jason hirschhorn's @MusicREDEF: 07/21/2022 - Ticketing Dynamics, Rethinking Venues, Denver Hardcore, Brent Faiyaz, Demi Lovato, DJ Screw...

If you listen to a song, you'll hear exactly what I am feeling. The story behind me rapping was me trying to express myself through high school. B***hes didn't like me—that's fine—and I started rapping. That's how I was able to get my emotions out instead of fighting them. I got it out the classy way. Open in browser Thursday July 21, 2022 Flo Milli at Summer Smash in Chicago's Douglass Park, June 19, 2022. (Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images) quote of the day "If you listen to a song, you'll hear exactly what I am feeling. The story behind me rapping was me trying to express myself through high school. B***hes didn't like me—that's fine—and I started rapping. That's how I was able to get my emotions out instead of fighting them. I got it out the classy way." - Flo Milli, whose "You Still Here, Ho?" was surprise-released Wednesday on RCA rantnrave:// Pay Me My Money Down Welcome, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN fans, to the world of dynamic ticket pricing, where on Wednesday afternoon you could find floor seats about a third of the way back in an arena in Tampa, for Springsteen's first US tour in seven years, for $4,400 each, inclusive of fees, directly from TICKETMASTER. And where on Wednesday night you could find similar seats in Tulsa for anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000 each. And where there was no guarantee the same seats wouldn't be going for a little more, or a little less, 10 minutes later. "Ticket prices may fluctuate, based on demand, at any time," a Ticketmaster popup told you while you waited in an online queue for your chance to grab these seats. "Tickets are selling fast," another popup told you while you stared at the base prices and service fees and hovered over the buy button. "Get yours now before they're gone." Or, perhaps more to the point, before the price changes. HARRY STYLES and BAD BUNNY fans have already been here in 2022, albeit at a slightly lower starting price point. Others will be here soon in this back-to-the-arenas-and-stadiums summer. The on-sale day for the first group of Springsteen/E Street Band shows seemed to hit a particular nerve, though maybe that's just my Twitter timeline, full of people who might get comped on their Harry Styles and Bad Bunny tickets but have to compete with the hoi polloi for their Bruce seats. Your timeline—or your kid's or your mom's—may vary. Wherever the complaints come from, one wonders if a reckoning might be due sometime soon. There were significantly cheaper Springsteen tickets available farther back, it should be noted, but a $2,500 "Official Platinum" ticket, accompanied by a $450.70 service fee (or $901.40 if you're the kind of person who buys tickets in pairs), is going to sting even if you only notice it in your peripheral vision while on your way to snag a couple seats in section 306. That service fee alone could have got you into SPRINGSTEEN ON BROADWAY. The super-expensive prices are due in part (WSJ paywall) to a growing desire to squeeze out resellers by charging what the market will bear rather than setting prices lower and letting resellers pocket the difference, and partly to increased touring costs caused by inflation and Covid. But the loudest complaints seem to stem from another factor, dynamic pricing, which uses algorithms to adjust those prices in real time based on demand. Knowing a good seat costs a thousand bucks is one thing; not knowing from minute to minute whether it's going to cost a thousand or two thousand is something else altogether. I've written about this before, and without repeating myself at length I'll just note that I'm not sure borrowing pricing ideas from the airline industry is ever the best idea. And then, adding insult to injury, despite the stated goal of using pricing to squeeze out resellers, Ticketmaster is also selling what it calls "verified resale tickets" side by side with all its other tickets. What "verified" means, in this usage, is that you know the seats are legit. Whether the sellers or their prices are legit is an entirely different question. Why, with 2022 technology, are we letting resellers do their reselling as soon as regular tickets go on sale? Where are they getting the tickets to resell? Why not block them instead of verifying them? As for those service fees, which are somewhat all over the place—28 percent on a $99.50 ticket and 18 percent on a $2500 tickets, based on some quick spot checking—I'd humbly offer two suggestions. Either cap them, because a $200 or $300 "service charge" begs all sorts of questions, or, alternatively, go ahead and gouge the rich people buying the platinum seats but then use that money to eliminate service charges altogether for the regular people, whether they're old-time Springsteen fans gearing up for their 50th show or newly minted Bad Bunny fans getting ready for their first. No-Shows Facing a public backlash and a potential revolt from its staff, iconic Minneapolis music club FIRST AVENUE canceled a DAVE CHAPPELLE show Wednesday night, two days after it was announced and hours before the controversial comedian was scheduled to take the stage. "We believe in diverse voices and the freedom of artistic expression, but in honoring that we lost sight of the impact this [booking] would have," the venue wrote on its socials. The show was quickly relocated to the LIVE NATION-owned VARSITY THEATER, where Chappelle was already booked for the next two nights... Two days earlier, the MAIN STREET ARMORY in Rochester, N.Y., did the same to an upcoming stop on the DONALD TRUMP- and QAnon-affiliated ReAwaken America tour, saying it was responding to "the outpour(ing) of concern from our community, both good and bad." The club's change of heart came after JAPANESE BREAKFAST canceled its own show at the same venue to protest the ReAwaken America booking. Etc Etc Etc WARNER MUSIC becomes the first major label to sign on to SOUNDCLOUD's user-centric royalty model... LIVE