| Early in my career, when I was rapping, it was in dance music. I had people asking me, 'What are you doing? Are you rapping? Are you singing? Make a choice.' I've always been really confused by that. | | | | |  | Vince Staples in Los Angeles, June 21, 2019. His self-titled fourth album is out today on Motown.
(Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images) | | | | | "Early in my career, when I was rapping, it was in dance music. I had people asking me, 'What are you doing? Are you rapping? Are you singing? Make a choice.' I've always been really confused by that." | | | | Darling Can't You Hear Me?
SOUNDCLOUD's attempt to turn user-centric royalties into a 2021 reality is a little awkward. None of the major labels has signed on, so the service can't handle their artists' royalties that way, and it's chosen not to apply its user-centric formula to all indie artists either. When the "fan-powered" royalty system launched in April, SoundCloud said it would apply to about 100,000 indie artists enrolled in specific SoundCloud monetization programs. The company has said it's home to more than 25 million creators. So depending on what music any given SoundCloud user plays in a given month, some of their subscription money (or associated ad revenue) may be paid directly to the artists they play—that's the user-centric dream—and some may go into a pool that's distributed on a pro rata basis to the artists everybody else plays, as every other major service does with all royalty funds. Trying to calculate what that means in practice is complicated, to say the least. The first statements were due in May for some artists and June for others.
But SoundCloud's attempt to turn user-centric royalties into a 2021 reality is also a best-in-class implementation. It is, in fact, the only such implementation at a major streaming company, and the awkwardness is largely the fault of external forces. And now it has what may be its biggest participant to date, PORTISHEAD, which has given SoundCloud the exclusive on the first streaming release of its 2015 cover of ABBA's "SOS." No, this isn't quite a new FRANK OCEAN album. But it's a name that may attract other names, who may in turn attract yet more. Small steps for sour times. "When we heard that SoundCloud switched to a fairer user-centric payment system of streaming music," said Portishead's GEOFF BARROW, who has been a vocal advocate for a more equitable streaming economy, "we were happy to make it the only place to stream our unreleased version of Abba's 'SOS.'"
Whether a fan-powered royalty model will put more money into the pockets of middle class artists, especially those with passionate fan bases, as proponents say it will, remains a matter of debate. Some say it will just shuffle money around from some indie artists to other indie artists. Spotify is on record saying it doesn't see a clear benefit. But Spotify, like most of its peers, is also on record as having never actually tried it, which is maddening for a growing chorus of musicians who say the current streaming system isn't working for them. The Montreal indie-pop band STARS tweeted this on Thursday: "[we] had over 110 million streams on various streaming platforms last year. we are currently unable to pay ourselves a wage. does that sound right to you?" That's what you might call an, um, SOS. Switching from pro rata royalties to fan-powered royalties alone probably isn't going to fix Stars' bank accounts. But that's not a reason not to try it. It might just be a reason to give it a shot while continuing to look for more things to try.
Also: Fan-powered royalties is a clearer, catchier than name than user-centric royalties. Pass it on.
Dot Dot Dot
"The American dream wasn't designed for everybody," says a narrator at the beginning of ICE COLD, a four-part documentary on hip-hop and jewelry that dropped on YOUTUBE this morning. "So when you're already behind, you're gonna create your own symbols of success, your own ways to show you got it." MIGOS executive produced the doc, and the group's own jewelry is there to serve as proof... There are 12 months in the year. CBS and the CMT AWARDS have picked an odd one to begin their new broadcast partnership in 2022... A theory of music from SAINT JHN, as told by VINCE STAPLES, whose self-titled fourth album is out today (see below): "[The listener] just got off work. They might hate their wife. They might hate their husband. They might hate their kids. They hate their job. They hate the car. They hate the house. Life's not perfect. They don't have time to try to figure out what you're trying to tell them. You're just supposed to make them feel better and make them feel good. Put them in a specific space."
