Songwriting, Music Production are still ‘FOR MEN ONLY’: USC Annenberg StudyDespite more than a decade of industry promises, Billboard Top 100 songwriters and producers remain an almost exclusively male and white club, according to the newest edition of the USC. Continue reading
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Why does Latin music always top the global charts?It is no secret that Latin music finds success in all corners of the world…but how? Is it how amazing it is or something else? by Janelle Borg of AmplifyYou. Continue reading
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Shires & Isbell Named Record Store Day AmbassadorsSince the first RSD Ambassador sash was bestowed in 2009, there have been years when more than one person has taken up the title and sung the glories of the record store–Pearl Jam (2019), Metallica (2016) and Run The Jewels (2018)--but never before has it been two people who have conquered one of the most daunting tasks we know of: combining a record collection!  

Today Record Store Day is thrilled to announce that the 2023 Record Store Day Ambassadors are husband and wife record store lovers Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell!

“It’s so wonderful to be able to formally celebrate what Amanda and Jason mean for us here at Record Store Day with the title of Record Store Day Ambassador”, says Record Store Day co-founder Carrie Colliton. “Even through their social media feeds, it’s such a delight to get to know them, they are both such genuine fans of each other, all genres of music, the album as an art form and most importantly for our purposes, the brick and mortar record store. And I do like that we’re celebrating in a small sense the way music brings people together in such an obvious, romantic way with this… they’re the “First Couple” of record stores, as far as I’m concerned!”

“We’re so happy to be your Record Store Day Ambassadors for 2023,” says Jason in a video shared on the Record Store Day website. “We think record stores are so important, not only for the musicians who play in them, like Amanda did so many times this year and I have in the past, but also to the communities and to people who love art.”

Alongside several titles on past Record Store Day release lists, both musicians make sure that the planning for both their many solo albums and those of their bands (Jason’s The 400 Unit) and supergroups (Amanda’s The Highwomen, with fellow RSD Ambassador Brandi Carlile!) places not only physical formats front and center, but record stores as well, with special vinyl variants and/or early release dates for stores. It only makes sense that together they have a title on the list of releases made to celebrate Record Store Day 2023, and The Sound Emporium EP is that title. The exclusive EP, which contains new songs from both Jason (“Hired Gun”) and Amanda (“Old Habits”), a Richard Thompson cover, and a reimagined track from the Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit album Here We Rest, comes to participating indie record stores on April 22. 

“Over the years I’ve fallen in love many times and many of my greatest loves have been discovered in record stores,” Amanda says. I fell in love with Leonard Cohen at Ralph’s Records in Lubbock, TX. I found Big Star at Offbeat in Jackson, MS. The people that work in these stores and the community of people that support record stores are passionate and care deeply for music and the place that it holds and occupies in our lives. Record stores are environments where you can be yourself, like what you like and love what you love. I’m proud to be a Record Store Day Ambassador this year and always. Go meet someone at a record store; discover music personally. They’re all out there waiting for ya! Tell them Ol’ Monster Shires sent ya (they probably won’t know what that means though).”

More exciting announcements about Record Store Day 2023 to come! Watch the video from the Record Store Day 2023 Ambassadors, find participating record stores and get more information about this year’s party at recordstoreday.com

A truly singular creative force, GRAMMY award-winning singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Amanda Shires is in the midst of an extraordinary career.  Amanda’s latest album Take It Like A Man received wide critical acclaim and landed on many “Best Albums of 2022” lists including NPR, Stereogum, BrooklynVegan and The New York Times, who noted Amanda is, "a fearless woman gathering all her strength and belting out her truths with a poet’s diction and a bird of prey’s voice."  Her national tour in support of the album also brought raves from the likes of Variety who included her show at LA’s famed Troubadour in their “50 Best Concerts of 2022.”   Since getting her start playing fiddle with the legendary Texas Playboys at the young age of 15, the West Texas native has displayed nuanced songwriting and boundless originality. She has collaborated with the likes of John Prine and Justin Townes Earle, and earned the 2017 Emerging Artist of the Year prize from the Americana Music Association (AMA). In addition to being a member of Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit, Amanda is the founder of The Highwomen – a supergroup she performs in along with Maren Morris, Brandi Carlile and Natalie Hemby. The group hit #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Album chart. 

