Sweetwater’s Gearfest livesteam returns this Friday & SaturdayOnline musical instrument and music tech retailer Sweetwater’s annual GearFest event begins today at 3 PM ET with a free livestream event on Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24. Sweetwater will give. Continue reading
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Geoff Taylor joins Sony Music as EVP, Artificial IntelligenceFormer BPI boss will focus on one of the global industry's biggest priority talking points
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4 important things to look for in a Music PublicistAn artist and their publicist should always be on the same page. Here are a few essentials when it comes the the dynamic between both of you. by Erica D’Aurora. Continue reading
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Exclusive: Scooter Braun wanted to sell Taylor Swift her masters. What happened?If you were gripped by MBW's investigation into this saga last week... buckle up
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Musicares® Launches Humans of Hip HopMusiCares®, the leading music charity that provides a safety net of health and human services for the music community, is pleased to launch Humans of Hip Hop. The program is directed at providing resources tailored to the needs of the hip hop community nationwide with an initial focus in eight key cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles/Compton, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. "Like so many other communities post-pandemic, the hip hop community is in need of support," said Rico Love, an artist advocate based in Miami and Chair of the Recording Academy®'s Black Music Collective. "I've heard my community voice their needs. With MusiCares and Humans of Hip Hop, I'm excited to work directly with artists and change-makers to get people the services that will really make a difference in their lives." Humans of Hip Hop will bring programming to key cities over three years, working to design bespoke services focused closely on the needs of members of the hip hop community. The partnership is grounded in co-creation, with a focus on fostering long-term relationships to continue building MusiCares programming that is responsive to the needs of the hip hop community. Between August 2021 and July 2022, one-fifth of all MusiCares clients identified as Black music professionals. Humans of Hip Hop will provide an opportunity for MusiCares to learn from the hip hop and Black music community to ensure a more comprehensive understanding of the needs of these professionals. MusiCares will also be adding a full-time project lead for Humans of Hip Hop to serve as the day-to-day focal point for building inroads and maintaining partnership with the hip hop community. "I'm thankful to be part of Humans of Hip Hop and bring a voice to my community," said Salt-N-Pepa, artist advocates based in New York. "With MusiCares we're going to listen to leaders and creators and make sure our people are getting the help they need." Humans of Hip Hop would not be possible without the generous support of sponsors, including ticket marketplace Vivid Seats as the Supporting Partner. Each sponsor is critical to providing support for future programming, production, and community relations. "Vivid Seats is proud to support MusiCares' work through their new Humans of Hip Hop campaign. We believe in the power of live events and supporting those working behind the music," said Stan Chia, CEO of Vivid Seats. "Since partnering with MusiCares in 2020, we have proudly sponsored COVID-19 and natural disaster relief efforts to help affected music industry professionals. Through this campaign, we look forward to supporting the hip hop community and ensuring access to the important programming and assistance offered through MusiCares." More information will be shared in the coming months about when Humans of Hip Hop will officially kick-off in the eight key cities. For those interested in participating in their cities, stay tuned to MusiCares social media platforms. For interested sponsors, please reach out to laura.crawford@musicares.org. "MusiCares is grateful to our sponsors and artist advocates for helping us kick off this program," said Laura Segura, Executive Director of MusiCares. "This work will allow us to zero in on the unique needs of the community and continue our work creating meaningful services driven by leaders and advocates of hip hop." "We are thrilled to see this important initiative for our music people in the hip hop community come to life," said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academyand MusiCares. "Providing the resources and services needed will ensure the community know their voices are being heard and I look forward to see the impact MusiCares, sponsors and artist advocates will produce with Humans of Hip Hop." For those in the music community seeking financial or health assistance, please contact MusiCares at 800.687.4227 or musicaresrelief@musicares.org. To be eligible for MusiCares assistance, applicants must be able to document employment history through a minimum of five years employment in the music industry or six commercially released recordings or videos (singles). MusiCares may grant short-term financial assistance for personal or addiction needs that have arisen due to unforeseen circumstances. Funding may also be awarded to help with needs such as rent, car payments, insurance premiums, utilities, medical/dental expenses, psychotherapy, addiction treatment, sober living, and other personal expenses. For more information about the Humans of Hip Hop program, visit www.musicares.org. 

ABOUT MUSICARESMusiCares helps the humans behind music because music gives so much to the world. Offering preventive, emergency and recovery programs, MusiCares is a safety net supporting the health and welfare of the music community. Founded by the Recording Academy in 1989 as a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) charity, MusiCares safeguards the well-being of all music people through direct financial grant programs, networks of support resources, and tailored crisis relief efforts. For more information please visit: www.musicares.org.  ABOUT VIVID SEATSFounded in 2001, Vivid Seats is a leading online ticket marketplace committed to becoming the ultimate partner for connecting fans to the live events, artists, and teams they love. Based on the belief that everyone should “Experience It Live,” the Chicago-based company provides exceptional value by providing one of the widest selections of events and tickets in North America and an industry leading Vivid Seats Rewards program where all fans earn on every purchase. Vivid Seats has been chosen as the official ticketing partner by some of the biggest brands in the entertainment industry including ESPN, Rolling Stone, and the Los Angeles Clippers. Vivid Seats also owns Vivid Picks, a daily fantasy sports app. Through its proprietary software and unique technology, Vivid Seats drives the consumer and business ecosystem for live event ticketing and enables the power of shared experiences to unite people. Vivid Seats has been recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Best Companies for Customer Service in ticketing. Fans who want to have the best live experiences can start by downloading the Vivid Seats mobile app, going to vividseats.com, or calling 866-848-8499.

