All about the world of music from the inside

  • The life cycle of a Sync placementLearn more about the process of getting music into TV. film and games. A quick but thorough guide that goes from pitching to placement to payment. by Jon Mizrachi of. Continue reading
    The post The life cycle of a Sync placement appeared first on Hypebot.

    Learn more about the process of getting music into TV. film and games. A quick but thorough guide that goes from pitching to placement to payment. by Jon Mizrachi of. Continue reading

  • Paramore at the Kia ForumPhotos by Zachary Gray

    Paramore are currently on the second leg of their North American tour in support of their seventh studio album This Is Why. During the final of two shows at The Kia Forum in Los Angeles, they invited Bethany Cosentino and Rico Nasty to share the stage with them.

    Following a set than spanned their greatest hits such as "That's What You Get", "Decode", "Rose Colored Boy", and "Last Hope", Paramore invited Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino on stage to perform "Big Man, Little Dignity" which features on their latest album, This Is Why. Joining the likes of PinkPantheress, and Lil Uzi Vert, they invited their "brand new friend" Rico Nasty on stage for "Misery Business."

    rico nasty came out for misery business at the paramore concert, this SHIT HAD MY CREMAING pic.twitter.com/N4ZTlz1nHV— Pooh Sheistenberg (@CultureSwine) July 21, 2023

    Setlist 

    You First

    The News

    That's What You Get

    Playing God

    Caught in the Middle

    Rose-Colored Boy(With snippet of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody)

    Running Out of Time

    Decode

    Last Hope

    Big Man, Little Dignity(with Bethany Cosentino)

    Liar

    Crystal Clear(Hayley Williams song) (Intro “Lovers or Friends”)

    Hard Times(With snippet of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass”)

    Told You So

    Figure 8

    The Only Exception

    Crave

    Baby(HalfNoise cover)

    Misery Business(with Rico Nasty)

    Ain't It Fun

    Encore:

    Still Into You

    This Is Why

    Excerpted by Tyler Damara Kelly

    Photos by Zachary Gray Paramore are currently on the second leg of their North American tour in support of their seventh studio album This Is Why. During the final of two shows at The Kia Forum in …

  • Getting It Done: Last week in D.I.Y & Indie MusicLast week, our tips and advice for the independent, do-it-yourselfers out there covered how to use Amazon AMP, a rundown of a 2023 producer’s salary, and more… How much money. Continue reading
    The post Getting It Done: Last week in D.I.Y & Indie Music appeared first on Hypebot.

    Last week, our tips and advice for the independent, do-it-yourselfers out there covered how to use Amazon AMP, a rundown of a 2023 producer’s salary, and more… How much money. Continue reading

  • REWIND: The new music industry’s week in reviewA busy week by any definition, the music industry was no exception, with Twitter getting a whole new brand and name, Reels reaching record-high views, and more… Live Nation and. Continue reading
    The post REWIND: The new music industry’s week in review appeared first on Hypebot.

    A busy week by any definition, the music industry was no exception, with Twitter getting a whole new brand and name, Reels reaching record-high views, and more… Live Nation and. Continue reading

  • Moog Soundlab Series Returnsnext door to Moog Music’s factory in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, is another institution in electronic music—one that has been at the center of artist collaboration, new music discovery, and synthesis education for more than a decade. 

    Designed to be an immersive and inviting experience for creatives, the Moog Sound Lab is home to a carefully curated collection of vintage and modern instruments. In Moog’s popular artist performance series that bears the same name, musicians use this space as a stage to reimagine and perform original songs using the vast selection of synthesizers and other electronic instruments. Over the years, this studio space and series has attracted artists such as CHVRCHES, Tegan & Sara, El-P (Run the Jewels), Toro Y Moi, Sylvan Esso, Moses Sumney, and Jack Antonoff.

