Leaving your mark in music is increasingly difficult, but Sweden’s Sator has been making it look easy for nearly four decades. Today, they share their secrets with Haulix.
Sator has been making music longer than many of our readers have been alive. If that is not impressive enough, the band has done it with friendships and members (mostly) intact. Formed in 1983 under a different name, the group found its footing and changed its identity in 1987. From there, the band remained active in the studio and on the road until today.
Early in their career, the men of Sator knew they needed a hook to help gain widespread attention. The answer came in the form of a covers album, but not in the traditional sense.
Cover songs are a dime a dozen, and they share one big problem: Everyone already knows the song. Finding an element of surprise in most cover songs is impossible. You can make a pop song sound like a rock track and vice versa, but the core elements remain the same.
Sator found the answer in scraps of the artists they love. Rather than recreate well-received songs, the band wrote musicians and asked for permission to record any unreleased material the artist or group might have in their possession. To their surprise, people said yes!
That one decision—to deliver original takes on other people’s unreleased songs—gave Sator something nobody else could offer. It was enough to propel the band onto the international, which they then remained on thanks to their original songwriting.
Nearly thirty years since the release of that first covers album, the band is back with another collection of other people’s songs. We asked Sator to tell us the secret behind gaining access to this material and how they’ve managed to stay relevant for decades, and they were more than happy to respond. Check it out:
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.
The popularity of TikTok is leading a revolution in music release strategies that is unlike anything we’ve witnessed in decades.
Music marketing and release strategies are at the heart of every artist’s career. How and when you release music matters as much as the content itself—sometimes more—and for the better part of twenty years, virtually every album has followed a similar promotional path:
Step One: The artist or group announces the upcoming release of a new song
Step Two: The artist or group teases that release with audio clips, behind-the-scenes footage, and anything else they can develop while sharing Haulix links with journalists and tastemakers.
Step Three: The artist or group asks fans to presave and preorder the unreleased material.
Step Four: The song finally comes out.
Step Five: The artist or group continues promoting the song’s release.
Step Six: The artist or group continues teasing the song with audio clips, behind-the-scenes footage, and anything else they can develop.
Traditional industry thinking tells us that you must promote music before its release because it’s the only way to guarantee strong first-week sales, which often determines how much support a record will receive moving forward. History teaches us that if an artist fails to deliver an impressive launch week, the likelihood their label continues to pump money and attention into their career falls drastically.
That line of thinking is outdated.
As Bob Dylan said, “The times, they are a-changin'” because a new generation of musicians refuses to follow tradition. Between the boom of TikTok and the rise of the “give it to me now or I don’t want it” culture, artists are choosing a more direct path to release and promotion.
Step One: The artist or group releases a new song.
Step Two: Promotion.
That’s it.
TikTok is an amazing tool for discovery, connecting users with an endless variety of content creators algorithmically-tailored to their interests. When someone hears a song snippet they enjoy, logic dictates they will head to the creator’s profile, hoping to find their music online. If the user then visits the artist’s page and FAILS to find the song they heard on TikTok, the chances they save the artist and return later are virtually non-existent. In other words, you have one chance to grab someone’s attention, and if you blow it, they [most likely] won’t return.
To avoid this problem, artists are now choosing to skip promoting new material until it’s available worldwide. The risk of losing potential fans because you went viral before the release date is too high for most to gamble, but that’s not the only reason.
The so-called “TikTok Approach” is also a cost-effective promotional solution for cash-strapped independent artists whose marketing budgets often equate to whatever they can spare after paying for living expenses. Rather than waste your money teasing a song or record people cannot yet enjoy, spend your pre-release time creating content you can share immediately following the song’s premiere. Any engagement will lead to immediate streams (AKA money).
And it’s not just independent artists shifting their thinking around releases. Everywhere you look, the time between a song or album announcement and the release date is shrinking. Even Post Malone, arguably one of the world’s biggest musicians, announced his recent 2022 album only six weeks before its initial release. The first single? A surprise release.
What about preorders?
