Spirit Music Group has launched Spirit Production Music following its acquisition of the production music division of Alan Ett Creative Group (AECG), according to an announcement made today by David Renzer, SMG chairman and Jon Singer, the company’s coo/cfo. Alan Ett will head the new division out of Los Angeles. AECG, which includes the Opus 1…
Sound the Alarm: Nicolas Jaar and the Politics of Dance Music
“Meet Nico at the triangle on 66th St. next to the head.” So goes the cryptic message from Nicolas Jaar’s publicist, in advance of my meeting with the 26-year-old producer. While hard to parse or plug into Google Maps, the directions seem fitting in this instance, in that Jaar’s own restless muse can make for…
Music tech is the new music industry
Technology has been pushing music forward since the advent of electricity. Records, radio, cassettes, recording technology, CDs, and finally digital and streaming have all disrupted the norm in music. Yet, the industry has always been reticent to adopt new technologies. With the rise of music tech, the music industry can no longer stop the march…
X Ambassadors Debut New Song ‘Hoping,’ Benefitting the ACLU: Listen
X Ambassadors are back with a brand new track, and it’s one with purpose. Titled “Hoping,” the song is a declaration of exactly what its title and lyrics insinuate: Hope in a time when many people may not have a lot of it. “Though my faith is shaky, I got to keep on hoping / Keep…
How Hip-Hop Would Be Different If Biggie Were Still Alive
It wouldn’t be hyperbolic to say that everything in rap changed on March 9, 1997. On that day 20 years ago, just after midnight, Christopher Wallace, b.k.a. the Notorious B.I.G.—hip-hop’s biggest artist at the time and arguably the greatest rapper ever—was shot dead in the passenger seat of a green Chevrolet Suburban after leaving a Vibe magazine…
UNIVERSAL LEADS $6M FUNDING ROUND IN MASS APPEAL
Universal Music Group (UMG) has led a Series A funding round for New York-based Mass Appeal, whose footprint in urban culture straddles a magazine, TV, film and a record label. Additional investors on the $6 million round of funding include Evolution Media, Jon Jashni (Raintree Ventures), Charles King (Macro), Michael Kassan (MediaLink), Usher, Steve…
Amper raises $4M to use AI to write music
Amper, a startup that offers AI-powered music composition, is announcing that it has raised $4 million in funding. The round was led by Two Sigma Ventures, with participation from Foundry Group, Kiwi Venture Partners and Advancit Capital. Amper previously raised funding from Brooklyn Bridge Ventures. You might not expect a film composer like Drew Silverstein…
‘The Art of Listening’ explores how we experience music
“The Art of Listening” is a new documentary film that puts it all together with instrument makers, musicians, recording engineers/producers, and we the people who listen to music. This sort of thing about the art of sound has been attempted many times before, but these films always struck me as superficial and rather lame. But…
Spotify Hits 50 Million Paid Subscribers, Lifting Music Industry
Spotify has surpassed 50 million subscribers, extending its lead over rivals Apple Music, SoundCloud and Google as the world’s largest paid music streaming service. The service, owned by Stockholm-based Spotify Ltd., has been growing at a breakneck pace. The company said it had 30 million subscribers less than a year ago, and 40 million subscribers…
