Spotify shuts down Spotify Live after two years of ‘experimentation’Daniel Ek's firm capitalized on the Clubhouse boom. Then the Clubhouse boom ended.
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Anitta and Warner Music Group part ways ‘after eleven years of successful partnership’Anitta signed with Warner Music Brazil in 2013 and with Warner Records in 2020
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Patreon alternative Fanfix says active creators earn $70,000 a yearNew stats from Fanfix signal the fan engagement app’s arrival as a Patreon and Fanhouse alternative worthy of consideration. First, the stats: Fanfix says that it has attracted more than. Continue reading
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TV is the answer to the music fandom crisis says MIDiA’s Mark MulliganAs anyone trying to build a fanbase or market music knows, “music fandom is fragmenting. Super fans are still present, but there are fewer of them,” and “most have become. Continue reading
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How Book A Band: Interview with Brooklyn Bowl talent buyer Lucas SacksBrooklyn Bowl Director of Booking Lucas Sacks joins Michael Brandvold and Jay Gilbert on a new Music Biz Weekly podcast to discuss the ins and out of booking a band.. Continue reading
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Wise Music Group Acquires Controlling Interest in Edition Peters GroupWise Music Group has announced the acquisition of a controlling interest in Edition Peters Group, one of the world’s oldest and most distinguished music publishing houses. Wise Music Group has made its acquisition from the Hinrichsen Foundation and will own Edition Peters Group in partnership with Christian Hinrichsen whose family association with the company began in 1863.

Currently, Edition Peters Group has offices in London and New York as well as Leipzig, the city where it was founded in 1800. Today it remains one of the most respected music publishing houses in the world.

In the 19th century Edition Peters was pre-eminent for its association with classical giants including Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Grieg. In the 20th century its catalogue spanned Gustav Mahler, Hugo Wolf, Richard Strauss, Morton Feldman, George Crumb, and John Cage.

Today the rich and diverse catalogue of contemporary composers includes Mark Andre, Sally Beamish, Daníel Bjarnason, Gloria Coates, James Dillon, Jonathan Dove, Sebastian Fagerlund, Brian Ferneyhough, Bernd Franke, Ash Fure, Bernhard Gander, Emily Howard, Clara Iannotta, George Lewis, Elena Mendoza, Shawn Okpebholo, Roxanna Panufnik, Roger Reynolds, Rebecca Saunders, Tyshawn Sorey, Erkki-Sven Tüür and Errollyn Wallen.

Edition Peters Group will retain its individual identity within Wise Music Group, alongside Chester Music, G. Schirmer, Associated Music Publishers, Novello & Co, Éditions Alphonse Leduc, Première Music, Le Chant du Monde, Edition Wilhelm Hansen, Unión Musical Ediciones and Bosworth Music GmbH.

This year Wise Music Group is celebrating its 50th anniversary. 

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Bids fall short for Warner Bros. Discovery music assets as sale process stalls (report)Company is reportedly 'scaling back' its plans
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Reservoir Media has spent over $695m on catalogs to date (and 5 other things we learned about the company from its new Investor Factsheet)MBW fillets a new investor factsheet published by the publicly-traded firm
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Songwriters demand $700M – $800M in royalties owed [Sign the petition]The Songwriters of North America, the Music Artists Coalition, and the Black Music Action Coalition have joined in pushing for a decision on the $700-$800 million in mechanical royalties due songwriters. Continue reading
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Money Management For Musicians: Everything You Need To Know [Bobby Borg]Many independent musicians struggle to pay bills on time and build credit, and many others who blow up lose their fortunes within ten years. This is why all musicians need. Continue reading
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How to build a brand as a musicianTo attract an audience to your music, you need to tell a story, and a deliberate approach to building your artist brand is key to doing it right. by Tony. Continue reading
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Close Up: Royer LabsRoyer Labs

royerlabs.com

25 Years of Modern Ribbon Mics: In 1996, Dave Royer, Rick Perrotta and John Jennings talked about starting a new pro audio company; then, in 1997 Dave Royer designed the first R-121 ribbon microphone in his garage in Fullerton, CA. Royer Labs opened in 1998, and the R-121 quickly became a sought after, award-winning staple of studios and live stages around the world. Before Royer, the only ribbon mics that existed were vintage models from the ‘40s and ‘50s, which were large, heavy and very fragile. The R-121 was the first ribbon mic that could handle high SPLs (sound pressure levels) and it was lightweight and compact. 

Another major advantage Royer discovered was how well ribbons addressed problems with early digital recording systems. Tape systems sounded warm and more natural, while the new digital systems of that time sounded harsh and unforgiving by comparison. The warm, natural response of ribbon mics made engineers feel like they were working with tape again so much that in 2013 Royer Labs became one of the youngest companies ever to win a Technical Grammy, for bringing ribbon mics back and helping digital recording sound better. 