We live in a new world where the pipeline delays of recent years have drastically changed consumer expectations. Delays between digital and physical releases are to be expected. Most fans don’t mind because they view your vinyl, CD, or cassette as memorabilia. Its primary purpose is to be a physical manifestation of their fandom, which they can hold, showcase, and enjoy. Using it for consuming music is, for better or worse, becoming secondary.
Launch preorders on release day. Launch everything on release day. The same people who would preorder the vinyl three months before release day will still place an order because they want the product regardless.
Making this one adjustment to your next release strategy will ultimately save time and money. More importantly, it will give anyone interested in your music instant access to it. You want as few barriers between strangers and hearing your music as possible, and in our quickly evolving world, that requires making changes as culture dictates it necessary.
Remember the phrase, “Don’t bore us, get to the chorus”? The same applies to release strategies. Stop fooling around and deliver. Your fans will be thrilled to see new music, and anyone new won’t have to wait around to see if you’re as good as your teasers claim. Everybody wins.
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, Pure Noise Records, and more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
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.
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.
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.”
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”
Hot on the heels of their critically-acclaimed new album, Vatican chats with Haulix about their fast rise through the metal underground.
Ask any four metalheads about the state of their favorite genre, and you’ll probably get five distinct answers. Some will tell you that metal has never been more alive, but another will just as quickly say that everyone is ripping off some all-time great. Maybe one will speak of underground European acts with fervent followings who “will never be taken seriously in the states,” while another says EDM crossovers are the future.
Everyone is right and everyone is wrong. None of it matters. All that ever matters is the music, and lately, one band has taken the global metal scene by storm.
Vatican takes a very literal approach to being the future of metal. Their music knows no bounds, combining elements of practically everything to concoct short bursts of metal goodness that go down smooth. The band’s new album, Ultra, is one of the few 2022 releases seemingly everyone can agree on, and it has quickly launched the band into the international spotlight. Ultra offers the most fun you’ll have listening to metal this year, and today, we find out how it all came together.
Marking our first video in nearly 3 weeks, music biz host James Shotwell returns with a fast five interview featuring Vatican member Michael Sugars. Speaking from the band’s van while on the road, Sugars shares the stories behind Ultra, landing a deal with UNFD, and how the band’s marketing strategy played a role in their current success. Check it out:
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.
What’s in a video view, and how long does it take to earn one? The answer is more complicated than you might expect.
Everywhere you look online, video content is king. Blame the influence of TikTok on culture, but each social platform is now promoting a video feature that—for the time being—offers more views and higher engagement than traditional content.
But what is a view?
Unfortunately for artists and music marketers, A “view” isn’t a standardized unit of measurement. Each platform has a unique set of rules that define how views are counted, and knowing the differences can help you measure the success of your campaigns. For example, a video receiving 100 views on Youtube could hold as much—if not more—value than a video receiving thousands of views elsewhere. The opposite can also be true.
Why does the math behind view counts matter?
Knowing how views are measured provides a greater understanding of how your content is performing on various platforms. If plays are counted instantaneously, like with TikTok or Instagram Reels, you’re likely to have incredibly high view counts regardless of how much engagement (Likes, Comments) you receive. Anyone who even glimpses at your post will be counted as a “viewer,” but how much did they see? Did they even see your name? What, if anything, will they retain?
Receiving 50,000 views on a clip is a cool talking point that sounds good in conversation and looks good buried three paragraphs into a press release, but how many viewers are engaging with that content? Of them, how many followed you?
Understanding the value of a view helps us better gauge the success of our promotional activity. The more we create and share, the better our understanding of what people like and what moves them to take action.
So, what counts as a view?
On TikTok, a view is essentially an impression—meaning, the very millisecond your video starts to play, it’s counted as a view. In addition, the platform also measures repeated views.
Instagram Reels follow the same logic as TikTok. A view is counted the instant a video is viewed. The amount of time watched beyond that initial split-second interaction does not matter.
Over on Facebook, a view is counted after a video autoplays for 3 seconds consecutively. Unlike TikTok and Reels, replays are not counted, so the same viewer watching a video repeatedly will not increase your view count.
