If you’re tired of spending hours scrolling through your music library trying to create the perfect playlist for your next party or workout session, say hello to PlaylistAI – the ultimate playlist curation tool.
PlaylistAI, a newly launched app, uses the same OpenAI GTP-3 technology that powers ChatGPT to help you create the perfect Spotify or Apple Music playlists. With PlaylistAI, you can create playlists from AI prompts, images, videos, and even your most-listened-to music with a selection of features:
AI Prompt
With the AI Prompt feature, you can simply describe what you’re in the mood for and PlaylistAI will do the rest. Want a playlist of “pop music from the early 2000s” or “upbeat dance music for working out”? PlaylistAI’s got you covered. And if you’re feeling stuck, PlaylistAI will even suggest prompts based on your connected music service.
Image
You can also use the image feature to transform music festival posters or any other image of artist names into a playlist. We tested this out with a Just Like Heaven festival poster and loved it. It may not always identify the artists correctly, but once the kinks are worked out, it will be one of your favorite features.
Rewind
PlaylistAI lets you rewind and relive your listening history with personalized playlists featuring your top tracks and artists. You can even choose to omit certain artists or tracks that you don’t want to hear.
Video
The video feature lets you select a video with multiple songs in it, and creates a playlist from the songs playing in the video – TikTok videos included!
Currently, the app can only connect with Spotify and Apple Music, but don’t worry, YouTube and other services are on the way. PlaylistAI is available for iOS and is free to download, with a pro version available for $2.99/m. So what are you waiting for? Download PlaylistAI today and say goodbye to boring playlists forever!
From audio reactions on Spotify to the latest streaming scam, we’ve gathered the need-to-know music news of the week.
Welcome to the thirty-third Friday of 2022. We are over 3/5 of the way through the year for those keeping count. While kids head back to school and temperatures begin to cool, the music industry is preparing for an incredibly busy fall release and tour season. We feel for you if you’ve got dates or records to promote. It’s a warzone out there, but still—we wouldn’t do anything else.
We’re working hard on exciting new developments for Haulix that will be revealed in the coming weeks. These changes completely rethink our business and how we can help the music community connect. You probably have a lot of questions, but that’s all we can say for now.
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.
Swedish music streaming platform Spotify is working on a new feature to let users post audio comments or reactions to music playlists.
A Reddit user in Vietnam first spotted this Spotify experiment, reports The Verge.
“So what do you think? Record an episode to share your thoughts on the playlist,” read the interface.
Below the notification is a record button to start the audio recording.
There are also some simple editing options like being able to add background music and tags.
The reaction feature seems to be accessible via a microphone icon on the playlist’s page, the report noted.
“We are currently running a limited test of in-app audio creation, but have no further details to share at this time,” the company was quoted as saying.
Artist-first music streaming and discovery platform Audiomack announced the debut of Premiere Access, a industry-leading feature that allows artists to reward their biggest fans by making a unreleased projects available on Audiomack before the general release.
“Artists deserve the most powerful tools possible to build their work into financially thriving enterprises,” Audiomack VP of Product Charlie Kaplan said. “Music companies have the opportunity and obligation to enable creators to explore diverse means of monetization and help realize their work’s financial potential.”
For musicians on Audiomack, Premiere Access offers a brand-new revenue stream that goes beyond standard streaming. Now that they are signed up for the Audiomack Monetization Program (AMP), artists can upload their work to Audiomack, use the Premiere Access function, and choose the duration of exclusivity for their release’s backers.
Puerto Rican hitmaker Bad Bunny leads the list of finalists for the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards, with a staggering 23 nods across 13 categories. (The only other artist to ever score that many is Ozuna in 2019.)
Bad Bunny is up for artist of the year, tour of the year, Hot Latin Songs artist of the year, male, and top Latin album of the year for his chart-topping album Un Verano Sin Ti, which is back at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart this week for an eighth nonconsecutive frame on top.
Following Bad Bunny is Colombian star Karol G with 15 entries in 11 categories, a record number of nods for a female artist. (The old record was held jointly by Jenni Rivera, who had 12 nods in 2014, and Shakira, who had 12 in 2018.) Karol G’s categories include artist of the year and Hot Latin Songs artist of the year, female, as well as Hot Latin Song of the year, vocal event, for her Becky G collab “MAMIII.”
What if tagging the wrong artist pages was not just a headache to resolve but also a money-making scheme?
What if obscure artists were profiting by purposely tagging big-name artists as primary collaborators, thus reaching said artists’ fanbases via algorithmic music delivery systems like Spotify’s Release Radar?
This is the story of an artist/record label, variously known as Diversify and Variegate.
