INDUSTRY
Dance Music Represents More Than 25% of U.K. Top 10 Tracks In 2022
The results are in: the U.K. loves electronic dance music. In fact, they love dance music so much that it accounts for over 25% of the country’s Top 10 tracks this year, according to a new report from record industry trade group BPI. The report concluded that the genre is second only to pop music, which can arguably be categorized as dance these days. BPI’s report suggests that 26.1% of all tracks in the U.K. Singles Top 10 this year are considered dance music. This is an 80% increase from 2021. “Britain has always excelled at dance music, so it’s gratifying that the genre’s renaissance is powered in part by homegrown talent, including breakthrough artists LF System and Eliza Rose, who have both spent multiple weeks at number o...
Audius Acquires Virtual Music Experience Platform SoundStage.fm
Blockchain-powered streaming platform Audius has acquired Soundstage.fm, expanding the company’s efforts in the virtual concert space. Audius, the leading decentralized music community and discovery platform, will now provide interactive music metaverse experiences for fans as well as new monetization opportunities for artists. “At Audius, we are always excited to expand the ways that artists can interact with their most passionate fans,” said the company’s CEO and co-founder, Roneil Rumburg. “SoundStage.fm has built one of the most compelling environments for artists and their fans to meet virtually and is a natural extension of what the Audius community is building. We’re excited for the artists that love Audius to connect with their fans in t...
Harm Reduction Resources Are Coming to All Insomniac Music Festivals
The nation’s preeminent electronic music festival organizer, Insomniac Events, has announced a partnership with End Overdose, an organization spreading awareness of the opioid crisis. End Overdose will now have a presence at all Insomniac festivals, according to the company’s CEO, Pasquale Rotella. The nonprofit will provide educational resources and safety supplies, including Narcan kits, to combat onsite opioid overdose. The kits can quickly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose by administering Naloxone, a synthetic drug that blocks opiate receptors in the nervous system. “Accidental deaths from opioids and fentanyl are happening in our schools, in our homes, at festivals & in our communities,” reads a statement issued by Rotella. “This is an issue ...
EMPIRE Acquires Dirtybird Record Label
Famed record label and distributor EMPIRE has acquired the underground house music imprint Dirtybird. The announcement of the acquisition was made at this year’s Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). The deal reportedly marks the first foray into the electronic music scene for EMPIRE, who predominantly works with artists from the worlds of hip-hop and R&B, like Grammy Award-winning artists Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak. EMPIRE’s acquisition effectively bridges two Bay Area music powerhouses. “Growing up in San Francisco and the Bay Area at large, dance music has always been a huge part of our music scene,” said EMPIRE CEO and founder Ghazi in a statement. “EMPIRE at its core is a company that is for the culture. Dirtybird embodies the independent ethos and underst...
Free Narcan Kits to Be Distributed to New York Nightlife Establishments, Per New Legislation
It’s no secret that the opioid epidemic is worsening across the country. In New York City, where one resident dies of an overdose every three hours, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has teamed up with the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife for groundbreaking new legislation: distributing free anti-overdose kits to nightlife establishments across the state’s five boroughs. The hope, legislators said in a press release, is to combat accidental overdoses caused by pills or powders laced with fentanyl, a substance the United States Drug Administration found fatal doses of in 42% of pills they tested in 2021. Narcan, an anti-overdose agent that rapidly reverses the effects of an overdose, will be in each kit they provide to community nightlife hubs. “The frank real...
Free Narcan Kits to Be Distributed to New York Nightlife Establishments, Per New Legislation
It’s no secret that the opioid epidemic is worsening across the country. In New York City, where one resident dies of an overdose every three hours, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has teamed up with the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife for groundbreaking new legislation: distributing free anti-overdose kits to nightlife establishments across the state’s five boroughs. The hope, legislators said in a press release, is to combat accidental overdoses caused by pills or powders laced with fentanyl, a substance the United States Drug Administration found fatal doses of in 42% of pills they tested in 2021. Narcan, an anti-overdose agent that rapidly reverses the effects of an overdose, will be in each kit they provide to community nightlife hubs. “The frank real...
