Libre Wave Michaela's Harp We recorded a modern Celtic harp with a warm tone and a built in pick-up. This allowed us to create a direct input recording in addition to two stereo microphone positions. We recorded... Read More

Q&A with Bailey ZimmermanThe story behind country artist Bailey Zimmerman’s rise to fame is the stuff of dreams. Within a few short months, he went from toiling on gas pipelines and wondering whether he could sing, to being at the center of a major-label bidding war. It’s a scenario that seems pulled from the fevered imagination of a third-rate screenwriter.

And yet it’s true. The unassumingly handsome Illinois native’s barrel-aged vocals struck an instant chord with listeners when he shared a single verse through social media. Listeners practically demanded he give them more. Overnight, Zimmerman went from making car-tuning videos to pursuing music as an occupation.

Perhaps as important as his voice and artistic presence is Zimmerman’s pure heart. In an industry where calculated artifice thrives, the budding superstar possesses an innocence that’s beyond rare. Audiences clearly sense his realness and no-bull nature, critical character qualities in the country genre. Despite his rapidly building fame, it appears Zimmerman isn’t about to forget who he is or where he came from. 

That said, he’s also standing on the precipice of mega-stardom. Religiously. The Album., Zimmerman’s full-length debut, was released on May 12th. He has performed at CMA Fest and opened for Morgan Wallen. Next year, he’ll be doing an international tour with stops in England, Scotland and Ireland, in addition to major North American cities. Things are about to change in a big way for this diamond in the rough. MC spoke with Zimmerman about discovering his artistry, industry advice (both giving and receiving), plus his musical influences.

Music Connection: You’ve blown up fast. You’re 23, right? 

Bailey Zimmerman: Yes, sir.

MC: How have you had to adjust?

BZ: I’ve gotten used to everything as I’m going. Getting blown up is kind of like living in the biggest small town. When I lived in my small town, my truck was known to everybody. Everybody would swarm up and want to talk. It’s kind of like that if you timesed it by the world. 

MC: Why was TikTok the social media platform that worked for you?

BZ:I started watching TikTok just because everybody was [saying], “You need to get TikTok.” So, I started watching. I followed people like Zach Bryan and TooTurntTony. At the time, my buddies were all doing TikTok [videos.] And I was like, all right, I’ll try to do TikTok. So, I built my own lifted truck. I always wanted to build one, but never had the money. Somehow, I got some money, so I built one with my brother. I started filming it and putting it on TikTok.

I was in my brother’s shop listening to “Stay” by Black Stone Cherry and tried to sing it. I’d sing in the truck and shit. I thought everybody could sing. You just sing it like they do. I put it on Snapchat, because I thought maybe I would get some girls. [Songwriter] Gavin Lucas, his dad drove my bus when I was a kid, so I’ve known him. He said, “I didn’t know you sang.” I said, “Me, neither. I just tried yesterday.” He’s like, “Everybody’s been sending around that video. You want to listen to the songs I’ve written?”

We got together, and two or three weeks after that we sat down in my uncle’s body shop. He goes, “You think you can write a song?” And I was like, “Yeah, dude. I think I could.” So, we wrote the first verse of my first song, “Never Coming Home,” and videoed it. I listened to it over and over, because I was so pumped. I wrote a dang song! I got home and called Gavin. It was one or two in the morning. “Hey, man. Do you care if I post this on TikTok?” The next day, my phone was going crazy. This is about five hours since it had been posted and it had almost two million views. 

MC: How did you wind up at Warner Music?

BZ: That’s a crazy story. I almost signed this real bad deal in Miami that would’ve ruined my career before it even started. But before that, I was singing for maybe a month and “Never Coming Home” had millions of streams. This dude Rohan [Kohli], that is an A&R at Warner Nashville, DMed me. I didn’t know what the hell Warner was. He goes, “We’d love to have you down here for a meeting.” I hung up the phone and was like, “I wonder what they want to have a meeting about.”

