Ric Salmon is preparing for his most ambitious live-streaming project yet with his team at Driift producing and promoting a three-part performance series for The Smile, a new side project from Radiohead legends Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood. The Smile will perform three separate live shows in London, beginning Saturday (Jan. 29) at 8 p.m. BST (2 p.m. eastern), 1 a.m. BST on Jan 30 (5 p.m. eastern on Jan 29) and 11 a.m. BST (7 a.m. eastern) on Jan. 30. The performances will be live-streamed globally and include an in-studio live audience. Fans can watch The Smile performance from anywhere in the world via Dreamstage. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The concert series will preview music from the The Smile’s debut album, out soon on XL Recordings...
Following Neil Young and Joni Mitchell‘s requests to pull their music from Spotify, the streaming platform’s No. 1 competitor, Apple Music, is promoting the availability of both artists’ catalogs on its own platform — with a wink. On Thursday (Jan. 27), Apple Music first highlighted Young’s catalog under the editorial header “We Love Neil,” displayed prominently for users browsing for music on its platform. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news By Saturday, a “We Love Joni Too” header highlighting selections from Mitchell’s catalog was added directly below the Young header. Both phrases seem to be in response to the artists’ requests that Spotify purge their catalogs from its platform, due to COVID-19 vaccine misinformation spread by Spotify’s popula...
Joni Mitchell is joining her old friend and contemporary Neil Young in having her legendary music catalog pulled from Spotify over concerns about vaccine misinformation being spread on the platform’s popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast. In a brief note posted to her official website on Friday, the singer-songwriter wrote, “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Mitchell’s announcement comes just two days after Spotify confirmed it would be granting Young’s request to have his music removed from the platform. Young made the ...
Spotify’s decision to remove Neil Young’s catalog from the platform in order to keep peddling COVID misinformation via podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience has sparked quite a lot of online discourse about free speech, streaming, and the best way to support artists. The hashtag “#CancelSpotify” trended among Young fans on Twitter Thursday evening (January 27th), and other artists and streaming platforms joined the conversation as well. Apple Music, TIDAL, Deezer, and Qobuz made sure to remind fans that they still offered Young’s music, while SiriusXM relaunched Neil Young Radio. “When you have an opportunity to present an iconic artist still at the height of his creativity, you don’t hesitate to do it, again,” Steve Blatter, SiriusXM senior vice president and general manager of musi...
Neil Young has relaunched his crusade against Spotify, though this time, it’s not about audio quality. The rock veteran has asked the streaming giant to remove his music from the platform, citing “fake information about vaccines” the company has allowed to spread. Young delivered the request in an open letter to his management and record label, though the letter seems to have been removed from his website. Per Rolling Stone, however, Young writes: “I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them. Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule.” “I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” You...
Neil Young wants his music pulled from Spotify, citing the spread of vaccine misinformation on the popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast as the cause. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” Young wrote in an open letter to his management team and record label posted to his Neil Young Archives website, according to Rolling Stone. The post has since been removed. “I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform.” Explore Explore Neil Young See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Rogan, who signed a $100 million deal in May 2020 giving Spotify exclusive rights to — but not ownership of — his hugely popular podcast, has come under fire for spreading misinformation on his show about COVID-19 and vaccines. In addit...
With his 2,141 SoundCloud followers, veteran U.K. psychedelic-music producer Darren Sangita didn’t exactly wound Spotify when he pulled his music from the streaming service last month. “I’m a zed-list music celebrity,” he says. But he couldn’t support a company whose founder, Daniel Ek, invested more than $114 million in Helsing, a European security startup that manufactures artificial-intelligence software to “keep liberal democracies from harm.” “The circumstantial evidence points to a massive investment in military/AI tech,” says Sangita, who runs indie label Sangita Sounds. “I was just enormously disappointed. Are there not any other alternatives that Mr. Ek could have possibly thought about investing in to make the world...
Netflix and chill just got a little more expensive. Today, the streaming giant announced it will be raising prices across all of its plans in the US. The most basic tier is going from $8.99 to $9.99 per month, while the price of the most popular, standard tier will rise by more than a dollar from $13.99 monthly to $15.49 and the premium tier climbs a full two dollars from $15.99 to $17.99. The pricing change immediately impacts new subscribers, while rolling out “gradually” to current subscribers. The company promises to email members 30 days before the hike goes into effect. Advertisement Related Video Basically, no matter which plan you subscribe to, you’ll be paying a little more to binge Emily in Paris, Cheer, and Cobra Kai, or watch a shirtless Antoni Porowski give his dog an inexplic...
If 2020 and 2021 were the years Hollywood stars proved their mettle in podcasting, 2022 could be the year top influencers find their stride in audio. A survey of U.S. listeners by Acast and Nielsen finds nearly 40 percent of respondents said they wanted podcasts from YouTubers and influencers, outranking interest in shows from music and TV personalities. “We anticipate that this consumer desire will drive content creators who are looking to please their fans to pick up microphones and test the waters in podcasting this year,” Tommy Walters, Acast’s North America Commercial Insights Manager, said in an email to The Hollywood Reporter, noting that “smart content creators” understand the potential of podcast advertising will be able to carry their followings over to t...
Ed Sheeran is closing out 2021 with a major achievement under his belt. On Wednesday (Dec. 22), the singer posted a video to his Instagram announcing that his 2017 hit “Shape of You” has become the first song in Spotify’s history to reach 3 billion streams. Explore Explore Ed Sheeran See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I’ve just heard ‘Shape of You’ has reached 3 billion streams on Spotify, which is absolutely insane. I remember this song hitting a billion and thinking that that was weird,” Sheeran said. “The first song to hit 3 billion streams and I’m really, really chuffed with it. Thank you, Spotify, for your support over the years. We’ve had a great 10 years together and hopefully, we have a great 10 years more.” The 30-year-old also took a brief mome...
Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek has found the successor to longtime Disney executive and general counsel Alan Braverman. Disney has named Horacio Gutierrez senior executive vp, general counsel and secretary for the company, succeeding Braverman, who is retiring at the end of the year. Guttierez joins from streaming audio giant Spotify, where he was head of global affairs and chief legal officer. The executive, who starts at Disney Feb. 1, previously served as general counsel at Microsoft. “Horacio is an incredibly skilled attorney and dynamic leader who comes to Disney with 35 years of legal experience in markets around the globe. Having spent more than two decades working for premier technology companies, he has an extensive understanding of the complex legal questions that come with techn...