| Traditional record label A&R is like cooking spaghetti: throw 10 pieces at the wall and hope one sticks. Those pieces of spaghetti are artists! It needs to change. |
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 | | Smino at the Smokin Grooves Festival, Los Angeles, March 19, 2022. "Luv 4 Rent" is out Friday on Zero Fatigue/EQT/Motown. | | (Scott Dudelson/Getty Images) | | |
| quote of the day |
| "Traditional record label A&R is like cooking spaghetti: throw 10 pieces at the wall and hope one sticks. Those pieces of spaghetti are artists! It needs to change." | | - Dominique Casimir, BMG chief content officer | |
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| rantnrave:// |
All Falls Down
You may or may not have noticed I've completely avoided any mention of a certain superstar producer/rapper/songwriter/etc over the past month. This has been intentional. I'm going to break my own rule today to briefly explain, and then I intend to return to ignoring him.
(You'll also find more stories about him in today's mix than I normally think need to be shared/amplified, including a thoughtful essay from Variety's ANDREW WALLENSTEIN about his 14-year-old son's refusal to disavow the artist in question, and how it reminds him of his own teenage obsession with a controversial rap act in the face of his father's disapproval. The equivalence between the two acts may be overdrawn but the questions the essay raises still resonate.)
I appreciate the people and institutions who've had specific reasons to speak up and who have done so, including CAA, UNIVERSAL MUSIC, ADIDAS and others who've cut longstanding ties with him. Good. They were put on the spot and they responded—some a bit slower than others, but most if not all have now had their say.
I disagree with the notion that the rest of us have any obligation to condemn him, argue with him, push back on his ideas or anything of the sort. There aren't any ideas that need to be engaged with, not anymore. Just the ramblings of a toxic a**hole. A troll. He expects, and wants, to be called out, challenged and criticized. He thrives on that. It's his Red Bull. It's how his toxic ideas are amplified and continue to pollute our air. I can't think of anything healthier, for me or for anyone else, than to tune him out and walk on by. Don't cancel him. Ignore him.
That, anyway, is my choice, here in my professional life but also on social media and in my day-to-day human interactions. I don't want to inhale the toxic energy and I don't want to spread it, even if only to condemn it. Let his music stay on the internet and the radio. Let him yap into the wilderness. Let the rest of us disengage.
I'm aware he may have medical issues, but that's an entirely separate conversation. Let him seek treatment if needs it. But that just makes him an a**hole with medical issues.
Do beat back and act against the toxicity if and when it spreads. That's where this probably starts getting more complicated than I'm making it out to be. And that's the beginning of a different conversation. Which won't be about him. It will be about the rest of us.
Rest in Peace
CHRISTINE FARNON was the Recording Academy's first full-time employee and rose to executive vice president in a 35-year career there. The Academy called her its "Guiding Light"... Cowboy singer and poet DON EDWARDS.
| | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator | |
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 | | The New York Times |
| | Allow Natalia Lafourcade to Reintroduce Herself | | By Ed Morales | | After years of recording homages to Latin American greats, the Mexican singer-songwriter re-emerges with an LP that features new collaborators, including Marc Ribot. | | |
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 | | Streaming Machinery |
| | Brainstorming: 'Super Shazam' | | By G.C. Stein | | Wild ideas to tame the increasing fragmentation of the digital music experience affecting listeners and artists. | | |
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 | | Music Business Worldwide |
| | 'We don't just promote records anymore -- we promote artist brands' | | By Tim Ingham | | Dominique Casimir, who oversees BMG's repertoire outside the US, explains what her early experiences in music taught her about treating artists and why she believes BMG has cracked the right way to do deal-making with artists – as she reveals an interesting theory for why the music industry continues to obsess over weekly charts. | | |
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 | | Norah Jones Is Playing Along: |
| | Norah Jones Is Playing Along: Mavis Staples | | By Norah Jones and Mavis Staples | | In this episode, Mavis treats us to many stories, from growing up in a big musical family, to staying strong through trying times, and how she spreads love through her music. She and Norah pay homage to Pops Staples with a rendition of "Friendship", take on a gospel classic, and even get into the Christmas spirit! | | |
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| what we're into |
 | | Music of the day | | "Look Both Ways" | | Nosaj Thing ft. Pink Siifu | | From "Continua," out Friday on LuckyMe. | | |
|  | | Video of the day | | "How They Got Over" | | Robert Clem | | Director Robert Clem's documentary on the gospel quartets who influenced the development of rock and roll. Streaming at Amazon and Apple+. | | |
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| Music | Media | | | | | | 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?'" |
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