    After a break in Moog Sound Lab video production during the height of the pandemic and the studio’s redesign, the series returns with a new selection of synth-packed performances ready for release. First, Moog spotlights producers Andy Stott and Debit as they create a full song with a range of semi-modular synthesizers.

    Watch: Andy Stott & Debit Perform with Moog Matriarch, Grandmother, DFAM & Mavis

    While traveling through North America on tour last spring, electronic music producers Delia Beatriz (aka Debit) and Andy Stott spent some quality time at Moog Music’s factory and studio space in Asheville, North Carolina

    Inside the Moog Sound Lab, the two joined forces to compose and perform an original track infused with elements of each artist’s unique musical style, ranging from hard techno and post-punk to dream pop and Latin club music.

    Get a behind-the-scenes look at how Andy Stott and Debit use Matriarch, Grandmother, DFAM, and Mavis in their creative process, integrating this selection of flexible hardware instruments with Ableton for a seamless production flow.

    Watch Andy Stott & Debit’s Moog Sound Lab performance here.

    To catch up on past Moog Sound Lab performances and how the space has transformed over time, visit Moog’s YouTube channel.

    What’s New in the Moog Sound Lab: Analog Hardware & More

    In early 2020, the team at Moog Music embarked on a redesign of its memorable Sound Lab space, upgrading its library of instruments and integrating new professional recording gear thanks to partners like Rupert Neve Designs, Universal Audio, and Echo Fix. The full-featured single-room performance studio has expanded into a multi-room creative suite to accommodate a greater variety of events and experiences for both visiting artists and Moog employees.

    Moog has brought viewers inside this electronic music wonderland with its Moog Demo Library series, educational livestreams, and innovative instrument announcement videos. Now, the revitalized Moog Sound Lab with its mix of vintage and modern electronic instruments—everything from the Minimoog Voyager and Sonic Six to Subharmonicon and Matriarch—is ready for artists to explore on site and fans to discover through exclusive videos. 

    As Moog continues to roll out new performances like the latest by Andy Stott and Debit, the Moog Sound Lab series promises to continue to feature diverse genres and styles, pushing the boundaries of sonic exploration to inspire the global creative community.

    More about Moog Music

    Moog Music is the world’s leading producer of theremins and analog synthesizers. The company and its customers carry on the legacy of its founder, electronic musical instrument pioneer Dr. Bob Moog. Moog’s instruments are assembled by hand in its factory in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. Learn more here.

    next door to Moog Music’s factory in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, is another institution in electronic music—one that has been at the center of artist collaboration, new music discovery, and…

  • UMe Announces 80,000 Collectible Metro Cards Honoring Hip-Hop 50Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) launches a hip-hop music collaboration with The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in celebration of Hip Hop At 50 – Honoring 50 Years of Hip Hop: A Legacy of Rhythm, Revolution, and Soul. 

    Together with the MTA, UMe have created 80,000 “Metro Cards” available in subway vending locations across New York City. These collectibles feature four generational East Coast hip-hop icons, namely Cam’Ron, LL COOL J, Rakim, and Pop Smoke.

    About the cards, Rakim commented, "From standing on top of the Empire State Building to grabbing a slice at the corner pizza shop, NYC creates iconic moments that are recognized around the world. But it doesn't get closer to real city life than swiping a metro card and standing clear of the closing doors. It's an honor to be celebrating the 50th Anniversary on the streets... and now below them... of the city where hip-hop was born."

    LL COOL J added, “When I first started in Hip-Hop, we were using tokens and then in the 90's the MetroCard came out. And through the pandemic I remember riding the subway anonymously by myself. Now in 2023 I have my own limited-edition MetroCard in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop. This is a beautiful full circle moment. Hip-Hop is amazing!” 

    The LL COOL J cards are coinciding with the second year of The Rock The Bells festival in Forest Hills, Queens. Rock The Bells is dedicated to the ongoing preservation and illumination of the culture that Hip Hop has made global. This metro card project celebrates 4 watershed moments in New York hip hop and represents the ever-changing bedrock of the culture, this is a symbol to the next generation that ideas and self-expression matters, and putting a positive and uplifting message into the world can make you a super star.

