A weekly update on all things music, advertising, and technology coming straight to you from Anthony Vanger at MassiveMusic. #TWIM
ARTIST OF THE WEEK: THE WANTS
Is it OK to emulate your heroes? Won’t you get accused of pop culture plagiarism? If you plucked the Talking Heads out of CBGB’s and dumped them into 2020, they would not sound too far off America’s latest hot band, The Wants. Lead singer, Madison Velding-VanDam, is David Byrne’s doppelgänger, right down to awkward guitar moves and geeky, earnest mop. But a closer peak reveals this New York post-punk trio has taken one step back in order to take two steps forward.
The sound is “tchaka-tchaka” guitar riffs, robotic drums and droning bass lines. Velding-VanDam uses elliptical lyrics to keep the listener second-guessing. Bass player, Heather Elle lends punch to the choruses with her ethereal vocals. The frequent presence of synths peppers the music with anxiety, especially in the choruses. Even if many of these elements are derivative of many post-punk bands of the early 80s, The Wants have shifted its sound enough so that it paves a new way forward for the listener. It is edgier, more cynical, and more unsettled. This band steps back into the past and jumps into the future.
Check out a full live show from last year in France: shorturl.at/hAFPS.
AD OF THE WEEK: APPLE IPHONE HERMITAGE
I know an Apple ad showed up just a few weeks ago on TWIM, but this ad is just too mind-boggling to ignore. The Silicon Valley giant keeps on outdoing itself in terms of what is possible to film on a phone. Will we see the end of cameras on sets? Will we see a picture of Speilberg shooting his next blockbuster on an Apple smartphone? If this ad is even 50% correct, the answer is a resounding “Yes!” The music is from the title, “Mechanisms,” by 30-year-old minimalist Russian composer, Kirill Richter.
Watch the full film https://apple.co/2wIzDIQ
AMAZON MUSIC OPENS UP STREAMING DATA WITH AMAZON MUSIC FOR ARTISTS APP
Amazon Music has announced the long-awaited beta launch of Amazon Music for Artists – a new mobile app for artists and their teams designed to help acts “better understand their business on Amazon Music”.
According to Amazon, its features include:
- New success metrics, including the Daily Voice Index, which illustrates how an artist’s music is performing on Amazon Music with Alexa – including insights into voice requests by artist, album, song, and lyric.
- Access to near-real-time streaming data, providing artists with the latest streaming data across their entire catalog.
- A fan insights tab, which provides a breakdown of an artist’s most engaged listeners –Fans and Superfans – so they can focus on growing these segments over time.
- A custom date filter, so artists can choose specific dates, or length of time to track performance in near-real-time, including the last 24 hours of a release.
CD Baby is a verification launch partner with Amazon Music for Artists, meaning any artist who is distributed through CD Baby can get expedited access to join.
BANDCAMP IS WAIVING ITS REVENUE SHARE FOR ALL SALES THIS FRIDAY IN SUPPORT OF ARTISTS
The offer stands from midnight-to-midnight PST
Bandcamp is waiving its revenue share for all sales this Friday 20th March, between midnight and midnight PST, in support of artists.
The online music store and platform will not be taking any cut from purchases made, in turn offering a bigger payout to record labels and their artists.
MEDIA STREAMING POISED TO SPIKE 60 PERCENT AMIDST CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
With a significant portion of the United States and the world remaining indoors due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, media streaming—including television, movies, music, and more—is expected to increase by approximately 60 percent, according to a recent study.
Nielsen conducted the survey, which emphasised that a streaming uptick of 60 percent would be especially noteworthy because the average American had already started to stream more before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the third quarter of 2019, for instance, Nielsen indicated that the average American enjoyed nearly 12 hours of media per day; approximately two of these hours were dedicated to radio. Moreover, the study reiterated that U.S. television viewership has historically increased during crises and other events that prevent or dissuade individuals from leaving home.
Music streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify could experience considerable listenership (and subscriber) upticks during the pandemic, and Apple appears particularly well-positioned given its Apple TV+ video-streaming service, as well as its other bundling options.
Furthermore, several states and cities have banned large gatherings, closed bars and restaurants, and otherwise limited local access to music and entertainment, all in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. This point—that many Americans are missing entertainment, as opposed to simply spending more time inside—may also spur growth for Spotify, Apple Music, and media streaming generally.
TABBLUE – THE LUXURY TABLETOP BLUETOOTH SPEAKER
Made from real wood veneers and a high-quality fabric, the Tabblue is not only a modern and stylish table but a Bluetooth speaker to play your favourite music though. The Tabblue give you 360′ sound from the 6 speakers inside, this allows the room to fill evenly with sound. It is also equipped with 2x USB charging ports to keep your smartphone or tablet charged at all times. You can take the Tabblue around the house with the built-in rechargeable 3 cell battery giving you up to 6 hours of cordless play. Available here
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