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As you might have noticed, we spend a...fair bit of time talking about the three labels at the heart of modern musicâand tracking what their unprecedented centralization has done to the industry. And while thatâs important, itâs only part of a far larger trend, one that cuts across pretty much all of the culture industries. Crucially, this is a process, not just of mergers or consolidation, but of financializationâa profit-driven effort to increase global capitalâs hold over the workers who create culture. ButâŠhow did this happen? When did it happen? And how has it impacted not just the firms that produce music and filmsâbut the actual music and films themselves? To help us through this complex history, weâre joined by Andrew deWaard, author of âDerivative Media: How Wall Street Devours Culture,â taking us through a wide-ranging conversation about derivatives, the geopolitical implications of "financial discipline," mergers, acquisitions, board-member kickbacks, 30 Rock, play-listing Drake, modern cultural analysis, and more. Come for the doomerism you know and love. Stay for a better understanding of how our corporate overlords get it done. If you want to read Andrew's book--it's free and open source here! Also some sick charts to accompany the discussion.
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Music: Crumb - Ghostride
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This past January, Universal Music went to war. Or at least, it tried to. Shocking both listeners AND artists, the major label announced that it was cutting ties with TikTok, the short-form giant, over payout rates and copyright infringement. Its artists (and publishing)âcompletely pulled from the platform. T-Swift viral dances? Tragically silenced.
The breakup lasted until May, when (in a profoundly opaque statement), the two corporations suddenly announced they had come to terms. The fight was a massive gamble for both sidesâa test to see, when push came to shove, who really had the leverage in one of social mediaâs most important relationships. ButâŠwhat actually happened? And what, if anything, was the fallout? To learn more, we talked to Kristin Robinson, a senior writer at Billboard, and the author of the excellent "Machine Learnings" newsletter. Fractured solidarity between artists and labels? The impenetrable veil of music biz secrecy? Slowed and reverbed copyright infringement? The crushing power of monopoly exerted, step by step, against indy labels? All that and more.
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Music: Kyozo Nishioka - "Gypsy Song"
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Fehlende Folgen?
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After an eternity of millennial performers with a chokehold on the charts, weâve finally seen the emergence of a new cohort of gen-z icons. Chappelle Roan and Sabrina Carpenter (building on the foundation laid by Billie + Olivia) are suddenly everywhereâheadlining festivals, topping the charts, defining the zeitgeist. You might call it a moment of generational turnoverâŠexcept for the fact that precisely zero cultural lines are being drawn. Instead, the newest wave of big-tent pop is, quite intentionally, for everyoneâteens, college kids, aging millennials, gen x-ers still watching SNL, etc.
To celebrate the return of the mainstream (and to suss out the role played by the major labels who hadâŠstarted to miss it), we put on our media theory hats and start investigating. How do careers function now that new music doesnât need to be new? Has digitally based fragmentation started to produce its opposite? Is the culture industryâwith all of its coercive powerâback? Come for the socio-technical implications of the Chappelle timeline. Stay for what it says about the nature of post-post-modernity.
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How did streaming change music? Not like how did it change the music industry (we talk about that plenty, obviously). And not how did it change bitrate. But how did streaming change the nature of the music that you listen to? How and why and does it matter that you now pay a limited rate for an unlimited amount of music? Within capitalism, how does it matter that "streaming" functions under a fundamentally different system of copyright and finance and technology thanâŠsay buying? And how does that all service data collection, listening habits, personalized feeds and everything else? These questions are at the heart of Eric Drottâs wonderful new book âStreaming Music, Streaming Capital,â which starts to grapple with the fundamental questions of what streaming is exactlyâand what itâs done to us.
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Buy Eric Drott's Book "Streaming Music, Streaming Capital"
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NĂ metal sucks. Right? Itâs what critics have screamed ever since the taste-defying mashup of funk-metal, rap, industrial, and post-hardcore stormed onto the charts in the mid â90s. When bands like Slipknot, Linkin Park, System of a Down, Korn, or Limp Bizkit dominated the charts, the take was muted by raw success. But the second the acts slippedâŠthe entire movement was (more or less) decried as tasteless trashâthe worst of rockism, utterly beyond the pale. Why though? Could the last truly successful (from a chart perspective) rock movement REALLY have no redeeming qualities? And if it didâŠwhy hasnât anyone been thinking about them? Wellâone hero has. Itâs Holiday Kirk, the âCEO of NĂ Metal,â whose remarkable twitter-project âcrazy ass moments in nu metal historyâ has brought welcome attention back to the styleâand shone a spotlight on a new generation of artists reimagining the sound. We talk to Holiday about why he fell (back) in love with the style, the mixture of dumb and brilliant that defines its output, And why Korn were the best sellouts of all time. Then we get heady, and try to think through the political implications of the genreâs white male rageâand what it means that it was so thoroughly rejected by the tastemakers of the Obama era. Come for a validation of the musical trauma of throwing away your copy of Hybrid Theory. Stay for a discussion of the class, politics, taste, and the meaning of Rock in American history.