    Cards can be found across New York City. The LL COOL J cards can be found in Forest Hills at the 71st Ave metro stop in CTR areas N333, N333A, and N333B. In collaboration with the Shoot For The Stars Foundation, the Pop Smoke cards appear at the Canarsie-Rockaway Pkwy stop in CTR area R634, in addition to the New Lots Ave stop in CTR area H041. Vending machines with the Cam’Ron and Rakim cards will be revealed soon. As part of this initiative, hip-hop quite literally courses through the nervous system of New York City, adorning these subway locales.

    As part of Hip Hop At 50 – Honoring 50 Years of Hip Hop: A Legacy of Rhythm, Revolution, and Soul, one of the culture’s most influential artists Eric Haze developed a very special logo for Hip Hop 50 as chronicled by All Access, uDiscoverMusic, and more.

    UMe just released a new “Best Hip Hop Hits – HIP HOP 50 Edition” Spotify playlist. 

    Listen to it HERE.

    Hip Hop 50 traces the history of rap music with a series of very special anniversary editions of classic albums on exclusive vinyl colorways throughout 2023. These LPs span Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded on June 2, Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III (Deluxe) on June 9, and Salt-n-Pepa’s Very Necessary on October 13. In the fall, releases include Gang Starr’s Daily Operation, LL COOL J’s Mama Said Knock You Out, Onyx’s Bacdafucup, and Guru’s Jazzmatazz Vol. 1 on November 3 followed by Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back on November 10.

    Colorways and details will be revealed soon for these limited-edition pressings.

    Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) launches a hip-hop music collaboration with The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in celebration of Hip Hop At 50 – Honorin…

  • From Believe’s €415m half-year revenues to a new Dua Lipa lawsuit… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-upFive of the music industry's biggest stories from the past five days
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  • What drives the 1.9B music discoveries that happen on Spotify every day?Listeners “discover” a track for the first time 1.9 billion times every day on Spotify, and usually, that song has been identified as one they might like. Who is doing. Continue reading
    The post What drives the 1.9B music discoveries that happen on Spotify every day? appeared first on Hypebot.

    Listeners “discover” a track for the first time 1.9 billion times every day on Spotify, and usually, that song has been identified as one they might like. Who is doing. Continue reading

  • 4 music marketing lessons musicians learned during COVID worth revisitingMany musicians used COVID lockdown to connect with their fans in new ways and record and market new music. This week’s Hypebot Flashback Friday post looks at some of the. Continue reading
    The post 4 music marketing lessons musicians learned during COVID worth revisiting appeared first on Hypebot.

    Many musicians used COVID lockdown to connect with their fans in new ways and record and market new music. This week’s Hypebot Flashback Friday post looks at some of the. Continue reading

  • 10 Ways to use a Music Degree in the real worldI recently had the pleasure of answering questions on Zoom from students interested in taking my Touring 101 course and others offered by Berklee Online and was asked about the. Continue reading
    The post 10 Ways to use a Music Degree in the real world appeared first on Hypebot.

    I recently had the pleasure of answering questions on Zoom from students interested in taking my Touring 101 course and others offered by Berklee Online and was asked about the. Continue reading

  • Super fans may not be super enoughThere has been a lot of talk recently of music superfans and how they may be the shining light of the industry’s future. Little surprise, given how record labels are trying to establish superfans as the next growth driver for an investor community that is growing increasingly concerned about slowing streaming growth and looming threats, such as AI. There is no doubt that superfans are crucial – they always have been. The problem is that they may not be as valuable in the future as they once were. And the reasons for that lie in the very same streaming economy that the industry is trying to build beyond.

