A weekly update on all things music, entertainment and technology, coming straight to you from Anthony Vanger at MassiveMusic. #TWIM
ARTIST OF THE WEEK: DRAKE
Musician of the moment
Official video for ‘God’s Plan’. Watch it below..
DRAKE: ‘SCORPION’ SMASHES THE STREAMS ON APPLE MUSIC
Apple Music looks set to takeover Spotify
The Cupertino giant reported more than 170m streams of Scorpion took place on Apple Music on day one. Thats a new world record!
Two days later, Spotify is still yet to confirm its equivalent number.
You have to assume that’s because – whatever Spotify’s official day-one figure actually is – it will pale into comparison to Apple’s bar-setting announcement.
Scorpion was due to land on both Spotify and Apple Music at midnight Eastern Time on Friday (June 29). Apple Music released it bang on time. Spotify, however, suffered some kind of malfunction – because Scorpion didn’t arrive on its service until over two hours later. That certainly would have badly hurt Spotify’s like-for-like comparison with Apple on day one (particularly as the Spotify chart which that 132m number comes from measures midnight-to-midnight periods).
DISCOGS TOPS 10 MILLION RELEASES LISTED ON ITS DATABASE
A huge milestone for online music reseller.
Discogs, the world’s most popular online community for physical music sales, now has over 10 million releases available on its website.
Since its start in 2000, Discogs has grown into a comprehensive music platform that has 4.9 million active users and over 400,000 contributors who add between 4,000 and 5,000 listings to its expansive database every day. The site’s nine millionth milestone was reached in October of 2017 – a statistic that proves the website has played an enormous role in ensuring the strength and growing popularity of physical music sales.
MUSIC INDUSTRY MAKES FINAL APPEAL TO MEPS AHEAD OF KEY COPYRIGHT VOTE.
All eyes are now on the EU
It’s the big vote today on the EU Copyright Directive and Article 13 in the European Parliament. Ahead of a decision that will have a huge impact on the music industry. Article 13 of the Copyright Directive would require filtering to prevent copyright infringement or full licences. Rights holders are hopeful the EU legislation will fix the so-called value gap surrounding user-generated content on video streaming sites such as YouTube.
More than 1,300 artists (including Sir Paul McCartney) have urged MEPs to vote in support of the mandate.
WHOSAMPLED RELEASE SHAZAM STYLE APP
Recognise a familiar sample on a track?
If you’re an avid music listener (especially in the electronic realm), there is a good chance that you’ve used WhoSampled to identify song samples, covers or remixes. So far, though, you’ve had to know the name of the song you’re looking for to start your journey — what if you hear an interesting sample in a song on the radio? You’re in luck after today. WhoSampled has introduced Shazam-style music recognition to its Android and iOS apps, helping you identify both the song you’re listening to and (if it’s in the company’s database) discover its connections. Are you convinced a strange song is using the Amen Break? You can find out just by putting your phone within listening range.
FENDER JOINS PORTABLE SPEAKER MARKET
In the form of the Monterey Tweed Bluetooth speaker.
The bluetooth speaker supports two 5.12-inch woofers and two 1-inch tweeters deliver 120 watts’ worth of sound.
In true Fender style you get a Fender ‘68 custom grille cloth, red jewel light and chicken-and-head style knobs for volume, bass and treble, and you can hook up non-Bluetooth music sources using the 1/8-inch and RCA dual analogue inputs. The Monterey Tweed will be available in October priced at £350. Get it here