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Music businesses expand artist's reach during CV19

Curated music and industry analysis | 7.14.20

July 14, 2020

📻 Hello, thanks for tuning in to Arpeggio.

The focus of Arpeggio is to provide fresh, curated music as well as data & analysis of the music biz. Curated music is important because, in a world dominated by streaming companies, there are independent artists who deserve the spotlight. As the music business continues to evolve, I share the trends and insights along the way.

Today’s newsletter features some of my favorite new releases, some tunes from artists signed to Universal Music Group, and highlights how some music businesses, like UnitedMasters, continue to pivot to support artists amid the pandemic derailing live music globally.

Quick reminder

🎧 Recording Industry

Here’s some new music released over the last few weeks.

Triniti Shyell is a young singer-songwriter on the rise and has released this awesome single “Shoe Strings.” She’s now at the top of the morning vibes playlist. Triniti’s single is reminiscent of Tom Misch’s song “Movie” thanks to the synth intro of both songs.

Dijon covered Chaka Khan’s 1975 release “Sweet Thing,” and had the following to say about the choice to do the cover song:

The song was made during lockdown and is joyful and reminds me of being a kid. Just a nod to the music that shaped my sensibilities; regardless of however my musical output presents itself, it’s always rooted here.

Snoh Aalegra is still delivering us timeless R&B music during troubling times. Speaking with BET, Snoh let us know what to expect after her sophomore album.

I’ve been working with a lot of other artists. I’ve been writing for their projects. I’m also working on a new album. I’m just taking my time with it but I think I’m going to drop something maybe later this year. Right now, I’m just focusing on Ugh, those feels again. I have a lot to write about I feel, again. It feels good. I’m working with people I love and respect, and some new people I’ve never worked with. It’s all good vibes.

Lewis Del Mar is a New York-based duo & they've just released a double single and video: "The Ceiling / Border (Ch. III)". This release comes before their sophomore album "AUGUST" out (fittingly) in August on FADER label this summer.

This album is, nearly word for word, our account of gluing the vase back together, cracks visible

– Lewis Del Mar

Canadian singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez helps couples find "Love In The Dark" in a new music video shot in NYC before the lockdown. The video follows three diverse couples as they detail the intimate intricacies of their relationships. The theme of the song is everpresent in each: trust. 

On June 2nd, when the music industry participated in #TheShowMustBePaused in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, UMG Nashville's Mickey Guyton took a stand and released the single "Black Like Me."

The song uses Guyton's talents as a storyteller to walk listeners through her experience with racism throughout her life. Creating a life of its own, the song has come to mean so much to people right now.

In the lyrics, she applies familiar tools of country storytelling — a small-town backdrop; poignantly down-to-earth scenes of class disparity; admiration for a parent's hard work — to aim her anguish at dehumanizing encounters with racism toward sparking broad empathy.

– NPR

...a plainly stated first-person ballad about racial inequality that Guyton says has received the strongest outpouring of her entire career.

– Rolling Stone

🗞️ Music Business

Putting on concerts in houses and unusual venues has, understandably, not been a goer during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sofar Sounds pivoted to live streams, launching its “listening room” this year to broadcast performances online. Household concerts and live streaming have been growing on us, and Sofar was one of the first to take advantage of the new trend.

Following Sofar’s 100th live stream, they have published some interesting stats and data in a blog post.

Overall, 45,000 have viewed the shows live on our website with hundreds tuning in live and thousands more watching on YouTube. Around 340,000 have viewed the listening room videos in total

One artist, Scarypoolparty from Los Angeles, made $10,000 in donations.

The average artist has earned around $500 per show, including the $100 fee from Sofar.

Overall, donations direct to artists have reached $38,000.

Last week I shared an article from 2017 about this new music business backed by Alphabet, Google’s parent company. They continue to innovate and serve independent artists through strong partnerships, like with the NBA and now ESPN, creating new and improved distribution channels for rising artists.

Disruption and democratization are in our DNA.

We're tearing down the construct of 'gatekeepers' and putting independent artists in front of the biggest brands, allowing them to choose the terms of their deal, and maintain 100% ownership of their careers - all from their phone

– Steve Stoute, Founder

Creators on the streaming platform now have Insights, a free, enhanced data platform to understand who is listening to their music.

The rollout of Insights will merge audience data into one, cohesive and streamlined app. Before Insights, audience data was only available on Pulse, SoundCloud’s creator app, and on the web platform.

SoundCloud’s Pro Unlimited features allow creators to see top listeners, top city, country, and access to Top 50 listeners, cities, and countries. Pro Unlimited users can also share all of their work and manage how it’s listened to with spotlight features.

The new Analytics for Artists is here - giving artists the most comprehensive and complete view of their audience, global reach and performance across YouTube. Visit https://studio.youtube.com to check it out. Analytics for Artists will be available for all Official Artist Channels, and provide access to a unique set of features that will equip artists and their teams with the knowledge they need to make the most informed and strategic release plans. In addition to desktop, artists can now easily access these new insights on the YouTube Studio Mobile app, enabling them to get data and notification updates, in real time, whether they are on the road or in the studio.

New features to try out:

  • Monthly estimated revenue

  • Create customizable charts on advanced mode

  • Realtime notifications and view count from YouTube’s Studio Mobile app.

The platform is expanding it’s access to tools for fan monetization to musicians and creators. The U.S., U.K., Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Thailand are countries with expanded access to creator monetization tools.

Creators now receive tips, fan subscriptions, and tickets to online events. Facebook is expanding its reach of invitations to sell tickets to paid online events. The improved analytics and new integrations with Instagram are more examples of tech companies push to support creators in the passion economy.

Artists must now have 10,000 followers or 250+ Return Viewers and 50,000 Post Engagements or 180,000 watch minutes in the last 60 days to sell fan subscriptions.

– Hypebot

More details from Facebook here.

Damn. 266.5 thousand years of listening.

Here are 50+ hours of my own Spotify Discover Weekly playlists all compiled into one list for 2020. I’ve also been adding songs weekly from Spotify’s “Release radar” playlist that is curated for users every week based on an algorithm of listening history.

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Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear your comments, questions, thoughts. Connect with me here!

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– Jimmy Seykot