Drew Baldridge is a country artist who had some hits back in the day. He’d been mentoring me for the last couple weeks. I called him and said, “I’m going to Nashville.” He said, “What for?” I said, “I’m meeting with some company. Warner or some shit.” And he’s like, “Warner Nashville?” “Yeah, I think that’s what it is. They want to have burgers.” He said, “You’re meeting with one of the biggest labels in the world.” I’m like, “Badass. What does that mean?” I met with Cris Lacy and Rohan. Best burger I ever had. 

I paid my mom back. She gave me $1,500, because I didn’t have no money. I said, “Mom, I quit my job. I’m going to be a singer.” I put my phone in her face. “Look, this song is going big.” It was the day it came out. I quit my job the day the song was put on TikTok. I was like, “If you give me $1,500, I think I can be a country artist. I just need $1,500 so I can record this song for $3,000.” 

MC: You hadn’t performed.

BZ: No, I’d never performed. I didn’t even know if I was going to be an artist. [Laci and Kohli] said, “What are you going to do? Write more songs?” I said, “I guess. I don’t know if I can.” And it’s worked out since. 

MC: What made Warner Music win the bidding war?

BZ: Everybody wanted to go with UMG, and I wanted to go with Warner. I loved the way Cris treated me. I get on the call day of decision. “Bailey, where do you want to be, label-wise?” My manager, Chief [Zaruk], had done this before with Nickelback and Florida Georgia Line. I was scared to go against what he was wanting. But I grew some nuts and said, “I want to go with Warner, because Cris has treated me with nothing but respect. It feels like Warner is more of a family and they’re going to take care of me.” 

And Chief goes, “We’re glad you said that, because last night we flew in for a meeting with UMG and all they wanted to talk about was fishing stories.” He said, “Cris Lacy called at midnight. She said, I know you’re in town and want to talk to you about Bailey.” So, Chief goes, “Meet us at Miranda’s.” Cris Lacy showed up with a binder full of BZ motives. This is what I want to do. This is what I think he is. I think he can do this. I think he can do that. I think we can change the world. 

I’m getting chills right now. I give it to God. I love my family here. They treat me so damn good. 

MC: You’re in the best place in the world for country songwriters. Did Warner hook you up with cowrites?

BZ: I’ve cowritten, but not with a lot of random people. I usually write with my producer, Austin [Shawn]. I met him when I moved to Nash, because I needed a producer. I kept writing with Gavin Lucas and Austin Shawn for a long time. And then Heath Warren came into the mix for “Rock and a Hard Place” and Jacob Hackworth and Jet Harvey. Chandler Walters is one of my really good writing buddies. Chandler plays steel for ERNEST. He’s 20 years old and the most talented dude. Then Tucker Beathard came and now he’s a part of my writing scene. There’s an artist from TikTok named Matt Schuster I write with. I can’t do, “Hey, at 11:00 AM you’re going to go into this room and write a hit with these people.” I cannot do that.

MC: What’s your writing process? How do songs come out of you?

BZ: It’s usually in the morning. Me and my dog Marley, we’ll do our stretches outside and then I’ll take a shower. And when I’m showering, I’ll throw on lo-fi beats just to get a tempo in my head. Usually, I just think about shit I’m dealing with. That’s kind of where my ideas come from. I’ll get out of the shower and have a melody. 

Then I’ll go to the couch and grab my guitar. If I don’t play a cool riff within the first five minutes, I’ll set it down and won’t write all day. But I’ll know if it’s good, because I’ll play something and go, “All right, there it is.” I’ll get the feel of that chord progression and then start putting the words, melody and thought that I had in the shower into that. 

I’ll write a first verse and maybe a chorus melody, and then I don’t mess with it. I’ll try to get a hook, a first verse with a fire first line, and a vibe for the chorus. And then I take it to the writers I trust. I don’t trust myself to write by myself and not mess it up. I’ve got all these boys that really know how to write songs. Why would I mess around for four hours trying to write a song when they can do it in 20 minutes? 

