What Musicians can learn from Alix Earle and other InfluencersBlair Miller, Founder and CEO of the marketing agency Chaos Creators Entertainment, discusses how artists and musicians can learn from successful influencers when creating an online presence. by Blair Miller. Continue reading
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DAVE KOZ AND FRIENDS CHRISTMAS TOUR 2023 At Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, Cerritos CAOne of the great joys of being a longtime smooth jazz enthusiast is the opportunity every so oftento share the festive, ever-grooving magic of my favorite artists in a live setting with friends whohaven’t yet had the pleasure. Early in his Dave Koz and Friends Christmas Tour 2023 Saturdayshow at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center, the saxophonist and always engaging hostmentioned it’s been an annual tradition since 1997 – over 25 years! I’ve lost count of how manyI’ve attended – 10, 12, maybe – but one thing’s for sure. It’s always the musical highlight of theseason. Still after attending so many great performances, there’s always the possibility of takingthem for granted, like comfortable annual rituals rather than the fresh, marvelous evergreenevents they truly are.So it was a unique pleasure for me to share the evening with a wonderful friend new to the KozChristmas experience and to experience through her eyes the wonder and nuance of everyexciting performance, each fresh arrangement of a holiday classic, the mix of R&B/funk,intimacy and uplifting gospel energy. A fusion of exquisite beauty and ongoing party, the Kozversion of Santa’s workshop, drew my friend into the holiday spirit - and made me appreciateevery detail of just how special and essential the show is to, to borrow a familiar lyric, makingthe season bright.

While the “and friends” Koz usually invites to join the fun of his cross-country December toursare usually other genre A-lister stars, he switched things up delightfully this year, complementingthe core of him and “my brother” Jonathan Butler with equally brilliant but slightly lesser knownperformers like saxophonist Marcus Anderson, vocalist Rebecca Jade and 16-year old SouthAfrican born multi-instrumentalist phenom Justin Lee Schultz, whose 2023 debut album Just InThe Moment is one of the genre’s best of the year.Koz and Butler kicked off the nearly two-hour show showcasing their dynamic sax-guitar-vocalchemistry on an engaging medley of freshly arranged classics, seamlessly flowing through“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “White Christmas,” “We Need a Little Christmas,”“Joy to the World and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” Everything seemed like a“normal” but of course wonderful Koz Christmas show until Schultz popped in with a soulfulversion of “This Christmas” that featured him, in rapid succession on vocals, fiery electric guitarand acoustic piano. Then came the blazing sax and stage commanding charisma of Anderson,followed by Jade performing (with Anderson and Schultz on harmonies) a fascinating, funkedout twist on “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” with a completely new melody.Likewise, Anderson played one of the peppiest spins through the usually staid and sacred “SilentNight” that I’ve ever heard.After Koz and Butler joined them for a full cast romp through a playfully choreographed “SantaClaus is Coming to Town,” Koz took center stage (with Schultz on piano) to share his newsingle, “When You Wish Upon A Star” (part of an upcoming Disney themed EP), easing fromlush balladry to a whimsical, percussive samba arrangement. The one aspect of the show that setit apart from previous Koz extravaganzas was when the five principals gathered around the piano

for intimate talk (and of course, brief performances) of their very favorite holiday songs. Theseranged from Anderson’s perky “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and Jade’s sweet “MerryChristmas Darling” to Koz’s hilarious “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch!”The cultural-religious balance of a Koz holiday show is always a treat as well, this timemanifested with Koz complementing his folksy dance “Eight Candles” with snippets traditionalHanukah songs; Jade and Butler offering a shimmering, goose-bump inducing duet on “MaryDid You Know?”; Jade making a joyful noise to the Lord on “O Come All Ye Faithful” with afaux stained glass church window on the screen behind her; and Butler’s showstopping “O HolyNight,” performed with a meditational grace that invited everyone in the audience to feel eachword on a soul-deep level.Energy-wise, the flip side of that was when the whole cast joined forces as Butler took thecongregation to church on his fiery gospel jam “Brand New Day.” Koz and Friends closed theevening on a thoughtful note, with some Beatlesque messaging for a world in need, starting witha thoughtful rendition of “Imagine” topped with a swelling chorus of “All You Need is Love.”