A group of deceptive independent musicians recently uncovered a secret way to game one of Spotify’s most popular playlists for new music discovery.
We make a lot of content about scams in the music industry, and for a good reason. Nothing infuriates more than people taking advantage of dreamers for selfish personal gain. People shouldn’t be afraid to trust others with their aspirations, especially on Spotify of all places, but such is the world we live in.
Billboard recently reported on a new scam involving independent artists who leverage the following of other independent musicians for personal gain. These performers upload songs to Spotify with other, larger artists tagged as featured on the music. That tag gets the attention of Spotify’s algorithm, which then takes the material and distributes it to the release radar of people who follow or frequently listen to the more popular artist (who—to be clear—is not actually on the track in question).
When fans realize they’ve been lied to, the artist perpetuating the myth has already earned another stream for their song. Multiply that by hundreds if not thousands of incidents, and deceptive musicians could easily see a sizable boost in their streaming revenue through continual use of this tactic.
There’s a related problem that also needs addressing. Major label artists do not have to worry about similar scams being attempted with their likeness. As Music Biz host James Shotwell details in his latest video, Spotify has a manual review process to ensure the top of the charts cannot be fooled by deceptive business practices. That forces us to ask: Why don’t independent artists get the same treatment?
No views Aug 18, 2022 Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
From Springsteen’s ticket prices to a lack of interest in new music, we’ve gathered the biggest music news stories of the week.
July is chugging along, the hot temperature isn’t the only thing heating up. Artists from all walks of life are experiencing a boom of interest thanks to better weather, and professionals are hard at work making the most of the moment. Consider this a reminder to go outside and touch the grass. You deserve to feel the wind in your hair while your favorite songs play at a loud volume. Don’t let the consumer have all the fun.
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.
Fans buying tickets for Bruce Springsteen’s US arena tour were shocked to find many seats halfway back in each venue selling for $4,000-5,000 and even less desirable seats priced at $1000-$2000.
These were not scalped or resale tickets, but rather primary tickets sold by Live Nation its owned ticketing company Ticketmaster and their new Platinum dynamic pricing system.
“Platinum” tickets, which can be placed by the promoter anywhere in the arena from the front section to the back rows, fluctuate in price much like an airline ticket in reaction to supply and demand.
When SoundCloud launched its artist-friendly fan-powered royalty system last year, the model was only available for independent artists subscribed to the streamer’s paid tiers. Now, SoundCloud has inked its first major label partnership with Warner Music Group, whose artists can now earn fan-powered royalties on the platform too.
Since the early 2000s, artists and record labels alike have struggled to figure out how musicians can make a living when it’s so easy to download .mp3s online. New models like music streaming on Spotify can feel like a stop-gap, though, since payouts from these services can be paltry if you’re not Lizzo or Olivia Rodrigo.
Spotify pays artists via a pro-rata model, which means there is a large pot of money that gets divided among all artists depending on how many streams they each get. But that means that the success of superstar musicians can inadvertently take away from the payouts of up-and-coming performers.
The user-centric model, or what SoundCloud calls fan-powered royalties (FPR), is designed to level the playing field for smaller artists.
Amid the endless gun violence in the United States, Pat Benatar is taking a stand by choosing not to sing her 1980 hit, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” on her current tour.
“We’re not doing ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’ and fans are having a heart attack and I’m like, I’m sorry, in deference to the victims of the families of these mass shootings, I’m not singing it,” she said in a new interview with USA Today. “I tell them, if you want to hear the song, go home and listen to it. [The title] is tongue in cheek, but you have to draw the line. I can’t say those words out loud with a smile on my face, I just can’t. I’m not going to go on stage and soap box – I go to my legislators – but that’s my small contribution to protesting. I’m not going to sing it. Tough.”
The torrent of catalog acquisitions continues and this time, its BMG who announced it has acquired the entire music publishing back catalogue of pioneering French electronic musician Jean-Michel Jarre.
The deal includes the rights to Jarre’s classic hits such as Oxygene and Equinoxe along with Jarre’s writer’s income stream. The agreement expands upon BMG’s previous acquisition of the sound recordings for Jarre’s first three albums that came as part of their purchase of the indie label Francis Dreyfus Music in 2012.
A towering figure in the French electronic music scene, Jarre has generated 85m album sales over his career and has performed in front of some of the biggest audiences in history, including the Paris Bastille Day concert 1979 (1m people), Houston 1986 (1.3m people), Paris-La Défense 1990 (2.5m people) and Moscow 1997 (3.5m people).
“This partnership with BMG means a lot to me. Hartwig Masuch and the entire team have been part of my family for many years. Moreover, I am pleased that my publishing back catalogue is sheltered here in Europe and that my work will continue to grow in such good hands. Today is a new start allowing me to develop fresh ideas and giving me the means to explore new territories. Together we will thrive,” Jean-Michel Jarre said.
