In every industry, women are pitted against one another, but especially in hip-hop, where it seems as if the male-dominated ecosystem can handle only one female rapper at a time. Countless times, people have tried to pit me against Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, two incredible entertainers and strong women. I’m not 'the new' anyone. | | | | Outdoors are the new indoors: Neko Case at South Farms, Morris, Conn., Oct. 13, 2020.
(Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) | | | | | | “In every industry, women are pitted against one another, but especially in hip-hop, where it seems as if the male-dominated ecosystem can handle only one female rapper at a time. Countless times, people have tried to pit me against Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, two incredible entertainers and strong women. I’m not 'the new' anyone.”
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| | rantnrave:// Is user loyalty the new user data? BIG HIT ENTERTAINMENT, the management company behind BTS, debuts on the South Korean stock exchange Thursday, and the New York Times reports that investors may be less interested in the company's one mega-successful act than in that act's army of uber-loyal fans—"a huge and highly connected ecosystem of fans... with a deep, even life-changing, attachment to the group and its message of inclusivity and self-love." BTS fans, among other things, pay for BTS advertising, translate BTS content into a variety of languages and fulfill marketing and promo functions that some major labels and bands would kill for. For free. But would the BTS Army do the same for another Big Hit act when the actual South Korean army comes calling for the group's members, or if the members simply decide to move on? A warning, perhaps, to potential investors from a committed 30-year-old fan: No... The BLACK TOUR DIRECTORY is LIVE NATION URBAN's attempt to create an online Yellow Pages of Black and Black-owned tour support vendors, from production managers and front-of-house engineers to accountants and caterers. Its most useful, function, for now, may be in pointing buyers and sellers in the live music space to other existing directories and social networks, including NEVER FAMOUS and ROADIES OF COLOR. All of them are part of an industry-wide effort to aggressively address diversity, inclusion and racial justice issues. Thumbs up... Op-ed writer MEGAN THEE STALLION has quite a bit to say about equality and respect for Black women in hip-hop and beyond. And she is "not afraid of criticism... We are entitled to our anger about a laundry list of mistreatment and neglect that we suffer"... Megan's GRAMMY AWARD for "WAP," should one be coming, can wait. Her and CARDI B's summer pop hit won't be submitted for consideration until the 2022 awards, which seems weird in the way that lots of things about the Grammys are always weird, but which apparently aligns better with rollout plans for Cardi's next album... In a recording career dating back to 1962, STEVIE WONDER had never made a record for any label except MOTOWN (and its sister labels TAMLA and GORDY). On Tuesday, he announced he's left his home of 58 years and surprise-released two singles through his new REPUBLIC RECORDS imprint, SO WHAT THE FUSS RECORDS. One's a Black Lives Matter protest song with several collaborators in which he drops an F-bomb. The other's a different kind of protest song, a prayer for peace, featuring GARY CLARK JR. Trying to think of another artist who's spent more than 50 consecutive years on a single label, and I'm coming up empty. Anyone? (Says Stevie: "Even if I’ve left Motown, I never leave Motown. That’s Detroit")... The NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC has scrapped the entirety of its 2020-21 season, meaning it will be quiet at least through next June. The New York Times' ZACHARY WOOLFE notes that major orchestras in cities including Cleveland, Los Angeles and Dallas have found a variety of socially distanced ways to perform during the pandemic, but because of state and city safety measures, the NY Phil "has not been permitted to gather at anything approaching full complement." Musicians have been receiving reduced salaries since May... RIP JON GIBSON. | | | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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| What investors are really paying for is not necessarily the K-pop group or its management company, but its huge, highly connected ecosystem of followers. | | |
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| Some of the largest channels dealing with rap news are run anonymously, with little regard for accountability or the traditional standards that come with running a news publication. | | |
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| In a few short years, UK drill has changed significantly. A new wave of producers are putting their own stamp on things, drawing influence from increasingly unexpected sources. Afrobeats, grime, bashment, R&B, ’80s pop -- it’s all ripe for sampling and little seems off limit. | | |
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| For this kid from Gary, Van Halen redefined hard rock at a time when it really needed reinventing. | | |
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| A toxicity that continues to find new audiences and abuses. | | |
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| Live Nation Urban has published The Black Tour Directory, a comprehensive industry resource developed to bolster inclusivity and expand opportunities for Black professionals and Black-owned companies in the world of live music. | | |
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| Shawn Reynaldo speaks to club and festival promoters from all over Europe about how they've worked to stay afloat and make gigs safe. | | |
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| I’m not afraid of criticism, and “Protect Black women” should not be controversial. | | |
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| Surprisingly, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's smash single "WAP" was not submitted for 2021 Grammy Awards consideration, a source close to the situation has confirmed to Variety. Instead, the song will be submitted for the 2022 Grammys as part of the campaign for Cardi's long-awaited sophomore major-label album, the source confirmed; the news was first reported by Pitchfork. | | |
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| David Byrne, Billie Eilish, Tinashe, Kim Gordon, and many more on the candidates and issues that matter most to them right now. | | |
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| A new study looks at the droplets musicians exhale on stage to figure out how to keep performers and audiences safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. | | |
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| COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the entertainment landscape, but producers of showbiz awards shows have learned to make do. Live audiences? Statuette hand-offs? So 2019. | | |
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| After six months of nonstop livestreams, Adam Weiner and his band have a new album out today. | | |
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| The Gomez multi-instrumentalist speaks to Wyndham Wallace in a video interview about his #brokenrecord campaign, which has shone an unforgiving light on not only the pandemic's effects on musicians but also the industry's rotten core. | | |
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| Wonder released two songs Tuesday on his own newly formed label, his first major venture beyond Motown since signing with the label as a child. | | |
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| The Wilco frontman discusses his new book that seeks to demystify (and democratize) songwriting. | | |
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| This Trapital Podcast episode with Alex "Al D" Damashek, Move Forward Music, a live events production company that launched a new partnership with Twitch. | | |
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| Almost as long as there have been a number of popular music streaming services, there have been apps to help people transfer their playlists between them. | | |
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| Joining Nino Rota, Harold Arlen, and Kurt Weill, Marc Bolan is the latest artist to be enshrined by the record producer, who died of COVID-19 in April. | | |
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| It is a skill and a discipline to listen to music, it really is. | | |
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| | | | | | | "Where is our peace prayer? / Our desperately needed prayer for peace." One of two singles released Tuesday released via his new Republic Records imprint, So What the Fuss Records. |
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