Streaming
5 Best Electronic Music Artists to Follow on Audius
It’s no secret that the blockchain-powered streaming service Audius has taken the electronic music world by storm since its inception. As cryptocurrency becomes more and more accessible—and valuable—it seems the polarizing platform is here for the long haul. Positioning itself as a disruptor and a threat to SoundCloud’s dominance in the digital space, Audius is the perfect blend of innovation, controversy, and razzle-dazzle rolled into one platform. And with a user base that seems to be growing faster than a daisy in a summer, it’s no wonder why the service’s flagship $AUDIO token recently reached its all-time high. Countless major electronic artists have backed Audius and released music via the unique platform, like Excision, REZZ, and Dillon Francis, among many ot...
Spotify Is Rolling Out Voice Control Functionality: Just Say “Hey Spotify”
The Spotify experience is now hands-free. In a move to step up their “voice” game, the music streaming giant has implemented the use of a wake word that will allow users to navigate within the app upon command. Simply saying “Hey Spotify” now yields an on-screen prompt to try saying the name of a playlist, artist, or song. The wake word function will only activate if the app is open and presently onscreen. Even as music is playing, using the function will allow users to redirect with ease. Big tech sleuth Jane Manchum Wong first discovered that Spotify was working on such a feature back in early 2020. From the looks of her screenshots, the final product presently rolling out to users seems to be vastly similar to what she had uncovered at the time. Digit...
What Spotify Ratifying Ringer & Gimlet Unions Means for Music’s Labor Movement
“This is not just a significant victory, it’s also an innovative victory,” Bronfenbrenner says. “There’s language that prioritizes those that needed it the most. They’re fighting for the lowest-paid workers, workers of color and LGBTQ workers.” In recent years, unions have struggled to gain traction at Big Tech companies: Amazon warehouse workers lost an election Friday (April 9) to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union; Google workers formed the Alphabet Union in January, but it has only 700 members in a company of 130,000 employees. And although music workers aren’t specifically impacted by the Spotify ratifications, the streaming service’s action is the latest in recent small but positive signs for labor movements after indie rec...
What’s Streaming on Hulu in April 2021
Hulu is bringing plenty of Easter eggs in April. On the features front, subscribers can check out documentaries such as WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn and Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World or turn off reality with Songbird and Wild Mountain Thyme. There’s also the Season 4 premiere of The Handmaid’s Tale, the launch of the new Duplass brothers’-produced docuseries Sasquatch, and the beginning of Freeform’s new psychological thriller show Cruel Summer. The back catalogue upgrade is admittedly delish, too: 28 Days Later, Bulworth, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Shaft (2000), That Thing You Do!, Vanilla Sky, and So I Married an Axe Murderer are just a few noticeable highlights upon first glance. Check out the full list below, which also includes what...
What’s Streaming on Disney+ in April 2021
Disney+ is keeping steady in its Flying V for April. Now that Gordon Bombay has hit the ice, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers will really start heating up. Not to be outshined by the Minnesota Miracle Man, of course, is Marvel’s other spinoff series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, which keeps getting better. Right behind those two juggernaut series are some Ewoks. Yes, the cuddliest creatures in the Star Wars galaxy are finally coming to Disney+ with both films (Caravan of Courage, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor) and two seasons of its animated series. Elsewhere, John Stamos is coaching a basketball team in new series Big Shot, the first two seasons of Daredevil are making the leap from Netflix, the first two Night at the Museum flicks will open their doors, and JTT will prove he’s sti...
The Deals: MOD SUN Signs With Big Noise, ADA Pairs With Billy Mann
Big Noise is a record label, publishing and media company offering artists the opportunity to develop and transform their artistry. The company manages artists across various genres like hip-hop, alternative and pop. Warner Music Group’s ADA Worldwide announced a partnership with Billy Mann and Benton James for their new label icons+giants. Mann, who is a Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer, entrepreneur and artist manager and James, an A&R executive and artist manager, will combine their digital marketing and A&R track record with ADA’s global influence, resources and connected artist services. “On behalf of everyone at ADA and Warner Music, we welcome Billy and Benton and the icons+giants team to the ADA family,” said Eliah Seton, president of independent music and ...
