PublMe bot posted in SpaceLive Music Roundup: All-in Tix, Tour Chart, Hotel Fests, MoreThis week’s Live Music Roundup covers Ticketmaster’s switch to all-in ticketing, a new Bandsintown trending tours chart, a 101 guide to booking shows, and more… Live Music Roundup
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www.hypebot.comCatch the latest live music roundup featuring Ticketmaster's all-in ticketing and trending tours from Bandsintown.
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Music Business News Last Week: Facebook, peak fandom, moreA busy week by any definition, the music industry was no exception, with Facebook removing live video, music fandom declining, and more...
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www.hypebot.comStay updated with the latest music business news, including industry changes and trends affecting music fandom this week.
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MusiCares To Host Mindful May, Apple Music Releases Sound Therapy, & MoreMay is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the GRAMMY organization is proposing that we all use the power of music to "reduce stress, improve your mood, and help increase cognitive function this month and beyond!"With that in mind:MusiCares To Host 2025 Mindful May Event In Nashville: Check out the event and see how to attend.Universal Music Group And Apple Music Announce Sound Therapy: An innovative audio wellness collection designed to help listeners attain clearer focus, deeper relaxation, and better sleep.Live Nation Launches $30 Summer Concert Series: Including Avril Lavigne, The Black Keys, Luke Bryan and more.Inside Spotify’s Latest Update: The streamer is giving users more control over their listening experience.Department Of Justice & Federal Trade Commission Launch Public Inquiry Into Live Music Business: Where they will investigate "unfair and anticompetitive practices" in the live entertainment space.The post MusiCares To Host Mindful May, Apple Music Releases Sound Therapy, & More first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.
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Happy Birthday Bob DylanBob Dylan’s 2025 tour continues on May 16th at The Hollywood Bowl, followed by dates on May 20th Nampa, Idaho Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater, May 22nd Spokane, Washington ONE Spokane Stadium, May 24th Ridgefield, Washington Cascades Amphitheatre, and May 25th Quincy, Washington The Gorge.On June 27th, Columbia Records will release Barbra Streisand’s album of duets, The Secret Of Life: Partners, Volume Two. Barbra and Bob team on “The Very Thought of You.”In her 2023 autobiography, Bottom of FormMy Name is Barbra, Streisand mentioned she’d read an article about Dylan’s archive housing a letter from her.“Back in the 1970s he sent me flowers and a charming note, written in colored pencil with childlike letters, asking me if I would like to sing with him,” Streisand wrote.When Yentl was due in 1983, directed by Streisand, Dylan sent a copy of his album Infidels, indicating he was looking forward to watching the film, and wanted to work with her.“You are my favorite movie star,” Dylan wrote. “Your self-determination, wit and temperament and sense of justice have always appealed to me.”I conducted an interview with Johnny Cash in Anaheim CA. at the Royal Inn that was first published in the August 16, 1975 issue of the now defunct UK music weekly Melody Maker. Johnnywas appearing at a Christian Booksellers Convention promoting his autobiography, Man In Black.I told Cash we shared the same February 26th birthdate, and asked him to talk about Bob Dylan. "I became aware of Bob Dylan when the Freewheelin’ album came out in 1963,” recalled Johnny. “I thought he was one of the best country singers I had ever heard. I always felt a lot in common with him. I knew a lot about him before we had ever met. I knew he had heard and listened to country music. I heard a lot of inflections from country artists I was familiar with.“I was in Las Vegas in '63 and '64 and wrote him a letter telling him how much I liked his work. I got a letter back and we developed a correspondence. We finally met at Newport in 1965. It was like we were two old friends. There was none of this standing back, trying to figure each other out. He's unique and original. I keep lookin' around as we pass the middle of the 70s and I don't see anybody come close to Bob Dylan. I respect him. Dylan is a few years younger than I am but we share a bond that hasn't diminished. I get inspiration from him.