jason hirschhorn's @MusicREDEF: 10/15/2019 - Pharrell Takes Stock, Instagram & Bootleg Band Merch, Social Media & the Dancefloor, Vagabon, Sulli...

Hot take: I don't think anyone should work in the music industry without extensively touring first. Is this interest remix not displaying correctly? | View it in your browser. Vagabon at FORM Arcosanti in Arcosanti, Ariz., May 12, 2018. (Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images) Tuesday - October 15, 2019 Tue - 10/15/19 "Hot take: I don't think anyone should work in the music industry without extensively touring first." -  Maggie Vail, executive director of Cash Music, label manager of Bikini Kill Records and bass player rantnrave:// "This is why we built this thing! For concerts and music shows!" Care to guess which cultural behemoth this thing is? Answer after the following item... There were two controversies, in case you don't remember, about the blurry lines within the infamous 2013 single "BLURRED LINES." One was legal: The song was found, in a plagiarism suit whose aftershocks are still being felt, to have infringed on the copyright of MARVIN GAYE's "GOT TO GIVE IT UP." The other was a question of morals: Did the song's lyrics cross a line of sexual consent or were they just a "cocky and presumptuous" depiction of flirtation? In an interview published Monday, the song's primary writer switched sides on that issue. "Some of my old songs, I would never write or sing today," PHARRELL told GQ's WILL WELCH. It wasn't #MeToo that changed his mind; it was the mixed response to his own song that did the trick. "I didn't get it at first," Williams said. "And then I realized that there are men who use that same language when taking advantage of a woman, and it doesn't matter that that's not my behavior. Or the way I think about things. It just matters how it affects women. My mind opened up to what was actually being said in the song and how it could make someone feel." No update on his thoughts on the plagiarism judgment, but sometimes one's own conscience is 100 times more powerful than even the world's most expensive jury verdict... The thing built for concerts and music shows (no, I'm not sure what the difference is either) was TWITTER. That's co-founder NOAH GLASS being quoted talking to JACK DORSEY in 2006. We're reminded of this in ERIC HARVEY's essay for PITCHFORK on "How Twitter Changed Music," which is more about how Twitter changed music marketing and branding than about how it changed music itself. (The latter angle may have to wait for a TIKTOK essay, unless you want to dwell on Harvey's short digression on hashtag rap, which you probably don't; BIG SEAN.) But it's a good read on how deeply intertwined Twitter and music are, on who's using it right and why musicians have a habit of loudly quitting and quietly coming back; TRENT REZNOR... The guy who wrote the theme song for THE PRICE IS RIGHT says he was cheated out of his royalties for a song that, by his estimate, has earned $40 to $50 million during the show's nearly half-century on the air. Which is two jaw-dropping facts. One more: The theme has three key changes in its first 10 seconds. Composer EDD KALEHOFF tells his story in DALLAS TAYLOR's wonderful TWENTY THOUSAND HERTZ, a podcast about how sound is created and used... RIP SULLI—"an outspoken K-pop star in an industry that would've preferred she stayed quiet"—GEORGE CHAMBERS and PHILLIP KOVAC. - Matty Karas, curator woke up on a groovy tuesday Pitchfork How Twitter Changed Music by Eric Harvey Hashtag rap! Kanye rants! Terrifying stan pile-ons! For better and worse, Twitter has forever altered the music landscape. InsideHook How Instagram Is Keeping the Bootleg Band Merch Tradition Alive by Bonnie Stiernberg From the Grateful Dead to Vampire Weekend, fan accounts highlighting bootleg designs have become devoted communities. Pioneer DJ Insta DJ: Social Media and the New Age Dancefloor by Laurence Koe and Dan Tait What kind of impact is social media having on DJs and the dance music scene? Watch artists, DJs, managers, and experts discuss this issue in our new documentary, "INSTA DJ." The New Yorker Vagabon Goes Her Own Way by Hua Hsu Laetitia Tamko, a black woman in an indie-rock community that has long been defined by white fans' tastes, makes music with herself at the center. GQ Pharrell on