Of DAMN.’s 14 tracks — each one anxious, berserk, and beautifully intransigent in their own right — “LOYALTY.” might be the most measured: equal parts pop, funk, and brooding rap hymnal. “It’s so hard to be humble,” Rihanna intones across the song, which was co-produced by Terrace Martin, DJ Dahi, and in-house TDE beatmaker Sounwave. Like at several other…
‘MUSIC STREAMING STILL NEEDS TO GET A LOT EASIER FOR CONSUMERS’
Did you know that Amazon owns the world’s biggest paid-for music streaming service? Cards on the table.. that claim relies on a bit of a technicality. Based on Amazon’s $6.4bn revenue in 2016 from ‘retail subscription services’, the latest estimates suggest that the company has around 65m Prime members worldwide. These Prime subscribers – who pay an annual fee for…
Universal May Try to Nullify Recorded-Music Deal With Prince Estate
When Universal Music Group announced in February that it had completed a recorded-music deal with Prince’s estate, one sentence stuck out. Not only would the company license the majority of the artist’s recordings since 1996, but also, “beginning [in 2018], UMG will obtain U.S. rights to certain renowned Prince albums released from 1979 to 1995”…
Vinyl is vintage and the future, as new generation warms to an old music form
Vinyl records lying around in your garage could be worth thousands. Vinyl LP sales reached 13 million in 2016, according to Nielsen. Vinyl records, which is currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity that’s outstripping digital music growth, proves the adage that everything old is new again. Last year, Vinyl LP sales reached 13 million, according…
J. Cole, the Platinum Rap Dissident, Steps Back From the Spotlight
RALEIGH, N.C. — Ask J. Cole about when he realized that the traditional life of a platinum rap star didn’t suit him and he’ll tell the story of the 2013 BET Awards, when a stylist dressed him in a loud Versace sweater that two other people ended up wearing on the red carpet. He’ll talk…
Apple Music Picks Up Toronto’s ‘House of Strombo’ Concert Series
Canada’s top music interviewer and passionate music fan George Stroumboulopoulos has signed on with Apple Music to bring his House of Strombo concert series to the streaming service, via YouTube. The shows are filmed at his downtown Toronto home in front of a live audience, crammed into his living room. The 10-part series, co-produced by Anonymous…
The Break Presents: Suicideboys
If a survey went around asking general hip-hop fans who some of the biggest duos and groups in hip-hop are right now, most answers would be pretty similar. Rae Sremmurd and Migos would be typical answers for a majority of people, but a duo that should also be mentioned is the $uicideboy$. The duo from…
Did SiriusXM Pull a Fast One on Major Record Labels in a Deal With Suing Indie Musicians?
In November, SiriusXM was scheduled to go to trial in a class action lawsuit for publicly performing pre-1972 sound recordings when days before jury selection, the satcaster arrived at a proposed settlement with independent musicians worth between $25 million and $99 million. Observers may have thought at the time that Flo & Eddie of The Turtles, the named plaintiffs, got…
Tidal Owner Jay-Z Pulls Every Album from Spotify, Apple Music
All of Jay-Z’s solo albums have been removed from the Apple Music and Spotify streaming services. According to a statement made to the Verge by Spotify, the removal came “at the request of the artist.” Jay-Z’s solo work is also almost entirely absent from Amazon Music’s streaming catalog, with just four tracks from mixtapes offered….
Meet Ben Billion$, The Miami Chameleon Quietly Dominating The Airwaves
Before he crafted chart-topping hits for The Weeknd, Beyoncé, and Yo Gotti, Ben Diehl, better known as Ben Billion$, had already spent years in the studio. The Delaware-native moved to Miami in 2008 to pursue a degree in audio engineering, then worked for years behind the boards at the city’s legendary Circle House Studios. Unlike…
