Streaming
Lzzy Hale and Members of Code Orange and Baroness Cover Pantera’s “Mouth for War”: Watch
Two Minutes to Late Night‘s “Bedroom Covers” quarantine series rolls on, and the latest socially distanced collab is an all-star rendition of the Pantera classic “Mouth for War”. Among the participants is Halestorm singer Lzzy Hale, Baroness guitarist Gina Gleason, and Code Orange guitarist/vocalist Reba Meyers. Rounding out the lineup is Year of the Knife’s Madi Watkins, drummer Ben Koller of Mutoid Man, along with “Two Minutes” host Gwarsenio Hall (aka Jordan Olds). Needless to say, it’s a star-studded ensemble, and they rip through the opening track from Pantera’s 1992 thrash masterpiece, Vulgar Display of Power. “Mouth for War” is one of Pantera’s most extreme songs both vocally and guitar-wise. The collection of talented musicians do Philip Anselmo and Dimebag Darrell justice in ...
SoundCloud Will Pay Independent Artists Based on Listeners, Not Streams
Effectively, if Taylor Swift gets 5% of all streams on Spotify in June, she and her label will get 5% of your monthly subscription fee, even if you never listened to one of her songs. But support has been swelling for a user-centric payment system, which would allow artists to get paid based on how many fans listen, instead of how many streams the artist accrues. Under SoundCloud’s “fan-powered” model, if a user paying $10 a month only listens to five artists, those five artists will get an equal split of that $10 — after SoundCloud takes its cut — no matter how many times the user listens to each of them. “Many in the...
Executive of the Week: Columbia Records Exec VP/Co-Head A&R Imran Majid
While buzz for “Calling My Phone” first began to simmer when the song was teased on TikTok, helping it vault into the top five of the Hot 100, Majid says the song’s success comes more from Columbia’s track record of artist development and trusting the A&R process. And Tjay, despite being just 19, is far from a brand new sensation, as his debut album, State of Emergency, reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 in 2019, while Polo-Tjay collaboration “Pop Out” climbed all the way to No. 11 on the Hot 100 that same year. But “Calling My Phone” is a singular moment for the Bronx-born MC and one that Majid says reflects on Columbia as a destination for great music. Here, Majid talks the success of “Calling My Phone,” the crop of rising hip...
‘YO! MTV Raps,’ ‘Unplugged,’ ‘Behind The Music’ & More Coming To Paramount Plus Streaming Network
Source: Nicholas Hunt / Getty ViacomCBS hopes reboots of popular MTV shows plus some new original series will lure you over to Paramount Plus. Wednesday (Feb.24), ViacomCBS announced that CBS All Access will become Paramount Plus. The rebranded streaming network will combine all of the assets from both Viacom and CBS, a product of the 2019 merger that brought the two companies together. When Paramount Plus launches next week, users can look forward to having access to over 20,000 episodes from shows from various networks like CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central, and Paramount Pictures. Paramount Plus will feature new content like the Halo series that was originally supposed to air on Showtime, new original series based on Criminal Minds, The Godfather, a new Spongebob Squarepants ca...
Spotify Takes on $1.3B in Debt
Exactly how Spotify intends to use the money is unclear. The press release broadly states the company intends to use the proceeds for “general corporate purposes” — a term loose enough to cover capital expenditures, marketing or strategic acquisitions. Such a large amount suggests Spotify doesn’t intend to use the money for everyday costs of running the company. Instead, $1.3 billion is enough to make numerous acquisitions to build out its podcasting business, for example, and have a cushion for any uncertainty its leadership foresees in 2021 and beyond. Spotify will reserve the right to redeem the notes in a variety of scenarios. Until March 20, 2024, Spotify has the option to redeem the notes with cash, shares or a combination of the two if the company’s share price “exceeds 130% o...
What’s Streaming on Disney+ in March 2021
Disney+ is bringing back a few familiar faces in March. With WandaVision wrapping up, Marvel Studios will pivot to their next highly anticipated spinoff series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. As the title suggests, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan return as — you guessed it — The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Right behind those Marvel heroes is everyone’s favorite hockey coach Gordon Bombay. Yes, Emilio Estevez will return to the ice with The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, which should give Mouse House their own Cobra Kai if there’s enough Zamboni power. Beyond those two blockbusters, National Geographic will unveil new documentary Own the Room, MCU fans in need of a refresher can tune into Marvel Studios: Legends, and for $30 extra bucks will get you Raya and the Last Dragon. Elsewhere...