Spotify Introduces New Personalized Mixes Based on Artists, Genres & Decades
Spotify has introduced “Spotify Mixes,” a new family of personalized playlists based on users’ favorite artists, genres and decades which begin rolling out to both free and premium global users today (March 31). The new playlists, which were first teased at Spotify’s virtual “Stream On” event last month, are inspired by Daily Mix, which Spotify says is its most popular personalized playlist among users. Now, Spotify is adding three new mix categories: Artist Mix, Genre Mix and Decade Mix. Each mix category will include several playlists which are “rooted in familiarity,” according to Spotify’s blog post announcement, “meaning that you won’t just hear your favorite artists, but your favorite songs from those artists.” However...
Australia’s Recording Industry Posts Growth During Pandemic
Again, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and the myriad streaming brands powered the market, posting total growth of 14% in 2020, for income of A$362 million ($275 million). If there’s one sour note to be gleaned from the numbers, it’s the slowing rate of growth for subscription services, which had raced to 30% growth in 2019. Vinyl albums are another bright point, spinning A$29 million ($22 million) in sales, up 32% versus the previous year. Sometime in 2021, the vinyl market will overtake the CD business, once a powerhouse format that’s now worth just 5.6% of the total market. Digital single and album sales continue to trend down, shrinking by 27% year-on-year. Downloads now represent just 6% of the total market. ARIA’s trade results were reported with no fanfare, and were oversh...
What’s Streaming on Netflix in April 2021
Netflix is taking everyone to Dollywood in April 2021. MusiCares’ 2019 star-studded tribute to Dolly Parton is heading to the streaming giant. The concert film features Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus, Kacey Musgraves, Shawn Mendes, Brandi Carlile, Katy Perry, Leon Bridges, Chris Stapleton, and many more. Right behind the music legend is Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer’s new comedy Thunder Force, a second season of The Circle, and the premiere of Flying Lotus’ new anime series Yasuke that features the voice of Lakeith Stanfield. Elsewhere, there’s the Idris Elba-starring Concrete Cowboy, Jamie Foxx’s new series Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!, Toni Collette’s sci-fi drama Stowaway, and the three-part docuseries Life in Color with David Attenborough. In terms of archival additions, subs...
What’s Streaming on Shudder in April 2021
Dust off your costumes because Shudder is once again celebrating Halfway to Halloween Month in April. Like last year, the spooky streaming service has curated a candy-coated collection of content that should leave you screaming in pastels. “Some do Christmas in July but at Shudder we celebrate Halloween in April to mark the halfway point to the greatest holiday of the year,” says Craig Engler, general manager of Shudder. “‘Halfway to Halloween Month’ is going to be the biggest month of programming in Shudder history with new movies, series, a killer documentary and more.” He’s not kidding. This month sees the return of both Creepshow and The Last Drive In with Joe Bob Briggs, the 2021 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards, another four hours of horror nostalgia with In Search of Darkness: Part II, and ...
SoundCloud Taps 9 Artists for ‘First on SoundCloud’ Accelerator Program
The campaigns will additionally entail introductory profiles by SoundCloud guest editor and music journalist Kiana Fitzgerald; original content such as artist interviews and exclusive behind-the-scenes peeks at their first photoshoots; features on the new “First on SoundCloud” playlist on the SoundCloud homepage; career development from SoundCloud’s music industry veterans and experts; and a live event that will bring together the selected artists with the SoundCloud community. Each of the artists will receive a further lift by having their participation in the accelerator announced by artists and tastemakers including D Smoke, Rico Nasty, creative photographer and designer Ciesay of Places + Faces and NBA star De’Aaron Fox. Since its inaugural edition in 2018, First on SoundClou...
SoundCloud Names Drew Wilson COO & CFO
In his new role, Wilson will oversee all of SoundCloud’s finance and operations, including workplace and people function. He’ll report directly to SoundCloud CEO Michael Weissman, who was tapped to succeed Kerry Trainor in the role in December 2020. Wilson’s hire comes amid a host of recent changes at the streaming service, including the recent introduction of a “user-centric” royalty system for some of its artists, which pays out based on how many fans listen to their music as opposed to the number of times it gets streamed. That implementation, which is slated to coincide with Wilson’s first day on the job on April 1, will make SoundCloud the first major streaming platform to pivot away from the stream-based royalty payment system that has long been the standard among DSPs. So...