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Music: Uniform - "Permanent Embrace"
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This summer, the other shoe finally dropped on Ticketmaster/Live Nation.
After decades of complaints by everybody from Pearl Jam to Zach Bryan (and after several years of increasingly intense Post-Swifty scrutiny), the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit accusing the massive firm of being a monopoly. In it, lawyers argue that the company is built around size and market-shareâallowing it to harvest vast profits, prevent the emergence of meaningful competition, and damage the interests of both artists and fans. If the DOJ wins? That monopoly might get broken up. And what happens then is anybodyâs guess.
Given the importance of live performance to the music industry, all of this isâŠa really big deal. Which is why we were delighted to talk all things restraint-of-trade with Kevin Erickson, the director of the Future of Music Coalition. Crucially, itâs not just that any major regulatory move could shatter the long-standing, âconvenience-feeâ-driven status quo. Turns out, Ticketmaster/Live Nation has its fingers in a LOT of pies. Even the lawsuit itself could go a long way towards revealing the hidden influence that the powerful company has exerted on everything from touring schedules or merch practices to advertising cultures and venue sustainability. Discovery? Canât Wait.
Come for platform monopolies slowly strangling your favorite local venue. Stay forâŠthat too, because it's SUPER real. But also for a pragmatic perspective on our musical ecosystemâand the rare chance to change its trajectory for the better.
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Music: King Tubby - "African Roots"
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In recent months, AI companies like Suno and Udio have been in the news for the incredible promise of their text-to-tunes tech. Just type in a few phrases, and⊠an original piece of music of your very own, created in seconds. Itâs a revolution! At least thatâs the narrative being pushed by the world of venture capital, which has thrown hundreds of millions of dollars at the fledgling firms. To better understand what these companies are promisingâand what they could do to the music industryâSaxon and Sam think through some possible futures, from the mind-bendingly good to the vast universe of echoing slop.
But even if the tech is there, the world might not follow along as smoothly as the CEOs would like. In particular, the major labels, incensed at what they believe was the wholesale theft of their copyrights, have launched a series of lawsuits aimed at kneecapping the wannabe unicorns. This past week, Suno and Udio responded in startling fashion. Yes, it turns out, they did indeed train their models on recorded music. But it wasnât stealing, because⊠the recordings were already online? At stake is more than just the future of not having to learn Garageband in order to make mediocre house. Instead, the battle over audio is shaping up to be a defining moment for generative AI more generallyâa conflict with billions on the line. Come for our new theme song. Stay for the techno-social dynamics of copyright within sonic capitalism.
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Live music continues to evolve in our post-covid, pre-bird flu worldâand nothing even approaching a new normal has yet to appear. To try and get a handle on the complexities of a constantly-moving situation, Saxon and Sam decided to go...both big and small.
By small, we're talking about the ticket sales for the Black Keys (very canceled) stadium tourâone of a raft of recent underselling events (lookin' at you Coachella) that have kicked up all manner of concern among the music press. What's happening? Well, it's some combination of the internet, the resale market, rapacious monopolies, inflation, and...mimetic vibes? That all? We discuss.
And if that's not heady enough, we try to wrap our heads (if not our eyes) around The SphereâJames Dolan's energy-draining, future-baiting, Knicks-helping monstrosity in Las Vegas. Is it the logical endpoint of digital-age concerts? Berghain for Baby Boomers? A utopian use of finance capital in a dark age? An inevitable tax write-off? And...who can actually fill it?
Come for The Sphere in the age of mechanical distraction. Stay for The Orb.
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Although rap currently stands at the center of American music, for much of the genre's history, its relationship to the charts was...fraught. Radio was notoriously reluctant to play the brash new style, and major labels took over a decade to embrace its commercial potential. So how did hip hop make it? How did it grow from a regional fluke into a global phenomenon?
To learn more, we spoke to Amy Coddington, the author of "How Hip Hop Became Hit Pop: Radio, Rap, and Race." Her work recovers rap's tortuous path through the financialized complexity of the '80s music industryânavigating around established Black radio stations that refused to play it, as a key part of multi-racial dance music coalitions, and through eye-catching MTV videos that reimagined the white-coded mainstream. The results push past the "authentic-or-not" dichotomy that defines hip hop history, revealing how rap was shapedâand driven forwardâas much by pop trifles as hardcore truth tellers. After all...you STILL can't touch this.
