Financialization, God Rock, and THAT Metallica Twitch stream
Time Marches ON....
Hi Friends!
It’s been a busy month over here at Money 4 Nothing. So let’s dive in!
Financialization Feeding Frenzy
We started things off with an episode on the wave of financialization currently sweeping through the music industry, an ongoing story that has (for obvious reasons) long been an interest of ours.
You can hear that episode here (Apple), here (Spotify), or here (Podbean)
Honestly, when we first started exploring the world of Hipgnosis Songs Fund last summer, we thought things had probably gone about as far as they could go. Incorrect! Since then, the list of major artists that have sold some or all of their publishing rights has grown to include everyone from Bob Dylan or Neil Young to Blondie and Barry Manilow. Meanwhile, a host of new, cash-fueled companies have rolled into the space, bidding up prices, and forcing the major labels to start pushing back.
The thing is, the reasoning BEHIND this massive price increase…doesn’t seem to make total sense. Yes, streaming continues to grow, and it’s possible that negotiations between publishers and companies like Spotify could result in higher payouts. But is that enough? Luckily, we were joined by the absolute dream team of David Turner (of Penny Fractions) and Cherie Hu (of Water & Music) to help us talk through these dynamics. Unfortunately…a lot of it still seems up in the air, if not downright sus. But then again, these days, sometimes it probably IS enough to just rely on stock market hype and asset inflation…tech-era capitalism, you know?
Metallica, Jeff Bezos, and THAT Twitch Stream
A few weeks ago, the internet lit up with glee when legendary thrashers (and Napster-era villains) Metallica got absolutely owned during a Twitch livestream of their set for this year’s digital Blizzardcon. About 20 seconds in, the sound of “For Whom The Bell Tolls” was cut, and… what could kindly be described as “elevator trap” was piped over a grimacing Lars Ulrich. Folks online ate it up, arguing that watching a band that once sued its own fans have its music taken down for copyright infringement was ironic perfection.
Except, of course, that’s 100% not what happened.
We explored why, in our latest subscriber-exclusive Bonus Episode.
As soon as we started to dig in, we uncovered a far more tangled web, one centered around a year-long battle between record labels and Twitch, about whether or not the Bezos-owned company (a man whose PERSONAL net worth currently floats around the 200 billion mark) should…um…pay for the music it uses? (It has, more or less, said “no,” and blamed its users for copyright infringement.)
Of course, any conflict where the major labels are on one side and Amazon is on the other is going to be a bit of a study in anti-heroes. The ultimate point, we think, is that all sorts of relationships are being reconfigured out there—and that all too often, it’s the folks on the bottom (whether streamers or musicians) who get crushed. Worse still, these companies attempt to use misleading spin and opaque statements to pit potential allies against each other.
God is My Girlfriend
Finally, we had the chance to go deep on Christian Rock with Professor Andrew Mall, the author of “God Rock Inc.: The Business of Niche Music.” Andrew uses the study of the very BIG niche of Christian rock to ask a number of insightful questions about the music industry more generally: how do musicians, fans, and record companies work together to define a genre? How are boundaries between genres organized and maintained? And how do people “prove” they fit within them?
On top of that, Andrew spins a fascinating musical story, one that starts with the “Jesus people” hippies of the 1970s, leads to major label consolidation (we can’t stay AWAY from the topic) in the ‘80s, and ends with the rise of alt-christian styles of punk and metalcore in the ‘90s. Come for the trenchant musicological analysis, stay for the Tooth and Nail Records.
You can listen to that here (Apple), here (Spotify), or here (Podbean)
Anyways, that’s all for us. Stay tuned for next month, as we finally (gulp) talk through our blockchain thoughts and feelings.
Saxon & Sam
Gripes? Compliments? Questions? Concerns? Send us an email at Money4nothingpodcast@gmail.com.