Silos of music consumption—formerly outlined by national economies, cultural/regional tastes, language and old-school media formats—are becoming a thing of the past. What an Indonesian hipster finds for free on SoundCloud might be played by a Spotify Premium for Family teenage user in Iowa next week. Maybe the same day. | | | | Héloïse Adelaide Letissier, aka Christine and the Queens, at All Points East, London, May 26, 2019.
(Burak Cingi/Redferns/Getty Images) | | | | | | “Silos of music consumption—formerly outlined by national economies, cultural/regional tastes, language and old-school media formats—are becoming a thing of the past. What an Indonesian hipster finds for free on SoundCloud might be played by a Spotify Premium for Family teenage user in Iowa next week. Maybe the same day.”
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| | rantnrave:// Is that the sun and an entire major record label setting, together, into a vast, uncaring ocean? Or is that a rising sun lifting the label out of the water on a beautiful new morning? That appears to have been the question on a lot of people's minds when they got their first look Tuesday morning at the logo of the newly rebranded WARNER RECORDS, which replaces the venerated WARNER BROS. RECORDS name in the hearts of music biz veterans everywhere and on the bottom half of the pop charts, where the label's highest placing album on the BILLBOARD 200 at the moment is the late MAC MILLER's SWIMMING, at #106. The bold, simple black-and-white logo, which takes over for the old brand's WB shield, consists of the label name in vintage-looking, sans-serif capital letters next to a solid disc intended to represent a record, a globe and the sun—that's a lot of work for a single disc—with the bottom of the disc and the word "RECORDS" cut off by an apparent horizon line. Reactions were, shall we say, mixed. I like it. I'm in favor of both simplicity and ambiguity. It's now up to the label itself to give you reason to believe that sun is in fact coming up. A great logo isn't going to lift a mediocre brand but a great brand can lift a mediocre logo. (And where does one even see record company logos these days? It's not as if there are physical goods to stick it on. Videos and billboards; is that it?) "We're ready for battle," co-chairmen AARON BAY-SCHUCK and TOM CORSON announce in an extensive BILLBOARD Q&A in which they acknowledge the long road ahead while doing their best to emphasize the opportunities that still exist for an old-school major with an artist-friendly history and a desire "to be a full-service label," in Corson's words. After a deep round of artist cuts (Bay-Schuck: "Some were no longer prominent; others were signings that we didn’t believe fit with how we wanted to move the company forward"), Warner's roster is down to what the chairs say is indie-label size. The company is in the process of rebuilding its A&R staff and artist roster, with an eye on the urban market, and, Bay-Schuck again, "on where we think [urban music] is going rather than chase what’s already happened." Is there still room for a label that was once home to PRINCE, MADONNA and the GRATEFUL DEAD and still serves, at least nominally, as the flagship label of one of three major label groups? Is there a way to re-establish an old-school full-service label in an era of free distribution and $30 beats? Can a label survive without its shield? For now, only the horizon knows... The rebrand, by the way, arrives exactly on schedule, 15 years after an investment group led by EDGAR BRONFMAN JR. bought WARNER MUSIC GROUP from TIME WARNER GROUP with an agreement to maintain the name and logo for 15 years... RIP GABRIEL DINIZ, WILLIE FORD and JOHN GARY WILLIAMS. | | | - Matty Karas, curator |
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| Lil Nas X bought the beat for “Old Town Road” for $30 from a website called BeatStars. Inside the new world of cheap music marketplaces that has the music industry scrambling. | | |
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| In their first interview together, Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson talk rebranding the iconic label, strengthening its urban foothold and more. | | |
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| Rappers and professionals give their insights on the addictive qualities of Xanax and how they've dealt with it. | | |
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| CBS News Radio documentary explores how the Grateful Dead developed live sound techniques used in concerts worldwide. | | |
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| The indelible Grateful Dead guitarist opens up. | | |
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| The battle over copyright continues. | | |
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| Distinctive new albums from Steve Lacy and Tyler, the Creator, seem to build on the example set by Frank Ocean. | | |
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| Genius' Chief Strategy Officer Ben Gross and Head of Music Licensing Laura Ostler Kinniburgh join this episode to discuss the challenges and opportunities in valuing and monetizing lyrics properly in the modern music industry. | | |
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| Classic rock has played a prominent role in Showtime's " Billions," not just in songs synched on the show - tracks by Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead, Sly & the Family Stone, AC/DC and Van Halen can be heard - but in the T-shirts worn by lead character Bobby Axelrod ( Damian Lewis) bearing the logos of Metallica, Black Sabbath, Motorhead and other hard rock bands. | | |
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| From "White Chicks" to "Isn’t It Romantic," how the song came to represent cosy unoriginality. | | |
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| With global music sales rising at a record-setting rate, thanks to the explosive popularity of streaming, these are the executives in every sector who are driving the industry’s success outside the U.S. | | |
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| One of the city’s newest musical landmarks and its Grammy-winning jazz orchestra are pushing forward as two members of its original leadership team await trial for embezzlement. | | |
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| One Sunday last February, seemingly apropos of nothing, Pitchfork ran a review of Sublime’s 1992 debut, "40 Oz. To Freedom." It was, let’s say, not chill in its assessment of the Long Beach band’s merits. | | |
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| A pop star collaboration is a foolproof way to grab the attention of two audiences at once. But do more collaborators actually make a better song? Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber put this question to the test in their new song “I Don’t Care.” | | |
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| We spoke with music executives about the pros, cons, purpose, and functions of record labels, A&RS and, contracts in this new era of music. | | |
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| How the groundbreaking Nigerian-Houstonian rapper has gone viral--and why his art matters. | | |
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| Opening on what would be his 85th birthday, the Moogseum commemorates the inventor who’s been a staple of pop music from the 1960s to today. | | |
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| It's been 10 years since its release but Mariah Carey’s ‘Obsessed’ still resonates today. | | |
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| "Soulless," an eye-opening new book by Jim DeRogatis, the journalist who exposed R. Kelly’s predation, calls out a number of A-listers who lifted up the R&B singer. | | |
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| The day after the 2017 Brexit vote was the first Monday of the month, and at that time first Monday of the month meant industrial techno artist Truss had a 2 hour show that day on Rinse FM. | | |
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| | | | | | | From "Flamagra," out now on Warp. I love the miniature soundscapes sprinkled all over this album like studio dust. |
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