“We’ve gone fishin’ on my boat dock for hours and haven’t said a word.” Every year since 1975 I’ve conducted an interview or had email exchanges with musicians and writers about Bob Dylan.As Dylan’s 84th birthday arrives on May 24th, it’s appropriate to display some responses from my encounters with them.On November 19, 1979, drummer and friend Jim Keltner, invited Knack drummer Bruce Gary and I to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium to see Dylan’s Slow Train Coming concert.I had a very brief chat with Dylan backstage. I mentioned interviewing Johnny Cash and Phil Spector for Melody Maker. He inquired about Spector. During 1977, Dylan, Allen Ginsberg and I attended Spector-produced Leonard Cohen recording sessions at Gold Star studios for Death of a Ladies’ Man.I told Bob that Phil talked about R&B vocalists, also citing “Dion, John, Paul, Elvis, Bobby Darin, and Johnny Cash as great singers.” Bob then removed his tinted sunglasses and smiled. He has blue eyes like Eva Marie Saint, Charles Bukowski, and Kris Kristofferson. He offered a firm handshake, and replied, “Johnny Cash is a friend of mine…” Johnny Cash: I became aware of Bob Dylan when the Freewheelin’ album came out in 1963. I thought he was one of the best country singers I had ever heard. I always felt a lot in common with him. I knew a lot about him before we had ever met. I knew he had heard and listened to country music. I heard a lot of inflections from country artists I was familiar with.I was in Las Vegas in '63 and '64 and wrote him a letter telling him how much I liked his work. I got a letter back and we developed a correspondence. We finally met at Newport in 1965. It was like we were two old friends. There was none of this standing back, trying to figure each other out. He's unique and original. I keep lookin' around as we pass the middle of the 70s and I don't see anybody come close to Bob Dylan. I respect him. Dylan is a few years younger than I am but we share a bond that hasn't diminished. I get inspiration from him.Dr. James Cushing: When we think of Bob Dylan geographically, our first associations are with Hibbing, in the Mesabi Iron range of northern Minnesota, then Greenwich Village around 4th Street, then upstate New York. But the truth is, Los Angeles has been Dylan’s primary residence since 1973, and the city has played a substantial role in Dylan’s life and career. How appropriate that the man who wrote “he not busy been born is busy dying,” having made enough money to live anywhere he wants, has made his home in the city of radical self-invention.Robby Krieger: (The Doors): I saw Dylan perform in 1963. I was in high school in Menlo Park, near San Francisco. There were some guys there from Boston and New York in the dormitory with me and they were into Bob Dylan. I had never heard him before. They had his debut LP. So, they played the first album and I got totally into him.On Dylan’s first album I really liked his guitar playing. I thought he was a great fuckin’ acoustic player. He did some stuff that was pretty damn good. And his harmonica work. I had never heard anyone play harmonica like that. Not a blues harmonica player sucking in the notes. I was amazed he could do all that stuff and sing at the same time.He came to Berkeley for the first time and we saw him at the Community Theater. We just got tickets. I wasn’t hooked up then. (laughs). It was a good experience. He had the buckskin jacket. I bought into the whole thing, basically. I later bought a harmonica rack holder. When I saw him live, I sort of realized at the time there were some interesting and unique tunings on stage. I thought he was pretty cool at that first concert, and then the week after that we saw Joan Baez play at Stanford University.I loved his Bringing It All Back Home LP. That was my favorite. It all made sense. The lyrics fit exactly what I was thinking when I was acid. It registered, you know. ‘Wow. I’m listening to this guy.’My favorite song was “Mr. Tambourine Man.” I might have been in my band then called the Psychedelic Rangers. I had been playing guitar for a couple of years and started at age 15. At the Long Beach concert at first, I didn’t know what to think. Because I was expecting it to be how it was before. But then I realized this. I didn’t really get into Dylan until I saw him the next time in Long Beach in ’65. An auditorium. That’s when he first came out with the electric set. Not only that, but I was on my first acid trip. It actually was not even acid but Morning Glory seeds. I think I schlepped down from Menlo Park.I went by myself. I had two tickets, and I had taken these seeds with my girlfriend and she didn’t want to go. So, I went by myself and my mind was blown. I expected him to be the same as he was earlier in Berkeley, and here he comes out with an electric band and wearing a Hollywood Zoot suit. I didn’t know what to think. In Long Beach he was totally different. That was one thing about Dylan that was always great. He always changed. I loved Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited album. I loved Michael Bloomfield’s guitar playing on that album and loved Bloomfield on the first Paul Butterfield Blues Band album.I never saw Bob Dylan again except when the Doors were being inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when the ceremony was held locally in Los Angeles at the Century Plaza Hotel.Al Kooper (Multi-Instrumentalist): On “Like A Rolling Stone,” I was waiting to see what chord they were going to do. There