    A brief history of superfans

    In the early days of the modern music business, music fans were the superfans. The means of demonstrating that fandom was buying the records and, if you were really lucky, seeing the band. A small portion were also members of (usually fan-run) fan clubs. Throughout the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, the music business further professionalised and productised. The live business emerged as a revenue generator in its own right (rather than the loss-leader for selling albums that it had largely been). Merchandise became widely deployed. Fanclubs became more serious. 

    Yet, music sales were still the main fandom game in town. The CD era catalysed music buying at scale and the heyday of the album era. Superfans would buy multiple albums every month (leading to the rise of the ‘50 quid bloke’). Superfans were album fans. Superfans were album buyers. And there was no ceiling on how much they could spend.

    Then along came Napster, turning the world upside down. Music sales started to plummet and the album began its long, steady demise, as consumers dissected albums, first on Napster, then iTunes, and then YouTube and Spotify. 

    When everyone is super….

    When Spotify came to market, the recorded music industry was in crisis, with revenues in freefall. People just were not buying albums anymore. 50 quid bloke had become an endangered species. Recorded music’s loss was live’s gain. As music sales fell, live revenues grew, almost in mirror opposite curves. Live became the place superfans began to shift their spend, with merch sales growing in live’s wake. 

    So, when Spotify came along with the promise of getting people back into the habit of spending on recorded music again, it was eagerly welcomed. Perhaps not immediately, as much of the label community needed convincing, but that speed bump was cleared when labels started to see consumers commit, at scale, to monthly spend. With more people spending more frequently, revenue growth returned. The problem was that those people who used to buy multiple albums every month, now only spent the cost of less than one album to get all the music they could ever want. 

    Streaming placed a cap on superfan spend. As the years passed, newer, younger music fans came into the market who had never spent large chunks of their disposable income on buying albums. The average, semi-casual fan was now spending the same as superfans. And to quote Syndrome from the Incredibles “When everyone’s super, no one’s super”.

    Nurture fandom, don’t just harvest it

    Over recent years, the industry has started to nudge people towards becoming superfans again, or at least spending like them. Whether that be indie fans on Bandcamp, or Swifties being convinced to ‘help Taylor’ by buying yet another re-recorded album. The problem is that this behaviour is at the fringes of consumer behaviour. We have had 15 years (i.e., almost a generation’s worth of time) of educating consumers that music does not need to cost more than $9.99….ok….$10.99. Superfans have been un-supered. 

    None of this is to say that there is not a massive superfan opportunity to be had, but it will take work. Much of the latent superfan spend has dissipated due to fading habits and the wallet share shift to live. Consumers will need re-educating, re-familiarising. But there is more to it than that. When consumers spend money on a live concert, they get a unique, in the moment experience. When they used to buy five albums a month, they got hours of new music that they would not have had otherwise. Buying a special edition of an album is simply another version of something that fans already have on streaming. 

    So, to Make Fans Super Again, there has to be a genuine value exchange. Fans need new things to persuade them to spend, new things that actually build and deepen their fandom rather than simply a new opportunity to fleece them for another dollar.

    There has been a lot of talk recently of music superfans and how they may be the shining light of the industry’s future. Little surprise, given how record labels are trying to establish superfans a…

  • Godsmack & Staind at Walnut Creek, NCGodsmack & Staind kicked off their summer tour last week with shows in St. Louis, Missouri, Raleigh, North Carolina and Virginia Beach, Virginia. I had the opportunity to cover the second show of the tour last Thursday night in Raleigh, NC at Coastal Credit Union Music Pack at Walnut Creek. The show was loaded with hard rock, crazy fans, powerful vocals, aggressive guitar riffs and a signature drum battle (but more about that later).

    Godsmack and Staind are touring in support of their new albums. Godsmack’s 8th and final studio album Lighting Up the Sky released earlier this year in February of 2023 via BMG. The 11 song album was co-produced by vocalist/guitarist Sully Erna and Andrew Murdock (Avenged Sevenfold, Alice Cooper). Musicians Tony Rombola on guitar, Robbie Merrill on bass and Shannon Larkin on drums.