Shortly after the R-121—whose high profile users have included Al Schmitt, Ross Hogarth, Joe Chiccarelli, Arturo Sandoval, Jeff Beck, Eddie Van Halen and others—Royer Labs released the SF-12 stereo ribbon mic, followed by the R-122, the world’s first phantom powered ribbon mic.

R-10 “Hot Rod” 25th Anniversary Mic: To kick off its 25th anniversary celebration, Royer has  released the R-10 Hot Rod ribbon mic, which is designed for both studio and live stage use. Their standard R-10 was based somewhat on the R-121 technology but at a lower price point. When paired with their dBooster plug-in—an inline signal booster with two gain settings—the R-10 was also ideal for quiet instruments and vocals. The limited edition “Hot Rod” is fitted with a custom transformer that gives 5dB hotter output and a punchier, more open sound, and comes with a 25th Anniversary trim package that makes it unique from the standard R-10. It features a lowered proximity effect that makes it a perfect choice for close miking instruments and singers. For more bite in the highs without multi-miking, the R-10 Hot Rod takes EQ beautifully. Dave Grohl has used an R-10 on his guitar amp for Foo Fighters gigs for years, appreciating its extreme durability and natural sound.

Quote from John Jennings, VP of Sales and Marketing: “Royer Labs is thrilled to be in our 25th year, and kicking it off with the R-10 Hot Rod is just fun. The innovative guys in our shop cooked this mic up and we love it, with its cool looking trim package and its different sonic personality. It expands on the R-10 in interesting ways, creating a unique  flavor of R-10 with a beefier low end that we think recording engineers and FOH engineers will really like.”

Contact Royer Labs, 818-847-0121

Last week in music industry commentaryCommentators in the thick of the industry last week shared their opinions and thoughts on the government-issued TikTok bans, what makes music ‘good’, and more… US threats to ban TikTok. Continue reading
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Q&A with boygeniusPHOTOS BY MATT GRUBB

“Supergroup” is an overused term, and it usually applies to epic, classic rock beasts such as Asia. That said, when you bring together the talent and gorgeous tones of indie pop-rock singers and songwriters Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, and the sum of the parts is as effective as it is with boygenius, the trope does seem oddly appropriate. 

    The group released its debut, self-titled EP back in the fall of 2018 and it’s taken until now to release a full-length album. They’re all super-busy solo artists and, of course, COVID didn’t help. But it’s certainly been worth the wait. The album is as introspective, devastatingly honest and effortlessly cool as the EP teased, and the harmonies raise goosebumps for days. Music Connection discussed all of that and more with the three artists…

Music Connection: Starting with the background of the group, how did the three of you meet? How familiar were you all with each other’s work before meeting?

Phoebe Bridgers: We all met because we toured with Julien Baker. Lucy and I opened for Julien on the same album cycle. Julien was like, “You guys would love each other,” and then we decided to all tour together. The first time that we were in the same space is the first day that we were a band.

MC: You’re all obviously successful individually—how did the notion of coming together first get raised?

Julien Baker: To elaborate on Phoebe’s answer, originally we thought that we would do one track and a cover of something fun, and put out a 45. Just do a limited run for the tour, and then we ended up gelling with each other’s songwriting in a really special and immediate way. We wrote some songs and had an EP, and we were all of a sudden in a band. That’s the first day we were a band, and we didn’t know it. 

MC: The EP came out in 2018, followed by an album of demos in 2020—how did you look back on those tracks when you went away from boygenius? Was it about a moment in time?

PB: I look back on those tracks with a lot of pride. I think how limited we all were at that time, and making space and time for that project, what we created, it’s one of the first magical, greater than the sum of its parts, sort of things that happened to me. It feels like there’s this entity in this band that has been ever present, from the beginning. I’m most proud of this album, and I continue to be the most proud of the next thing that we make. Like, at band practice I’ll be like, ‘Well this is the sickest thing we’ve ever done, this is the coolest thing ever.’”

MC: Were you happy with how the EP was received by fans and critics?

PB: I think so. Because nobody was expecting it, people were pleasantly surprised. I thought it was great to give people an unexpected treat. I think there was a pretense-less reception, and that felt really good. I feel like that’s happening again, because we never made it clear that we would make more music. So, I think people are excited about it.

MC: Why was now the time to get back together and record The Record?

PB: I think COVID really cleared the slate for all of us. When that happened, when our palette was cleared, it was like, ‘What I need is my friends.’ I just think that would have been our first choice thing to do, each individually, if you’d asked. As the first one who said anything, it felt good to have that received with excitement.

MC: Where was it recorded? When? Who with?