MC: All your songs are based in real stuff? Nothing is fictional?

BZ: It’s feelings and thoughts. “Fix’n To Break” is like a feeling. It says—are we fixin’ to break up? Are we fixin’ to lose what we’ve built? That one is a real feeling, because it’s so hard to ask that question in a relationship. You’re both thinking it and usually it’s like, “Are we good? Do you not love me anymore?” And then it’s the beginning of the end. 

Every song I sing, I relate to or I wouldn’t sing it. I don’t think they could come off as sincere if I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t have that punch.

MC: You’re playing Fenway.

BZ: We’re going to play Fenway. We played MGM [Music Hall at Fenway] with Parker McCollum, which was badass. But then we go back with Morgan [Wallen]. 

MC: What’s it like playing venues of that size?

BZ: Just like playing anywhere else. My stomach hurts like a mother trucker before I go on. And then about two lines into “Religiously,” I feel really good. I’m ready to jump around. It’s fun as hell. It’s something I’ll never take for granted. Waking up every day and getting to play shows like that is the reason you do music. It’s the craziest feeling.

MC: Your album has two songs that are on your EP.

BZ: Three songs from the EP are on the album. “Fall In Love,” “Where It Ends,” and “Rock and a Hard Place.” 

MC: Why are they on there?

BZ: Just because they’ve been such a big part of me. “Rock and a Hard Place” is what I am. This is the reason I’m doing what I’m doing. “Fall In Love” is the reason I’m doing what I’m doing. “Where It Ends.” Man, that song came so easy to me. I just felt like there’s no way it can’t be on the record. And it’s such a bop. They’re all cool songs that fit into the album very well.

MC: You’ve got a bunch of videos. On “Never Leave” you do a bit of acting. Did you take lessons? 

BZ: No.

MC: Do you want to act?

BZ: Yeah. I’ve never acted before. I just took what I saw in movies and tried to do it myself. I do want to act, though. To be on Yellowstone or some shit would be really cool, to be a cowboy or something. I think I could crush it, baby.

MC: What did it mean to you to play the Grand Ole Opry?

BZ: Honestly, I didn’t even know what the Opry was. When I came to Nash, I learned quickly. I made sure I knew what I was talking about, but I didn’t know before 2021. 

MC: Do you have musical influences?

BZ: A lot of old rock is kind of my thing. Obviously, country. Like Craig Campbell, “Outskirts of Heaven.” Craig Morgan, “Wake Up Lovin’ You.” Great song. FGL [Florida Georgia Line], “Cruise.” I listened to a lot of that stuff. But when I was younger, my mom was a rocker, so we didn’t listen to country music. We listened to Linkin Park, Tesla, Hinder, Nickelback, Three Days Grace, Three Doors Down… There are so many. Puddle of Mudd, Velvet Revolver…

MC: You could’ve been a rock guy.

BZ: I wanted to, at first. Now that I’ve learned who I am as an artist, I don’t want to do that anymore. But I wouldn’t mind doing it a little bit. Like, if me and HARDY came up with some crazy rock thing, that would be a lot of fun.

MC: You could pull a Garth Brooks and switch it up.

BZ: I would. I’d do it, too. I had a song called “Change” that was basically Nickelback. I could do rock stuff. It’s just tough on your voice.

MC: Do you have advice for artists?

BZ: If it seems too be too good to be true, it’s probably too good to be true. A lot of people out there are going to blow smoke up your ass. They’re going to tell you one thing and mean something else. And they’re going to give you the runaround. 

You have to be your own best cheerleader. You have to be the one saying, “You can do it. Your songs are good enough. You’re good enough.” Because nobody is going to champion you until you champion yourself. If I wouldn’t have believed in myself, I wouldn’t have gone nowhere. 

I got to hang out with Colin Stough from American Idol today. I was trying to give him insight. I’m a straight shooter and see shit for what it is. There’s a lot of sketchy-ass stuff in this business. A lot of people will make you believe something and it’s not really that. They give you the runaround. You sign and then you’re fucked for however many years. One of my buddies, he just got out of his deal. It’s been four years where he couldn’t release any music, because they had him so tied down. 