Music Business Worldwide reports on the results of this new mid-year report from Luminate, the market monitor formerly known as MRC Data/Nielsen Music. The report looks at a metric called total album consumption, which takes into account streams, downloads, and digital and physical music sales. According to Luminate, the consumption of new music — defined as anything that came out within the last 18 months — is down 1.4%, or about two million equivalent album-sales, compared to the first six months of 2021. This is during a time when total album consumption went up 9.3%. So it’s not just the market share of new music that’s going down; it’s the actual consumption of the stuff.
By contrast, consumption of catalog music, defined as anything that’s at least 18 months old, doing great; it’s up 14% compared to last year. Thus far in 2022, catalog music accounts for 72.4% of the market, compared to 27.6% for new stuff. Even with hyped-up new releases from big stars like Drake, the Weeknd, and Kendrick Lamar, new records just aren’t making the same kind of cultural impact.
There are a couple of other factors worth considering here. For one thing, a lot of the old music that’s doing well isn’t really that old; more than a third of that catalog consumption is of music that came out between 2017 and 2019. Also, streaming offers us a chance to see what people actually listen to, rather than just what they buy; in the pre-streaming era, these data collectors couldn’t tell if you were just listening to the old records that you already owned. And old music has always been popular; the Beatles’ 1 is still the biggest-selling album of the 21st century. Still, it’s pretty striking that nostalgic consumption is completely overwhelming the hunger for anything new.
From the debut of Twitter Notes to Spotify’s renewed focus on community, we’ve gathered the biggest music news stories of the week.
Summer is officially here, and the temperature isn’t the only thing hitting all-time highs. Artists from all walks of life are experiencing a boom of interest thanks to better weather, and professionals are hard at work making the most of the moment. Consider this a reminder to go outside and touch the grass. You deserve to feel the wind in your hair while your favorite songs play at a loud volume. Don’t let the consumer have all the fun.
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.
Twitter is trialing a new longform format that will let you shoot well past 280 characters, meaning you may no longer have to relay your humorous anecdotes via numbered tweet threads. Called Notes, the new feature enables users to write entire articles straight onto the social media platform, and even include photos, videos, GIFs, and tweets.
“From the rise of the screenshot announcement Tweet to the newsletter boom, a new reality became clear: people were writing long elsewhere, and then coming to Twitter to share their work and for the conversation surrounding all those words,” said Twitter’s Rembert Browne in one of Twitter’s first Notes. “With Notes, the goal is to fill in that missing piece and help writers find whatever type of success they desire.”
The feature is currently being tested by a small selection of writers based in the US, Canada, the UK, and Ghana, with the trial expected to run for two months. A Notes tab is also being added to these users’ Twitter profiles, under which you’ll be able to see all their published Notes.
Aiming to provide Twitter users with more flexibility and control, Notes’ rich-text editor will enable writers to bold, italicise, and otherwise format their words. Titles are limited to 100 characters, but the body of a Note can reach up to 2,500 words before Twitter cuts you off — more than enough space to explain your passions. (Writers still have to stick to Twitter’s rules though, so no lengthy treatises inciting violence.)
Spotify is developing a new feature called Community that would allow mobile users to see what sort of music their friends are streaming in real time as well as what playlists they’ve recently updated in a dedicated place in the app. The company today offers a similar “Friend Activity” feature on the desktop but had limited users’ access to that same Friend Activity on mobile devices.
Reached for comment, Spotify confirmed the feature was in the early testing phases but declined to share more details.
The company’s roots as a social music streaming app had helped the company grow in earlier days by leveraging its Facebook integration to build out its friend graph. But, in later years, Spotify looked more toward personalization features to give it an advantage over streaming rivals. Playlists customized to the individual listener — like Spotify’s flagship Discover Weekly, for example — had been helping to attract and retain users more than seeing what friends streamed. As a result, the company’s focus on users’ personal friend networks was de-emphasized in the product.
Steve Cooper, CEO of Warner Music Group for the past 11 years, will step down next year, a rep for the company confirmed to Variety. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The transition will be a gradual one, the rep emphasized, as the company seeks a suitable successor. Cooper, 75, said he has instructed the board to begin the search for his successor, and that he and the board expect the transition to take place by the end of 2023, according to an internal email that appears in full below.
Warner is the third-largest major music group, after Universal and Sony, Warner Music-owned labels include Atlantic — which is the most consistently successful major label in the business — Elektra and its flagship Warner Records, along with the third-largest music publisher, Warner Chappell Music. Its top current acts include Ed Sheeran, Lizzo, Dua Lipa and others.