The number of Latin music listeners on Spotify worldwide soared 986% from 2014 to 2023Spotify reports steady double-digit growth in demand for Latin music over the past decade
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Japan’s NexTone expands distribution network globally in partnership with SESAC Music Group’s AudioSaladDeal marks the first Japanese partnership for AudioSalad
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Which AI tools are most popular with musicians and producers?AI for music was one of the year’s hottest topics. But which AI tools are musicians and music producers using the most? The team at the recording studio and rehearsal. Continue reading
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Why Independent Spotify Playlist Curators are so importantIn an age where listeners are overwhelmed by the endless choices of streaming, independent Spotify curators add a personal touch to the music landscape through hand-curated non-algorithmic playlists. by Sonia. Continue reading
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Berklee offers free course in Touring For Musicians on CourseraLearn the basics of successful touring with a free course created by Hypebot Founder, Editor, and longtime booking agent Bruce Houghton for Berklee and Coursera. This short four-lesson Berklee Coursera. Continue reading
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Ian Charbonneau & Niko Bolas Record Neil Young's "Stand For Peace"Neil Young films "Stand For Peace" at StageThis in Los Angeles. (Photo by Ian Charbonneau.)

Los Angeles, CA, December 2023 - The Recording Project by Ian Charbonneau and recording engineer Niko Bolas captured audio for a quick Neil Young music video directed by Daryl Hannah for holiday release. Recorded and filmed at StageThis soundstage in downtown LA, Charbonneau provided his engineering services along with his state-of-the-art mobile flypack system and microphones to capture the intimate performance.  To meet Young's specifications, audio was captured at high-resolution 192K format, as well as for Dolby Atmos.

"This was a nice challenge," said Charbonneau, "and a great success for my new portable flypack system. It was great to have METalliance member Niko Bolas producing our first 192K project. The video performance had a very quick one-day turnaround for release a day later on Thanksgiving morning." Bolas added, "The famous Charbonneau recording ethic and Ian's talent - a remote dream team."

Having worked for 30+ years with his father Guy Charbonneau and Le Mobile remote recording truck, Ian recently founded The Recording Project and created his unique flypack portable recording system, which can be loaded into a few cases and checked as baggage on an airline. With his new mobile system, Ian has already recorded live projects for Imagine Dragons, Melissa Etheridge, Mana, Macklemore, Dolby Laboratories, and parts the Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival, to name a few.

Ian explains, "My new system consists of a DirectOut Technologies, MC Prodigy modular audio converter loaded with 64-channels of high quality MicHD preamps packaged in a custom rack. It allows to capture great multitrack recording in standard and high resolution formats. The converter / preamp connects via Fiber cable to two Avid Madi Pro Tools systems for redundancy."

For more info about The Recording Project visit: https://www.therecordingproject.com