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SureâFans have always driven popular music. Thatâs what it means to be popular in the first place, you know? To have fans? But if you look around todayâs sonic landscape, it feelsâŠdifferent out there. Forget clubs and message boards. Fandoms now have entire worlds, complete with enemies, economic strategies, and complex referential mythologiesâdense communities increasingly integrated into the major label money machine. To try to understand what has changed, Sam talks with Monia Ali, from the excellent Fandom Exile newsletter. They explore the cultural genealogy of contemporary fans, tracking how a set of practices built around conventions, Buffy, and shipping percolated into the musical universe, reshaping what it means to listenâor to loveâyour favorite artist. The difference between Revealed and Experienced Truth? The political economy of fan fiction? The centrality of LiveJournal? It's all thereâfrom One Direction to the world or, at the very least, a Swiftie near you.
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Music: Jon McKiel - "Still Life"
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Drake vs. Kendrick was about more than personal insults or verbal one-upmanshipâit was a referendum on the most dominant figure of the last decade of rap (Drake), as narrated by the only classicist with the critical clout and popular cred to issue the judgement. But while the conflict was ultra-current, the chosen forum dates back to the very beginning of rap, a symbolically charged space tied deep to its genetic code. What does a rap battle mean? How has it evolved? And why does it carry so much importance? To explore the question, Saxon and Sam go through the history of rap beef, tracing changing conventions and their relationship to both the music industry and the aesthetic structures of feeling that surround it. Then, they try to figure out what made this battle so intenseâmoving from Drake as 21st century Bowie to the "contentification" of music in the social media era. The Bridge to Gucci to the GrahamsâŠ.with a few detours.
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This past March, Shigeichi Negishi passed away at 100. While you might not know his name, youâve certainly enjoyed the musical world he helped create. Negishi has long been credited as the inventor of Karaokeâpulling together consumer electronics, post-work drinking culture, and a love of pop tunes into an era-defining mix. A deeper dive, however, makes the story more complex (and honestly more interesting). Negishi was actually just one of a handful of simultaneous inventors. Far from a distinct commercial product, Karaoke might be better understood as the necessary, albeit somewhat-off-key, shadow of the modern music business.
To celebrate this legacy, Saxon and Sam dig into one of the most fascinating elements of our contemporary musicalâŠpractice? Industry? Culture? Karaoke has a way of blurring all those the lines. And so, in addition to the history, we explore the big questions: What does it mean to imagine yourself a star? Why do we want to perform Katy Perry songs in front of friends and strangers? How has Karaokeâs meaning in American culture changed over time? Where does all this fit into the history of folk musicâand what does it mean for our social-media future? A first pass, and definitely not a final say. Just hoolllddd onttooo that feeeellinnnnn....
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Dear Listener, Have you found yourself coming down with more consistent cases of nostalgia lately? Do you consider yourself a millennial? Well, if so, you might be soon buying a pricey concert ticket to one of the hottest trends in live music: The 20 year Anniversary Album Tour. Yes, your favorite album of 2004 (or perhaps 2014) can soon be heard live, in its entirety, front to back at a concert venue near you. But why is this becoming such a trend? Is it the pre-packaged social media ready presentation? Or that Millennials got deeper pockets now and will shell out big bucks on tickets (and a babysitter) to hear their favorite album played live? Or is it just Hollywood risk-aversion bleeding into the touring industry? As a jumping-off point, Saxon and Sam discuss an excellent recent article on Passion of the Weiss wondering on this very subject and then suss out whether Earl Sweatshirt really is touring ...too...much?
Read: We Outside: Congrats, Your Favorite Album is Old Enough to Go on Tour by Pravash Trewn
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This week, we take a roundabout tour of the platform power that drives our musical landscape. First up is Neil Young, whose one-man stand against Spotify for its support of Joe Rogan just ended inâŠ.wellâŠtotal defeat. We explore why Ol' Neil was unable to escape the musical monopsony that defines our streaming age (with a few detours into the terrors of lo-fidelity audio and the dream that was Pono). Then, we look at what Universal Music has been up to, more specifically, by examining a set of recently announced partnerships with Spotify (they have videos now?) and K-Pop powerhouse Hybe (everyone, quick, into the WeVerse!) If platforms were already inescapable, what does it mean when the major labels start doubling down on them? Come for the secret, dollar-drenched sound of Scooter Braun and Taylor Swift burying the hatchet. Stay for how we LOST THE UNIVERSE.