Law enforcement agencies in Brazil have blocked or seized the domains of hundreds of websites and apps accused of utilising and/or distributing unlicensed music in a coordinated action as part of an on-going anti-piracy initiative called Operation 404.
226 websites and 461 apps were targeted in the action, which was supported by local music industry trade group Pro-Música Brasil and the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry, and which saw Brazilian police and the country’s Ministry Of Justice liaising with cyber and IP crime experts in both the US and the UK.
The high number of apps targeted is particularly interesting, given apps that use music without licence are becoming a top piracy gripe for the music industry.
Commenting on the operation, IFPI’s Director Of Global Content Protection And Enforcement Melissa Morgia says: “As a result of the coordinated work of the Brazilian authorities, together with agencies in the US and the UK, these actions have seen the highest number of unlicensed music services disrupted as part of the Operation 404 campaign. We thank and commend all the authorities and agencies involved in carrying out these actions for their ongoing collaboration and support in protecting music creators’ content.”
Spotify published its fourth annual Culture Next Trends Report yesterday to tie in with the Lions, including the claim that 18-24 year-olds played more than 578bn minutes of music on Spotify in 2021. “16 billion more minutes than Millennials”. Other stats on Gen-Z: 68% of them like listening to and watching media from early decades; 67% use podcasts and music to cope with stress and anxiety; and 59% believe “life was better before social media”.
YouTube, meanwhile, has published its own new Culture & Trends report focusing on Gen-Z, both as YouTubers and viewers. Among its findings: 85% of Gen-Z have posted video content online; and 65% are more interested in content “that’s personally relevant to them” rather than simply “the content that lots of other people talk about… many younger users are opting out of the watercooler discourse”.
From surprise albums by Beyonce and Drake to YouTube’s take on Spotify Wrapped, we’ve gathered all the music news you need to know.
Three weeks into June, and life has yet to disappoint. As the temperatures continue to rise and more artists hit the road with summer sunsets on their minds, something about the season feels shockingly normal. As long as you don’t look at the news or spend too much time on social media, there is plenty to love about life at the moment. We have great music, new opportunities, and another day to chase our dreams. What more could you want?
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.
Drake surprised followers Thursday with news that new music was coming and so it did.
“Honestly, Nevermind” dropped at midnight and has begun its race up the charts.
The album features Drake mostly singing instead of rapping.
“I let my humbleness turn to numbness at times letting time go by knowing I got the endurance to catch it another time,” he wrote in an editor’s note on his Apple Music artist page. “I work with every breath in my body cause it’s the work not air that makes me feel alive.”
YouTube Music has launched a new feature called seasonal recaps, a culmination of your top artists, songs, albums and playlists. “Spring Recap” will be the first recap that users can try. This acts as an expansion of its 2021 Recap experience introduced last year.
According to the company, it received positive feedback after rolling out its annual recap the previous year, wrote YouTube Product Manager Ayshaw Khan in a blog post. The recap, inspired by Spotify Wrapped, had offered users a look back at their year on the app. Now, YouTube is taking the concept further with seasonal rundowns.
“Similar to the 2021 Recap, you’ll find your personalized content in the Spring Recap landing page on the YouTube Music app along with your personalized Spring Recap playlist,” Khan wrote. “Want to tell your friends about your favorite songs of the Spring? Easily share your Spring Recap playlist and stats by simply tapping the arrow at the bottom of your stats card.”
Songclip, the world’s only patented music clip company, today announced a strategic partnership with The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the trade association representing all American music publishers and their songwriting partners. The partnership aims to facilitate music licensing and compliance within the global app marketplace.
During the NMPA’s Annual Meeting at New York’s Lincoln Center on June 15, 2022, NMPA President & CEO David Israelite outlined the NMPA’s app initiative to cease and desist applications who provide unlicensed music to their users and an enforcement plan of action to combat music infringement within the global app marketplace. Israelite also announced that Songclip will be a strategic partner of NMPA to facilitate licensing across the app marketplace.
Songclip works in partnership with the major labels, publishers and more than 7,500 independent licensing entities to provide a streamlined solution for licensing and integrating music “as a feature” within consumer applications. The Songclip API seamlessly integrates into any app, manages and facilitates search, catalog & compliance, licensing, royalty payments and reporting.
“We are excited to partner with Songclip in our effort to ensure applications use music legally and responsibly,” says NMPA President and CEO, David Israelite.
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has announced a new album, titled Renaissance, out July 29 according to a new listing for a Renaissance CD and products on her website. Several streaming services, including TIDAL and Spotify, also announced the forthcoming Beyoncé release on social media. No further details about the new album have been released.