Twitter, meanwhile, claims the ‘total video view’ metric is calculated by the sum of “any views which are at least 50 percent in-view for 2 seconds.” That means that to count as a view, at least half of the video has to be visible and playing on a user’s screen for at least two seconds.
Professional networking site LinkedIn counts video views after 3 seconds as well. According to a post from John Espirian, that short wait time “means a quick thumb-scroll past a video isn’t going to count, but if you pause and give the content even brief attention, that will count.
The grandaddy of them all, YouTube, counts a view after 30-seconds of continuous viewing and only when the viewer elects to play the video. Autoplay does not count toward views. YouTube also manually reviews all videos after passing 301 views to ensure the authenticity of viewership.
We will update these numbers are new information becomes available. Follow Haulix on Twitter and Facebook for updates.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.”
SONG OF THE WEEK: Parkway Drive – “The Greatest Fear”
Twitch is making a strategic play to be the future home of music discovery, and a new report suggests the streaming giant is already well on its way.
A new Luminate study says that a third of 13 to 40-year-old listeners in the US discover new music on Twitch. The survey was conducted in Q4 of 2021 among 2,300+ US consumers in the US aged 13-40.
But there’s a catch.
Twitch also sponsored Luminate’s study.
We are not crying foul play or claiming payola is taking place. When a company sponsors a report that finds that the company is performing favorably, we must step back and consider the possibility of outside influence on the final results.
While the survey was conducted by a trusted source – Luminate (formerly MRC) provides all the Billboard chart data – it was funded by Twitch.
The survey admits to “a particular focus on both Twitch users and those who use Twitch specifically for music or music-related content.”
The stated objective of the study was “to quantify the value and influence of Twitch users on the music industry.”
In other words, Twitch paid for someone to find data that presented the company in a positive light, and that person did their job.
You can’t believe everything you read on the internet. For instance, if I told you this blog is the best blog for anyone wanting to work in music, it would make sense to question my motivations. After all, I write the blog, so I have some skin in the game. It benefits me if you believe this is the best blog for music professionals anywhere on Earth. It definitely is that, but it also helps if you believe me. Get it?
Twitch does matter.
The report from Luminate presents a lot of information that helps argue the company’s influence on pop culture.
Music discovery on Twitch
1-in-3 music listeners in the US discover new music through Twitch
54% have discovered new music from streamers actively calling out songs or artists / recommending them in the middle of a live stream
Twitch music engagers are eager to discover new and emerging artists via Twitch (62%)
Twitch houses valuable music fans
Twitch users spend 21% more time per week listening to music than the average music listener.
Twitch users spend 46% more of their hard-earned cash on music (per month) than the average music listener.
Twitch users make over 10x more direct-to-artists payments (per month) than the average music listener.
Twitch users are genre-agnostic enthusiasts
Hip-Hop/Rap is the #1 genre for Twitch’s music fans (70%)
Twitch users are 84% more likely to listen to EDM than the average music listener
Twitch users are far more diverse in weekly genre listenership than the average music listener — Heavy Metal (+61%), Classical (+51%), Jazz (+38%), K-Pop (27%)
Additionally, at any given time of day there are at least 2.5 million people watching streams on Twitch.
“Gaming and music are intrinsically linked, and much of the culture and fan behavior of our gaming community has resonated and found success with our music community,” said new Twitch Head of Music Geetha Mathews. “We are fueling the passion of this leaned-in audience by surfacing a diverse range of creators who are incredibly talented but still under the radar, driving discovery of emerging artists. We aim to help these creators break through the noise by bringing their authentic selves to a massive global user base eager to connect and contribute.”
At every level of the industry, musicians are leaving millions on the table because they won’t market to older listeners. Whether you’re scared or unsure where to start, we can help.
A popular sound on TikTok jokes about an entire generation of always-online, pop culture obsessed humans with disposable income. “Don’t get me wrong, being an adult and living on your own is pretty great,” goes the sound. “The only problem is, I now have access to adult money, which means I can buy whatever I want—which means I end up buying shit like THIS and having zero regrets about it. As the video plays, adults share their arguably ridiculous purchases. For example, someone might show off a full-size pinball machine inside a one-bedroom apartment, or perhaps they have several hundred Funko pops lining the walls of their home.
