Music Industry News
Vinyl Sales Surpass CD Sales for the First Time in 34 Years
It’s been a long time coming, but now it’s officially official: vinyl sales have surpassed CD sales in the US. According to a new report from The Recording Industry Association of America, vinyl records accounted for $232.1 million of music sales in the first six months of 2020, whereas CDs have only brought in $129.9 million. This is the first time since 1986 — 34 years! — that vinyl has outsold CDs. Physical sales overall dropped by 23% in the first half of this year, likely because fewer people are leaving their homes, nevermind to visit music stores. However, CD sales declined by 48% whereas vinyl sales started to climb, particularly during the week of Record Store Day “Drops” when 802,000 records were sold. Unsurprisingly, digital sales continued to decrease by 22%, accounting for $35...
LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy Joins Senator Chuck Schumer to Save Independent Venues: Watch
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, and Grace Blake of Iridium, photo via NIVA The pandemic has proven especially dire for the live music scene, as the National Independent Venue Association found that 90% of independent music venues could close without financial aid. That’s why NIVA is fighting hard to get the bipartisan Save Our Stages Act passed. To promote their efforts, the organization gathered LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, New York’s Senator Chuck Schumer, and a number of New York-area venue owners for a press conference outside of Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right on Tuesday. After being introduced by Baby’s co-owner/music director Billy Jones, Senator Schumer stepped to the mic first. “Our live venues are the pulse, the heart, and t...
Senators Introduce “Save Our Stages” Legislation to Help Music Venues During Pandemic
There may be hope for music venues struggling to get by during the coronavirus pandemic after all. Earlier today, Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota introduced a new piece of legislation called the “Save Our Stages Act”. It’s a relief bill that aims to provide financial support to music and entertainment venues across the country, particularly those that are in danger of shutting down permanently, reports Rolling Stone. According to a press release, the “Save Our Stages Act” will offer six months of financial support to “keep venues afloat, pay employees, and preserve a critical economic sector for communities across America.” The legislation is geared towards operators, promoters, and talent reps at primarily small, independent venues. The specific grant amounts ...
Austin City Limits 2020 Festival Officially Canceled
Austin City Limits has officially canceled its 2020 festival amid ongoing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The Texas music festival was quietly holding out hope that it could continue as scheduled for this fall, likely because this year marks the 20th anniversary of Austin City Limits and special celebrations were in the works for such. Thankfully, ACL will celebrate that milestone next year when it returns to Zilker Park on October 1st – 3rd and October 8th – 10th in 2021. “We would have loved to put on another memorable show this year, however, with the uncertainty surrounding the current situation in Texas, this decision is the only responsible solution,” ACL organizers wrote in a statement. “The health and safety of our fans, artists, partners, staff, and the entire Austin commu...
600 Artists Sign Letter Asking Congress to Support Independent Music Venues
A recent survey conducted by the National Independent Venue Association found that 90% of independent music venues face closure if the coronavirus shutdown lasts six months or longer and there’s no federal support provided. Now, a group of 600 artists have signed an open letter calling on Congress to provide the necessary funding and support to keep these venues afloat. A who’s who of prominent musicians have put their name to the letter, everyone from Dave Grohl to Billie Eilish to Willie Nelson to Robert Plant. Other notable signees include André 3000, Billy Joel, Lady Gaga, Kacey Musgraves, Bon Iver, St. Vincent, Trent Reznor, Patti Smith, David Byrne, Earth Wind & Fire, Vampire Weekend, Alice Cooper, Jack Black, Josh Homme, Ozzy Osbourne, Mitski, Maggie Rogers, Conor Oberst, Beach ...
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Coachella Postponed Until 2021 [Updated]
Coachella was one of the first large-scale gatherings impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Initially, organizers had postponed the two-weekend music festival from April to October with the hope that live music would be back up and running by the fall. Now, though, Billboard reports that Goldenvoice, the production company behind Coachella, has ditched plans for an October event and is instead looking ahead to spring 2021. But even that may be wishful thinking. Update: Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser has signed an order canceling the October 2020 stagings of Coachella and its sister festival, Stagecoach, according to KESQ. “I am concerned as indications grow that COVID-19 could worsen in the fall,” Kaiser said in a statement. “In addition, events like Coachel...