Rumors of a new 2022 release first started to spread online June 9 after Beyoncé removed her profile pictures across all of her social media pages, with her highly organized fanbase the Beyhive theorizing the avatars signaled new material on the horizon.
Spotify is reducing its new hiring by 25 percent as recession fears mount, according to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg. It is unclear which parts of the business will be most affected.
Spotify is far from the only tech company to reevaluate its staffing as the stock market tumbles. Twitter and Meta each announced some degree of hiring freeze last month, and Netflix made headlines in April for its layoffs, particularly at in-house fan site Tudum.
During Spotify’s investor presentation last week, CEO Daniel Ek emphasized the company’s growth not only in subscriptions but in verticals beyond music like podcasting and, soon, audiobooks. But chief financial officer Paul Vogel did hint at the event that staffing could be affected by economic conditions.
From Tunecore’s unlimited release pricing model to Spotify’s new audio verticals, we’ve gathered all the music news you need to know.
Two weeks into June and the feeling of summer is everywhere you look. Bands are hitting the road, festivals are taking place in beautiful destinations, and music fans are getting the closest thing to a ‘normal’ year that they’ve experienced this decade. Professionals are busy as well. Between the onslaught of tour-related work, the ongoing release pipeline congestion, and the need to continue developing new talent, the industry is operating at near maximum capacity. If you are reading this now, it means that you have survived. You made it through the week without losing your mind or livelihood, and that’s considered a massive win in the world of entertainment.
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.
Believe-owned DIY distributor TuneCore has announced a revamp of its pricing, moving from a system where artists pay an annual fee per release to a system where they pay a set fee per year and can then release as many tracks as they like.
Although most of the DIY-level music distributors offer a similar service when it comes to what platforms they deliver content to, there is differentiation between rival companies when it comes to things like add-on services and pricing models.
Some charge less upfront but take a commission on future royalties, others charge fees and then take no commission. Some charge per release, some per year. And some bundle in add-on data and promotional services, while others charge extra for such things.
TuneCore says it is launching its new Unlimited Release service because artists increasingly want the flexibility to release more tracks more often and to test release tracks to a small number of services. The new distribution packages now available will allow artists to do that in an affordable way, it adds.
The firm’s CEO Andreea Gleeson states: “We’ve spent a year speaking directly to artists and labels about how we can make our service better for them. What emerged is: artists want to be able to test their new music for free before distributing to all services and they want to release the music they are creating instantly, regularly, and seamlessly with one annual subscription enabling unlimited music distribution”.
“TuneCore’s new programme gives self-releasing artists at any stage of their careers the freedom to choose the plan that works best for them”, she goes on, “while maintaining the high quality of service TuneCore is known for. With TuneCore Unlimited, artists pay less and earn more”.
Foo Fighters and the Hawkins family have announced two Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts. The shows commemorating the band’s late drummer are set to take place September 3 at London’s Wembley Stadium and September 27 at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum. The announcement promises performances from Hawkins’ peers and idols, with the lineup to be announced at a future date.
Ahead of the concerts, Hawkins’ wife Alison released a statement for the first time since the musician’s death:
My deepest thanks and admiration go out to the global Foo Fighters community and Taylor’s fans far and wide for the outpouring of love each and every one of you have shown our beloved Taylor. Your kindness has been an invaluable comfort for my family and me during this time of unimaginable grief.
As Taylor’s wife, and on behalf of our children, I want to share how much you meant to him and how dedicated he was to “knocking your socks off” during every performance. Taylor was honored to be a part of the Foo Fighters and valued his dream role in the band every minute of his 25 years with them. We consider every band member and the extended Foo Fighters team our family.
Taylor’s endearing spirit and deep love of music will live on forever through the collaborations he so enjoyed having with other musicians and the catalog of songs he contributed to and created.
In celebration of his life, it is now up to all of us who loved him most to honor Taylor’s legacy and the music he gave us.
Thank you all again for your love and sympathy. Taylor loved all of you & we love you too.
The City of Brotherly Love will welcome Bad Bunny and Tyler, the Creator as co-headliners for the Made in America Festival which returns for its 10th year. As usual, the event will take place at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia over Labor Day weekend, from September 3-4.
With a lineup curated by festival founder, Jay-Z, Made in America will include performances from hip-hop and R&B artists Lil Uzi Vert, Jazmine Sullivan, Burna Boy, Snoh Aalegra, Kodak Black and Pusha T. Fans can also expect additional performances by Lil Tjay, Tate McRae, Fuerza Regida, Toro Y Moi, Babyface Ray, Key Glock, Larry June, Rels B, Victoria Monét, Chimbala and Ryan Castro.
