Royalty Rumble at Spotify

Hello, it’s us.

Been awhile hasn’t it? We weren’t joking when we said “irregular.” We’ll be better, we promise.

So what’s been up at the hot corner of music and capital(ism) in the first month of the new year?

Oh just some casual royalty payout changes at Spotify, boardroom shakedowns at Hipgnosis and some, weird and disheartening structural changes and layoffs at Pitchfork — THE defining music publication of the Millennial generation.

Like the rest of the increasingly small world of music criticism, we were shaken by the news on Pitchfork had not only been more-or-less gutted by publisher Conde Nast, but also, bizarrely pulled into GQ. Yeah, f-ing Gentleman’s Quarterly. Of all possible things.

We’re not gonna lie—this one feels grim. But, what kind of grim? We’re split. Is it corporate confusion and brand-based failure, or some (desperate) fragments of sense from the seemingly nonsensical plan?

Is music criticism lifestyle reporting? Is there an economic base for the record review? Will a thousand newsletter flowers bloom?

On our latest episode, we have questions, not answers. Insert your own "Wintour is the cruelest season" joke here.

Listen on iTunes, Spotify or Podbean.

Hipgnosis, the once high-flying music fund is very much in hot water—conflicts of interest flying, shareholders revolting, and board-members unceremoniously shown the door (We told you so). Also, Spotify changed its royalty payment structure (1000 plays minimum) which seems like no biggie but reflects a fundamental set of shifts within the power-structures of the industry.

Everyone is gearing up for a fight about the next 25 years of music—moves like this are the first steps towards a new world order. What does that mean? Well we know A.I. is going to play a role, and Lucian Grainge isn’t going to be left hanging around when the garbage needs to be taken out.

Funny enough, you might have seen a very, recent article in The New Yorker on Sir Lucian was just published on this very subject (A.I….not garbage). Unfortunately, most of it is spent on Grainge’s penchant for dropping vague analogies and PMA pull-quotes from other industry big wigs (plus Bono) about Grainge.

Probably better to just listen to our episode instead.

Listen on iTunes, Spotify, or Podbean.

Finally, some housekeeping. You might be wondering what happened to our collaboration with David Turner of Penny Fractions? Well, David has an exciting new job! And after many years spent diligently providing insights through his excellent newsletter, he’s decided to turn his focus on the new gig.

But don’t worry, David will be back on our show. We pinky-promise.

Department of Actual Music:

Sam (CJ&Co. - “Hear Say”): “I’ve been spinning a lot of disco lately, and this track from CJ & Co has become a particular favorite — its got this amazing mix of driving, horn-heavy intro and a total tonal shift in the chorus And it goes on forever. Which, like, obviously, you want.”

Saxon: (Chanel Beads - “Police Scanner”): “Heard this first on The Early Bird Show with Maria Somerville — my favorite NTS show. The slightly reticent duo from NYC only has a handful of singles but they’re all vibe. Rumor has it that some sort of EP or full-length is in the works with Jagjaguwuar.”

LUV,

Sam and Saxon