Wrangler Jeans faced criticism over using Lil Nas X ‘Old Town Road’. Fans have threatened to boycott the company in what they deem to be “cultural appropriation.” Wrangler responded, “We have a long history of using the platform of popular music to embrace a new generation of fans, while staying true to our Western heritage.”

The world’s oldest record shop, Spiller Records has banned Morrissey albums over his political views. Morrissey released a covers album today ‘California Son’ – which features collaborations with the likes of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste.

A new study claims the smartest people listen to instrumental music. Researcher at Oxford Brookes University claim those who like jazz and classical are smarter than those who prefer lyrics. I personally like jazz, but I prefer music with lyrics.

Critics have been wanting to write Madonna off but she could have the last laugh. Her net worth by Forbes is approx. $590 million. She’s one of America’s wealthiest self-made women. Check out her performance at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.

Whitney Houston estate is launching a touring hologram and album of unreleased music. Primary Wave Music Publishing acquired 50 percent of Whitney’s assets that included song & film royalties and merchandise. Some critics have said Houstons have figured out a way to cash in on Whitney and debase her at the same time.

Ciara is heading to Harvard Business School. On Instagram she said: “I always dreamt of going to college, but by God’s grace, my music career took me on a path that I’m so thankful for,” she said. “This week I got accepted into Harvard! Words cannot describe my excitement!”

Taylor Swift and Panics! Brendon Urie perform their track ME! on The Voice. Anyone else still taking it in that the EMO frontman went full blown pop?

BEBE REXHA ‘MEANT TO BE’ (FEAT. FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE) – 7x Multi-Platinum

AVA MAX ‘SWEET BUT PSYCHO’ (Atlantic) – Platinum

DAN + SHAY ‘TEQUILA’ (Warner) – 3 million

ALESSIA CARA ‘WILD THINGS’ (Def Jam) – 2 Million

TWENTY ONE PILOTS ‘MY BLOOD’ (Atlantic) – 500k

TOBYMAC ‘I JUST NEED U.’ (Capitol CMG) – 500k

CHARLIE PUTH THE ‘WAY I AM’ (Atlantic) – 500k

BRYCE VINE ‘DREW BARRYMORE’ (Warner Bros.) – Platinum

Selena Gomez is one of the most popular singers on Instagram with 150 million followers. She posts regularly but urges others to take a break if it feels overwhelming.

“For my generation specifically, social media has been terrible,” Gomez told Cannes. “I understand that it’s amazing to use as a platform but it does scare me when you see how exposed these young girls and boys are. I think it’s dangerous for sure.”

She further elaborated…

I’m grateful I have a platform. I don’t do a lot of pointless pictures. For me, I like to be intentional with it. I see these young girls … I’ll meet them at meet-and-greets, and they’re just devastated by bullying and not having a voice.

Gomez is currently working on a new album. She revealed that there will be no collaborations on the album. “Working on this new record, I just wanted it to be me, all me,” she said. “Every song is a story I’ve experienced.

The latest Taylor Swift video for Me! is a mini-million dollar movie. Insiders claim Swift’s latest video cost over a million. Is it worth to spend a million dollars on a music video today? For Swift, sure. She has the money to spend, but for other artists?

It’s hard to make money off videos in the digital age because of streaming. Unlike 20 years ago, at least today, videos can generate ad revenue whereas MTV paid nothing to artists and labels. Regardless, big budget videos were always a risky bet even in the MTV era because it’s never a surefire bet that the masses would embrace the song. In many cases, artists would come out with the song first, and if the song did well, then shoot a video.

YouTube pays out approximately $1.50 for every 1,000 views, therefor, music videos should be viewed as a promotional item, not as a profit center, especially for a new artist.

The Economics of Taylor Swift’s ‘ME!’ and Music Videos In the Digital Age

Music-video costs range from $2,500 (for an indie-label project) to $700,000 or more (for a pop superstar like Swift, Grande or Drake). Vince Staples’ 2018 video for “FUN!” cost roughly $200,000, says his manager, Corey Smyth, although it has just 3.7 million YouTube views. “It’s worth it,” he says. “They’re all calling cards. You don’t know what’s going to hit and what’s going to go viral.” Country stars spend $30,000 to $250,000 per video, according to Erica Rosa, royalties director for Nashville business-management firm Flood, Bumstead, McCready and McCarthy. “I saw one in the pop world that was around $850,000,” she says. “I almost fell out of my chair.”

“Videos are as important as they’ve ever been,” says McLynn, who manages Sia and Fall Out Boy and has made videos from $10,000 to $200,000. “When you’re rolling out a bigger artist, you want to double down — you want to make sure you have everything you need, so you up the budget.”

Big budget videos are reserved for a few artists a year that can generate hundreds of millions of streams. Since the cost of making music videos have gone down, it makes sense for most artists to release videos in the digital age. In fact, music videos and visuals are more important than ever.