MusicTech Rewinder - Issue #77

Dear reader,

one of the musical cultures I feel most attached to is Hip Hop. If you feel the same, you'll find this article about the history of Hip-Hop remixes and what it really means today very enlightening. And this piece is about the hunt for early rap recordings and why they are so hard to find.

Here is an interesting study about the frequency of tuning musical instruments and its effects on the human body. Is 440 Hz or 432 Hz better?

I also came across these stunning photographs from the inside of musical instruments which look like being inside epic rooms.

Enjoy reading and have a fantastic weekend.

Cheers,

Matt

Following the new year BPI statistics about the successful growth of recorded music throughout the pandemic, I was interested to read a piece last week by Lord Vaizey, a former Minister of State for…

Daniel Ek's investment in security startup Helsing adds to Spotify's history of irritating artists. The early-November investment from Ek’s year-and-a-half-old company, Prima Materia, sparked a “boycott Spotify” social-media movement that has gradually advanced beyond the Z-list.

Algorithms are the new music tastemakers — for now. Of all the beachheads that have determined the victors and losers of the music industry, none has been more fought over than music discovery: how listeners find new artists and tracks and fall in love with them.

Every day, different content is recommended to us through algorithms in digital platforms. Even though many of us are aware of this, understanding how they work and how the algorithmic experience is shaped are often not entirely transparent to users.

Check out the latest guide to the TikTok "For You" algorithm for creators and musicians, sourced by the recently leaked internal documents

New technology can change our relationships. When this happens, it both enables new ones to flourish while at the same time reframing or destroying old relationships. The former can be joyous, wonderful, and the latter can hurt and be depressing. A blockchain, a database in the commons, does both.

You may have been wondering what an NFT is, and more specifically, what a music NFT is. If you asked us one year ago, it’s likely none of us would’ve had any clue. Now looking back at 2021, we’ve seen music NFTs change the lives of artists in a myriad of ways.

introducing Timestamp — a snapshot in time in the music cryptoverse. A special series documenting the creative and commercial lives of music creators in web3.

This article is Part 2 Series on Spatial Audio and Wellbeing. We take a deep dive into potential health & wellness implications of spatial audio, and review of the industry.

Long-time music industry journalist Eamonn Forde explores the announcement, and delayed launch, of Spotify HiFi…

We trace the rise and continued legacy of the Wurly wonder.