I Love You I’m Sorry by Mel Bryant & the Mercy Makers got stuck in my head. The track would be a favorite on your local alternative station in the 90’s. Maybe it would reach the top 5, sandwiched between Ben Folds Five ‘Brick’ and Cracker’s ‘Low’. I have to give props to those acts who are steadfast in resurrecting the nineties. Who doesn’t have a soft spot for the alternative rock of that era? The 4 piece indie act resides in Nashville. The band moved from Philly and New York to settle in East Nashville where they run their own recording studio. They are working on their debut album.

You have to give Coldplay props after the band put their plans on hold to tour over the environmental impact of their concerts. They’re one of the few acts that walk the walk, not talks the talk. We need more of them.

After talking to several managers and artists we have a new global issue that’s on the level or even more problematic than climate change. It’s the cov19 pandemics and the next pandemic. What does this mean for the future touring industry? It means a lot. It means stadium tours could be a thing of past.

Many managers and artists agree that we have a ‘moral responsibility’ and a role to play in preventing the next pandemic while flattening the curve of the present COV19 pandemic. That could mean no more huge stadium tours. No more artist meet and greets. Artists performing in smaller and intimate outside sheds could be the answer. In the event of the public health crisis, more artists are focusing on live streaming their shows.

There are few big stadium tours that are set to kick off in summer that most likely won’t happen. In fact, no way it’s going to happen. The Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe Stadium tour is set to kick off June while The Hella Mega Tour that features Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer begins in May.

We are all in this together and we’ll all figure this out.

I really like Savages by the alternative indie act Council. It has big anthem, kind of reminds me of Imagine Dragons and those type of acts. The song was meant to coincide with syncs in March Madness, MLB and other sporting events, but the coronavirus epidemic happened and has caused the events to be canceled. Fortunately for the bands sake, the lyrics ‘we live like savages’ is still relevant today because a crisis can bring out the worst in people. The track was producer Matt Squire who helmed records for Panic at the Disco! and UnderOath. Check out the track on our Indie Invaders Playlist.

It’s official, Dua Lipa is the biggest pop artist now. Her success caught critics by surprise because most artists aren’t given a second chance after a first successful album. They are usually written off as a one-hit-wonder, more than ever in the digital streaming era.

The smart artist quickly realize they need a catalogue of unforgettable songs once they catch the publics attention. Dua Lipa took this approach. She used the same songwriting/production team that crafted her worldwide smash New Rules and followed it up with Don’t Start Now.

Whereas many artists like Lady Gaga chose to postpone their albums, the Brit singer moved up her release. Fortunately for her, critics love her album, giving it the best album of 2020 so far.

No doubt the up-beat 80’s inspired album Future Nostalgia has an untimely release. But maybe this is what people need now during pandemic. I don’t know. Her songs are dance-floor ready but the clubs are closed.

Here is the thing. I like Dua Lipa. Where many artists are live streaming social distancing and clean-your-hand skits – Dua Lupa still is a mystery and unknowable.

According to reports, the singer now currently self-isolating in an Air B&B in London.

TikTok, the Chinese video-sharing app with hundreds of millions of users around the world, instructed moderators to suppress posts created by users deemed too ugly, poor, or disabled for the platform. These same documents show moderators were also told to censor political speech in TikTok livestreams, punishing those who harmed “national honor” or broadcast streams about “state organs such as police” with bans from the platform.

The ultimate goal of TikTok is to enforce rigid constraints while attempting to bolster its image as a global platform of self-expression and anything-goes creativity.

TikTok controls content on its platform to achieve rapid growth in the mold of a Silicon Valley startup while simultaneously discouraging political dissent with the sort of heavy hand regularly seen in its home country of China.

TikTok wants perfect people with pretty faces to dominate the platform. One document goes so far as to instruct moderators to scan uploads for cracked walls and “disreputable decorations” in users’ own homes — then to effectively punish these poorer TikTok users by artificially narrowing their audiences.

TikTok moderators were explicitly told to suppress uploads from users with flaws both congenital and inevitable. “Abnormal body shape,” “ugly facial looks,” dwarfism, and “obvious beer belly,” “too many wrinkles,” “eye disorders,” and many other “low quality” traits are all enough to keep uploads out of the algorithmic fire hose.