An array of artists, producers, songwriters, managers, record label representatives, attorneys, and other music executives formed the nonprofit Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) on Monday. In alliance with #TheShowMustBePaused, the group wants to ensure that the music business — which is arguably kept afloat by black music and black creators …
Read More »
It’s been a whole week since the music business held a “blackout” to discuss measures against racism, in response to the killing of George Floyd and other black victims of police brutality. So where are those measures? “I thought it was a good symbolic gesture, a show of silence,” Chuck …
Read More »
For the first time since the pandemic sidelined live music in the U.S. in March, veteran DJ D-Nice finally had the chance to play an in-person live gig. D-Nice, who’s been a mainstay amid safer-at-home regulations with his popular Club Quarantine Instagram Live Sessions, flew out to Hallandale Beach, Florida …
Read More »
It’s been nearly two months since live music shut down. For large concert companies, the revenue slippage has been a major burden. For independent venues, which have no corporate parent to fall back on, it’s an “existential crisis,” says Dayna Frank, board president of the newly formed National Independent Venue …
Read More »
When the global COVID-19 quarantine is over — cautiously, carefully, over — the dust will begin to settle on some dramatic changes in the music business, with some big questions about the future left to answer. Obviously, the importance of live-streaming, previously treated like a nostalgic side-show by the industry, …
Read More »
It’s been two weeks since the ousting of Deborah Dugan sparked a riotous dispute between the former Recording Academy CEO and the organization she once shepherded. Since then, the two sides have engaged in multiple back-and-forth accusations, insults and one scorched earth complaint. With no signs of a slowdown or …
Read More »
Latin stands triumphant today as one of the most popular genres of music. Rebeca Leon is a big part of the reason. In 2007, Leon launched the Latin-music division for concert promoter AEG, which she started from scratch and built into a more than $150 million business over 10 years. …
Read More »
When Metallica books a tour, the band doesn’t just prepare to play its biggest hits in the biggest cities — it uses granular Spotify data to tease out the specific preferences of its city-specific fanbases, tailoring set lists to location, Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek revealed on an earnings call last …
Read More »
“[When] I started Spotify … I was single and 23 and spraying champagne on people in bars in downtown Stockholm … I used to think that people who went and picked up their kids from day care were losers and were checking out too early. That’s the honest truth.” Daniel …
Read More »