NATION, facing three lawsuits over the stabbing death of DRAKEO THE RULER at the ONCE UPON A TIME IN L.A. festival in Los Angeles in December, argued in a court filing this week that the attack was "unforeseeable" and it shouldn't be held legally responsible... Stereogum's TOM BREIHAN on Atlanta rapper and XXL Freshman class of 2021 graduate FLO MILLI, whose YOU STILL HERE, HO? got a surprise release Wednesday, two days ahead of schedule: "Flo Milli has mastered the art of rapping like the meanest popular girl in any high school. In rap right now, there might be nobody who's better at making utterly withering comments and then laughing about it." - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator beef flomix The Guardian 'We don't want money going to private landlords': UK music venues turn to community ownership By Daniel Dylan Wray As they try to rebuild after Covid, some gig venues are being put into the hands of locals -- and many owners say this speeds up improvements and ensures long-term success. Resident Advisor 'Pirate infrastructures': Why more and more electronic artists are exploring new distribution tools to release their music By Henry Ivry We spoke with A Guy Called Gerald, music PR guru Melissa Taylor and more about fairer models of distribution. Variety Bruce Springsteen Fans Boil at Ticket Prices Going as High as $4-5K, Due to Ticketmaster's 'Dynamic Pricing' By Chris Willman Bruce Springsteen fans like to think of him as tougher than the rest, not pricier than the rest. So there were inevitable eruptions of anger when fans logged on for the first day of sales for his 2023 arena tour and found tickets going for as much as $4,000-5,000 for mid-range floor seats, and into the four-figures for other, less desirable tickets. Minnesota Public Radio First Ave cancels Dave Chappelle show after outcry from staff, patrons, performers By Grace Birnstengel The controversial comedian with a reputation of mocking transgender people was scheduled at the venue for Wednesday night. LGBTQ First Avenue staff say they remain angry and hurt by the club booking Chappelle in the first place. Westword Homegrown Hardcore: Convulse Records Rouses Denver's DIY Spirit By Justin Criado Musician Adam Croft never planned to start his own record label. As a member of three bands — Destiny Bond, Euth and Product Lust — he was more focused on touring and going to school at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Then an opportunity presented itself in 2018. Miami New Times The Many, Many Faces of Rolling Loud Work in Harmony By Olivier Lafontant The festival unveils an experience beyond mosh pits and photo ops. The New York Times R&B That Sweats, Emotionally and Physically By Jon Caramanica New releases from Brent Faiyaz and Muni Long show how the genre has evolved in recent years. Stereogum Let's Talk About The 2022 'XXL' Freshman Class By Tom Breihan With rap's A-list in a state of disorder, the annual ritual of the XXL Freshman Class issue has become weirdly urgent. Music Business Worldwide NEON16 wants to become the Roc Nation of Latin Music. Here's Lex Borrero's masterplan to achieve it By Dave Roberts Lex Borrero wouldn't presume to call himself a protégé of either Sean Combs or Jay-Z, two of the greatest artists-turned-execs of any era or genre. But he did spend some of his formative years in their company (at their companies) – and it shows. Jezebel Demi Lovato Is Stuck in an Authenticity Loop By Rich Juzwiak Pay no attention to the person on Demi Lovato's last album. This time, it's the real Demi. conceited Resident Advisor A History of Chopped and Screwed in Ten Tracks By Lance Scott Walker DJ Screw's slow, psychedelic DJ and production style has majorly influenced electronic music, R&B and pop. Houston-based artist Rabit and author Lance Scott Walker trace the roots of this pervasive sound. The Washington Post E.U. puts a fresh spin on an old cut for a new generation of fans By Stephanie Williams Go-go, with its funky percussion and lively call-and-response format, could easily be dismissed as lighthearted party music. But don't be fooled: The official music of D.C. is protest music. Billboard SoundCloud, Warner Music Group Strike Deal on Fan-Powered Royalties By Dan Rys The agreement means that Warner's artists will shift to a user-centric payment model for royalties earned on the SoundCloud platform. dot.LA AmazeVR Goes Global As VR Concerts Enter New Phase By Christian Hetrick The West Hollywood startup teamed up with K-Pop juggernaut SM Entertainment. DJ Mag Carl Cox is still searching for his perfect techno sound By Bruce Tantum After more than three decades of DJing all over the world, Carl Cox remains one of dance music's most beloved figures. With a new album on the way, and a fresh emphasis on live performance, the king talks about his incredible journey, and his determination to keep challenging himself. Songwriters on Process Songwriters on Process: Kevin Morby By Ben Opipari and Kevin Morby Kevin Morby 's writing process involves cheap pens, cheap paper, a good hardwood floor, and running shoes. Dental floss proves it. Byta Insights : Make Peace with Metadata: Part I (Pre-release) By Jamie Ford Why metadata matters for artists and their teams when it comes to pre-release. Los Angeles Times The studio orchestral musician pool isn't diverse; this program aims for a change By Tim Grieving The inaugural event of the Rise Diversity Project gave L. A. high school students a chance to play Hollywood film scores on the Warner Bros. soundstage. The Sydney Morning Herald Not the same as it was: One Direction were always great. It's me who sucked By Tabitha Carvan What if those millions and millions and millions of teenage girls were, in fact, on to something? What if One Direction were never really bad? what we're into Music of the day "Pretty Girls" Flo Milli "Girls just wanna have fun..." From "You Still Here, Ho?" Music | Media SUBSCRIBE Suggest a link "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 HOME | ABOUT | SETS | PRESS Redef Group Inc. LA - NY - Everywhere Copyright ©2021 UNSUBSCRIBE or MANAGE MY SUBSCRIPTION