Don’t be too quick to give everything away. I had to, because of what was going on. I had to have a label. But if you ain’t got a couple singles popping through TikTok, don’t be signing record deals, because you won’t make money for a long time. 

MC:It sounds like you dodged a bullet with that deal in Florida.

BZ: They were going to give me $20,000 for 87% of my masters. And they were like, “We’re going to give you an apartment. We’ll get you a brand-new Range Rover.” And it’s like, hold the fuck on. I called Chief from my front porch. He’s like a dad to me now. I said, “What’s a 360?” My thought was a 360 deal means they take care of all my stuff. That’s not what a 360 deal is. I said, “You’re telling me I can sign with you AND a label?” And he’s like, “Yes, dude, you HAVE to sign with me, because I’m not going to let a label take advantage of you. And first order of business is you’re not signing that damn deal.” 

MC: You could fight and win, but then you’d be indebted to lawyers.

BZ: There are some shady people out there, man. Being self-aware is one of the biggest things. Who are you around? What are they talking about? This guy that’s trying to sign you? Watch how he treats that guy who opens the door for him. 

MC: Have you met artists who’ve given you advice?

BZ: Morgan [Wallen] gives me advice all the time. I was talking to him about how I don’t want to take an advance for my tour, because they’re going to make more money in the backend. “Should I tell them I don’t want any money up front and just bet on myself?” He said, “Absolutely.” 

ERN[EST] had one of my favorite mottos ever. I was having a hard day. He said, “Take your shoes off.” “What the fuck is that going to do?” And he’s like, “Take your shoes off and stand in the grass. Just chill out.” I’ll go outside and sit in the grass for 30 minutes praying, talking to God. That’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever heard—“Take your shoes off.” It grounds you and puts you back on earth. 

Contact Mary Catherine Rebrovick / Warner Music Nashville

615-585-4521, marycatherine@wmg.com

Libre Wave Dulcius The samples in Dulcius were performed and recorded by musician Nuno Silva. The library currently includes one instrument, a Persian Santur, however we will be expanding it with more instruments.... Read More

Crypto market loses $486M in July, most since 2022: ReportAccording to the report, nearly half of the month’s losses were caused by the Multichain exploit, which resulted in $231 million in losses alone.

Dynatrace acquires cloud-native debugging platform RookoutObservability and security platform Dynatrace today announced that it plans to acquire Rookout, a Tel Aviv-based observability startup that focuses on helping developers troubleshoot and debug their code in production.
Publicly traded Dynatrace already offers a comprehensive suite of observability tools, but the addition of Rookout will allow it to expand these services with code-level observability into production environments. Dynatrace expects the transaction to close before September 30.
The two companies did not disclose the acquisition price, but Rookout previously raised a total of $28 million, including a $16 million Series B round it announced a year ago. The company’s investors include the likes of Fort Ross Ventures, TLV Partners, Emerge, Cisco Investment, LIAN Group, Mighty Capital and Binder & Partners.
Rookout CEO Shahar Fogel and CTO Liran Haimovitch. Image Credits: Rookout
Unsurprisingly, Dynatrace says it plans to embed Rookout into its existing platform and notes that this will also help it improve collaboration between development, IT and security teams, which will then be able to use a single platform for their observability needs.
“Our mission is to make debugging easy and fast for developers with state-of-the-art quality and a simple experience,” said Shahar Fogel, CEO at Rookout. “We believe integrating Rookout into the Dynatrace platform and leveraging the AI and automation capabilities Dynatrace is known for will accelerate this mission. This will also create a new standard for how engineers use developer-first, cloud-native observability to improve productivity by enabling them to spend less time on manual activities and more time delivering business value.”

Rookout raises $16M Series B to scale its developer-first observability platform

Rookout lands $8M Series A to expand debugging platform

Behringer’s new Pro VS Mini is a pocket-sized ProphetBehringer has unveiled the latest in its mini synth range, a cute but versatile little thing called the Pro VS Mini.