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Music: Chromatics - Fade to Black
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Much of the time, it feels like almost nothing could shake up the streaming status-quo. This isnât one of those times. Over the past week, Congressperson Rashida Tlaib (with support from the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers) released the Living Wage for Musicians Actâa fascinating piece of legislation that (if passed) would completely transform the contemporary music industry. LikeâŠreally REALLY change things, in ways both obvious and subtle.
While itâs hard to see an immediate path towards it being signed into law, the act demonstrates a genuine hunger for large-scale structural changeâand helps to lay out an imaginative framework for what that could look like. We dig into the details, but also explore what this newfound sense of possibilities might mean for the futureâa question that also connects to current, racially-coded attempts to ban music-biz-hotbed Tik Tok. Connecting such seemingly disparate events, we wonder what this emergent energy means, and where it could go next. Come for the 12-Million Stream Capâstay for the beautiful dream of major label transparency.
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Music: La Sécurité - "K9 Freaks Mix (Freak Heat Waves Remix)"
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Is rock dead? Not according to Imagine Dragons. You know the band with 10 different billion-streamed songs? The one thatâs sold 46 million records? Youâve definitely heard of them, but....have you ever really HEARD them? Probably not. And thatâs because despite being the most successful band of the past 25 years, Imagine Dragons has received next to no critical attention. Not even a proper 0.6 take-down, let alone a serious examination.
And thatâs honestly a mistake. Because the group has a tremendous amount to tell usâabout our changing musical tastes, about the psychic landscape of modern America, and about the trajectory of rock in a post-genre future. Come for Sam listening to the entirety of the ID catalog for the sake of science. Stay for a new perspective on the meritsâand singular focusâof an act thatâs defined an era of angst.
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This past week, negotiations broke down between Universal Musicâthe biggest and most powerful of the three major labelsâand Tik Tok, the worldâs most viral social media platform. The result: Universalâs music has been pulledâalmost entirelyâfrom the mimetic app. Itâs a show of raw muscle the likes of which we havenât seen for years, and the implications are fascinating. But how did it come to this? Why are two of the biggest forces in the music business in a battle that neither should have wanted?
To better understand the story, we dig into the payout structures that define the conflict, the inter-sectoral strategies that shaped it, and the negotiations that led to everything falling apart. Once again, itâs a fight about the future of soundâand which type of business is going to own it. Come for everyone talking about AI without anyone talking about AI. Stay for a KILLER data-science research project.
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Like the rest of the increasingly small world of music criticism, we were shaken by the news that Pitchfork had not only been more-or-less gutted by publisher Conde Nast, but pulled into GQ. Gentlemanâs Quarterly. Of all possible things. G-freaking-Q...?
Weâre not gonna lieâthis one feels grim. But, what kind of grim? Events split the team, with Saxon spinning out a narrative of corporate confusion and brand-based failure, while Sam tried to pull some (desperate) fragments of sense from the seemingly nonsensical plan. Is music criticism lifestyle reporting? Is there an economic base for the record review? Will a thousand newsletter flowers bloom? This week we have questions, not answers. And definitely no good vibes. Insert your own "Wintour is the cruelest season" joke here.
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New year, same old music business. To get things kicked off right, we circle back to check in on two of our favorite industry players, and thingsâŠ.well, we hate to tell you, but things arenât GREAT, you know? Regarding Hipgnosis, the once high-flying music fund is very much in hot waterâconflicts of interest flying, shareholders revolting, and board-members unceremoniously shown the door. Who could have possibly seen this coming? Certainly not usâŠ
And then Spotify, where the timesâor at least the streaming payout structureâare a-changinâ. On the surface, new rules regarding monetization (under 1000 plays? No cash for you!) might seem relatively minor, but they reflect a more fundamental set of shifts within the power-structures of the industry. Everyone is gearing up for a fight about the next 25 years of musicâmoves like this are the first steps towards a new world order. And if recent events are any indication, Spotify doesnât seem like itâll be the one calling the shotsâŠ
Music: Black Lips - "Bone Marrow"
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When we heard that BMI, an organization designed to collect money on behalf of songwriters, had decided (on its own?) to drop its non-profit status and go for the cash, our response was confusion. Likeâcan they even do that? What does that even MEAN? But then BMI sold themselves to a private equity fund. Backed by Google. And now...weâre concerned. To get a better sense of whatâs going on, we dig into the history of BMIâexploring how it emerged from battles between publishers, Hollywood, and the rising forces of radio, and what role it has played in the industry ever since. A fair and neutral arbiter, with no interests of its own...but of course. Then we try to understand what impact the privatization might have on the future of music. Bundling other peopleâs copyrights? Maybe. A foot in the door for AI legislation? Probably. Come for an argument about why songwriters should borrow tactics from the mob. Stay for tomorrowâs IP battles today.
Re-Listen: "Consent Decrees" Episode
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