Marie Ulven, who writes and records as girl in red. Her debut full-length, If I Could Make It Go Quiet , is on our shortlist of the best albums out on April 30. Jonathan Kise/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Marie Ulven, the singer who writes and records as girl in red, has spent the past couple of years racking up more than a billion streams on the strength of her guitar-powered-pop singles, including "We Fell In Love In October," an anthem to queer romance and liberation. She's just dropped her much-anticipated, full-length debut, If I Could Make It Go Quiet , delivering a collection of songs that are both exuberant and introspective, as she sings about youthful hopes, anxieties and the uncertainty of how to make it in the world. We open this week's show with the song "Serotonin" and talk about how and why girl in red's reflections are connecting with a generation.
Also on the program: We've got the long-awaited Flying Lotus soundtrack to the Netflix series Yasuke , a collaboration between Matt Sweeney and Bonnie "Prince" Billy that comes more than 15 years after their previous work together and more. WNXP 's Jewly Hight joins WXPN 's John Morrison, Radio Milwaukee 's Tarik Moody, NPR Music's Alex Ramos and Stephen Thompson, along with host Robin Hilton, as they share their picks for the best albums out on April 30.
Other notable releases for April 30 : Amy Speace & The Orphan Brigade — There Used To Be Horses ; Gojira — Fortitude ; Julia Stone — Sixty Summers ; Manchester Orchestra — The Million Masks of God ; Marianne Faithful & Warren Ellis — She Walks In Beauty ; Rosie Tucker — Sucker Supreme ; Teenage Fanclub — Endless Arcade ; Tōth — You And Me And Everything.
How Rapchat Is Disrupting Music Creation And Careers
Rapchat music-making app today announced a new $2.3 million funding round from Sony Music ... [+] Entertainment and Adjacent venture capital firm. PHOTO COURTESY OF RAPCHAT
Despite fierce competition from the likes of Facebook and TikTok, Rapchat today announced a new $2.3 million funding round from Sony Music Entertainment and Adjacent venture capital firm. Combined with the startup's original $1.7 million in seed funding, a total of $4 million in venture capital is now supporting artists working to launch careers in music.
"We've always wanted to be the easiest way to make music on your phone, and it's evolved into aspiring artists making full-length songs on their phones," Miller says. "It all goes to show how much the markets have evolved … with the rise of the creator economy and different trends now people see the potential for music to be disrupted."
Based on a recent Rapchat survey of active users, 57% are aspiring music creators who want to make music a career or side hustle by gaining followers and monetizing their work. A total of 26% consider music a hobby and access the app to improve their music creation skills and 18% are casual music creators seeking entertainment. Exactly half of active users are international based in 160 countries.
Miller explains that Rapchat users create original songs by accessing a catalog of more than 100,000 beats, recording vocals over beats and applying editing tools like voice effects and mastering. Creators are then able to share their work with the Rapchat community or privately with another artist. Publicly, users can share songs across major social media platforms including Instagram and TikTok. They can also use Rapchat's feedback forums, collaborations and competitions to spur engagement and grow a following.
CULVER CITY, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: General views of Sony Music and Sony/ATV Music Publishing on the ... [+] Sony Pictures Entertainment movie studio lot on September 29, 2020 in Culver City, California. (Photo by AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Nico Wittenborn, lead Investor at Adjacent, said in a statement, "(Rapchat) decreases the friction of creativity by allowing anyone, anywhere in the world to record and publish music straight from their phones. This mobile-enabled democratization of technology is what Adjacent is all about, and I am super excited to support the team in building out this next-level music platform."
While record labels are traditionally thought of as gate keepers of the music industry, Miller says that corporate VC and innovation inside of labels has evolved greatly, making them ideal strategic investors. He points out complementary business opportunities that exist for labels such as signing and promoting new artists.
"Sony saw the vision, they saw the future of music and what it could be with us creating our own economy," Miller says. "We're unlocking and creating a new market for those who deserve it–and bringing transparency to the process."
For Music-Rights Deals, the Hits Keep Coming - WSJ
The flood of money into deals for rights to the song catalogs of superstar musicians isn't letting up.
Tempo Music Investments, a private-equity-backed investment firm launched in 2019 in partnership with Warner Music Group Corp. , has quietly bought up music rights from the Jonas Brothers, Florida Georgia Line, Wiz Khalifa and some top producers.
And they're not done: The firm has more than $1 billion available to keep buying, according to people familiar with the matter, an indication that the hot market for music intellectual property will continue.