READ MORE: RZA’s signed E-Mu SP-1200 sampler sells for $70,000 in auction

This is a replica of the larger Sequential Prophet VS, a Vector synthesizer launched in 1986. This classic instrument survived a synth war between other hybrid synths at the time such as the Roland JX10 and Yamaha DX7 to become a synth of choice for Vangelis, John Carpenter, Brian Eno, Trent Reznor and Kraftwerk.

Behringer’s shrunken take on this classic bit of kit, the new Pro VS Mini, reproduces four voices of the sound engine of the Prophet VS. In terms of connectivity, it can be powered via USB-C, and there’s CV sync and DIN MIDI connection, too.
On the face of its electric black and blue interface, you’ll find ADSR controls, two LFOs to control the cutoff and oscillator pitch and an analogue filter and “studio-grade” chorus effect, says Behringer. Here, you’ll also be able to select waveforms to blend, from which there are 129 waveform presets to pick and each can be seen via a small screen.
Behringer
The Pro VS Mini wouldn’t be a replica of the famous Prophet VS synth, however, if it wasn’t for the joystick on the left-hand side of the unit, which enables Vector synthesis.
Vector synthesis allows you to merge waveforms using a joystick, enabling dynamic, evolving sounds with various timbres and expressions. It results in complex audio, and in this case, produces a versatile array of sounds from synth brass, organs, strings and pads – all of which could easily belong to a Blade Runner universe.
As a music tech fan, you’re most likely well aware of Behringer’s consistent teasing of new products. Recently, it launched a similarly-sized Yamaha DX7-style synth called the BX700 – the DX7 “on steroids, according to Behringer. It also launched a suave red and black edition of its modded 303 replica called the RD-3-MO-BK.
Keep up to date – or try to, at least – with Behringer’s seemingly unstoppable crusade to produce affordable recreations of the world’s most popular synthesizers via MusicTech. In this list, we attempt to collate all the latest gossip regarding new Behringer products as they come in.
The Behringer Pro VS Mini costs around $110 and is available to buy at thomann.
The post Behringer’s new Pro VS Mini is a pocket-sized Prophet appeared first on MusicTech.

Karanyi Sounds Continuo Is FREE For A Limited Time
Karanyi Sounds offers the Continuo ($59 value) cinematic sound library for Kontakt as a free download for a limited time. Continuo is a cinematic instrument powered by Kontakt. The developer Karanyi Sounds describes it as a “cinematic texture designer” that is tailor-made for generating atmospheric pads, soundscapes, and cinematic drones. The library uses guitar sounds [...]
View post: Karanyi Sounds Continuo Is FREE For A Limited Time

CTM Outlander buys Dutch music company Strengholt Music GroupCTM Outlander has acquired Dutch independent music publisher, Strengholt Music Group, marking the latest in its string of acquisitions.  Strengholt Music is part of the European entertainment company, Strengholt B.V., which traces its roots back to 1928. Previously known as Warner Basart Music Publishers, Strengholt Music holds a global presence. CTM said in an announcement … Continued
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Classical label Hyperion starts streaming for the first time following Universal Music acquisitionNews comes as UMG sharpens its focus on classical music after launching its own streaming service for classical music through Deutsche Grammophon in November 2022
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Blackstar unveil St. James amp plug-in Created by the team behind Blackstar's Artisan, Series One, ID:Series and St. James product ranges, the Blackstar St. James Plugin promises to set a new standard in the amp simulation world.

Will ByteDance build the first cultural graph for music recommendations?Currently, streaming music service algorithms only consider listening habits, but what if they also mapped connections between listening and hobbies, fashion aesthetics, the listener’s sense of humor, and more? by. Continue reading
The post Will ByteDance build the first cultural graph for music recommendations? appeared first on Hypebot.