Another sound asks people to share items they bought with adult money that they probably shouldn’t have purchased.
It’s easy to watch these videos and think these fans are making irrational purchasing decisions. Still, there’s another, more beneficial angle.
There is a growing marketplace of childless adults with lifelong fandoms who will spend top dollar to support their favorite entertainment icons and IP regardless of cost as long as the product caters to their specific interest.
If you love Mario Kart, for example, go-karts adorned with Mario Kart branding. You can even visit an entire theme park dedicated to all things Mario that includes a Mario Kart ride.
Or, if you prefer single-player games, you can purchase meticulously crafted (and pricey) deluxe editions featuring everything from replica weapons to custom dice, maps, mini-figures, plushes, vinyl records, and beyond. Here are two examples from the upcoming God Of War: Ragnarok.
Movie fans have similar options to express their fandom. If you love horror films, you can purchase replica masks that look identical to those worn by villains on screen. Those who love the Marvel and DC cinematic universe, not to mention Star Wars or Star Trek or Harry Potter or the Minions, also have bountiful options to express their love of the IP well into adulthood. Products are made and specifically marketed to those with money to spare.
Music fans, unfortunately, are often left behind.
Think about it for a moment. Despite ample evidence that people of all ages enjoy every style of music imaginable, most merchandise is still geared toward people under the age of twenty-five. That’s true for any modern pop act vying for that demographic’s adoration, but the same can be said for legacy acts. Go to any Target, Wal-Mart, or Meijer near you, and you’ll find classic rock and hip-hop shirts throughout the teen and young adult section. A few items may also exist for adults, generally men, but they are the same logos reprinted in the same style on larger fabric.
Point being: The adult market is an afterthought, and it’s leaving untold millions on the table.
It’s not hard to understand why this happens. As artists progress in their careers, they must make choices that align with their target demographic. Though exceptions exist, most artists have to choose whether to market to young people or grow with their audience. The reason is simple:
Adults are notoriously hard to reach.
After all, it’s easier to know what adults dislike than what they want.
Your adult demo doesn’t want an all-over print
Your adult demo doesn’t want a giant logo tee
Your adult demo doesn’t want another t-shirt unless it’s game-changing.
Your adult demo has no use for stickers or patches and only minimal use for pins
Your adult demo doesn’t want digital downloads. They don’t want digital content, period.
Your adult demo doesn’t buy many hoodies, especially those adorned with giant logos.
Your adult doesn’t want an NFT.
Your adult fans don’t need merch with your face on it.
But it is possible to reach your adult fans without alienating the youth. They’re people, after all, and identifying their needs is as simple as starting a conversation.
If you’ve been making music for any time, you likely have fans older than your target demographic. These fans have the most buying power, and you can capitalize on that by catering to their grown-up needs.
For specific answers, you will have to communicate with your fans (duh), but here are some ideas to get you started:
Your adult demo will buy limited-time and date-specific merchandise. Show posters unique to each tour—or better yet, each date—create a sense of “buy now or forever miss out” that people find hard to resist. That poster may go on to live in a home office or cubicle, reminding that individual of a special night.
Your adult demo will buy minimal merchandise, such as socks or clothing featuring one-to-color designs.
Your adult demo will buy alcohol and alcohol-related products (koozies, bottle openers).
Your adult demo will buy coffee and coffee-related products.
Your adult demo will buy lifestyle items, including grinders, mugs, candles, DND sets, concert prints, commemorative lanyards, etc.
Your adult demo will buy experiences, including VIP upgrades, meet-and-greets, photos, coffee with the band, etc.
Your adult demo will commit to a fan club as long as they receive quality content (presale access, exclusive merch, early music, etc.).
There is no reason any artist with a sizable fan base should leave their adult fans behind.
Virtually every album now comes with multiple pre-order bundles featuring any number of items, so why not make one for the grown-ups among your audience?
Start simple. Ask your fans what merch they want and experiment with their responses until you find something that works. There is no penalty for trying.
From Usher’s Tiny Desk Concert to Frank Zappa’s eye-popping catalog sale, it’s been another wild and unpredictable week for music news.