    “Soul On Fire” official music video from the new album Lighting Up the Sky (2023)

    Godsmack’s live set included 4 singles from the new album “Soul on Fire” , “Surrender” , “You and I” and “What About Me”. Godsmack’s set had a classic heavy sound which features “high-voltage and high-energy” as Sully Erna mentions. It wouldn’t be a Godsmack show without massive pyro and 20 feet high flames shooting out of the back of the stage. Godsmack is bad ass.

    The set also included classic hits like “When Legends Rise” , “Voodoo” , “Bulletproof” and “Under Your Scars” before finishing with their iconic closer “I Stand Alone”.

    I mentioned a drum battle earlier. For years, Godsmack has a mid-show drum battle that shows off the skills of drummer Robbie Merrill and singer Sully Erna (yes Sully) on the drums. It’s a really unique part of the show. Sully Erna emerges from back stage on a custom Yamaha drum set. Both Erna and Merrill’s drum set’s literally spin around while they guys play back in forth on AC/DC covers and other classic rock jams. It’s a nice break in the set that really show’s off the talent of the band we know and love as Godsmack.

    Staind’s upcoming album, Confessions of the Fallen is set to release on September 15, 2023 via Alchemy Recordings/BMG. Staind actually opened their set in Raleigh, NC with the new single “Lowest in Me” which is the only track currently released on the new album. Starting their set with the new single was exciting way to start the show and get the fans jumping.

    Aaron Lewis, lead vocalist of Staind mentioned he wanted to “modernize the sound and bring us up to date” with the new album. Let’s be honest, it’s been 12 years since Staind has released any new music so fans are eagerly anticipating any new music. Guitarist Mike Mushok, Johnny April on bass and Sal Giancarelli on drums.

    Staind’s live set featured hits like “Right Here” , “So Far Away” , “It’s Been A While” and finally closing out with “Mudshovel”. Fans were also treated to an acoustic version of “Epiphany” by Aaron Lewis.

    Nothing More was originally slated to provide opening support for this tour but dropped out last minute due to personal issues within the band. Fortunately for us, Mix Master Mike of notorious hip-hop group Beastie Boys stepped in and provided an opening DJ/turntablist set as well as a custom mashup of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” as the walk out song for Godsmack.

    Godsmack and Staind have also announced additional tour dates for this Fall with opening support from hard rock legends like I Prevail, Atreyu and Jason Hook (formerly Five Finger Death Punch) new band Flat Black.

    You can view additional tour dates on Godsmack’s website.

    godsmack.com/tour

    Godsmack & Staind kicked off their summer tour last week with shows in St. Louis, Missouri, Raleigh, North Carolina and Virginia Beach, Virginia. I had the opportunity to cover the second show …

  • Amazon Music, Bandsintown join forces to help artists sell more merchResponding to the growing importance of merch as an income stream for musicians, Amazon Music and Bandsintown have collaborated to launch a new merch integration. Starting today, fans can shop. Continue reading
    The post Amazon Music, Bandsintown join forces to help artists sell more merch appeared first on Hypebot.

    Responding to the growing importance of merch as an income stream for musicians, Amazon Music and Bandsintown have collaborated to launch a new merch integration. Starting today, fans can shop. Continue reading

  • Amazon Music partners with Bandsintown for new merch integrationFans can now shop for merch via artist profile pages on the Bandsintown website and app
    Source

    Fans can now shop for merch via artist profile pages on the Bandsintown website and app…

  • TuneCore partners with MBW as exclusive supporter of ‘Trailblazers’ interview seriesTrailblazers highlights forward-thinking entrepreneurs in all corners of the globe, from North America to Latin America, Europe to Asia-Pacific, Africa and beyond
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    Trailblazers highlights forward-thinking entrepreneurs in all corners of the globe, from North America to Latin America, Europe to Asia-Pacific…