Russ on independence, entrepreneurialism, and what he’d change about the music businessTrailblazers is an MBW interview series that turns the spotlight on music entrepreneurs with the potential to become the global business power players of tomorrow. This time, we speak to artist and producer, Russ. Trailblazers is supported by TuneCore. As the name of this series suggests, and explains in the opener above, MBW’s Trailblazers turns the … Continued
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The Orchard signs global distribution deal with Peso Pluma’s Double P RecordsThe deal expands The Orchard's involvement with Latin music, following its partnership with Rimas Entertainment in 2021
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Mark Mulligan of MIDiA’s 2024 Music Industry Predictions: The algorithm is not listeningWe’re sharing 2024 Music Industry Predictions from our favorite thinkers and doers, and today, Mark Mulligan and the team at top consultancy MIDiA take the mic. Mark and his peers. Continue reading
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Vinyl trades call Billboard chart change ‘abdication of responsibility’Two top vinyl manufacturing trade groups have joined a coalition of independent music stores in opposing the December 29th launch of changes in how sales of physical goods (vinyl, CDs,. Continue reading
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Top Social App for Teens is not what we expectedAs a tuned-in music industry pro, you may think you know the top social media platforms, but think again. This report is bound to surprise… by Bobby Owsinski of Music. Continue reading
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MIDiA’s 2024 predictions: The algorithm is not listeningNovember is one of my favourite times of year, as an analyst anyways. Why? Because it is when the MIDiA team pool their collective brainpower to formulate our end-of-year predictions. What gives our predictions their unique angle is that they are constructed within an inter-connected framework, factoring in the cross-industry trends that will shape the coming years. A music industry trend does not happen in isolation of social media trends, nor vice versa, and so forth. We boast a solid track record, with an 88% success rate in both our 2023 and 2022 predictions, following 84% and 79% in the previous two years. The report is available to clients here. Meanwhile, here is a quick look at some of the meta (not the company) themes:

·   The algorithm is not listening anymore: This is our headline prediction and one that we think will have far reaching impact across all forms of entertainment. Algorithms on large scale platforms once super-served users, encouraging them ever closer to their respective niches. Now algorithms are increasingly pushing users to the content that supports platform monetisation priorities over user priorities. Users end up feeling that the algorithm is not listening to them anymore. This trend will accentuate in 2024 among the world’s biggest consumer platforms, resulting in user dissatisfaction and creating a window of opportunity for new, user-need-focused platforms, starting the cycle all over again.

·   Creation as consumption: If the late 2010s and early 2020s were the era of the creator, the remainder of the coming decade will become the era of the consumer creator. The proliferation of consumer-focused creator tools on major social platforms and beyond, will herald the next phase of the consumerization of creation. Not only will this see more content be user created (thus competing for consumption time), creation itself will become entertainment, thus adding to the competition for time.

·   Rise of the threataverse:  The metaverse may feel like a bus that never quite arrives, but something much more tangible is already gaining scale – the threataverse. This is the growing trend of social platforms becoming toxic environments in which diversity of opinion is transforming into intolerance, divisiveness and hate speech. Accentuated by bot farms and clandestine actors, enabled by failing platform moderation policies, social platforms are shifting from places to share opinions, to platforms where more moderate voices no longer feel safe to speak up. Threats, bullying, fake ‘facts’ and aggressive counter-commentary have created the new defining framework of the online social world – the threataverse.

·   The future will be gated communities: Change is wrought as much by reaction as it is by action. The rise of the threataverse creates the foundations for what will come next: the shift from open-social worlds into gated communities, where groups of like-minded individuals can converse safe in the knowledge that they will not be subject to abuse and attack. The early promise of ‘everywhere, everyone social’ has proven toxic and unworkable. Expect more social platforms, to ramp up gated community features. These will also prove to be a boon for fandom. Artists and other creators will be able to converse with fans without having to worry about torrents of negative discourse from users who can currently occupy and even co-opt, their open fan spaces.

·   AI will continue to reshape entertainment: While the rights framework will continue to be disputed and defined in 2024, AI technology will continue to accelerate, both in sophistication and adoption. It will find its loudest voice in the consumerization of creation but its subtler and more pervasive impact will be a steady assimilation into creative workflows, becoming an ever more utilised set of tools for creation across all forms of entertainment, from Chat GPT creating lines of code for games, through Eleven Labs generating podcast narration, to Beatoven creating soundtracks for influencer videos.

Like what you have seen so far? Then come and engage with MIDiA’s stellar analysts as they walk through their industry-specific predictions in our free-to-attend webinar, the algorithm is not listening, on the 11th of January, 2024.You can find the full report here with 32 predictions across music, games, video, social, audio, and media and marketing.

Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y. & Indie MusicThis week, our tips and advice for independent artists and do-it-yourselfers covered how to prepare for next year’s trends, what the life of a pro sound engineer might look like,. Continue reading
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