A weekly update on all things music, advertising, and technology coming straight to you from Anthony Vanger at MassiveMusic. #TWIM
ARTIST OF THE WEEK: STILL CORNERS
Been thinking a lot about summer these last few days. The feeling you get when you open your eyes and you know it’s going to be a beautiful day. This song makes me feel that way. Still Corners is a dream-pop band from London formed in 2007 consisting of songwriter/producer Greg Hughes and vocalist Tessa Murray. They are not unknown – this song has over 8.2m views on YT – but they have not hit the mainstream yet. The sound is a mixture of California cool and the Cocteau Twins, but more uplifting and driven. I love the space in the music, the smooth chords and the single-finger pluck of the guitar before the beat comes in and makes you fall in love with music all over again.
AD OF THE WEEK: COKE SUPERBOWL AD
Coke, which normally gets emotional with its Super Bowl ads, is taking a lighthearted approach this year with an ad starring Jonah Hill and Martin Scorsese. The 60-second spot by Wieden&Kennedy Portland was released today. It plugs the new Coke Energy drink, in which the company is investing heavily as it takes on Monster and Red Bull.
https://adage.com/article/special-report-super-bowl…
After securing Hill for the ad, Coke shared the script with him and asked for suggestions on who should play his friend in the spot. “He and his team came back immediately and said we should work with my buddy, Martin Scorsese,” says Geoff Cottrill, Coca-Cola’s senior VP of strategic marketing for creative. “It was very clear to us that they are friends, they do have a relationship, and it came together.”
ARTICLE 13 BINNED BY UK GOVERNMENT AS BREXIT LOOMS
Article 13 of the EU Copyright Directive has been one of the music industry’s most controversial topics over the past few years.
Passed into law by the European Parliament on September 12, 2018, Article 13 aimed to make the likes of YouTube and Facebook liable for copyright-infringing material on their platforms, thus challenging the ‘safe harbor’ protections such companies enjoy in the European Union.
It was subsequently renamed Article 17 last year, following negotiations in Europe about the wording of the text, with the final version of the Directive and its Article 17 provision approved by The EU Council after a vote on April 15, 2019.
Member states were then given two years to implement the Directive on a national level. Many music rights holders cheered a hard-fought victory.
Yet in the the UK, the world’s third biggest music market, the past few days have brought bombshell news for the bill’s supporters.
According to British Conservative MP Chris Skidmore, Minister of State (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) (Universities and Science), the UK won’t be implementing the law after all.
TYLER, THE CREATOR SLAMS GRAMMYS’ ‘URBAN’ CATEGORY AS A POLITICALLY CORRECT VERSION OF THE N-WORD
The 28-year-old musician, who took home the award for Best Rap Album for his 2019 record “IGOR” on Sunday night, criticised the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for consistently placing “guys that look like me” in the rap and urban categories.
Following a gracious acceptance speech, Tyler spoke frankly backstage when asked about the voting process for the awards. He admitted that while he was “very grateful” for his win, the categorising of his music as rap is a “backhanded compliment.”
Watch the interview in full below.
SPOTIFY JOINS THE INFLUENCER TRAIN WITH THEIR OWN VERSION OF ‘STORIES’
Spotify appears to be testing a new Stories feature, similar to Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Influencers will be able to share a short-form video with their public playlists.
YouTube fashion expert Summer Mckeen can be seen sharing a playlist with a video. Her playlist entitled, “All-Time Besties” features a short video introduction.
The new feature will allow social media influencers to share a short video along with playlists. An animated circle above the playlist title invites users to click to see the content. Once Spotify Stories are open, clips play and advance automatically. Users can tap an X at the top of the app to exit it at any time.
The tool is meant to be used as a music discovery feature, not a promotional one. Artists can use Spotify’s new Canvas feature to create looping videos for album art, instead.
SERATO CELEBRATES ITS 20TH BIRTHDAY WITH DOCUMENTARY AND LIMITED EDITION BOX SET
Serato has released a documentary and limited edition box set to celebrate 20 years of Serato and ‘The Power Of Music’.
The three part documentary acknowledges the company’s extraordinary path to success featuring commentary from Roni Size, DJ-Z-Trip, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Rich Medina, A-Trak, Kenny Dope and more.
Available for purchase on the Serato online store and selected retailers worldwide, the 20th anniversary limited edition box set includes two 20th Anniversary Serato Control Vinyl fit with NoiseMap and a 20th Anniversary photograph book that traces the history of Serato from 1999 to 2019.
Beginning in New Zealand in 1999 with the launch of Pitch ‘n Time, the company has since revolutionised the global DJing scene and attracted an eclectic mix of innovators, artists and dreamers.
Written by Anthony Vanger
Additional reporting by Adam “Badger” Woolf
Artwork by Gustav Balderdash
To join This Week In Music please send me an email: anthonyvanger@gmail.com