Welcome to July! 2022 is half over, and the industry is moving faster than it has in years. If you are feeling the heat, you’re not alone. Take the holiday weekend and recover. You’re going to need your strength for everything that the months ahead have in store.
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.
“We celebrate Black Music Month. This has been Black magic.” Truer words may have never been spoken behind the Tiny Desk as R&B goliath Usher caps off our month-long celebration of Black music, highlighting a catalog chock-full of hits spanning 25 years. It’s been over two years since NPR headquarters was abuzz with chatter of a legend in the building. After an early morning rehearsal for his set at the Something in the Water Festival in Washington, D.C., he made his way over to deliver an unforgettable performance.
A radio station in Vancouver, Canada played Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” for hours on end beginning on Tuesday. The 1992 track was played on loop until at least Wednesday – but it is unclear who is behind the mysterious music marathon. The radio station has since announced it was “saying goodbye.”
R. Kelly has been placed on suicide watch at the federal detention facility in New York where he is being held after he was sentenced this week to 30 years in prison on racketeering and sex trafficking charges, his lawyer said Friday.
But the disgraced R&B singer is not suicidal, attorney Jennifer Bonjean told CNN she believes, adding Kelly had been fearful of being put on suicide watch.
“The irony of putting someone on suicide watch when they’re not suicidal is it actually causes more harm,” Bonjean said.
Anyone whose ever tried to do karaoke at home without the use of a karaoke machine will tell you there isn’t a good karaoke app. The best karaoke app is actually YouTube, where saintly people have done the work of removing vocals and creating lyric videos so you can poorly belt basically any song that has ever existed. Tech companies are famously good at filling unnecessary voids in the market, and it’s shocking that Spotify didn’t fill the karaoke app void years ago, especially because the app already displays lyrics or music videos alongside songs.
UMG has acquired Frank Zappa’s recordings, publishing catalog, film archive, and the complete contents of The Vault, the storage facility that houses the late Zappa’s life’s work.
The acquisition also includes Frank Zappa’s name and likeness. UMG hasn’t disclosed the price of the deal.
As we cross the halfway point in a year filled with unpredictable twists, let’s look back at what we’ve learned by revisiting our most viewed content.
If you’re reading this—congratulations! You have survived six months of modern history’s wildest and least predictable year. Look at any corner of our industry, and you will likely find businesses in varying states of painful but necessary evolution.
Touring is back, but it has lost all uniformity. Do we still ask for vaccination cards? Do we offer shots for anyone who hasn’t gotten one? Do we care who does and doesn’t get sick?
Physical media is having a moment, but pipeline delays have ruined vinyl production for the foreseeable future. More plants are opening, but that won’t solve problems related to raw materials. CDs are also back, but good luck finding a car or Bluetooth speaker built to play them.
Several reports say streaming may be plateauing after a decade of constant growth. Other reports claim the exact opposite. Regardless, artists and DSPs are still at odds over royalties, data, and activations in a war that shows no signs of ending.
Nonetheless—We would not change our careers for anything, and we’re willing to bet you feel the same.
Making a living in music is a calling. You feel it in your bones and taste it on your lips. You get a sense when encountering a great song that no other sensation in the world can match. It’s as if your entire body is overrun with electricity, pulsing to the rhythm as your mind picks apart the melody. The pure high of music is worth chasing, and we support those who give their all to make music or make it available to others.
But people in music need help.
Our industry is evolving faster than ever, and those already overwhelmed with work are having difficulty keeping up.
That is why we created Haulix Daily. We believe that the key to a better, more inviting, and accessible industry for all is education. Those in a position to learn must also make it their mission to educate. We have to help one another, and this blog is our way of doing that.
We have created thousands of articles over the last decade, including more than a hundred this year. With 2022 now halfway over, we figured now is the perfect time to look back and celebrate our most-read articles.
Take an inside look at how Minnesota’s High School for Recording Arts Vocational Discovery program uses Haulix to teach students about the music industry.
With more tools and services promising to help musicians grow than ever, you might be surprised to learn that the best marketing approach is also one of the oldest.
