Music News: Muzak goes bankrupt July 14, 2020 Mood Media, the owner of the Muzak brand, is filing for bankruptcy. Is this the end of an era for elevator music?
Music News: Artists doing whatever it takes to sustain themselves as pandemic pressures grow July 8, 2020 The shock has faded, and the long scary slog has set in. How can artists sustain themselves over the course of a pandemic that could last well into next year? Today, we look at ways people in the music world are struggling to keep their heads above water.
Music News: Country music faces racial reckoning June 30, 2020 Changing their name to the Chicks, the band formerly known as the Dixie Chicks have declared that they want to 'meet this moment.' Is this the moment when country music finally faces a reckoning that will unseat the genre's longstanding racial exclusion?
Music News: How musicians are fighting white supremacy June 23, 2020 As the music world confronts institutional racism and white supremacy, individual artists are wondering what steps they can take to establish a new, more equitable norm. Jeff Tweedy and Fiona Apple are sharing revenue, Patterson Hood is acknowledging 'the bad name I gave my band,' and the Beths are wondering about the responsibilities of white artists releasing new music.
Music News: Drive-in shows by Garth Brooks and others a bright spot amid uncertain future for live music June 18, 2020 As music venues continue to fight for their survival during the coronavirus pandemic, artists are getting creative. We talk to the company behind Garth Brooks's upcoming drive-in streaming show, look at what went wrong during the U.K. 'quarantine raves,' and consider the risk Live Nation is now asking artists to assume.
Music News: Nabil Ayers on Ed Eckstine, Blackout Tuesday, and hopes for change June 17, 2020 Nabil Ayers is the U.S. general manager for the record label 4AD. He's also a musician and a writer, and recently in the New York Times, he had an interview with Ed Eckstine, who was the first black person to be appointed head of a major label in the U.S. He talked about that conversation, and about all the conversations happening in the music industry around Blackout Tuesday.
Music News: From the Grammys to 'Lady A,' music industry changes its language June 16, 2020 In the wake of Blackout Tuesday, will real change come to the music world? The Grammys are changing their use of the word 'urban' and the band formerly known as Lady Antebellum are now 'Lady A,' while BMG is looking at its historic contracts to root out inequities.
Music News: Epidemiologists uneasy about concert safety for another full year June 11, 2020 Most epidemiologists say that at this point, they won't feel comfortable attending a concert for over a year. Even as the United States start to reopen from coronavirus lockdown, the financial crisis for the concert industry is deepening, with a potentially devastating round of permanent venue closures looming.
Music News: Artists respond to George Floyd's killing with new and renewed songs of protest June 9, 2020 As protests of a scale not seen in decades spread around the world in the wake of George Floyd's killing, musicians released both new songs and songs of continuing relevance.
Music News: Will 'Blackout Tuesday' lead to meaningful industry change? June 4, 2020 'Blackout Tuesday' was a very visible music industry statement that spread across social media, but artists and fans are wondering whether the industry can go beyond a statement to truly change structures that have historically disempowered black artists.