MusicTech Rewinder - Issue #72

Hello again and happy Friday,

If you care about our planet, check out Brian Eno's recently announced effort called EarthPercent. The initiative, founded with leading music-industry environmental entities asks musicians to devote a small percentage of their revenues to EarthPercent, which will redistribute the money to organizations that address the climate crisis.

Musicians of all stripes suffer from mental health issues, just like everyone else on this planet. However, they are more likely not to seek help, fearing that meds would tamp down their creativity and, in most cases, not having any health insurance to pay for therapy or treatment even if they did seek help. In response to a rash of suicides by musicians and the pandemic’s crushing blow to many an artist’s livelihoods, new organizations and efforts within the music community (if not the music industry) have begun to step forward. 

This is not really music tech-related but if you are interested in discussing NFTs & the metaverse and you are in Berlin on Dec. 1st, check this meetup, a friend of mine is organising. Register here (Could be canceled due to insane covid numbers here in Berlin, though).

Enjoy reading and have a fabulous weekend.

Cheers, and stay safe!

Matt

An in-depth look at the radical disruption of the music business - and what it means to be an artist - in today's modern streaming economy.

After years of ignoring consumer demand for in-app lyrics, particularly in the U.S., Spotify announced today it will make a new Lyrics feature available to all global users, both Free and Premium, across platforms.

Four Tet says that his former label Domino has removed his three albums with them from streaming services.

Spotify's Discovery Mode: another nail in the streaming economy's coffin, or a long-awaited DSP ad tool for artists? Here's our take on it

Royal's Justin Blau and Paradigm's Fred Ehrsam on how selling royalties directly to fans could end predatory record deals

Almost two decades ago, I decided the web and music were how I was going to express myself in this world. I care so much about both of these things. My freelance dev blogs are mostly a front so I can write about changes in web standards. This is the kind of stuff that excites me and I am 100% onboard with the web’s constant evolution

"Adele has spoken. Never shuffle albums," read one tweet as listeners discussed the move.

Last week, Tidal made its first big announcement since Square acquired the company earlier this year. Here’s what’s coming soon: – a free subscription tier (ad-supported) – high-fidelity sound (HIFI) for its $10/mo tier – direct artist payouts – 10% of the subscriber revenue (at $20/mo tier) goes to each listeners’ most-streamed artist each month […]

We live in an attention economy. How long have we lived in an attention economy though? Is this a social media thing? Or is it an internet thing? Can we trace it back to cable TV? Or perhaps to the third industrial revolution? The first industrial revolution?

Algorithms are changing how we experience nostalgia. In 2012, Joan Serrà and a team of scientists at the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute of the Spanish National Research Council confirmed something that many had come to suspect: that music was becoming increasingly the same.

The tech titans couldn't have built their empires without songs—and now they are destroying the cultural ecosystem that made them rich.

Ableton is the hottest music software company everyone wants to buy — but they're not selling.

At the end of September, the fine folks at RCA Records reached out to me with a great concept for their artist REZZ. Inspired by the trademark LED goggles REZZ wears, they pitched a mechanic which…