Warner Music Group buys stake in Hungarian record label MagneotonFinancial terms of the stake purchase were not disclosed in a press release announcing the move
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Patreon adds free fan memberships, direct-to-fan digital salesSubscription-based membership platform Patreon has added a free tier and will now enable creators to sell digital products to fans on and off the platform. Patreon’s new tier is free. Continue reading
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#Musicians: How to get a sponsorshipWith this guide, learn how to fund your music career by collaborating with different brands and companies. Here’s how to get started… by DITTO MUSIC One of the most challenging. Continue reading
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What every musician can learn from Peso Pluma’s ‘overnight’ successCD Baby’s Chris Robley explores what musicians can learn from the breakout success of Mexican artist Peso Pluma. by CHRIS ROBLEY from CD Baby’s DIY Musician [Video Below] In the music. Continue reading
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APA, Artist Group International merge to form Independent Artist GroupThe post-pandemic consolidation in the talent agencies continues with the merger of the Agency for the Performing Arts (APA) and the music touring agency Artist Group International (AGI). The combined. Continue reading
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The US recorded music industry grew by $500m on a wholesale basis in 2022. The US music publishing industry grew by nearly double that amount.Boosted by CRB result and record performance income, the US music publishing industry flew last year
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Victory at the Juneteenth Celebration at Virginia Avenue Park, CAOne of the great musical highlights in a day the City of Santa Monica set aside for a spirited Juneteenth celebration at Virginia Avenue Park, the 45-minute set by emerging singer/songwriter Victory was an engaging, pitch perfect showcase not only for her angelic soul vocals and artful blend of folk, pop, jazz and gospel sensibilities, but also her unapologetic approach to sharing faith and freedom through music in an intimate, beautiful and warmly inviting way.

If it seemed Victory felt right at home connecting with the crowd a sunny park setting, there’s good reason for that. Long before she worked with Kanye West on his Grammy winning 2019 album Jesus is King and signed to Jay Z’s Roc-Nation label, she and her large family (eight siblings) became prominent buskers on NYC subways and prominent tourist attractions. She joined her brother Abraham and younger sister Angel in the offshoot group Infinity’s Song, which rose to prominence in 2015 after Tori Kelly happened upon them singing Hillsong’s “Oceans” one day in Central Park and joined in. A video of the impromptu performance went viral and currently has 1.2M views on YouTube.  

Dressed stylishly in a bright orange dress and black boots, her cornrows topped by a black French beret, Victory needed only her voice, an acoustic guitar and the solid backing of a bassist and drummer to convey the depth of her higher-minded musical riches. Harkening back to (in the spirit of the occasion) civil rights era Nina Simone, she set with the crowd-pleasing “Feeling Good, introducing the subtleties of her low sultry vocals before amping up the beat with some foot stops on a slowly building, powerfully emotional journey towards wild vocal improvisations and the pumping groove of her rhythm section.

Once she had the audience’s rapt attention, Victory felt free to play the first two of the set’s four original songs, the hopeful, divinely infused “El Shaddai” (the lead single from her new album Glory Hour) and “Just Like In Heaven.” “El Shaddai” (a Hebrew name for God) is a contemplative, prayerful, urban flavored song whose gentle start, ultimately funky groove and ethereal vocal serve as invitations to life our eyes and cast all care aside as we ask God to “rescue us from the tide/On your wings/Lift Us Hight/In the Dark.” Creating something of an improvisational coda, she explained she wrote the song during the pandemic when everyone was focused on fear and dying. She thought instead it was better to meditate on “El Shaddai.”

Likewise, the buoyant “Just Like In Heaven” found Victory praying for divine restoration of everything that’s broken, all while beholding his glory. As it was clearly inspired by The Lord’s Prayer, she wrapped the song with a recitation amidst the added fire of fiercely strumming guitar and deep drumbeats.

Capturing the pervasive joy and freedom that Juneteenth commemorates, Victory tapped into the higher, more gossamer realms of her wide vocal range on a graceful, reverent version of “Lift Every Voice” before tagging her gorgeous, dreamy yet deeply passionate rendition of Paul Simon’s classic “Bridge Over Troubled Water” with a spoken word reminder – for those who have ears, as the Bible says – that like the protagonist in the song, Jesus laid himself down as a sacrifice for us. She extended that traditional Spirit-filled message with a soft spoken yet otherworldly version of “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” prompting some enthusiastic shout outs from the audience who realized they happened upon a musical church service.

Victory wrapped her uplifting show with two more originals - a heartfelt reminder to “Rejoice” and “let the joy of the Lord be our strength” and an as yet unreleased, folk-flavored, falsetto-driven shout of encouragement and empowerment to her “sisters” that they are truly “More Than Enough.” The singer sees “Rejoice” as the pivot point of Glory Hour where everything starts to get brighter – and this show, coming on a mostly sunny day in the midst of a month of June gloom, not only introduced many people to this incredible multi-faceted artist, but one who shares both her inner truth and her belief in the ultimate truth with unabashed conviction.   

Live Nation, AEG, NACPA file appeal to reverse BMI concert rate victoryLive Nation, AEG, and the North American Concert Promoters Association (NACPA) have filed an appeal to reverse BMI’s March court victory, which set new rates that promoters must pay songwriters. Continue reading
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Sacem’s revenues jumped 34% to $1.49bn in 2022. How did that compare to other leading PROs?Sacem paid out €1.056 billion ($1.112 billion) to authors, composers and publishers worldwide in the year, marking a 19% YoY jump
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New Spotify desktop app will help deepen the artist-fan connectionSpotify has released a redesign of its desktop app that includes a revamped Library and Now Playing view and easier pathways to learn more about the song and artist you. Continue reading
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