was no music or lead sheet, or anything. I was just playing organ by ear and I didn’t want to be the one making a mistake because I was doin’ like a rebel run there. I was supposed to play guitar on that record. I packed up my guitar when I heard Michael Bloomfield warming up. It never occurred to me that somebody my age, and my religion could play the guitar like that. That was only reserved for other people. It never even occurred to me that that was an option for someone my age and my color. I had never seen that, or heard that up to that day. So, that pretty much ended my guitar playing by and large. Robbie Robertson (The Band): There was a thing that happened between Bob and The Band on stage that when we played together that we would just go into a certain gear automatically. It was like instinctual, like you smelled something in the air, you know, and it made you hungry. (laughs). It was that instinctual. And the way we played music together was very much that way. And whether, we were playing in 1966, or 1976, or when we did the tour together in 1974, we would go to a certain place where we just pulled the trigger.It was like ‘just burn down the doors ‘cause we’re coming through.’ And it was a whole other place that we played when we weren’t playing with him. So, it was like putting a flame and oil together, or something.Well, we didn’t change. I don’t know that this has ever happened to anybody else. And it is a phenomenon. And that’s why I feel bold enough to refer to it as a musical revolution. Because the world came around. We didn’t. We didn’t do anything that much different. [laughs]. We just went out there and hit it between the eyes. And now people have a completely different reaction to it. And I thought ‘that’s kind of incredible that the world actually came to this place. And I don’t know who else has been through that. Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders): Bob Dylan's "Forever Young” has got such a beautiful lyric. I just love it. He's the pride of our generation. The song is genius. I'll tell you another great Dylan album, that was not one of his most popular ones, Shot Of Love. The song, "Lenny Bruce.”Time Out Of Mind. It’s one of his best albums. He just sings magnificently, for a start. They're just great songs. Bob always writes impeccable songs, but my suspicion is that he's a little impatient in the studio. On this one, he really stuck it out and got gorgeous vocals. The singing is fantastic. The songs are so well crafted and they just got the great sound for each song. You don't feel like he just got a band in, wheeled them in and played all the songs and left. Each song is very carefully thought out. Obviously, that's a lot in the production and I'm sure that's Danny Lanois who masterminded that. Jim Keltner is the perfect drummer for any band if you ask me. He's great with Bob Dylan. Keltner is a genius drummer. I love that guy.Kenneth Kubernik (Author): There is another American original, a musician whose body of work, scope of influence, and inscrutable personality mirrors so many of Bob Dylan's most singular attributes. Pianist Keith Jarrett is not a name that leaps to mind when talkin' 'bout Bob's imperishable impact, that litany of artists long identified with his idiosyncratic approach to song craft, interpretive wanderlust, and rousing conviction.There is nary a one that reeks of jazz. But Jarrett - revered by players and serious students of improvisation, reviled by the jazz constabulary for his irascible nature - has, since the '60s, spun closely within Dylan's musical orbit. When jazz was moving uncomfortably towards rock and funk, Jarrett had his trio perform "My Back "Pages," and "Lay Lady Lay," coping a Floyd Cramer groove more redolent of Nashville's skyline than Manhattan's hot house revelries.In an interview with England's Melody Maker, Jarrett cited Dylan's insight that artists "walk a razor's edge," when asked to describe the opaque process behind his mesmeric solo piano recitals. More than Monk and Miles, Trane and Bird, Jarrett found common cause with Dylan's redoubtable independence of thought and action. It is amusingly apt that Dylan, in recent years, has turned to performing the American songbook - "standards" - that provide the beating heart of every educated jazz musician. He's on Jarrett's turf here and one can only imagine that aching croak nestled inside the pianist's ineffable accompaniment. Wonder boys...”Outside of maybe Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix, no popular musician commands a more robust, enthusiastic international following than Dylan. His “voice” is heard in every language that speaks through music to celebrate the resiliency of the soul against the tides of a world gone wrong.Jackson Browne (Singer/Songwriter): What Bob Dylan did for me, everybody and our generation it will never have to be done again. The way he opened up our thinking and our feeling and our view of the world only has to be done once. Maybe it’s done in other fields like film and painting