Music
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Latin Artist on the Rise: How Quarantine Helped Alvaro Diaz Land His Dream Collaboration With Yandel
Diaz, who studied public relations at university, picked up music as a hobby. But everything changed when he met popular reggaeton producer Víctor “Tunes” Cabrera of Luny Tunes, who later introduced him to Tainy. “My first single ever was produced by Tainy,” he says of “Chicas de la Isla,” released in 2012. “It went viral in Puerto Rico because it mentions a lot of slang from the island and our people.” Today, Diaz forms part of the NEON16 management roster helmed by Latin Grammy-winning producer and music executive Lex Borrero. “I fell into several wrong situations throughout my career,” he admits. “Tainy and I have many similarities and I feel very privileged with this opportunity.” His Yandel-assisted track “Lo Que Te Duele,” released Thursday (Oct. 29), comes on the heels of his c...
YouTube Reports Revenue Up 32%, Paid Music & Premium Subscribers Top 30M
CFO Ruth Porat acknowledged the increase in advertiser spend for Alphabet’s Search and YouTube groups in a statement. Alphabet does not break out YouTube’s non-advertising revenue, which comes from subscriptions and other entertainment transactions, like movie rentals. Those revenues are reported as part of the “Google other revenues” line item, which contributed $5.5 billion during the period. Alphabet began disclosing YouTube revenue in February of this year when it announced that the world’s largest ad-supported video platform had brought in $15 billion in advertising in 2019. The company also shared updated subscriber figures for its music and premium services, now topping 30 million paying customers and 35 including those on free trials. A version of this...
DJ E-Clyps Pens an Op-Ed on Racism In the Dance Scene: I Was Told to ‘Keep My Mouth Shut and Make Music’
Both music and photography are natural extensions of E-Clyps’ longstanding position as an advocate for racial equality within and beyond the dance music community. Having produced music for the greater part of 10 years — and with releases on venerated labels including Ultra, Nervous, Defected and more — E-Clyps has still struggled to achieve many of the professional milestones that seemingly come easily to white producers. He believes systemic racism within the overwhelmingly white dance music industry, and his own outspokenness about this issue, has prevented him from rising through the ranks, or even from even gaining representation. The issues he’s experienced throughout his career, he notes, are no different from those long experienced by Black producers, despit...
Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘WAP’ Video Has This Unlikely, Kid-Friendly Inspiration
By now, we all know what “WAP” stands for, so it’s pretty hard to believe that the R-rated video for Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion‘s Hot 100-topping collaboration drew inspiration from a G-rated source. A new “Vevo Footnotes” clip on Thursday (Oct. 29) gives a look into the making of “WAP,” and the music video’s director Colin Tilley shared that he’s “a big Tim Burton fan, I would say I’m always inspired by childhood books, Dr. Suess, etc.” The characteristically distorted styles of the childhood favorites can be seen in the gaudy, funhouse-esque nature of the mansion Cardi and Meg explore in the video. The footnotes also reveal how Cardi B decided on that final, infectious hook–and turns out, she didn’t really...
Doctor P Releases Bubbly New Track “Won’t Let Go”
Dubstep pioneer Doctor P just doesn’t seem to slow down, having already released a slew of new originals and remixes in 2020. While many of those songs perfectly reflect the hard and heavy dubstep sound that the seminal bass music producer is known for, his latest is a stunning offering that dives even further into his more melodic side. “Won’t Let Go” is an emotive trip, with heart-wrenching lyrics and vocal melodies that soar above bubbly, 8-bit inspired synths. Without those vocals, the track would almost feel more akin to an arcade game soundtrack, but the perfect balance of the playful synths and sentimental vocal work gives “Won’t Let Go” a unique and distinctive character. Doctor P’s most recent release comes just after his last s...
Doctor P Has Launched a Drum & Bass Side Project, Freaks & Geeks
Doctor P has broken ground on a new drum & bass side project. Teaming up with Phil Desborough of famed dubstep group Roksonix, the bass music pioneer quietly unveiled the new alias, Freaks & Geeks, earlier in the month of October after teasing it on social media. A quick skim of Freaks & Geeks’ Twitter account reveals a five-year gap in tweets, which means that Roksonix’s account was most likely re-skinned to reflect the launch of the newly minted super-duo. Desborough and Doctor P first connected back in 2010 in the offices of the latter’s Circus Records imprint, where Roksonix would go on to release the bulk of their music. Growing up listening to drum & bass, they cite Ed Rush & Optical, Dillinja, and Shy FX as a few of their inspirat...
