real action is taken to show that a concern for humanity must be balanced with commerce, we don’t want our music — or the music we made together — to be on the same platform.”