It's Friday
And that means new music from VINCE STAPLES, who gets "fuzzed out" on his Kenny Beats-produced fourth album... And genre-fluid (or you could just say "pop") Zimbabwean-Australian rapper/singer TKAY MAIDZA, who releases the sparkling final installment of her EP trilogy LAST YEAR WAS WEIRD (and let it be known that Vol. 1 showed up in 2018, in case anyone needs a reminder that pretty much all years are weird)... Thirty-four years after winning their first Grammy, JAM & LEWIS, as in Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, make their debut as recording artists with assists from Mariah Carey, the Roots, Mary J. Blige, Boyz II Men, Morris Day and others... Irish rockers INHALER, aka Bono's son's band, are part of a strange new wave: "breakout artists trying to regain momentum stolen by Covid"... UNDER THE LILAC SKY is an album of sunset ragas by Indian-American modular synthesist and vocalist ARUSHI JAIN... Japanese drumming collective KODO collaborate with Rufus Wainwright, Kevin Saunderson, the Colorist Orchestra, Skream and others on KODO TOGETHER, which the group says was inspired by the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
And more new music from STYLES P, SNOH AALEGRA, IDK, MARIAH THE SCIENTIST, CHARLOTTE DAY WILSON, the FLATLANDERS, ATTACCA QUARTET, JD ALLEN, KORELESS, LES FILLES DE ILLIGHADAD, MUSEUM OF LOVE (LCD Soundsystem's Pat Mahoney and DFA Records' Dennis McNanany), TWIN SHADOW, the GOON SAX, HALF WAIF, REJJIE SNOW, SWOOPE, STALLEY, the WALLFLOWERS, CLAIRE ROSINKRANZ, the MAINE, MAYHEM, PSYCHIC HIT, GNAWING, MUCK SPREADER, FRANCES FOREVER, TOM ODELL, PICTUREPLANE... And, from way behind the arc, the soundtrack to SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY.
| | | | Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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| | |  | | The Seattle Times |
| | Before Nirvana or Pearl Jam, there was Tina Bell, the godmother of grunge. Musicians pay tribute in upcoming concert | | by Jade Yamazaki Stewart | | Before Kurt Cobain was getting Rolling Stone cover features, he was just one of many Seattle teenagers enthralled by Seattle band Bam Bam and its late frontwoman, Tina Bell. | |  | | Pitchfork |
| | The Brexit Touring Crisis: What's Happened and What's Next for UK Musicians? | | by Jazz Monroe | | As Thom Yorke, Elton John, and more fight for a visa waiver for creative professionals, the government is standing its ground. At what cost? | |  | | Interview Magazine |
| | Vince Staples Is Exactly Who—and Where—He Wants to Be | | by Jermaine Fowler | | The Long Beach rapper talks to the writer and actor Jermaine Fowler about his upcoming wave of new music, finding his professional sweet spot, and why home is still where his heart is. | |  | | NPR Music |
| | Jimmy Jam And Terry Lewis, Legendary Hitmakers, Release Their First Album | | by Rachel Martin and Phil Harrell | | After nearly three decades spent producing massive hits for a long list of (other) legends including Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, the pair called in some favors for a long-belated debut. | |  | | Synchtank |
| | Selling Music Rights as NFTs: Fad or Future? | | by Eamonn Forde | | As more artists explore the sale of their music rights and royalty streams as NFTs, Eamonn Forde examines the potential benefits and current limitations. | |  | | The Independent |
| | The breakout artists trying to regain momentum stolen by Covid | | by Ed Power | | The pandemic put the careers of dozens of hopeful young artists on hold. Ed Power speaks to the bands Inhaler and Porridge Radio on how they've survived lockdown - and how they're coming back with a vengeance. | |  | | New York Post |
| | Why 'Ice Cold' hip-hop jewels are more than just pricey bling | | by Rachelle Bergstein | | It takes big stones to make it in hip-hop. That's the premise of "Ice Cold," a new four-part documentary on YouTube. The series - which was also featured in last month's Tribeca Film Festival - examines why outrageous jewels have become such a vital part of hip-hop culture. | |  | | NME |
| | R.E.M. share original 1981 mix of 'Radio Free Europe', so we had a chat with their producer | | by John Earls | | R.E.M. share the original 1981 Hib-Tone mix of the classic 'Radio Free Europe', as producer Mitch Easter looks back on their early days. | |  | | Reverb.com |