JB: We recorded it at Shangri-La in Malibu, California. We recorded it with Catherine Marks, and then another of our friends, Sarah Tudzin, did additional engineering. We’re all fans of Catherine’s work with Manchester Orchestra. My friends who had worked with her told me great things about her. I feel so proud getting to say who played on this record. Barbara Gruska played drums. Melina Duterte played keys and contributed. It’s so neat to be able to pull in all our friends as players. Anna Butterss on bass.

MC: How did you approach your vocal blends when recording? Do the harmonies come naturally? How much work goes into that, particularly when you’re used to working solo?

Lucy Dacus: Yeah, we don’t have to change our voices to sing together. I think it’s just part of why this felt like an obvious thing to do, is that it was naturally nice. 

MC: I think we are historically difficult to mix. There aren’t a lot of bands with three people—of course there are a lot. But I think it’s hard to mix three lead vocalists. It’s not just harmony singing, and it takes a different shape per song. I think when we’re all singing together, it’s like a different member of the band. But yeah, it’s easy to sing together. I think it’s just, it was cool how hard it was, it’s validating. It’s actually kinda hard to recreate what happens with us in the room. And I think we succeeded.

JB: You know what? It is really difficult to recreate what happens when we’re all singing together directly. But it was also so, I feel like it was a massive lesson in extra-lingual musical communication, to have to learn how to mix… Like Phoebe, you having the attention to detail to how our voices are mixed, as three, or as one person with the other. Us being interchangeable, and that being a dynamic to play with. It was fun and taught me a lot. I think I learned a lot from you both, in a musical sensibility. That was a gift. 

MC: Can you pick one song from the album and take me through the songwriting process? Do you write them individually or bounce them around between you? (I read in the press bio that it works both ways, depending on the song)...

LD: Sure. Like we said, some songs we write separately, but for ones that we write together, someone will be like, ‘I have this idea,’ and often one of us will be like, ‘it’s kinda stupid,’ Or pretend that it’ll be on the record but hedging on it’s dumb. Then the other two will be like, ‘No, this is awesome.’ Most of the time. Maybe not 100 percent but 95 percent. 

PB: It keeps my belief strong that y’all are telling me the truth all of the time because of the times that I show something and you’re like, ‘Huh?’ We have honesty with each other and it’s not an insult because I know you believe in my songwriting as good and great and pure. 

LD: I think it’s just that we share taste, and so our hit rate for each other is really high. When we miss, it’s not a big deal. Or, sometimes we’ll have an idea that is good but not right, and taking the time and not being satisfied until we get the thing that we’re most proud of, and not settling for something that functions, I think is a priority that we all have. Phoebe will, say, bring an idea and say ‘I don’t know what to do next,’ and then we’ll all separately learn the chords, play it by ourselves, play in the same room, and we did a couple of writing trips together for this record. We’d have the opportunity to say, ‘Come here for a second, and hear this.’ When we felt there was momentum around something, we’d all convene and affirm the things that felt right and scrap the things that felt wrong. Redirect until we got to a destination that felt good.

MC: Is there a growth in sound, style, lyrics since the EP?

PB: I think the core thing about our friendship has been there since day one. It felt like our lives are hard, but our closeness has been easy to cultivate because we all want it. But yeah, that first day was so easy. I have a lot of social anxiety, like everybody else. Also, a lot of anxiety around creating, especially with new people. Julien and I were talking about how bad we are in writing sessions. Like, meeting someone for the first time and trying to record something meaningful. So just like, the most high-pressure environment to be dissipated in the first second of sitting together. Obviously, we’ve gotten closer and had our lives together now. But I think it’s the same in a lot of ways, from the first day.

JB: I might even say it was nice that when we deliberately carved out time to spend with each other in a mode devoted to writing and cultivating ideas, to learn more about Lucy and Phoebe’s process and ultimate desires—the songwriting vernacular they speak in. Because then it’s that much easier to be like, to receive and say to someone, I see the vision and I care about it as much as you. To have no chain of preciousness. I feel very precious with the things I write and where they are getting finished-wise. Getting to be around each others’ work in infancy still remains informative to me as a writer.

MC: Are there any overriding themes/concepts to the album?

LD: I feel like the theme is us. I feel like we’re representing ourselves pretty well. A pretty recent version of who we are, even though we recorded it a year ago and started thinking about writing it even before then, I feel like we’re showing people the latest version of who we are and what we’re thinking about. A lot of the songs are about each other, so letting people in on that relationship a little bit. And then there’s repeated imagery. Like there’s the ocean—we spent a lot of time at the ocean together, so it felt kinda rife with symbolism or just the actual setting. There’s fire and drowning and cars. A bunch of cars.

JB: Lots of motifs, man.