Millikin launches new Music Business degree program | Millikin University
The Millikin University School of Music is pleased to announce new undergraduate degree offerings for a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Music Business with a planned offering in fall 2021. Students are automatically admitted into the program upon admittance to the University; an audition is not required for admission.
Millikin's Music Business degree program will prepare students to facilitate and serve users, consumers, and artists through symbiotic relationships within the music industry. This program of study encompasses training in music fundamentals, alongside music business and traditional business coursework, designed to provide the creative practitioner the tools for a career in today's music industry.
Additionally, the Millikin School of Music is offering a full-tuition Foley School of Music scholarship. The endowed scholarship was established in 2004 by Margaret Foley, a dedicated Millikin supporter and friend. Margaret and her husband, Alden, both enjoyed attending Millikin events, especially those in the School of Music, the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, and Kirkland Fine Arts Center performances. After Alden's passing, Margaret carried on their wishes to more fully support Millikin students by establishing this scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded to a student with a demonstrated financial need who is majoring in music business.
"Millikin has a philosophy of 'Performance Learning' that I translate as 'hands-on' and 'real world.' In many ways, some of the leaps of faith we make in the music business in trying to inspire people can be considered a performance," said Martin Atkins, coordinator of music business at Millikin. "When you are involved in a project that some people cannot even see how to start much less accomplish — that's a kind of poetry. When you brush aside doubts and push your point of view or your artist or a song — that's performance too."
The new degree program will include coursework focused on traditional business, entrepreneurial, and do-it-yourself (DIY) strategies for music performance, as well as marketing, distribution, contracts, revenue streams, merchandising, publishing, and touring. The curriculum includes hands-on learning experiences with running a record label, creating and organizing Millikin's Midwest Music Expo (MMX) with an educational/panel component, and engaging in Atkins' Tour Smart Bus Experience — a 24/7 internship immersion into the world of a real tour.
"We are adding experiences at Invisible Records Studio as well as at a music festival in Chicago during Thanksgiving, and involvement in the rollout of The Museum of Post Punk and Industrial Music in Chicago," Atkins noted.
The Music Business curriculum requires three separate internships to be completed during the program. "There are what I have been calling 'pillars of the program,'" Atkins said. "The student-run label (First Step Records), the MMX conference, the Thanksgiving concert series we are planning in Chicago, and Tour Smart Bus Edition. We also have partnerships with Tracklib — a Swedish-based sample library company that we service with music files while creating opportunities for students to immerse themselves in the realm of audio delivery and rights management. My own record label will also provide other opportunities for students to get involved."
Geared toward understanding the business tools for the 21st century musician, the degree program will assist students in finding themselves and their passions while building the mindset and the toolset to make their futures happen.
Atkins added, "You are also prepared to be a one-man army and further your own career with all of the above skills — many careers start in a 'do-it-yourself' way."
Bay Area nonprofit Blue Bear School of Music finds creative solution to keep beat going during
Nick Jonas to Host 2021 Billboard Music Awards | Billboard
Jonas and Clarkson are two of five musical artists who have served as sole host of the BBMAs. The others are Phil Collins , LL Cool J and Ludacris .
This is Jonas' first time as host of the Billboard Music Awards, which is two years older than he is. (He's 28; the show launched 30 years ago). But he's had lots of awards show experience, including teaming with his wife, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, to announce this year's Oscar nominations.
Jonas Brothers won three Billboard Music Awards last year: top duo/group, top radio songs artist and top radio song for "Sucker," their first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. They were also nominated for top artist.
Jonas Brothers had great success as a teen pop act from 2007-10, landing a pair of No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and a Grammy nomination for best new artist. Remarkably, they have come back even stronger in the past two years with a third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 and another Grammy nomination, best pop duo/group performance for "Sucker."
Jonas has also had success as a solo artist, notably with "Jealous," a top 10 hit on the Hot 100. Jonas teamed with Nick Monson and Justin Tranter to co-write the Golden Globe-nominated song "Home" for the 2017 movie Ferdinand . Also as a solo artist, Jonas received the Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016.
As an actor, Jonas has appeared in such films as Goat , Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle , Midway and Chaos Walking .
Jonas' selection as host was announced Friday (April 30), one day after this year's BBMA finalists were revealed. The Weeknd is this year's leading nominee with 16 nods, followed by Da Baby (11), Pop Smoke (10) and Gabby Barrett (nine).
This year's awards are based on the chart period of March 21, 2020, through April 3, 2021. Billboard Music Awards finalists and winners are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital song sales, streaming, radio airplay, and social engagement, tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including MRC Data.