Evolving Masculinity, 'Blurred Lines,' and 'Spiritual Warfare' by Will Welch Pushing the masculinity conversation forward with one of pop culture's most influential futurists. Variety Trading In Music's Futures: Why Greed Is Good by Nick Jarjour "There is wealth to be had in this new era, and it's time to get a piece of it," writes Nick Jarjour. Music Industry Blog How Music Publishers Are Driving a Full Stack Revolution by Mark Mulligan Ambitious publishers are using the access to debt and investment to reverse into the recordings business. Billboard Sulli Was an Outspoken K-Pop Star in an Industry That Would've Preferred She Stayed Quiet by Jeff Benjamin From forward-thinking views on politics, women's rights and sexuality, the late Sulli (real name Choi Jin-ri) can be a symbol of changing times in Korea. Consequence of Sound Degenerated: An Oral History of 'Airheads' by Andrew Buss The cast and crew revisit Michael Lehmann's cult comedy for its 25th anniversary. Twenty Thousand Hertz The Price is Right (Yeah, Yeah!) by Dallas Taylor, Mike Baireuther and Edd Kalehoff As a young composer, Edd Kalehoff was looking for his break. In the early 70s he struck gold, writing the theme song and music cues for The Price Is Right. However, suspect business dealings would cast a dark shadow over this hallmark of daytime game shows for decades. even my hangover's fine RTÉ Archives Why 90% of your streaming cash goes to acts you may not like by Kara O'Brien A proposed new music streaming payment system may change this and ensure the acts you actually listen to get paid more. Los Angeles Times It may be farewell, but not goodbye: Elton John has a lot left to say by Alex Pappademas Elton John's autobiography "Me" arrives on the heels of his smash farewell tour, "Rocketman" biopic and what can only be described as personal contentment. The Well of Sound 6 Degrees Of Fanny by Lex and David Zahl If you haven't heard of Fanny, you're not the only one. Rising stars in the early '70s, they got lost in the format changes of the '80s. But streaming services have helped resurface this influential, female-driven rock act that forged the way for bands like The Runaways and The Go-Gos. Pitchfork How Chillwave's Brief Moment in the Sun Cast a Long Shadow Over the 2010s by Larry Fitzmaurice Washed Out, Neon Indian, Toro y Moi, and what happened after the genre's bedroom pop sounds hit the indie mainstream. Advertising Age How Universal Music Group plans to grow--through video by Brian Braiker In the latest episode of the 'Ad Lib' podcast, UMG's content strategist explains how the world's largest music label is evolving into a 'music-based media company.' Variety Universal Music Group's Jay Frank Remembered: 'He Was One Step Ahead of Everybody' by Dan Catullo and Michele Amabile Angermiller Even as a student at Scotch Plains High School in New Jersey, Universal Music Group executive and digital music veteran Jay Frank - who died Sunday at the age of 47 after a battle with cancer - was destined for a career in the music business. GQ How Florida Georgia Line Helped Country Music Reinvigorate Itself by Jay Willis Bro-country grows up. Pollstar Midland: 21st Century Honky Tonk All-Night Band by Holly Gleason Ed Warm heard the buzz. The dug-in Chicago promoter behind the Windy City Smokeout and Joe's on Weed Street is known for booking -- and building -- acts on the rise; hiring Midland was a no-brainer. But the rest was a surprise. Billboard How Sho Madjozi Landed a Viral Hit, Thanks to John Cena by Nadia Neophytou Known for rapping in a combination of her first language, Xitsonga, as well as English and Swahili, 27-year-old Sho Madjozi has landed her first U.S. hit with 'John Cena.' Music Business Worldwide My Manifesto: Merck Mecuriadis by Dave Roberts Hipgnosis founder Merck Mecuriadis' manifesto is nothing less than a five point plan for a revolution in power, wealth and ownership. MUSIC OF THE DAY YouTube "Every Woman" Vagabon From her self-titled second album, out Friday on Nonesuch. "REDEF is dedicated to my mother, who nurtured and encouraged my interest in everything and slightly regrets the day she taught me to always ask 'why?'" — @JasonHirschhorn REDEF, Inc. NY - LA - EVERYWHERE redef.com YOU DON'T GET IT? Subscribe Unsubscribe/Manage My Subscription FOLLOW REDEF ON © Copyright 2019, The REDEF Group