and other art. As a people we’re constantly growing, expanding but the changes that Bob Dylan brought to rock and roll and songwriting are permanent. They’re part of us. People who are just being born into it now are being born into a world that wasn’t that way until Bob Dylan made it that way. It’s a particular skill to write something in a few words that speaks volumes. It is very difficult to say how I feel and how I think about Bob Dylan in a few words.Howard Kaylan (The Turtles): We recorded cut “It Ain’t Me Babe” and met Bob one night. All of us, as singers and performers keep those great songs in the pipeline so they are not forgotten. It doesn’t have to be a great Bob Dylan song or a Tim Hardin song or even a great Leiber and Stoller song. If it’s great and forgotten you kind of feel like you are a missionary as far as getting those things to the public.Al Stewart (Singer/Songwriter): When the Byrds’ released “Mr. Tambourine Man,” [June of 1965] and Dylan did “Like A Rolling Stone,” I thought, “My God!” This folk-rock thing was in the back of my mind as being interesting, but I thought it had no commercial applications whatsoever, and all of a sudden, it’s the biggest thing in the world. And I thought, “That’s it. I’m going to be a folk rocker because that’s the future.”Roger McGuinn (The Byrds): Our producer Jim Dickson was definitely a large part of the formation of the group and the attitude. It was his pick to do ‘Mr. Tambourine Man.’ He got a demo of it before (Bob) Dylan released it. Jim loved the song. We didn’t get it. He had to bring Bob Dylan around to the World Pacific Studio for us to do the song at all. Dylan came over with Bobby Neuwirth and we played ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ and “All I Really Want To Do’ for Dylan and Bobby, and Neuwirth said, “wow. You can dance to it.’ After ‘All I Really Want To Do,’ Dylan responded, ‘what was that?” And we responded, ‘That was one of your songs, man.’ ‘I didn’t recognize it,’ he said. (laughs).When I recorded the vocal on the Byrds’ ‘Mr. Tambourine Man” I was trying to place it between Dylan and John Lennon. Dylan’s stuff is brilliant. I coined the term that he was the ‘Shakespeare of Our Time.’ It was like knowing Shakespeare here. Dylan was carrying on Kerouac and Ginsberg.Chris Hillman (The Byrds):One thing I’ve said before, and what our manager Jim Dickson drilled into our heads, the greatest advice we ever got, and he said, ‘Go for substance in the songs and go for depth. You want to make records you can listen to in forty years that you will be proud to listen to.’ He was right. Bob had written it like a country song. Dickson said, ‘Listen to the lyrics.’ And then it finally got through to us and credit to McGuinn, mainly Jim arranged into a danceable beat. The Byrds do Dylan. It was a natural fit after ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ was successful. Roger (then Jim) almost found his voice through Bob Dylan, in a way, literally voice through Bob Dylan in a sense.And then we start doing some Dylan stuff. ‘Chimes of Freedom.’ Great song. ‘All I Really Want to Do.’ At Monterey we included Dylan’s ‘Chimes of Freedom.’ I didn’t realize how beautiful that lyric was until years later. ‘Chimes of Freedom’ is a killer. It’s just one of Dylan’s beautiful songs, and he was just peaking then.Steven Van Zandt (Actor/Guitarist/Record Producer): As a guitar player, I've played Dylan’s songs with Bruce [Springsteen] and in top 40 bands earlier. The Byrds introducing him to the world, really, with “Mr. Tambourine Man” was a major factor. I can't give them enough credit for that. I don't know if Bob Dylan would have been accepted at Top 40 radio if it hadn't been for “Mr. Tambourine Man.” That gang has been a great service to the world. I was a huge Byrds' freak. Still am. They lead you to Bob. I play a lot of Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde. We usually don’t play a lot of Bob’s things that classic rock stations are playing, like “Tangled Up in Blue.” I’ve programmed Rod Stewart and the Faces covering ‘The Wicked Messenger’ from John Wesley Harding and Jimi Hendrix doing “All Along the Watchtower” from the same album.” Daniel Weizmann: It's no accident that Dylan ultimately settled in Los Angeles to the degree that he ever settled anywhere. As a cowboy-pioneer of language crossing the American landscape, he knew that the Pacific is the end of the line. You haven't completed the journey until you've arrived. Also, Dylan has always had showbiz in the blood--he's a cinematic song and dance man and classic Hollywood iconography is always showing up in his work. For our greatest songwriter, L.A. is adversary, inspiration, hideaway, and shoreline.Harvey Kubernik is the author of 20 books, including 2009’s Canyon Of Dreams: The Magic And The Music Of Laurel Canyon, 2014’s Turn Up The Radio! Rock, Pop and Roll In Los Angeles 1956-1972, 2015's Every Body Knows: Leonard Cohen, 2016's Heart of Gold Neil Young and 2017's 1967: A Complete Rock Music History of the Summer