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. RAC, born André Allen Anjos, was creating digital art well before it was cool. In May 2020, before music’s 2021 blockchain …
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The music business is kind of bored. Outside of the churn of big-money catalog acquisitions and enthusiasts wibbling on about the potential of Clubhouse and NFTs, the industry (like many of us?) is in an oddly inert place right now. A big part of that is, obviously, the omission of …
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It doesn’t matter what kind of artist you are — a weekend-warrior cover band, a multi-platinum singer-songwriter, or a composer, or an instrumentalist — because musicians everywhere are coming to terms with the wrench that Covid-19 has thrown into their livelihoods. The majority are dealing with big losses in income …
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Shani Gonzales, the new head of international A&R for Warner Chappell, is an American who makes sure Americans hear music from outside America. Gonzales has form in this area: Before joining Warner Chappell last year, she spent nearly six years at rival BMG, where she rose to co-head of A&R …
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Six months ago, Money Man had 400,000 Spotify monthly listeners. Now he’s at 4.9 million. Much of that boost comes from the trap rapper’s Kobe Bryant tribute song “24,” which further soared in popularity after Lil Baby jumped on a remixed version in August. But that collaboration wasn’t just good …
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In January, the Atlanta-based hip-hop producer TM88 received an urgent call from the rapper Lil Uzi Vert, who was craving a beat reminiscent of his hit “XO Tour Llif3.” Over the next few days, the two men spent hours on FaceTime perfecting a track together. “He’s like, ‘take that out …
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This is the fifth installment of Rolling Stone’s series At Work, in which we explore the fast-changing music business from the perspective of a different industry leader each week. Read earlier pieces in the series here. From the moment Jacqueline Saturn wakes up — at 4:47 a.m. each day, on …
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In the past few months, Spotify’s reputation within the music industry has hit a new low. Since the company said goodbye to its biggest industry-facing champion, global head of creator services Troy Carter, in September last year, Spotify has: (1) been sued by Warner/Chappell in India for copyright infringement; (2) …
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