According to a statement from the festival, Made in America has generated over $150 million in economic impact for the city of Philadelphia since its inception in 2012. This year, Cause Village will be highlighting the efforts of groups like Black Voters Matter, HeadCount, ACCT Philly Animal Welfare, United in Community and more.
Bad Bunny’s headlining appearance follows the release of his summer blockbuster, “Un Verano Sin Ti,” which saw one of the biggest debuts for an album so far in 2022. Tyler, the Creator is also set to perform in mid-June for Pharrell’s Something in the Water Festival, after achieving best rap album at the 2022 Grammys for “Call Me If You Get Lost.”
American pop artist Becky G has recently announced that she will giveaway Bitcoin worth $500000 to her fans. She has recently partnered with the Cash App and doing the giveaway. After dropping the news, all her fans went crazy. Not for the Bitcoin but for taking such an amazing initiative. This advanced method of the giveaway has stunned everyone.
This giveaway has been sponsored by the Cash App owner Block Inc. this company also owns many platforms, for example, the music streaming site Tidal.
Becky announced this news through her social media on 8th June, and by doing so she started her partnership with the company.
The pop artist has said ‘I’m thrilled to partner with Cash App for this Bitcoin giveaway.’
She has also added ‘I’m so thankful for my fans, who continuously support me through it all – it’s a priority for me to find moments where I get to give back to them and match their efforts however I can.’
According to the post, the celebrity has announced that her fans need to comment on her social media posts with $Cashtag which is the unique identifier of the Cash App. along with that they also have to put the hashtag #ESQUEMAS IN THE#ESQUEMAS in the comment section.
The artist has also said that the winner will be chosen randomly, and no order will be followed. On an average 27,500 winners will get $10 to $100 amount of Bitcoin, through the application Cash App. In more detail, she has said that 25000 people will win the prize of $10 in Bitcoin and the rest will be awarded with $100 in Bitcoin.
In its second Investor Day, streaming service Spotify updated the financial community about its potential for further growth and monetization, despite the overall economic downturn impacting the tech sector. The company spent a good portion of its presentation specifically focused on podcasts, which it said had been “largely unchanged” for years before its entry into the market, due to the limitations of RSS.
Spotify cited how unbundling podcasts from RSS technology has paved the way for Spotify to generate revenue through these popular audio programs — a sentiment that’s not universally beloved by those who support an open podcast ecosystem. Spotify has disrupted that market by bringing some podcasts in-house, where they can only be heard on its service, and competitors have followed. This has fractured the ecosystem and left consumers at a disadvantage as some shows are no longer broadly available.
“We’ve been able to replace RSS for on-platform distribution, which means that podcasts created on our platform are no longer held back by this outdated technology,” Maya Prohovnik, Spotify’s head of Talk, told investors.
The company also highlighted the growth of podcasts on its service, noting that Spotify today has over 4 million podcasts, up from 500,000 in 2019. One thousand of these are either operated or licensed as exclusives by the company. It noted, too, that its podcast creation tool Anchor has helped to contribute to this growth, saying that the app powers 75% of the podcasts on Spotify and each new show created on Anchor brings in an additional 2.5 million monthly active users to the service.
Combined with its other hosting platform, Megaphone, Spotify says that shows powered by its tools account for 45% of all podcast consumption on the platform.
From the untimely death of Bollywood singer KK to the incredible first-week debut of Zach Bryan, we’ve gathered all the music news you need to know.
The first week of June is nearly complete, and you’re still standing. Congrats! Go ahead and pat yourself on the back. Whether you conquered your greatest fears in recent days or merely managed to not get fired, you survived. You are now on the precipice of a weekend with boundless possibilities. Who knows!? Maybe you’ll even get a few minutes free from your devices.
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.
Halsey’s next single has a release date — with or without a TikTok moment to fuel it. Capitol Records announced in a tweet Tuesday morning that “So Good” will come out June 9, with Halsey additionally declaring that the “fiasco” over its release is apparently over.
Curiously, the release date was framed as an open letter to Halsey, suggesting that the two parties may still be doing a lot of their dialoguing via social media right now, although the promise of “open dialogue” may be as much for the fans and other artists who have rallied behind Halsey in the dispute as for the artist.
“Halsey,” tweeted Capitol, tagging the singer, “we love you and are here to support you. We are committing to a release of ‘So Good’ on June 9th, 2022.
“We are an artist-first company that encourages open dialogue,” the statement continues. “We have nothing but a desire to help each one of our artists succeed, and hope that we can continue to have these critical conversations.”
Indian police said Wednesday they are investigating the death of star Bollywood singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, who died at age 53 after a concert.