Republic Records Will No Longer Use the Word “Urban” to Describe Music
In a move that could be described as woefully overdue, Republic Records will stop using the term “urban” as a synonym for hip-hop, R&B, and other music pioneered by black artists. Republic is the home of such artists as The Weeknd, James Blake, Taylor Swift, and Ariana Grande. In a social media statement, the label indicated that, “Effective immediately, Republic Records will remove “Urban” from our verbiage in describing departments, employee titles and music genres.” The post continued, “We encourage the rest of the music industry to follow suit as it is important to shape the future of what we want it to look like, and not adhere to the outdated structures of the past.” Via Billboard, the term “urban” comes from legendary black DJ Frankie Crocker, who developed the urban ...
Spotify Lifts 10,000-Song Cap on Libraries
In a new Community blog post, Spotify announced that it was lifting the 10,000 item cap on users’ online libraries. The policy change will roll out over the coming days. This has been one of the platform’s most popular requests since at least 2014, proving that when the community demands the same thing for six years running, Spotify partially listens. That’s “partially”, because these unlimited saves come with a few caveats. To start, it only applies to the online library; users are still restricted to 10,000 offline downloads. Furthermore, playlists remain capped at 10,000 songs, so the super-user dream of putting an entire library into a single massive playlist remains just that — a dream. Still, for most Spotify obsessives, this will be a relief. Now digital users can enjoy accumulating...
Israelis Stage Music Festival in Protest of Country’s COVID-19 Lockdown
Live music returned to Israel on Thursday, as over 3,000 people gathered in a park in Tel Aviv for an event called “Behind the Scenes: an Assembly of Solidarity”. Though technically billed as a protest, and not a concert, the event featured a dozen prominent Israeli artists performing on a large stage. Much like in America, Israel has been on a COVID-19 lockdown since mid-March, which has effectively shuttered the entertainment industry. Yesterday’s event served as a protest to encourage the government to reopen live events, according to Billboard. In order to stage such a large-scale mass gathering, organizers of the event exploited a loophole in Israel’s health regulations allowing for contained protests. Upon entering the park, attendees were asked to wear a face mask and keep six feet ...
Arkansas Concert Promoter Begrudgingly Agrees to Follow Reopening Guidelines
Arkansas’s governor is allowing America’s first post-quarantine concert to move forward after the promoter agreed to adhere to the state’s reopening guidelines. As previously reported, Bishop Gunn singer/guitarist Travis McCready was set to play a limited-capacity concert at TempleLive in Forth Smith, Arkansas on Friday, May 22nd, marking the first such live event to take place in the country since COVID-19 effectively shuttered the live music industry. However, after learning of the venue’s specific social distancing plans, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson (R) hit the venue with a cease-and-desist order. Hutchinson’s main point of contention was over the timing of the event, as it was to take place three days prior to the date (May 18th) in which the governor previousl...
Arkansas Governor Issues Cease and Desist Over Planned Rock Concert
Arkansas will have to wait for its first rock concert as the state’s governor has issued a cease-and-desist order to the venue planning to stage the event. As previously reported, Bishop Gunn singer/guitarist Travis McCready was set to play a limited-capacity concert at TempleLive in Forth Smith, Arkansas on Friday, May 22nd. It was to mark the first such live event to take place in the country since COVID-19 effectively shuttered the live music industry. In order to adhere to social distancing guidelines, TempleLive had shed its capacity by 80%. Of the 229 seats available, tickets were sold in groups of two to 12. Additionally, all attendees would have had their temperature taken before entering the venue, and were required to wear face masks. The venue also planned to sell pre-packa...
Live Nation Planning to Resume Concerts at “Full Scale” Beginning in 2021
Some health experts warn that live music shouldn’t return until a COVID-19 vaccine is readily available — something which could take until fall 2021. Ultimately, though, the decision rests in the hands of individuals like Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, whose company is responsible for staging thousands of concert tours across the globe. During a call with investors on Thursday (via Variety), Rapino said Live Nation plans to resume concerts, albeit in a limited and scaled-down capacity, over the next six months, with the goal of getting back to “full scale” at the start of 2021. In the short-term, Rapino said Live Nation will be “starting slow and small,” experimenting with fan-less or reduced-capacity shows. Rapino mentioned several different scenarios, including indoor concerts without f...