How to use Amazon AMP to promote music for freeAmazon AMP is a live radio-like platform for creatives that want to interact with fans in real-time, AKA a great place to promote your new music. by CHRIS ROBLEY from. Continue reading
The post How to use Amazon AMP to promote music for free appeared first on Hypebot.

Alexkid’s SEQUND plugin is a polyrhythmic pattern sequencer that’s escaped Max4Live’s confinesFor French-born and German-based producer Alexkid, the arrival of Max4Live ignited a deep interest in creating custom sequencers for the platform.
READ MORE: The 12 best Max for Live devices in 2023
“I love polyrhythms,” he says when chatting about SEQUND on The Josh Baker Podcast. “There’s things that you could do with two analogue sequencers, synchronising them, and I decided this is something I would try to do with Max”.
Although the development process was slow, the resulting sequencers, when offered up for sale via a small online store, enjoye wide interest and strong sales. Inspired by this, Alexkid teamed up with Tadashi Suginomori of HY-Plugins and Resonant Design on a project to combine and streamline his Max4Live devices into a format compatible with any DAW. The result is SEQUND.
SEQUND sequencer. Image: 510k
Polyrhythmic patterns
The sequencer’s polyrhythmic abilities stem from each of its 13 lanes having an independent length up to a maximum of 16 steps. This is rather a low sequence length for a modern pattern sequencer, but on balance it does keep things focused, ensuring an entire pattern can be viewed and edited within a single, non-scrolling window.
Lane length and play direction are very easy to configure, but the absence of a means to set the length and/or direction of all lanes simultaneously can be a nuisance. Also, step resolution is a global setting so, with no provision of per-lane subdivisions, it isn’t possible to have one lane progress at a different rate to another, which is a shame.

SEQUND’s advance mode has a bearing on polyrhythms too. This determines how the plugin syncs to the host, with options of clock or gate. The former locks each lane’s play position to the host song position, and so the length of a lane has a bearing on that lane’s current play position relative to lanes of different length, and relative to the host’s bar-and-beat position.
This makes perfect sense, but can throw up problems when switching between patterns of different lengths, or when you want a polyrhythmic pattern to start from its beginning at some point other than the host’s song start position. This can be worked around via the plugin’s ability to render a pattern so that it can be dragged to a MIDI track in the host DA; this fixes any random variations in place, so is an imperfect solution.
When running in gate mode, each activated step on SEQUND’s gate lane causes the play position of all other lanes to advance a step (if a probability test is passed – see below). This can make for more complex polyrhythms and pattern variations, but still wants for some means of resetting all lanes to their initial step.
SEQUND CC Mapper
Probably maybe
Probability comes into play in two ways. The first is the Chance lane, which defines the percentage chance that a step will actually play when triggered by the Gate lane. The other comes courtesy of three pitch lanes: Pitch A, Pitch B, and Prob A/B.
The Pitch A and B lanes define sequences of notes, whilst the Prob A/B lane defines a per-step probability that governs whether it is Pitch A or Pitch B that will be heard when the step plays. Factor in different lane lengths and play directions, and any semblance of robotic repetition quickly disappears. And if you’re hankering after a bit of true randomness, though, clicking a lane’s dice button will fill that lane with random values, albeit within user-definable maximum and minimum constraints.