Jason Isbell has established himself as one of the most respected and celebrated songwriters of his generation. The North Alabama native possesses an incredible penchant for identifying and articulating some of the deepest, yet simplest, human emotions, and turning them into beautiful poetry through song. Isbell sings of the everyday human condition with thoughtful, heartfelt, and sometimes brutal honesty. Isbell broke through in 2013 with the release of Southeastern. His next two albums, Something More Than Free (2015) and The Nashville Sound (2017), won Grammy Awards for Best Americana Album and the songs “24 Frames” and “If We Were Best Vampires” have both won the Grammy for Best American Roots Song. Reunions (2020), is a critically-acclaimed collection of ten new songs that showcases an artist at the height of his powers and a band fully charged with creativity and confidence. His most recent release, Georgia Blue (2021), is a collection of Georgia-related cover songs and proceeds from this album benefit voter’s rights organizations in Georgia. In April of 2021, it was announced that Isbell would appear in the upcoming Martin Scorsese film, Killers of the Flower Moon.

Recent Classical HighlightsThis past month our reviewers not only listened to recent releases like Malcolm Arnold's Clarinet Concerto performed by Michael Collins, but also went back to a few worthwhile things that were missed in the last couple of years including Gottfried von der Goltz and the Freiburger Barockorchester playing Mozart's very first symphonies.

Are you running a music tech event in Austin March 2023?Get it listed in our unofficial guide for music innovators!

Tell us about your panels, meet ups, parties, and activations that involve music tech and innovation. We'll put them all in an Unofficial Guide for music innovators and send it out to our community via the Music Tectonics email newsletter list. Everyone who submits an event will get access to the guide!
So much goes on in Austin every March, it can be hard to find where the music tech movers and shakers are gathering. We're gathering all the official and unofficial happenings to help you find your way around and get the right people at your event.

Want to get the completed guide in your inbox? Sign up to get it here!

Is being in a band obsolete? Solo artists dominate the chartsOnly three songs by a band made it into Biillboard’s U.S. Top 100 of 2022. Every song other than one each from Glass Animals, Imagine Dragons, and One Republic was. Continue reading
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How to market music with little or no budget [Emily White]In this excerpt from her book “How to Build a Sustainable Music Career & Collect All Revenue Streams,” music industry thought leader, artists advocate, and podcaster Emily White lays out. Continue reading
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How musicians can use Discord to build a fanbaseDiscord is a great resource that all sorts of creators should utilize. Here’s how musician’s can use the platform to build a close-knit community of support. by Janelle Borg of. Continue reading
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Fans to communities and the expression of value by Music X.
#MusicIndustry #Community #NFT

Opening Your Third Eye to the New Wave of Cosmic AmericanaUnder-the-radar artists like SUSS, Marisa Anderson & William Tyler, and Chuck Johnson represent the vanguard of a surging underground subculture that explores the notion of "Cosmic Americana" from a variety of creative angles. AllMusic presents some recent albums worth investigating.

Musically adds to this and UMG says: “I must remind you, 11 or 12 years ago, no one had heard of Spotify in the United States...". If you know the story of #Spotify it is quite interesting to know how this "breakthrough" had happened.
#MusicBusiness #majorlabels #independent #indie #Music

This letter seems very logical from #majorlabels point of view. Every corporation needs to grow at YTD sales and profit rate each year. And as soon as something starts to change then the #MusicBusiness model requires a change again...for the sake of competition.

The UK trade association for entertainment retailers released its annual estimates for the UK entertainment market, showing strong growth for video but less impressive increases for music and games by #Midia research.
#MusicIndustry #MusicBusiness #Streaming #Film #Games

"With a 2023 set to be a challenging year for the global economy, it is a good time to look at how the music industry has performed in the year to date."
#MusicBusiness #MusicIndustry

Really good question what's going to be next soon.
There are plenty of questions which pop up nowadays, one of which is:

Will the recession change Big Tech’s view on entertainment?

#MusicIndustry #MusicBusiness