In an era where artist are surrendering their masters and publishing, we now have Bruce Springsteen giving up his master recording and publishing rights to Sony for a price of $500 million.
Sony now owns all of his 20 studio albums, as well as Born To Run, The River and Born In The USA.
Springsteen’s music generated about $15m in revenue last year. Rob Stringer, CEO of Sony Music, said the company spent $1.4 billion in acquisitions in the previous six months.
Springsteen has been with Columbia Records since the beginning of his career and has long controlled the rights to his recordings.
Legendary songwriter Diane Warren says: “It’s something I would never do (selling songs). If they’re paying you 20 times what your catalog is worth, I could see why people would do it, especially if they need the money. I don’t need the money. “This is my soul and my soul wouldn’t be for sale at any price.”
430 songs reached 1 billion video views on TikTok in 2021 – not surprising, a big increase from the year before when 175 songs reached the billion mark.
Hip-hop/rap and pop are the dominating genres in the U.S., while Latin music is the fastest growing.
Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat were the No. 1 and No. 2 artists on TikTok, as well as for last year. It’s a winner takes all market. Rapper Popp Hunna came in at No. 3 with the viral hit “Adderall (Corvette Corvette), followed by Olivia Rodrigo at No. 4 and Cardi B at No. 5.
Emerging artists benefited from the platform including Canadian singer songwriter JESSIA. She had an idea for a chorus for her latest song, so she recorded it in her car and posted on TikTok, racking up over 1 million views in just one day.
Reyanna Maria built an audience on TikTok by connecting with other users on the platform, making her own beats and covering songs by Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish. Reyanna’s moment came when she used TIkTok’s duet feature to rhyme atop a beat by @katoproducer with a calm and confident verse, earning over 2 million views in the process.
Artist Jax made a name for herself on TikTok. A former American Idol contestant, her moment came when she uploaded content of parody songs that provide an unseen perspective. She signed a deal with Atlantic and dropped the track 90s Kids.
Billie Eilish said that her early curiosity in pornography had damaged her sex life and mental health.
“As a woman, I think porn is a disgrace,” she told Howard Stern”
“I used to watch a lot of porn, to be honest. I started watching porn when I was like 11.”
“I think it really destroyed my brain, and I feel incredibly devastated that I was exposed to so much porn.”
Eilish believes her struggles with sleep paralysis and night terrors were caused by her exposure to “abusive” BDSM.
According to studies, porn addiction is a silent epidemic that destroys the brain, productivity, and zaps your energy. The UK has taken steps that makes it harder for 18 and under to access porn.
Still reeling from the Astroworld fallout, Travis Scott has been removed from the Coachella lineup in 2022.
According to sources, Scott’s agent, Cara Lewis of the Cara Lewis Group was informed that Scott was being pulled from the headline gig, and that it would pay a 25% cancelation fee.
The future of Travis Scott and the live performances is on shaky ground. Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against Scott and promotor Live Nation.
The once thriving UK live scene has turned into a ghost town. Artists have resorted to massive guests just to get people to show up
“You always had people that didn’t turn up,” said artist manager Graeme Stewart. “It was around 5% normally, but you’re getting as much as 40% no-shows for some gigs now. It’s an enormous problem, and it’s happening for anything that’s ticketed.”
Sacha Lord, the co-founder of Parklife festival and night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, said even the most popular line-ups are being affected. “We’re seeing a big drop-off, even at really hot, sold-out shows. It’s happening every single night, and it’s affecting all artists.”
Lord said it is not just venues that are struggling: “The knock-on effects of this are phenomenal. It’s decimating the whole industry.”
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