Helpfully, with all this randomness flying around, SEQUND features a global pitch quantiser that imposes a user-selected key and scale on proceedings. The plugin comes with a choice of 36 scales built in, as well as a tool that allows you to define and store your own custom scales.
The quantiser’s key and scale are applied directly to the pitch lanes themselves, limiting the notes that can be selected, and whilst this does make sense up to a point, we feel it smears different aspects of SEQUND’s pitch logic across different parts of the plugin. Throw in the Octave and Transpose lanes (not to mention the ability to transpose the pattern based on incoming MIDI notes) and it can become very tricky to understand exactly how SEQUND is choosing the notes it is playing. Moreover, as a side-effect of this restriction, changing the quantiser’s key or scale causes the notes in the pitch lanes to change too, and often in a way that breaks the intervallic relationships within the sequence.
With these issues in mind, we would have preferred for the pitch lanes to remain fully chromatic at all times, and for the pitch quantiser to impose its diatonic restrictions in a standalone way.
On SEQUND thoughts…
Most lanes represent their values with vertical faders, but in the case of the Pitch A and B lanes the combination of a limited lane height and a three-octave note range can make things fiddly when setting specific notes.
Alexkid. Image: Alexkid Facebook
Furthermore, when dragging a fader the value is displayed on the step itself, which is good, but this only appears during dragging, which is not so good, especially when dealing with note names because they can’t be estimated by looking at the fader position. An option to make the note names visible at all times would fix this.
All of which is to say that there is scope for SEQUND to be further honed and fine-tuned, but taken as a first foray into the wider world of plugins it is very impressive. The plugin is a lot of fun to use and gives a satisfyingly organic and experimental feel to your music-making sessions. The advantage of this is probably best explained by Alexkid himself: “When you work with [pattern sequencers] you always have a bit more experimentation going on […] Sometimes you have accidents because you messed up, and the results can become interesting. I wanted to have something that was giving that feeling.”
Check out SEQUND at 510k’s website.
Key features

Price: €59
Polyrhythmic pattern sequencer plugin for AU and VST hosts
Monophonic note output plus three assignable MIDI CC lanes
Independent lane lengths allow the creation of complex polyrhythmic patterns
Note pitch can be selected from two options based on probability
Storage for 12 patterns per preset
Global swing setting
Multiple undo and redo

 
The post Alexkid’s SEQUND plugin is a polyrhythmic pattern sequencer that’s escaped Max4Live’s confines appeared first on MusicTech.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek sells $100m worth of Spotify sharesSpotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, is selling off $100 million worth of shares in Spotify, according to a Securities & Exchange Commission file published last Thursday.

READ MORE: ReverbNation is relaunched by BandLab Technologies with a new visual identity

675,000 shares are being sold, with 471,565 of these having been acquired via the open market on the day of 5 May 2022; Ek took to Twitter the following day to share that he’d purchased $50 million in Spotify stock.
In the SEC file, J.P. Morgan Securities is recognised as the broker for the sale, while it shows that D.G.E Investments Limited, an entity indirectly wholly owned by Ek, is selling the $100 million worth of stock.
Currently, the streaming platform’s share price stands at $149.28 on the NYSE, reaching its highest levels in over a year. Spotify’s market capitalization experienced a peak of up to $70.5 billion in February 2021, as reported by MBW, underwent a decline to about $14.5 billion, and now stands at around $27.95 billion. At the current share price, Ek’s total shareholding is valued at approximately $4.6 billion.
By the end of 2022, MBW reports that Ek held 31.93 million shares, making him the largest shareholder in Spotify with a 16.5 per cent stake. The majority of his shares are owned through holding companies, based in Cyprus, named D.G.E. Investments and D.G.E. Holding.
Spotify’s 2023 Q2 financial results shows €3.17 billion in total revenue, a 14 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase. However, the company still reported a net loss of €302 million for the quarter.
On a positive note, monthly active users (MAUs) increased by 36 million to 551 million and paid subscribers rose by 10 million to 220 million.
Ek hasn’t shied away from publicising his decisions at Spotify. In 2022, the Spotify CEO said in an investors call that Spotify’s “next wave of growth” was superfan monetisation. Also in 2022, when Kanye West fell under scrutiny for his views, Ek condemned Ye’s “awful” comments, but not his music, saying, “His music doesn’t violate our policy”.
Earlier this year, after six per cent of Spotify’s total staff were laid off due to cuts, Ek said “I take full accountability for the moves that got us here today.”
He has also been at the forefront of issues involving the use of AI in music production. In April, he assured artists and rights holders that the platform was working with record labels to address concerns over AI use in music.
The post Spotify CEO Daniel Ek sells $100m worth of Spotify shares appeared first on MusicTech.