The singer died shortly after performing at a college festival in Kolkata on Tuesday evening, prompting a wave of tributes.
He was rushed to hospital from his hotel at around 10:30 pm, where doctors pronounced him dead.
Aroop Biswas, a government minister in the eastern state of West Bengal, said KK had died of a “suspected cardiac arrest.” But police said they are probing whether he died an “unnatural death”, with media reports saying there were injuries to his face and head.
What hath Kravis wrought? Las Vegas’ Elvis-themed wedding industry is all shook up, after a series of cease and desist letters were issued at the behest of Authentic Brands Group. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, ABG controls the King’s merchandising as well as trademarks on “Elvis, “Elvis Presley,” “and “The King of Rock and Roll.” The letter told multiple wedding chapels that Elvis weddings were unauthorized in using “Presley’s name, likeness, voice image, and other elements of Elvis Presley’s persona in advertisements, merchandise and otherwise,” and that if they did not stop by May 27, they would be seeking legal action. “This could be very damaging to our industry,” Melody Willis-Williams, president of Vegas Weddings and Viva Las Vegas Weddings, told the R-J. “Most of us are small businesses, and we’re up against a superpower with a lot of money. It could kill us in lawyer fees to fight this.”
Elvis weddings have been synonymous with Vegas since Viva Las Vegas, in which Elvis has a Vegas wedding. So why now? Did ABG object to the fake wedding that Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker had after the Grammys? Maybe with the Baz Luhrmann biopic rearing its kaleidoscopic head, ABG felt it was time to protect its investment. Regardless of why, ABG has decided the time has come to TCB.
In the May 20-26 tracking period, Heartbreak earned 71,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate. Of that sum, 65,000 are from streaming equivalent units. That translates to the best streaming week for any LP on Top Rock Albums since the chart moved to a consumption-based methodology (from ranking sales only) in February 2017. It tops the 60,000 units accrued by Machine Gun Kelly‘s Tickets to My Downfall on the Oct. 10, 2020, survey.
Bryan’s 71,000-overall unit start is also the third-best for any release on Top Rock Albums in 2022, bested only by the bows of Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Unlimited Love (98,000 units, April 16) and Machine Gun Kelly’s Mainstream Sellout (93,000 units, April 9).
On Americana/Folk Albums, Heartbreak claims the biggest week of the year in terms of units, surpassing The Lumineers‘ Brightside, which launched with 37,000 units (Jan. 29). It logs the top sum since Kacey Musgraves‘ Star-Crossed debuted with 77,000 units (Sept. 25, 2021). As on Top Rock Albums, Heartbreak tallies the biggest frame in terms of streaming units since the chart moved to a consumption model in 2017, more than doubling the 30,000 first-week streaming units for Musgraves’ Star-Crossed.
Spotify for Artists has reorganized and revamped its extensive self-help offering as In Focus, a new free self-guided interactive site designed to help artists and their teams achieve career goals.
While centered on Spotify, In Focus goes well beyond it to offer tools, resources, and advice centered around five categories: Create, Promote, Connect, Earn, Learn. The help comes from the Spotify for Artists team, industry experts, and artists like Olivia Rodrigo, A$AP Ferg, Phoebe Bridgers, and dozens more.
In Focus features topics including:
Growing streaming royalties and creating new sources of revenue
Promoting music, reaching new audiences and building a brand
Improving songwriting and honing your music-making craft
“We get it, the music industry today is complex – requiring artists and their teams to take on more responsibility than ever before,” says Rob Fink, Senior Brand Marketing Manager, Spotify for Artists. “We’re always chatting with artists about the biggest questions and aspirations they have in their personal career journeys, and we designed In Focus as a direct result of that feedback. We want to remove the guesswork, and help artists focus on what matters most to them so they can reach their music goals.”
Spotify is currently testing a new feature that will promote user-generated playlists to the homepage of the world’s most popular streaming app.
Playlists make the world go around. What was once thought to be merely another evolution in a long line of mixtapes and mix CDs, playlists are a form of communication unto themselves. The right songs can tell stories that break your heart, lift your spirits, and make you believe in yourself. More importantly, at least from a business standpoint, playlists drive discovery in a manner no other format has since radio. That’s big business, and Spotify may soon want to share your playlist with others.
Beginning in April, Spotify started a pilot program where it promotes user-generated playlists on the homepage. If you are included in the program, your playlist will appear with those of other selected users in the Featured Curator carousel.
As Spotify notes, the Featured Curators section doesn’t include playlists from just any users; the platform selects curators based on their followings and playlist popularity and whether they tell “unique stories through playlists” or create “authentic connections” with listeners.
How to Become a Featured Curator
At the moment, Spotify is doing outreach to playlist curators individually to be added to the Featured Curators program. In other words, they’ll call you.