Shawn Gee Partners With Twitch to Launch BlackStream Live
The goal of BlackStream is to “unite some of the most influential, impactful, and inspiring voices of today to craft provocative and entertaining content as projected through the lens of the modern Black experience, yet meaningful to multiple generations,” a statement announcing BlackStream reads. Through strategic alliances with tastemakers and programmers, Twitch has made significant investments in the music space. In August, the Amazon-owned company announced a partnership with the Rolling Loud festival for live hip-hop events on the platform and a month later Twitch announced a partnership with Relix magazine and its owner Peter Shapiro from (who also owns Brooklyn Bowl, Capitol Theatre and Lock’N fest) to launch a channel focused on jam bands. Twitch also has streami...
What’s Streaming on Hulu in March 2021
Busy times for Hulu in March. On the features front, Frank Grillo will try to escape a time loop in Boss Level, Eva Green will train for space in Proxima, Soleil Moon Frye captures her Hollywood youth in kid 90, and Devon Sawa learns the consequences of living off the grid in Hunter Hunter. Meanwhile, National Geographic will explore the life and legacy of Aretha Franklin in Genius: Aretha: Complete Season 3, the second season of FX’s Breeders begins, and Justin Roiland’s Solar Opposites returns for seconds. The back catalogue additions aren’t too shabby, either. Martin Scorsese’s Shine a Light is refreshing for these pandemic times, Wes Anderson’s Rushmore is always worth a 45th rewatch, and who doesn’t love a good horror like The Social Network. Check out the full list below, which also ...
This New Video Streaming Service Wants to Be Your Go-To for Filmed Music Content
Spinello and his founding team, which also includes John McDermott and Janie Hendrix of Experience Hendrix, Yoko Ono and the John Lennon estate and entertainment lawyer Jonas Herbsman, are now looking to shake up the old paradigm with an all-access subscription model that uses the power and reach of the Amazon distribution network to bring legacy video content in music — much of it rare and some it never before seen — to a larger audience than ever before. Launching today in the U.S. and slated to roll out to the rest of the world over the next year, Coda Collection has buy-in from most of the major players in music: Content partners at launch include all three major labels (Sony Music is an equity partner in the new venture), Rhino Entertainment, Concord Music, Mercury Studios...
Country Radio Was Already Adapting to Streaming. Then Came COVID-19
Indeed, it’s likely that most businesses — and maybe even CRS — will continue to use the internet for at least some conferences after offices reopen. Panelists across the summit’s spectrum referenced numerous ways in which the industry should anticipate post-pandemic change. Artists will continue to sign new recording deals after establishing audiences through online platforms, as did Andrew Jannakos, who contributed to a panel focused specifically on TikTok. In fact, songwriters are likely to receive publishing deals in greater numbers through the platform — and it’s already happening, said TikTok head of music partnerships and content operations Corey Sheridan on the same panel. Country radio will see some bounce back, though maybe not to its pre-pandemic listening leve...
It’s a Growth Story: What’s Behind UMG’s Accelerated IPO Plans?
Vivendi could earn about 9 billion euros ($10.9 billion) from the IPO, if it maintains majority ownership by unloading just just under 30% of UMG at the same 30 billion euros ($36.3 billion) valuation used last year when it sold a 20% stake to a consortium led by Chinese tech giant Tencent Corp. At that head-turning 36-times EBTIDA valuation, a multiple often seen in fast-growing tech companies, Tencent “made people take a step back and look at the valuations of music companies,” says Michael Poster, the head of Michelman & Robinson’s corporate and securities department. That’s not an unreasonable valuation: a rapidly-growing streaming market, believed by Goldman Sachs to reach 1.15 billion subscribers...
Beatsource to Offer Fully-Licensed DJ Edits in New Deal With Empire, Create Music
The company notes it is also in talks with major labels to offer their catalogs as fully approved and licensed DJ edits by April. Beatsource, the joint venture between Beatport and DJ City that services open-format DJs, has signed deals with independent distributors Empire and Create Music Group to create fully licensed DJ edits of some of the most popular tracks in their respective catalogs, it was announced today. The exclusive edits will be available beginning on Feb. 15 via Beatsource LINK, the streaming service launched by the company early last year. Under the agreements, Empire and Create Music have assembled extended edits of hits by artists including Fat Joe, Rich The Kid, Busta Rhymes, Anderson .Paak, Robin Thicke, DJ Chose, Funkmaster Flex, Tory Lanez and the Insomniac Records c...
