On Thursday (or Friday, depending on your time zone), Kygo will release his virtual concert, performed from atop a snowy mountain in Norway’s Sunnmore Alps. To make it happen, the Norwegian DJ and pop hitmaker spent more than $100,000 of his own money, according to manager Myles Shear. “Since I …
Read More »Amazon, Facebook, and Instagram Are Each Launching Music-Tech Projects
When Marshmello and Halsey wanted to tease their new song, “Be Kind,” at the end of April, they enlisted the help of the biggest TikTok star, Charli D’Amelio, to do so. On Wednesday, the pair employed another creative marketing initiative by launching “the first-ever musical experience” for Amazon‘s voice-activated Echo …
Read More »Get Ready, Gamers: A Virtual Music Festival Is Coming to Minecraft
Not even a month after Travis Scott’s record-breaking Fortnite concert, the music business is already busy rolling out new gaming initiatives. The latest such venture, unveiled on Thursday, is Electric Blockaloo, a virtual concert with over 300 artists that will take place inside the video game Minecraft. Diplo, A-Trak, Above …
Read More »Chris Stapleton Postpones Tour Dates of All-American Road Show Over Coronavirus Spread
UPDATE (5/18): Chris Stapleton has made the call to postpone all dates of his 2020 All-American Road Show Tour until 2021. “We’ve made this decision with the health and safety of our fans, touring family, and the communities we travel through as our number one priority. . . We appreciate …
Read More »How a Snapchat Filter Assisted a Song Up the Charts
SAINt JHN isn’t a household name — yet — but on Monday morning, the Guyanese-American rapper, songwriter, and producer’s “Roses (Imanbek Remix)” was #1 on Shazam’s Top 200 U.S. chart. Meanwhile, on iTunes and Spotify, it was in the Top 10, and on Rolling Stone‘s own Top 100 Songs chart, …
Read More »Apple Music Quietly Starts $50 Million COVID-19 Advance Fund for Indie Labels
Apple Music is the latest company to offer industry relief amid the coronavirus pandemic. It told independent record labels Tuesday that it is launching a $50 million advance royalty fund to make sure their artists get paid. According to a letter sent to the labels and obtained byRolling Stone,independent labels …
Read More »At Work With Wendy Ong, President of the Management Team Behind Dua Lipa and Ellie Goulding
This is the ninth installment of Rolling Stone’s seriesAt Work, in which we explore the fast-changing music business from the perspective of a different industry leader each week. Readearlier pieces in the series here. Wendy Ong is an anomaly in the U.S. music business: She grew up in Singapore, didn’t …
Read More »A New Report Says Independent Artists Could Generate More Than $2 Billion in 2020
Ten months ago, I calculated that DIY artists would earn more than $1 billion from their music royalties (records plus publishing) across 2019, stating this was a number that was “only going to escalate in the years ahead.” At the time, that risked sounding a little hubristic — but it …
Read More »'You Have To Move Forward': How Venues Plan to Adapt During Coronavirus
Michael Dorf founded his first music venue, the Knitting Factory, in New York City in 1986. In the years since, his business has weathered all kinds of calamities. “We were probably the closest venue to the World Trade Center area back in 2001,” Dorf says. “I’ve been open during blackouts …
Read More »Future 25: Frankie Decaiza Hutchinson, Emma Burgess-Olson, and Christine McCharen-Tran of Discwoman
First things first, says Frankie Decaiza Hutchinson: “We only work in guarantees.” Hutchinson is one of three founders of Discwoman, an artist collective, booking agency, and events platform for women and gender-nonconforming electronic artists. Established in 2014 by Hutchinson as well as coordinator Christine McCharen-Tran and DJ-artist Emma Burgess-Olson, Discwoman …
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