MC: I read that the song “Leonard Cohen” came from a roadtrip listening to Iron & Wine’s “Trapeze Swinger”—can you elaborate on that experience?

PB: I do this thing where I insist that people connect deeply and immediately with all my favorite things. I think they’d both heard that song before, but I was like, ‘Not in the right way!’ So, I put it on in the car, and it was like, ‘I need you to listen to this right now.’ 

LD: Julien and I both separately noticed that Phoebe got back on the highway in the wrong direction, and that song is 10 minutes long. It’s a highway that doesn’t have that many exits. So, we were just listening and knowing that it was super-important to Phoebe for us to take this in, and once it was finished we reacted about how awesome it was and then we were like, ‘By the way, you’re gonna need to turn around.’ So that added an hour to our drive, which was a really fun hour of the drive, so it’s kind of like, I’m glad that she fucked up because it led to more opportunities to get to know each other. 

MC: Why call the record The Record?

LD: We were thinking about these already existing record titles that we thought it would be funny to use, like The White Album or In Rainbows. But we ended up settling on The Record because people have long been asking for it, like ‘Where’s the record?’ But also, that’s what it is. It’s a record of our friendship. And it’s sort of like a time capsule, reporting from the field, of what it’s like to be with each other. It’s recordings of music, but it’s also recordings of this time in our lives together.

MC: Are there organizational issues that need to be ironed out among the performers and their teams when solo artists come together like this? How complicated is that? Any advice about how to do that smoothly?

PB:It definitely flows less naturally. I think that our friendship is so close and easy that having to commodify it, especially when we commodify a lot of ourselves, is complex and the hardest part of the band is the organization, I think. It just isn’t as fun as the rest of it, which is so fun.

MC: What gear do you each use, both in the studio and on stage?

JB: We used an EL251 vocal mic. 

PB: When I’m asked about gear, it’s a pop quiz. When I’m recording, I have really instinctual preferences for mic use and gear but I don’t remember the name of everything so I could be like, ‘that one over that one’ but my brain does not remember any of that shit. But there is a Gibson J-45 from the early 60’s which was signed Glen Campbell and owned by Tony Berg that I use on my record.  It’s very old and it’s just the most beautiful dead-sounding acoustic guitar ever and I don’t ever want to record with anything else. That was a gift to us from Tony to let us use it during the recording session, but we were all so terrified to pick it up. If it breaks, my records just stop being made. On the flip, there is my baritone, a rubber bridge baritone made by Old Style in L.A., and also my Danelectro baritone that I love. The reverb tank at Shangri-La is amazing.

JB: I will say this about the gear—I imagined that Shangri-La would have all these different amps and we would double-mic everything. We just brought in a Fender Double Twin and mic’ed it. There was an entire room of guitars that we didn’t even know about until the last week of recording, and we didn’t use any of it except for the 12-string electric. But a lot of the mixing and the assembling of what we recorded was just like, I don’t want to overuse this analogy, but not trying to photoshop an apple into an orange. Barb uses this old Italian music school practice snare that has a unique and esoteric tone for the song “True Blue.” So that is a fact about the process that relates to even the title being a record of a time in our lives, with the resources available. Part of recording was leaning into the experience of using the tools at your disposal. Trusting the sound, being experimental. 

LD: I used the Glen Campbell guitar like everybody. I tend to use Fender Telecasters because they’re versatile. Hologram pedals. We also used those pocket pianos, the Critter & Guitari ones with the wood buttons. Those are super useful. We used a bunch of Yamaha shitty kids keyboards. Melina had a bunch, Sarah Tudzin had a bunch. Though they are machines, you’d think they’d all sound pretty similar to each other, but they all have their unique sound between models that also are a little bit broken. So, the broken-ness of each of them would sometimes bring a fresh thing to the equation. I also think it’s surprising that we all used the same vocal mic, because we don’t have the same vocal tones. 

PB: Mostly I was on that mic, but some of the stuff that went back and retracted was on a U48 from the late ‘50s/early ‘60s. There’s also the Cooper Timecube, that is heavily featured on everything that I make because it’s fucking amazing.

MC: What’s next, both for boygenius and for you all individually?

PB: We’re going to be touring. We have a bunch of non-music videos and photo shoots that all take creativity and effort, that we’re excited to share. But yeah, this year we all blocked off as a boygenius year. Not everything is announced, but we’ll be around. 

boygenius’ The Record debuted on March 31.Go to xboygeniusx.com for more information.

Contact Chloe Walsh, chloe@theoriel.co

Getting It Done: The week in D.I.Y & Indie MusicLast week, our tips and advice for the independent, do-it-yourselfers out there covered how to utilize LinkedIn best, when the best post-times for social media are, and more… 5 attitudes. Continue reading
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