✖ Why Twitter is better positioned for tipping musicians than streaming services like Spotify and SoundCloud
And: Live Nation concert NFTs; Anything World & Avakin Life virtual music worlds; Mapping the creator economy; Maria Schneider optimizes for fanbase 'whales'
Hi everyone,
Slightly different set-up today, but one that’s probably familiar for the more long-term followers of the newsletter. Tell me what you think by hitting the like button at the top of the newsletter or by dropping a comment.
Today’s piece dives into Twitter’s Tip Jar announcement. I think this type of functionality makes a lot more sense in social platforms than in music streaming services: read about why that is. As a matter of fact, it appears that Spotify removed its tipping functionality from profiles in the new desktop UI.
Love,
Bas
TECH
📸 Live Nation wants to turn concert ‘magic moments’ into NFTs (Scott Chipolina)
CEO Michael Rapino: “We envision Live Nation with the marketplace and looking at some of its concert moments as magic moments that we could mint and attach to our ongoing ticket festivals and special moments.”
👾 Anything World’s voice-created metaverses (Joe Sparrow)
“The music industry should realise that not only has gamification of entertainment been a long time coming, it’s here to stay – and the industry has a chance to lead the pack.”
🏗 Tencent-backed Instrumental launches virtual music venue in Avakin Life – with over 500k attendances in opening weekend (Tim Ingham)
“Within its digital walls, Avakin Life players can meet, chat and hear new music from frtyfve’s artist roster in an exclusive listening room – or attend a live performance space hosting monthly headline shows.”
🖇 This is fine: optimism & emergency in the P2P network (Cade Diehm)
“We can no longer marvel at the novel interactions afforded by peer-to-peer technologies, nor perform political theatrics within these networks. We need to lay aside our delusions that decentralisation grants us immunity.”
🐳 Maria Schneider's whales (William Chernoff)
“You won't find Schneider's music on Spotify, YouTube, or various other platforms in which she has no faith. Schneider's career is a stand against the industry 'plagues' she discussed in 2017, and it's hard to argue with her success.”
🗂 The ultimate guide to the creator economy (Antler)
220+ platforms that are empowering creators to make an income by doing what they love.
X
🏛 Berlin declares clubs cultural institutions (Richard Akingbehin)
“An almost unanimous vote [on Wednesday] was in favour of a recommendation to change clubs and live venues from entertainment sites to cultural sites.”
🧘 How Nothingness became everything we wanted (Kyle Chayka)
“In quarantine, the home pages of streaming services became our cultural glue, providing entertainment that formed our sole opportunity for collective experience.”
🕵️ The internet didn’t kill counterculture—you just won’t find it on Instagram (Caroline Busta)
“We can imagine collectively held physical spaces reclaimed from empty retail or abandoned venues hosting esoteric local scenes, a proliferation of digital gangs in dark forests who hold secrets dear, and a new desire for scarcity in cultural objects.”
🚌 AEG Presents creates in-house ‘Climate Positive Touring’ team (Stuart Dredge)
“It’s getting started with a survey of venues to “identify sustainability priorities and solutions”, and also publishing a ‘Starting Seven’ guide for promoters, suggesting seven ways they can start to reduce the climate impact of concerts.”
🎓 Introducing 1000 female, trans and non-binary students into electronic music (Future1000)
“Hosted by Jaguar, BBC Radio 1 DJ and presenter, this programme is open to all UK students aged 12-18 who identify as female, trans or non-binary. Applicants must be enrolled by their music teacher in order to verify that they are a student.”
MUSIC
Marc Acardipane is a pioneer in European hardcore rave music. He’s been releasing his back catalogue as well as brand new remixes by today’s top talent through a series called The Most Famous Unknown. His latest ‘expansion pack’ contains 10 famous & less well-known tracks from decades ago.