A weekly update on all things music, entertainment and technology, coming straight to you from Anthony Vanger at MassiveMusic. #TWIM
ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Dua Lipa
Young British singer celebrates another big hit with ‘Electricity.
Returning to work is always a bit of a struggle after the holidays. Dealing with the grinding morning commute and watching sweet memories of blissful summer recede inexorably in the rear view mirrors of my scooter is always a bit of a downer. So thank heavens Dua Lipa has come to rescue. Her latest track “Electricity”, ft. Silk City super-star DJ duo Mark Ronson and Diplo, drops me right back on the beach. It is joyous and infectious and Dua Lipa sounds and looks awesome with her platinum hair. The public loved it, viewing it more than 10m times in less than 5 days. Enjoy and remember the summer!
ARTICLE’s 11 & 13 – CONTROVERSIAL EU COPYRIGHT
EU lawmakers vote in favour of controversial copyright reform that could change how internet companies treat user-generated content.
In a blow to the likes of YouTube, European Parliament Members voted to move ahead with the proposed copyright reform – Article 11 and 13 – with 438 votes for versus 226 against and 39 abstentions.
Article 11 gives publishers and newspapers a way to make money when companies like Google link to their stories, allowing them to demand paid licenses. Article 13 requires certain platforms like YouTube and Facebook to remunerate copyright holders when users share unlicensed copyrighted material.
So what does this mean for musicians, producers, artists and publishers? YouTube will finally have to pay copyright holders when user-generated content with music is placed online without securing permission. The company has the technology to either block the music or to identify it and therefore pay accurately. That means that songwriters and musicians will get paid for all those streams of their music. God bless the EU Parliament!
JACK WHITE TO RELEASE LIVE EP AND TOUR DOCUMENTARY
And offers exclusivity to AMAZON
In a sign of things to come, Jack White is releasing an EP and documentary exclusively with Amazon. It was only a matter of time before the ubiquitous online behemoth cast its greedy eyes on the growing streaming music business and thought “I’ll ‘ave som’ o’ vat”. Should Spotify should be worried…?
Connected by Love, the first track available from the 6 song, live EP, can be heard now via the Amazon Music app, or can be streamed by Alexa users if they asked their device to “play the new song by Jack White”.
Recorded at Washington DC’s The Anthem during his Boarding House Reach, the film and digital EP will be released via Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Music respectively on September 21. Peep the trailer below…
CREATE MUSIC GROUP LAUNCHES PUBLISHING DIVISION
In another sign of the healthy trends underpinning the recent growth in music publishing and all things to do with royalty collection from online streams, Create has launched a fully-fledged music publishing division, to which it has signed a long-term deal with one of the most talked about Stateside artists of the year, Tekashi 6ix9ine
Create acquired a music distribution company, Label Engine, and it currently claims to monetise more than 6 billion music streams every month and is best known as an artist/label ‘services’ provider which specialises in forensic digital royalty collection – especially on YouTube.
HIP-HOP FRANCHISE YO MTV! RAPS TO LAUNCH IN UK
Proving that the popularity of hip hop amongst UK teens runs deep, MTV International has announced a UK version of its legendary hip-hop franchise Yo! MTV Raps.
Yo! will be anchored by two local presenters and feature regional emerging artists, in-studio and remote custom performances, and special segments. The franchise debuted on MTV August 6, 1988 and played an important role in the rise of rap music across the world. Twenty new localised episodes are being produced for its return.
Ed note: I just saw a TV show based on the Karate Kid. The 80s are roaring back into our lives!
APPLE MUSIC LAUNCHES 116 GLOBAL TOP 100 CHARTS
Updated daily and based on Apple Music streams, 116 playlists include a Top 100 Global as well as individual lists for each country the streaming service exists in.
The playlists can be found on Apple Music’s Browse tab inside the Top Charts section, and users can add the Top 100 charts they want to follow to their library or download them to listen offline. This looks like an attempt to rival Spotify’s playlists and suck listeners into switching interface. It is early days, but if Apple really puts some muscle behind the initiative, it could cause some listeners to migrate across.
KORG INTRODUCES LIMITED EDITION NANOSERIES 2 MIDI CONTROLLERS
Celebrating 10 years of the KORG mini series.
It has been a decade since Korg released its first range of nanoSeries controllers, and to celebrate this milestone, the company has introduced limited-edition versions of the second-gen devices.
The limited edition nanoKeys can be purchased for £40 each, while the other controllers are £46. They’ll all be released in November.