of Love.Sterling/Barnes and Noble in 2018 published Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik’s The Story Of The Band: From Big Pink To The Last Waltz. In2021 the duo wrote Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child for Sterling/Barnes and Noble. Otherworld Cottage Industries in 2020 published Harvey’s Docs That Rock, Music That Matters. His Screen Gems: (Pop Music Documentaries and Rock ‘n’ Roll TV Scenes) is scheduled for a 2025 publication date. Kubernik’s 1995 interview, Berry Gordy: A Conversation With Mr. Motown is in The Pop, Rock & Soul Reader edited by David Brackett was published in 2019 by Oxford University Press. Brackett is a Professor of Musicology in the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Canada. Harvey joined a lineup which includes LeRoi Jones, Johnny Otis, Ellen Willis, Nelson George, Nat Hentoff, Jim Delehant, David Ritz, Nelson George, Camille Paglia, Ben Fong-Torres, Jerry Wexler, Jim Delehant, Ralph J. Gleason, Greil Marcus, Cameron Crowe, Richard Cromelin, and Paul Nelson.The New York City Department of Education will be publishing for fall 2025 the social studies textbook Hidden Voices: Jewish Americans in United States History. Kubernik’s1976 profile/interview with concert promoter Bill Graham on the Best Classic Bands website Bill Graham Interview on the Rock ’n’ Roll Revolution, 1976, Best Classic Bands, is included. Harvey wrote the liner notes to CD re-releases of Carole King’s Tapestry, The Essential Carole King, Allen Ginsberg’s Kaddish, Elvis Presley The ’68 Comeback Special, The Ramones’ End of the Century and Big Brother & the Holding Company Captured Live at The Monterey International Pop Festival.During 2006 Kubernik spoke at the special hearings by The Library of Congress in Hollywood, California, discussing archiving practices and audiotape preservation. In 2017 he appeared at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, in their Distinguished Speakers Series. Harvey spoke at The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles in 2023 discussing The Last Waltz music documentary.Photo by Jean-Luc is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.The post Happy Birthday Bob Dylan first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.
Happy Birthday Bob Dylan
www.musicconnection.comBob Dylan’s 2025 tour continues on May 16th at The Hollywood Bowl, followed by dates on May 20th Nampa, Idaho Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater, May 22nd Spokane, Washington ONE Spokane Stadium, May 24th Ridgefield, Washington Cascades Amphitheatre, and May 25th Quincy, Washington The Gorge. On June 27th, Columbia Records will release Barbra Streisand’s album of
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From Trump firing top copyright official to SoundCloud ‘fixing’ AI policy… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
SourceFrom Trump firing top copyright official to SoundCloud ‘fixing’ AI policy… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up
www.musicbusinessworldwide.comThe biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
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Study ranks Best Artists to See Live in 2025 based on reviewsA new study analyzed concert and album reviews from both fans and critics to find the best artists to see live in 2025. While the methodology might not be the most rigorous scientifically, the results are still quite interesting.
The post Study ranks Best Artists to See Live in 2025 based on reviews appeared first on Hypebot.Study ranks Best Artists to See Live in 2025 based on reviews
www.hypebot.comExplore the best artists to see live in 2025. From RAYE to Bruce Springsteen, see who tops the concert charts this year.
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Musician Song Licensing TipsReady to release that cover or remix? Don’t hit upload until you’ve read these 8 musician song licensing tips from Symphonic's recent Easy Song masterclass.
The post Musician Song Licensing Tips appeared first on Hypebot.Musician Song Licensing Tips
www.hypebot.comUnlock the music industry with essential musician song licensing tips for successful cover and remix releases.
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Fender Collaborates with Gustavo Santaolalla on “The Last of Us” ThemeFender has shared the latest episode of Fender Presents, "featuring two-time Academy Award-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla, the musical mastermind behind The Last of Us. In this exclusive piece, Gustavo performs a hauntingly beautiful new arrangement of the series' iconic main theme — using a truly unique instrument: the 'Guitarocko.'""This 1-of-1 custom instrument, conceived by Gustavo and built with Fender’s support, blends the soul of a traditional Andean ronroco with the form of a mini Stratocaster," they said. "Outfitted with a custom bridge, doubled stringing, lipstick pickups, and a bespoke nut, the Guitarocko delivers a distinct tonal palette that reflects Gustavo’s signature style."
