Music Industry
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industry to follow suit as it is important to shape the future of what we want it to look like, and not adhere to the outdated structures of the past.”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...
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...