Opiuo Opens Up About Burnout: “It Cannot Be Ignored, and a Balance Has to Be Found”
Electronic music star Opiuo has opened up about his experiences with burnout as a touring artist. The electronic music virtuoso star, who recently released his fifth studio album, A Shape of Sound, penned a heartfelt letter to his fans, detailing his personal struggles and reflections from life on the road in 2022. It sheds light on the bleak realities of the live music landscape, where many artists are scared to talk about exhaustion for fear of scrutiny since their work is considered a “dream job” by others. Opiuo begins by praising his fans in the United States in particular, who he said are “consistently the most kind, colourful, genuine humans out.” But having been touring around the world for over a decade, he isn’t safe from battling the hardships that come with the...
TikTok Sets Sights On Spotify, Makes Moves On Native Music Streaming Service
It looks like a new streaming platform is moving into town. It’s called TikTok Music and it will be a place for users to buy, play, share and download music, as well as livestream audio and video just like they do on the TikTok app, according to Music Business Worldwide. Sources say TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has big plans for TikTok Music, which is said to directly compete with Spotify, Apple Music and other major streaming platforms. Earlier this month, MBW uncovered a patent filing and job listings posted by ByteDance for A&R positions across North America, suggesting the company might actually be structuring TikTok Music more like a bona fide record label. Back in February, TikTok Music also began tweeting the phrase, “Welcome to a new...
Music Streaming Services Collectively Surpass 100,000 Daily Uploads
It’s hardly a secret that the future of music commerce lies in streaming, but the numbers continue to bear this out in ways that can’t help but become cause for reflection. According to industry experts, over 100,000 tracks are now being uploaded to streaming platforms each and every day. This jaw-dropping figure was most recently cited by Sir Lucian Grainge, Universal Music Group’s CEO and Chairman, who mentioned it will addressing attendees of the Music Matters conference in Singapore. There’s a lot that could be said about the scale of music streaming today and how it has empowered the independent creator to directly reach consumers. But as Music Business Worldwide points out, Grainge argued that this milestone arguably makes the label a more important part of th...
Music Streaming Services Collectively Surpass 100,000 Daily Uploads
It’s hardly a secret that the future of music commerce lies in streaming, but the numbers continue to bear this out in ways that can’t help but become cause for reflection. According to industry experts, over 100,000 tracks are now being uploaded to streaming platforms each and every day. This jaw-dropping figure was most recently cited by Sir Lucian Grainge, Universal Music Group’s CEO and Chairman, who mentioned it will addressing attendees of the Music Matters conference in Singapore. There’s a lot that could be said about the scale of music streaming today and how it has empowered the independent creator to directly reach consumers. But as Music Business Worldwide points out, Grainge argued that this milestone arguably makes the label a more important part of th...
How Did Four Artists Release Music On the Same Day With the Same ’90s Sample?
Four dance tracks, four different artists, released by four different labels—all on the same day. This is the eyebrow-raising phenomenon that was spotted during this week’s Friday deluge of new music. Campbell’s “Beat Goes On (To The Brain),” Spencer Ramsay’s “Beat Goes On (DNB Flip), Chapter & Verse’s “The Beat Goes On” and Cody Wong’s “Beat Goes On (La Di Dadi Di Mix),” comprised the medley of songs all found to be using the same catchy vocal sample. The sample goes back to a 1997 release by The All Seeing I, “Beat Goes On,” a cover of Sonny & Cher’s 1967 song of the same name. In a TikTok video posted by British DJ and radio host MistaJam, the track’s original vocal hook, ...
Music Tech Startup Songfinch Raises $17 Million to “Create a Middle Class of Musicians”
Music tech startup Songfinch has secured $17 million, closing a Series A funding round that amplifies its efforts to create a “middle class of musicians,” Built In Chicago reports. Songfinch is one of a handful of music startups aiming to change how independent musicians are compensated for their work. “The industry tends to be a star-driven league and the top two percent get a chance to participate and eat most of the dollars in the industry while the other 98 percent struggle and fight for scraps,” John Williamson, CEO of Songfinch told Built In Chicago. The goal of Songfinch’s online marketplace is to provide artists with a hub where consumers can commission them to create custom songs. The platform allows users to choose a style, mood and other custom elements f...