The post Fender Collaborates with Gustavo Santaolalla on “The Last of Us” Theme first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.
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Live Nation has already sold 100m tickets in 2025 so far – compared to 98m sold in all of 2019Live Nation CFO Joe Berchtold talks about pricing, facing a potential economic slowdown, and fixing the company's public relations headaches
SourceLive Nation has already sold 100m tickets in 2025 so far – compared to 98m sold in all of 2019
www.musicbusinessworldwide.comLive Nation CFO Joe Berchtold talks about pricing, facing a potential economic slowdown, and fixing the company’s public relations headaches.
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The new soft power and its hidden rulesThroughout the 20th century, particularly the second half, many Western countries – such as the US, UK, and France – increased their global influence through the use of cultural soft power. This was done through tools like Voice of America and the BBC World Service, as well as via movies, TV, journalism, and music. The oft-discussed ‘globalisation’ of culture was, more accurately, a westernisation of global culture. With local-language entertainment growing more popular, audiences fragmenting, and ongoing budget cuts to the World Service as well as (to put it diplomatically) an uncertain future for Radio Free America, the soft power era may appear to be over. It is not.
Just as the much-heralded end-of-the-gatekeepers was in fact a replacement of human tastemakers with algorithmic ones, so too the human soft power era has been replaced by an algorithmic one. Over the course of the last decade, American tech companies have assumed a dominant cultural and social role in the lives of consumers across the globe. In doing so, the corporate ideologies of these companies (manifested in their algorithms and strategies) now shape the way the world sees itself, just as – if not more than – traditional soft power strategies did. Most pertinently for entertainment, these companies have collectively formulated a new set of rules for cultural success, that stack the deck so that the house always wins.
The leaders of these companies and their investors often have firmly held political beliefs. They often see the companies as tools for furthering their views and agendas – even if those agendas are to manufacture new problems to sell solutions to (which, of course, is part of why the US is so concerned about TikTok). While the old soft power era aimed to propagate (at least in theory) the cultural and political views of entire nations, US tech soft power furthers the worldview of one particular slice of US society.
Sometimes this is done out in the open (e.g., Elon Musk / X) but most often, the implementation is subtler. Because the inner workings of algorithms are closely guarded corporate secrets, not even governments, let alone consumers, are privy to how they are influencing thinking, beliefs, and behaviour. This is unaccountable, social engineering on a literally global scale. The geo-political and social implications are vast, but the impact on entertainment and culture is also profound.
When you are in the midst of change, it can sometimes be hard to understand just how dramatic and significant it actually is. The numbers alone show just how much the influence of US tech companies has increased over the last ten years.
In that time, streaming has come to dominate music and TV revenues, while social has simultaneously given birth to the creator economy and become the collective gatekeeper for entertainment discovery, with often less-than-satisfactory results. It is social’s role that is the most far reaching and that entertainment companies and creators are least able to influence. The result is that entertainment industries have become governed by a new set of rules that they did not write:
Make more content, more quickly
Try fast, fail fast
Chase virality, not longevity
Bring value to ‘discovery’ platforms but extract little or no value in return
Compete with everything and everyone for attention
Accept toxicity as a cost of doing business
What these rules have in common is that the outcomes benefit the platforms more than they do creators and rightsholders. Social and streaming platforms have an insatiable appetite for content, and the burden for meeting that falls on creators and rightsholders. But this appetite is not some unintended consequence, it has been engineered by the platforms in order to meet and increase demand of their users. Pouring gasoline on the viral fire might burn bright, but once the initial flames die down, they often leave behind nothing but scorched earth.
Meanwhile, entertainment companies have been forced to re-engineer their businesses to abide by these new rules. And there are few among them that would argue that the outcome is positive, with a recent quote from WMG’s Elliot Grainge a case in point:
“The whole point of the algorithm is to feed you content that triggers a dopamine response in your brain. It can be really negative and addicting… Those who truly succeed aren’t the loudest; they’re the ones with their heads down, grinding, unsure if it will even work, but going for it anyway… Don’t take the bait and fall for it.”
AI looks set to knock everything up a notch, not least because some of the investors behind the AI companies favour dramatic copyright reform, in some cases even seeing it simply as a hindrance to tech’s future. If you want to take a conspiracy theory approach, you could make the case that one of the reasons the big AI companies have received such massive levels of investment is to provide war chests for fighting precedent-setting copyright cases that will further the ideological ambitions of their investor backers.