The 2021 Billboard Music Awards is produced by dick clark productions. Barry Adelman and Robert Deaton are executive producers.
European Authorities Accuse Apple of Distorting Music Streaming Market | Hollywood Reporter
The announcement of the new case comes just days before a high-profile trial commences in Oakland, California, between Epic Games and Apple. Epic is suing Apple after trying to evade the 30 percent "tax" for purchases within Fortnite . After Epic bypassed Apple's direct payment system, Apple pulled Fortnite from its App Store. What's resulted is a closely watched case that may impact the streaming's future and feature top executives from both companies along with those at Microsoft, Alphabet and elsewhere.
The pursuit of charges also occurs as European lawmakers consider a Digital Markets Act that would enact new rules on so-called gatekeepers, including restrictions on how platforms achieve preferential treatment for their own goods.
Tencent Music Targeted by China Regulator | Billboard
Jay Chou performs during a launch ceremony of OPPO R15 on March 31, 2018 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province of China.
Chinese authorities are preparing to slap down Tencent Music Entertainment and its parent company, Tencent Holdings, for anti-competitive behavior, according to media reports. Those actions threaten to force the music giant to unload streaming apps Kuwo and Kugou, shed more exclusive artist and label deals and pay a hefty fine.
Tencent Holdings should expect to pay a penalty of at least 10 billion yuan ($1.54 billion) as part of a sweeping anti-trust clampdown by the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR), China's competition regulator, Reuters reports, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The regulatory action could result in Tencent's music arm, which has grown into a powerhouse since being spun off and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018, becoming a smaller company once the dust settles. The Chinese regulator is looking to loosen the company's stranglehold on the streaming market, which has tightened since Tencent Music acquired competitors Kuwo Music and Kugou Music in 2016.
Those acquisitions helped Tencent to pursue exclusive streaming rights with the major record labels, which have been eager to push deeper into China's burgeoning streaming market. Streaming revenue in China, the world's seventh largest music market, grew by 34% to $718.1 million in 2020, according to the IFPI.
Reports of looming regulatory action in China sent shares of Tencent Music (TME) down 5.4% to $17.80 on Thursday. The stock has fallen almost 17% over the past month.
The regulatory crackdown is part of a broader push by the government of China's president Xi Jinping to clip the wings of the country's internets giants, which grew rapidly under looser regulation earlier in his administration, which began in 2013. Under Jinping and former president Hu Jintao , the Chinese government adopted a somewhat hands-off approach toward the nascent e-commerce, internet and digital-finance areas of the economy.
But lately Xi Jinping's government has been looking to limit the economic and social influence of China's most powerful corporations and their billionaire founders like Jack Ma , founder of Ant Group Company.
Companies that concern the Communist Party include Tencent and Alibaba Group Holding, private internet firms that collect valuable data from hundreds of millions of consumers which the party can't easily control. Tencent, Ant and Alibaba had a combined market capitalization of nearly $2 trillion in early November, according to Bloomberg , a sum that surpassed state-owned Bank of China as the country's most valuable companies.
Fredonia schools recognized for music programs | News, Sports, Jobs - Observer Today
For the ninth year in a row, the NAMM Foundation has recognized the Fredonia Central School District for its outstanding commitment to music education with a “Best Communities for Music Education” designation. Only 4% of the nation’s school districts were honored with this designation.
Now in its 22nd year, this award recognizes school districts that have demonstrated exceptional efforts toward maintaining music education as part of their schools’ curriculum. This designation is meant to highlight the importance of supporting and expanding music education opportunities in our nation’s schools and acknowledging music’s vital role in student success.
Every year the National Association of Music Merchants collects data regarding public school music programs’ student participation in curricular and extracurricular music, pupil and staff achievements, community engagement, district support, and more. NAMM and the Center for Music Research at the University of Kansas compare this data across districts nationwide and come up with a list of the “Best Communities for Music Education.” The Fredonia School District is excelling in all of these categories.
Brad Zilliox, Fredonia’s Superintendent, shared, “Being relatively new to the district, the music program was repeatedly mentioned in my entry interviews as being a great source of pride for the entire school community. I have been impressed with how our department responded to the pandemic and continued to produce high quality results despite some of the limitations that were in place. It is clear that we have a talented group of students attached to all of our music offerings who excel in this subject area. We also recognize their achievements would not be possible without the support of our parents and families. I look forward to eventually seeing all of our groups in-person when we are back to our usual format for concerts and other music related events. Congratulations to all involved on a job well done!”
For more information on the Fredonia Central School District’s Music Department please visit their website at: tinyurl.com/FCSDMusic
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