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So much of [the music industry] is based on travel and gathering. It’s like a double whammy. We’re not making cars or running a restaurant. Our whole industry is based on the key things that are driving this nightmare. But I think we’re gonna make it through.
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Closeup on Lee Konitz's left hand, Pomigliano D'Arco, Italy, Sept. 23, 2012.
(Marco Cantile/LightRocket/Getty Images)
Thursday - April 16, 2020 Thu - 04/16/20
rantnrave:// The precarious state of the music business in three parts: 1) How everything was canceled in a matter of days in mid-March, leaving a lot of people jobless and unsure about their future, and laying the groundwork for a reshaped live music business and scheduling nightmares when and if things return to normal again. Great reporting and longform storytelling by ROLLING STONE's SAMANTHA HISSONG, ETHAN MILLMAN and AMY X. WANG. 2) Why contractual guarantees for artists "will all but disappear" when that day comes, and why promoters by and large can't afford to refund fans' money in the meantime. Terrific behind-the-numbers analysis by VARIETY's SHIRLEY HALPERIN and JEM ASWAD. 3) Why artists may want, or need, to rethink how the streaming economy works when there's no live-music economy to balance it out. Reliably provocative feather-ruffling by PENNY FRACTIONS blogger DAVID TURNER. The unknown in all three parts is how many weeks, months or (yes) years we might be talking about. A day after California GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM said large public gatherings like concerts and sporting events are unthinkable for the foreseeable future, the mayors of Los Angeles, New York and New Orleans said concerts and sports almost certainly won't be returning for a long time, probably not until sometime next year. Is it possible to route a tour only through cities and states whose mayors and governors are itching to reopen public spaces in the middle of a pandemic? Would fans show up? Would that dictate the kinds of artists (and genres) who can tour, and the ones who can't? How might *that* reshape the live business? Are there artists and promoters willing to take that risk? Are there insurers willing to insure them? Instead of real audiences paying to see hologram artists (remember that trend from way back in 2019 and 2020?), will real artists start playing to hologram audiences? Will live music and recorded music switch economic places? Will livestreaming continue to split the difference and outshine them both? (Will androids livestream electric sheep?)... Alto saxophonist LEE KONITZ was the last surviving member of MILES DAVIS' BIRTH OF THE COOL band and was celebrated as one of jazz's great pure improvisers. The idea, he once said, was "not knowing the first note of what you’re going to play." Or where you were going to go from there. In a sense, he improvised his own lengthy career, too. For most of it, as WBGO's DAVID R. ADLER writes, he "didn’t lead a steady working group. He simply played with everyone." He didn't have a publicist, agent or email account either. He leaves behind a giant discography and endless hours of well-studied solos. He died Wednesday at 92, from pneumonia caused by Covid-19. RIP. MusicSET: "The Toll: Artists Lost to the Coronavirus"... Good citizens: RIHANNA and JAY-Z team with TWITTER's JACK DORSEY to announce $6.2 million in grants to communities hit hard by the pandemic... In conjunction with the COACHELLA documentary 20 YEARS IN THE DESERT, the festival has been uploading pro-shot video of performances by BILLIE EILISH, RUN THE JEWELS, ODESZA and others to YOUTUBE... TOM WAITS and KATHLEEN BRENNAN on HAL WILLNER: "Hal was the wry and soulful and mysterious historical rememberer"... RIP BETTY BENNETT LOWE and PAUL COOPER.
- Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator
meet the woo
Rolling Stone
The Week the Music Stopped
by Samantha Hissong, Ethan Millman and Amy X. Wang
In March, COVID-19 wiped concerts and festivals off the calendar - and that was just the beginning. Inside music’s unprecedented crisis.
Variety
Concert Industry Hits Peak Bleak as Artist Guarantees Disappear, Refunds Get Complicated
by Shirley Halperin and Jem Aswad
As the industry struggles to find its footing in this new age of uncertainty, it’s meant taking drastic action to conserve cash flow. At whose expense?
Pitchfork
How Independent Music Could Suffer If Trump Kills the U.S. Postal Service
by Marc Hogan
Record stores and labels may soon face another devastating blow: the potential end of Media Mail.
