If the music streaming landscape were a horse race, Audius would be a multi-colored pigmy unicorn. The young blockchain-powered service may be hard to spot in the dust that trails stallions like Spotify and Apple Music, but it has been steadily making headway since its arrival in 2018. As “crypto” …
Read More »Inside the 24/7 Influencer Competition for a Major Record Deal
Six weeks ago, a group of music executives threw seven Gen Z influencers in a mansion on a 40-acre estate for a live competition that would pit the fledgling artists and songwriters against each other, with the promise of a path to fame and fortune for a sole winner. What …
Read More »Deadmau5 Is Crowdsourcing His Next Music Video Through a Video Game
Prolific electronic producer Deadmau5 wanted a unique location for his next music video. Through the video game Core, he’s enlisting a legion of gamer fans to make it for him. Deadmau5 announced today (July 15th) that he is partnering with Core and developer Manticore Games for the deadmau5 x Core …
Read More »Drake Wants to Turn His Life Carbon Neutral With Eco-Finance Startup Aspiration
Drake has signed on as an investor and collaborator with Los Angeles-based sustainability and financial services startup Aspiration, the company tells Rolling Stone. The rapper joins other celebritieslike Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., and Orlando Bloom in investing in Aspiration, but Drake’s partnership goes deeper than financial backing: He will …
Read More »On the Road Again: Tour Crews Are Hopeful But Wary as Concerts Return
The moment Richard Coble has been anticipating will arrive in just over a month. At Dallas’ Globe Life Field on July 24th, the tour manager will gather together the members of Green Day from a warm-up room and walk them to the stage for the first show of their long-delayed …
Read More »The Sisyphean Quest for a Good Record Deal
This story appears in Rolling Stone‘s 2021 Future of Music issue, a special project delving into the next era of the multibillion-dollar hitmaking business. Read the other stories here. When Doris Muñoz met Cuco, one of the first things she told him was that his art was pure and should …
Read More »Everybody Wants Some (Hits)!!
This story appears in Rolling Stone‘s 2021 Future of Music issue, a special project delving into the next era of the multibillion-dollar hitmaking business. Read the other stories here. People wrote off Lil Nas X as a fluke. His self-released country-and-rap medley “Old Town Road” had pulled in blockbuster streams …
Read More »Coachella Announces Dates for April 2022
Following a two-year hiatus due to the the pandemic, Coachella and Stagecoach will finally return in April 2022, the festivals’ promoter Goldenvoice announced on Tuesday. Coachella is slated for April 15-17 and April 22-24, and customers can register for the show’s advance sale, which will begin on June 4th at …
Read More »Maybe Touring Can Return Without the Toxic Work Culture
Life on a concert tour is notoriously unhealthy — whether you’re the artist, a backup dancer, or a member of the crew. Work is long, hours weird, and travel incessant; meanwhile, pressures and anxieties are high, booze is everywhere, gym access is mostly nonexistent, and healthy food options are hard …
Read More »Techstars Music to Demo Its 2021 Accelerator Class on 'Rolling Stone'
Update, May 17th: As Techstars Music readies for its Demo Day on May 18th, the accelerator tells Rolling Stoneit has also brought on Korean entertainment company HYBE, parent company to BTS’s label Big Hit Music, as a new investor partner for the program. HYBE joins music companies like Sony, Warner …
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