So, what can be done? There are two alternatives:
1. Continue as we are, with tomorrow becoming an even more intense version of today
2. Begin plotting a different path
Few would want the first option, but the second could seem like a Herculean task. Yet, it might just be that a window of opportunity has presented itself in the shape of the new US tariff regime. More on that in my next blog post!
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New Trending Touring Artists Chart powered by BandsintownToday we unveil Hypebot's new Trending Touring Artists Chart powered by Bandsintown led in May by emerging artists Sombr, Will Wood and James Marriott.
The post New Trending Touring Artists Chart powered by Bandsintown appeared first on Hypebot.New Trending Touring Artists Chart powered by Bandsintown
www.hypebot.comExplore the new Bandsintown Trending Touring Artists Chart featuring rising stars like Sombr and Will Wood. Discover fan-fueled insights now.
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How to Use Short Form Video to Promote Music on Social MediaLearn how to use short form video to promote music across social media. It's easier than you think to create scroll-stopping clips that get noticed without fancy gear or endless editing.
The post How to Use Short Form Video to Promote Music on Social Media appeared first on Hypebot.How to Use Short Form Video to Promote Music on Social Media
www.hypebot.comDiscover how to use short form video to promote music, capturing attention and showcasing your talent to potential fans.
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Loaded Dice Entertainment & Amaze Partner in Strategic Merchandise DealAmaze Holdings Inc. has announced that it has been selected by Loaded Dice Entertainment as its official merchandise partner. "Loaded Dice empowers independent musicians through artist development programs, transparent revenue-sharing, robust music distribution, and innovative marketing strategies," reads a statement. "As part of the partnership, Amaze will host both Loaded Dice branded merchandise and artist-specific items that will be appreciated by fans worldwide. The first Loaded Dice artist featured on the Amaze storefront is Hudson Thames, whose debut album BAMBINO was recently released and whose storefront includes artist designed sweatshirts, t-shirts, and hats."“Partnering with Loaded Dice provides the brand and its artists with unparalleled opportunities for new exposure amongst Amaze’s users,” said Aaron Day, CEO of Amaze. “As Loaded Dice helps artists with their music, Amaze will help artists reach new audiences and easily create and sell merchandise on their own. Merchandise revenue can be a significant support for artists, and we look forward to empowering artists to create and sell items that represent their art and resonate with their fans.”“From day one, Loaded Dice has been committed to creating a distinctive environment where artists can thrive creatively and professionally. As we continue to grow, it’s essential that we align with partners who share our values and vision. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Amaze. Together, we’re empowering our artists to express their authentic style, reach new audiences, and offer fans innovative merchandise experiences that go far beyond the traditional. We’re excited to collaborate with the Amaze team as we redefine what fan engagement and artist support can look like,” said Jeff Z (Zuchowski) and Chad Doher, Co-Founders of Loaded Dice.Find out more at amaze.com.The post Loaded Dice Entertainment & Amaze Partner in Strategic Merchandise Deal first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.
Loaded Dice Entertainment & Amaze Partner
www.musicconnection.comAmaze Holdings Inc. has announced that it has been selected by Loaded Dice Entertainment as its official merchandise partner. "Loaded Dice empowers independent musicians through artist development programs, transparent revenue-sharing, robust music distribution, and innovative marketing strategies," reads a statement. "As part of the partnership, Amaze will host both Loaded Dice branded merchandise and artist-specific
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Maarten Steinkamp appointed Interim President of Armada Music GroupSteinkamp has worked closely with Armada as an interim board consultant for the past several months
SourceMaarten Steinkamp appointed Interim President of Armada Music Group
www.musicbusinessworldwide.comSteinkamp has worked closely with Armada as an interim board consultant for the past several months…
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Has music hit peak fandom? [MIDiA’s Mark Mulligan]"(You) cannot harvest fandom if you are not also nurturing it," writes MIDiA's Mark Mulligan. Superfans are seen as music's financial lifeline, but 2024 showed signs they’re being stretched to the limit. Have we hit peak fandom?
The post Has music hit peak fandom? [MIDiA’s Mark Mulligan] appeared first on Hypebot.Has music hit peak fandom? [MIDiA's Mark Mulligan]
www.hypebot.comDelve into the signs of peak fandom and the impact on superfan spending on musician and the music industry today.
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