Listen to Grimes’ Ambient, AI-Powered Electronic Lullaby
Synth-pop icon Grimes is a new mother to X Æ A-Xii (yes, that is the child’s actual name, in case you hadn’t heard) with her husband, billionaire Elon Musk. Of course, every new mother can sympathize with sleepless nights, as an infant can cry for hours at a time, keeping everyone in the house awake. New mothers such as Grimes are no strangers to lullabies, and the eccentric art pop artist has taken things a step further by creating her own in partnership with AI mood music startup Endel Pacific. The lullaby is an electronic ballad that’s described as a “limited edition sleep soundscape.” Grimes’ vocal work and music form the basis for the song, and the AI elements are then incorporated to adapt the soundscape to many diffe...
Tomorrowland is Planning a New Years Eve Virtual Festival
Tomorrowland just dropped their documentary Never stop the music – The Creation of Tomorrowland 2020, which gave fans an intimate look into the making of the inaugural edition of the the brand’s “Around The World” virtual festival. However, recent reports revealed that although the organizers went above and beyond to plan the historic streaming event, the ticketed livestream failed to pull in the numbers they desired. Billboard reports that the online music festival cost around $10 million to fund, but Tomorrowland’s co-founder Michiel Beers clarified it was actually more along the lines of $5 million with the partnerships, sponsorships, and media deals factored in. He shared that they “about broke even.” Despite the underw...
OZZY OSBOURNE’s Daughter AIMÉE Looks Back On Her Decision To Not Participate In ‘The Osbournes’ TV Show
Aimée Osbourne, the eldest daughter of Ozzy and Sharon, has opened up again about her decision to not participate in the family’s reality TV show, “The Osbournes”. Aimée, who was only 15 years at the time, reportedly went as far as to move out of the family home in an effort to stay away from the cameras. “In regards to why I didn’t didn’t really want to do the whole spotlight thing, I always from a very young age knew what I wanted to do and knew what I was really drawn to,” the now-37-year-old told Consequence Of Sound. “And it just wasn’t in alignment with the flipside of what can come with coming from a well-known family name like that. And I really more than anything wanted to be respected and taken seriously in the music world. An...
AC/DC’s ANGUS YOUNG Says Some Of The Riff Ideas On ‘Power Up’ Are At Least 20 Years Old
In a new interview with Australia’s ABC, AC/DC guitarist Angus Young confirmed that his late brother, founding AC/DC rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, was posthumously involved in the making of the band’s long-awaited comeback album, “Power Up”. Malcolm, who died three years ago from effects of dementia at age 64, is credited as a writer on all 12 tracks on “Power Up”. “A lot of the ideas Malcolm and myself had through the years,” Angus said. “They were ideas that the two of us together had worked on. At the time we always said, ‘Oh yeah, we got to get to that’. We always put aside the songs that we always thought were good AC/DC-style songs. So, with this album, it was a case of, ‘All right, I’ll go through and ge...
STRYPER’s MICHAEL SWEET Blasts Artists Who ‘Disrespect Their Fans’ Over Differing Political Views
Michael Sweet of openly Christian rockers STRYPER has blasted artists who “continue to disrespect their fans and alienate themselves from their fan base” because of their political beliefs. Sweet made his comments a day after FILTER released a music video for its new single, “Murica”, in which Richard Patrick portrays what the FILTER frontman calls a “Trump-supporting nutbag” who “only listens to Fox News and Breitbart” and believes “every fucking thing that the Rush Limbaughs, the Alex Joneses” say. Earlier today, Sweet posted the following message on his social media: “Maybe I’m just built a little different. Everyone knows where I stand and I have no regrets for the choices that I make. What’s interesting to m...
IRON MAIDEN Collaborates With Horror Director CORIN HARDY On ‘Legacy Of The Beast’ Mobile Game Character
Acclaimed U.K. horror director Corin Hardy carved a Halloween pumpkin that was then made into an actual character in the award-winning “Iron Maiden: Legacy Of The Beast” mobile game. The “Legacy Of The Beast” team states: “This Halloween we are proud to showcase a premiere character collaboration with Corin Hardy, Director (‘The Nun’, ‘Gangs Of London’). Watch the video below to find out more.” The “Legacy Of The Beast” lead designer personally created the Horseman’s kit. He says: “The Edless Horseman is all about stunning the enemy and punishing them through Fear. The name of the Edless Horseman’s passive is obviously from the track ‘Los’er Words’ (Big ‘Orra) and I was jamming to th...