You will now see Featured Curators playlists in the Spotify iPhone or Android app next to Spotify Editorial Playlists in certain markets.
As with anything, Featured Curators is a new feature that will likely undergo many changes before it reaches the general public, if it even gets to that point.
What this means for the future of discovery
Empowering fans has been at the heart of countless digital campaigns over the last two decades. What separates Featured Creators from previous mistakes is that Spotify knows their idea will work. They have the data to understand which users are creating playlists that generate genuine engagement and—hopefully—lead listeners to become lifelong fans.
What this means for users
The power is back in your hands! As long as you can organically build an influential playlist, there is a chance Spotify will promote your curations to the masses. What remains to be seen is whether or not creators will be compensated for their work. After all, what is the value of your influence if Spotify deems it worthy of the front page?
From YouTube’s surprising podcast domination to The Judds’ final tour, we’re bringing you all the music news you need to know as we head into the weekend.
Three weeks into May, and life has yet to disappoint. As the temperatures continue to rise and more artists hit the road with summer sunsets on their minds, something about the season feels shockingly normal. As long as you don’t look at the news or spend too much time on social media, there is plenty to love about life at the moment. We have great music, new opportunities, and another day to chase our dreams. What more could you want?
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.
US radio group Cumulus Media and research firm Signal Hill Insights have published a report suggesting that Google’s video service is the most popular podcasting platform in the US now.
That’s based on a survey of listeners, with 24.2% saying YouTube is the platform they use the most for podcasts, ahead of Spotify (23.8%) and Apple Podcasts (16%).
Meanwhile, the report claims that these three platforms now account for 64% of podcast listening in the US, up from 55% in 2019. The suggestion is that video podcasts are a big part of YouTube’s rise, with six in ten weekly podcast listeners claiming to prefer podcasts with video. You can download the full report here.
Businesses don’t just rely on health insurance to lure potential workers into their fold. Gym memberships, free snacks or meals, even free fitness trackers — there’s no shortage of perks that modern companies can use to win over future employees. Spotify is sick of being on the outside of those benefits, so it’s introducing a new program to help businesses entice workers through the promise of free jam sessions.
Spotify for Work is the company’s new perk for employers, and it’s kicking off with Accenture, a “global professional services firm.” Members in Sweden, Latvia, and Lithuania are getting a free Spotify Premium account meant to be used both during and outside of work hours. For now, this program is just a partnership with Accenture, though the streamer is teasing potential collaborations with other companies down the road with today’s announcement.
As Wynonna Judd has promised, the show will go on for the Judds’ previously announced Final Tour after the death of her mother and duo partner, Naomi Judd. A press release Thursday morning (May 19) reveals that a slate of all-star female guests will join Wynonna Judd to complete the tour in tribute to the Judds’ enduring legacy, calling it the “ultimate girls night out.”
“I am humbled, once again, by the loyalty of the fans who have been with us for 38-plus years, who continue to show up for me when I need them the most,” Wynonna Judd states. “I am grateful that we will continue to honor the Judds legacy, together.”
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is now the “fastest growing music region in the world,” according to the IFPI, which is preparing to roll out its “first ever regional chart” for the nations at hand and their approximately 400 million residents.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) today detailed its view of MENA’s growth (as well as its plans for the aforementioned regional chart) via a formal release that was emailed to DMN. Back in March, the organization reported that the Middle East and North Africa had achieved 35 percent music-industry growth in 2021, against 31.2 percent for Latin America and 18.5 percent globally.
Building upon these findings, the IFPI last month commissioned a survey of 1,560 United Arab Emirates residents between the ages of 16 and 44. This study found that the country’s roughly 10 million citizens enjoy an average of 22.5 hours’ worth of music per week (22 percent above the international average), with 54 percent of individuals having stated that they “typically listen to at least one Middle Eastern genre.”
Serenade, a music NFT marketplace launched in 2021, has raised AUD $6 million (approx USD $4.2m).
The company, founded by Australian tech entrepreneur Max Shand, says the funds will be used to “help grow its artist and partner roster” across the UK and Australia, as well as in the US, where the company plans to enter the market and open a dedicated office.
Today’s (May 18) news follows the announcement in March, that Iain Watt, the former Managing Director of YMU Music in the UK, joined the platform’s Advisory Board as Chairman.
According to a media statement, Serenade has been supported by several high-profile music industry investors, including senior management figures from Atlantic Records UK, Secret Sounds, Future Classic, UNIFIED Music Group and Warner Music Group, as well as Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman.
The statement adds that “the group has also been joined by Matt Gudinski and Johann Poniah of Mushroom Group and former Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning.”
