Thursday, November 17, 2022

jason hirschhorn's @MusicREDEF: 11/17/2022 - Up All Night With Super Fans, Streaming Economics, SZA, Weyes Blood, Jean-Michel Basquiat...

I don't think that pop culture really has borders or language barriers anymore. I don't know that a fan necessarily draws a distinction between BTS, Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny.
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Thursday November 17, 2022
REDEF
Honey Dijon in Madrid, Sept. 24, 2022. Her second album, "Black Girl Magic," is out Friday on Classic Music Company.
(Pablo Gallardo/Redferns/Getty Images)
quote of the day
"I don't think that pop culture really has borders or language barriers anymore. I don't know that a fan necessarily draws a distinction between BTS, Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny."
- Jbeau Lewis, Bad Bunny's agent at United Talent Agency
rantnrave://
Harry's House Guests

There is still Covid and there is still a volatile economy and there are still artists, venues and crew being left behind by a live music boom that isn't booming for everyone and there are still music fans who aren't quite ready to turn out again, but there are also those who are, and this one goes out to them—the fans who were showing up at the KIA FORUM in Inglewood, Calif., at 3 in the morning in the hope of getting a numbered wristband at 10 in the morning allowing them to line up at 3 in the afternoon so they could be among the first to enter the arena's general-admission door at 6:30 and get as close as they could to the stage where HARRY STYLES would emerge at 9, some 18 hours after their odyssey began. Styles, who just wrapped the first part of his 15-show run at the Forum (three shows were moved to January after he came down with the flu two weeks ago), was their reward, but they were also his. He couldn't do this BORN IN THE USA-sized arena stand if they didn't exist. His 15 nights in LA don't happen without these super fans passing the entirety of chilly Southern California nights and days with card games, TikToks and limited, pre-planned bathroom breaks, looking out for and making friends with strangers doing the same thing. "I fully slept on the street by myself, two feet away from a random car," 19-year-old JULIANNA MALEK told Billboard. "Harry is the only artist that I would feel safe camping by myself for. I knew this morning that I could come and make friends and be OK." If there's a purer idea of what it means to support your favorite artists and bands, I can't think of what that would be. It's more, if you ask me, than any record company, manager or agent could possibly provide. It's how and why this whole thing works. Deep respect.

If you're of a certain age, you might once or twice have camped out all night outside a record store, or wherever your local TICKETMASTER or TICKETRON outlet was, to be first in line to buy tickets for a tour of this magnitude. The internet killed that particular experience and replaced it with what TAYLOR SWIFT's fan base went through Tuesday, when her ERAS tour went on sale and Ticketmaster went down with a touch of the flu itself. Tennessee attorney general JONATHAN SKRMETTI is investigating Tuesday's debacle, which included crashing websites and resellers finding their way around the tour's Verified Fan system and sending prices to the moon, on behalf of Swift fans in his home state—but not just Swift fans. "We're in Music City here in Nashville. This is an important part of the local economy," Skrmetti said. "It's not just a matter of fans who are being harmed by this potentially. There are a lot of people involved in concert production in this area." Skremetti expressed concern at Ticketmaster's "very dominant" position in the market, echoing complaints heard in Washington, D.C. (It should be noted that a competitor, SEATGEEK, had the primary ticketing contract in some cities Tuesday, and experienced its own issues.) Calls to break up Ticketmaster have gained some traction in recent weeks, and even PRESIDENT BIDEN has spoken up about one common complaint, fees. As a New Jersey mom who was trying to buy Swift tickets for her 11-year-old daughter told the BBC: "You're kind of at their mercy."

Rest in Peace

DJ/producer JANETTE SLACK, a mainstay of the breakbeat scene in London and in her native Hong Kong... British rare groove selector/curator DEZ PARKES.

- Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator
grapejuice
Complete Music Update
Artist remuneration remains a key sticking point as MPs return to the economics of streaming debate
By Chris Cooke
MPs on the UK Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee yesterday heard from music industry experts and representatives about the work that has been ongoing within the music community since the committee published its report last year on the economics of music streaming.  I was among those questioned by MP.
The New York Times
Bad Bunny Anchors a Year of Explosive Growth for Latin Music
By Ben Sisario
The most nominated artist at the Latin Grammys has earned blockbuster numbers on streaming and on tour in 2022. He's far from the only Spanish-language artist finding fresh listeners.
Billboard
SZA Is Finally Ready to Release That Album (Yes, Really!)
By Heran Mamo
Five years ago, her debut redefined alternative R&B. With its follow-up at last imminent, she's more confident than ever — but still weighing pop stardom's long-term sustainability.
BBC News
Taylor Swift Ticketmaster crash draws ire on Capitol Hill
By Natalie Sherman
A glitch caused by high demand for her concerts has triggered monopoly busters in Washington DC.
The Tennessean
Tennessee looking into Taylor Swift ticket chaos on Ticketmaster
By Mariah Timms
Frustrated after you spent hours trying to get Taylor Swift tickets in the presale event Tuesday? So is Tennessee's attorney general.
I Care If You Listen
Classical Music's Racial Awakening -- Was It All a Mirage?
By Jennifer Grim
Jennifer Grim advocates for sustaining the recent efforts in classical music to include more artists of color in regular season programming.
Penny Fractions
Recession Looms Over the Music Industry (Part 2)
By David Turner
Let's pick up talking about the recession that may already be here or on the near horizon depending on your weatherman.
Billboard
TikTok Has Gen Z Hooked -- Can Its Streaming Service Get Them to Pay for Music?
By Dan Rys
As owner Bytedance plans an expansion of its Resso music streaming service, the industry watches with a wary -- and, potentially, hopeful -- eye.
Pitchfork
Weyes Blood on What It Means to Be Out of Time
By Sam Sodomsky
The singer-songwriter talks about her complex relationship with nostalgia, the indignities of online life, and her sweeping new album, "And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow."
Black Music and Black Muses
A New Theory Of The Entourage (Part I)
By Harmony Holiday
How did the shallowest version of a collective identity become a music industry standard?
kiwi
The Guardian
'KABOOM!' -- why Basquiat's explosive art should be listened to, not just looked at
By Andrew Dickson
From Beethoven to bebop to his own abrasive, atonal 'noise band', the now revered artist tuned his work to music at every turn of his career, as a major new show reveals.
Twenty Thousand Hertz
Twenty Thousand Hertz: Synth War II -- Digital Doom
By Dallas Taylor, Michelle Moog-Koussa, Ami Radunskaya...
In the 1960s, Bob Moog and Don Buchla built synthesizers that changed the world. But by the early 80s, they faced a new challenger who threatened to bring it all crumbling down: the digital synthesizer. To defeat this opponent, they'd have to recruit a new ally… and maybe even join forces.
Los Angeles Times
How two legendary Black musicians made their bones
By Chris Vognar
"Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins" and "Chuck Berry: An American Life" illuminate Black musicians and the legacy they left us.
InsideHook
'Surrender' May Actually Make Bono Skeptics Change Their Minds
By Tim Grierson
This candid, self-critical memoir is a reminder of what can be insufferable -- but also incredibly compelling -- about U2's divisive frontman.
Music x
Mercy, Mercy Me: the climate cost of live music
By Beatriz Negreiros
Music might not have the heftiest of traces if we compare it to fast fashion or agriculture, but, given the amount of travel (often by air), energy consumption, and all-around resource expenditure touring entails, it is certainly doing damage enough to grant discussion.
Pitchfork
Ari Lennox Is Searching for a Radical Love
By Clover Hope
The R&B star reflects on her time surfing AOL chat rooms, not settling for less, and her wonderfully frank new album, "age/sex/location."
The Guardian
'The baddest technician': how Don Cherry is still making jazz new
By Ammar Kalia
The man who turned bebop upside down with Ornette Coleman went on to work with artists from Sonny Rollins to Ian Dury -- and the London jazz festival is set to show he's still inspiring.
Byta
Make Peace with Metadata: Release & Post-Release
Ditto Music discuss why music metadata matters for artists, from royalties to discoverability.
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