Complex
How Brooklyn Drill Became the New Sound of New York
by Eric Skelton
From the late Pop Smoke to Fivio Foreign, BK drill music has become the new sound of NY. Here's the history (and future) of the movement.
The Verge
I tried to crash the VIP area at American Football’s 'Minecraft' concert
by Julia Alexander
"Minecraft" isn’t a stranger to virtual concerts, but now it’s a primary venue.
Los Angeles Times
L.A. boasts one of world's most vibrant salsa scenes. The coronavirus may wipe it out
by Ernesto Lechner
Salsa music, with its large bands and close dancing, has a devoted following in L.A., but its very nature makes it especially susceptible to the ravages of the coronavirus.
CapitalBop
For jazz musicians, COVID-19 spells difficulty now--and uncertainty ahead
by Jackson Sinnenberg and Abe Mamet
In interviews, a range of D.C. musicians said they had lost crucial income, and were struggling to replace in-person interaction with digital alternatives.
The Undefeated
Music to his ears: How Jackie Robinson’s love of jazz helped civil rights movement
by Michael G. Long
The ‘Afternoon of Jazz’ concert hosted by Jackie and his wife Rachel was a ‘jam session for civil rights’ and raised nearly $15,000.
GQ
Inside Kanye West's Vision for the Future
by Will Welch
For the May issue, Will Welch spent three months across three countries talking to Ye about the Yeezy campus he's developing in Wyoming, his next album, his “altered ego,” and his renewed faith in God.
Dan Tepfer
RETRO READ: Lee Konitz on Spontaneity, Originality, Drugs & Playing Sharp
by Dan Tepfer
How elusive the concept of real improvisation is. As a listener, one could even be forgiven for asking what the point of improvising is in the first place. In the following interview, which I conducted for Chamber Music America at the very end of 2012, Lee and I explore this thorny topic, among others
meet the woo 2
Penny Fractions
Can Music Streaming Survive Coronavirus?
by David Turner
This moment shows us that whether through livestreamed DJ battles or concerts, there are plenty of ways of reorienting digital music consumption. Are those efforts at a sustainable scale? No. But neither is mainstream streaming and its pitfalls are already known.
Rolling Stone
Direct Message: How Oasis, Blur and More Are Bringing ‘Twitter Listening Parties’ to Fans
by Claire Shaffer
The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess has found a novel way to celebrate classic and current albums amid quarantining.
The New York Times
A Conversation With will.i.am on Achieving a More Just America
The music artist and education activist discusses the state of economic opportunity and the impact of the coronavirus .
Indy Week
Dan Bryk's Misadventures in the Music Industry as Told by Wikipedia
by Brian Howe
Since his mentor, Adam Schlesinger, died of COVID-19 complications, the best local musician you've never heard has been posting his unreleased songs online, tracing decades of charmed moments and near-misses on the edge of breaking through.
Austin Chronicle
Excerpts From 'Texas Is the Reason,' a Look Into Austin Music's DIY Age
by Pat Blashill
Scenes from inside the weird gold mine
MTV News
What Happens To Fans When Their Favorite Concerts Get Postponed?
by Larisha Paul
Niall Horan, Justin Bieber, 5SOS and more scrapped their tour plans. What are fans doing about it?
Cleveland.com
Rock and Roll Hall of Famers turn to live-streaming during coronavirus outbreak
by Troy L. Smith
Metallica, Neil Young, Radiohead, Joan Jett, Grateful Dead and more have hopped on the bandwagon.
OneZero
Classic iPod Hackers Say There’s No Better Way to Listen to Music
by Melanie Ehrenkranz
Apple may have discontinued click-wheel iPods, but a community of iPod modders resurrects them for their sound and nostalgia.
The Guardian
People opened up because I'm the Beavis and Butt-head guy': Mike Judge on his new funk direction
by Hadley Freeman
The writer-director’s comedies - from "Office Space" to "Silicon Valley" - always sum up the spirit of their times. So why has he made an LSD-soaked cartoon about George Clinton and Bootsy Collins?
FLOOD Magazine
Remembering Adam Schlesinger: A Tribute to a Friend
by Michael Krumper
His former manager, publicist, and longtime friend reflects on the pop genius and life of the multi-talented songwriter.
MUSIC OF THE DAY
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@JasonHirschhorn


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