| | How Simmons' Hexagonal E-Drums Shaped the '80s | | by Jim Allen | | Looking back on 40 years with SDSV co-creator Richard James Burgess. | |  | | Music Business Worldwide |
| | Actually... Universal Music Group spent nearly $3 BILLION on catalog acquisitions and artist advances last year | | by Tim Ingham | | The $2.87 billion UMG spent on catalog acquisitions and artist advances last year works out at the equivalent of spending $7.8 million every day. | | |  | | Kaiser Health News |
| | Delta Variant Surges in Colorado as the Bands Play On | | by Rae Ellen Bichell | | "We're making national news for our covid variant and the CDC is here investigating, but we have a huge festival where people aren't masking." | |  | | Complete Music Update |
| | IMPALA and IAO propose new pass that would remove bureaucratic barriers for touring artists across Europe | | by Chris Cooke | | The two groups are proposing the creation of a GECAT Pass – or a pass that facilitates 'Geographical European Cultural Area Touring' – with the aim of reducing both the costs and administrative burdens for artists touring around Europe. | |  | | The New York Times |
| | Tyler, the Creator, an Insider Forever on the Outside | | by Jon Caramanica | | His new album, "Call Me if You Get Lost," is both an embrace of hip-hop tradition and a swerve into new emotional terrain. | | | | Music Business Worldwide |
| | 'Managers should be well compensated and own equity in what we're developing' | | by Rhian Jones | | Music management titans Ty Stiklorius and Lily Crockford joined the UK's Music Managers Forum 2021 AGM for a joint interview. The music management model, said Crockford, "is set in its ways because of The Beatles and there were four in the band and the fifth was the manager. It's kind of crazy that we're still following that." | |  | | Money 4 Nothing |
| | The Political Economy of The Grateful Dead with Jesse Jarnow | | by Saxon Baird, Sam Backer and Jesse Jarnow | | To learn about how the Dead's unique approach helped lay the groundwork for the 21st century, we talked to Jesse Jarnow, author of "Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America," and the co-host of the Dead-Cast. He filled us in on the philosophy of "FREE," dead-head-tech, and...how much Jerry just didn't want to be a cop. | |  | | DJ Mag |
| | The rebirth of Todd Edwards | | by Gabriel Szatan | | Todd Edwards is a house and garage veteran whose signature productions have lit up dancefloors for decades, and whose collaborations with Daft Punk sit in the record collections of millions. Yet Todd has battled crises of faith and self-worth throughout. This is the story of how he came back stronger. | |  | | Variety |
| | Portishead Release Rare Abba Cover Via Soundcloud's 'Fan-Powered' Royalty Model | | by Jem Aswad | | In a twist on the traditional streaming-service payment model, Portishead have released their 2015 cover of ABBA's "SOS" exclusively on SoundCloud - which not only brings the song to a major streaming platform for the first time, it utilizes SoundCloud's "fan-powered royalty" system, whereby revenue from its streams are driven directly by the artist's fan base. | |  | | Splice Today |
| | How I Learned to Be Both Artist and Fan By Hating the Streaming Industry | | by Chad Beattie | | I'm against streaming services as a concept. | |  | | Tidal |
| | Desert Blues: Billy F Gibbons in Conversation | | by Craig Rosen | | The American original talks about his new solo album, ZZ Top's road ahead and the freedom of making loud noise among the sand, rocks and rattlesnakes. | | | |  | | | Music of the day | | "Syrup" | | Tkay Maidza | | From "Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3," out today on 4AD. |  | | YouTube |
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From "Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3," out today on 4AD. | Four-part series directed by Karam Gill and executive produced by Migos. | | | Music | Media | Sports | Fashion | Tech | | "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?'" | | |  | | | Jason Hirschhorn | | CEO & Chief Curator | | |  |
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