Music labels to stop using ‘urban’ category
Republic Records has announced it will no longer be using the word urban. It’s a much-needed revision to a term that should have been retired decades ago. George Floyd’s death on May 25th and the subsequent protests across the globe have pushed industries everywhere to assess their behaviour and...
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Is cross platform marketing the new key to owning the charts?
Call it sheer dumb luck or a stroke of marketing genius, either way Travis Scott may have given us a peak at the future of clout chasing in the music industry. With more registered players than the entire US population, it’s safe to say Fortnite was no flash in the pan. Developers Epic Games...
Why Ditto makes distributing your music easier than ever
Music distributors such as Ditto are making it simpler than ever to get your music out to the masses, and it might be the best place to start if you’re a Gen Z artist. If, like me, you often find yourself going down odd Spotify rabbit holes, you've probably...
Little Simz ‘Drop 6’ – Review
One of London’s best artists is back with a quick EP to keep us going during lockdown, and it’s another solid entry in an already strong discography. Little Simz is up there with the best of them when it comes to UK rap and grime. Her last album ‘GREY Area’...
Apple is refusing to let villains use iPhones in films
Film director Rian Johnson has revealed an alleged industry secret, claiming that Apple prohibits any fictional bad guys from using its products on-screen. ‘Bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera,’ says director Rian Johnson in a video interview with Vanity Fair while explaining a scene from his most recent...
Hayley Williams finds strength in honesty on her solo debut
‘Petals For Armor’ takes a wide-reaching approach to its song writing, freeing Hayley from Paramore’s grasp and finally allowing her the reinvention she needed. Anyone who was around during the MySpace era will remember Paramore’s explosion onto the punk rock music scene in 2005. They had every quality needed to...
Music live streaming surges amidst the pandemic
With nowhere to perform in real life, more artists than ever are taking to live streaming to get their music out to fans. Well, we’re nearly in mid-May, and everyone is still hunkered up at home due to the coronavirus outbreak. What many hoped would be a few weeks of inconvenience has turned into a long-term change in daily life, affecting all manners of industries and practices – including...
Machine Gun Kelly drops ‘Bloody Valentine’ – Review
This new single is a departure from his typical hip hop aesthetic, one that brings guttural pop punk production reminiscent of early noughties Blink 182 albums. You’d be forgiven for only knowing who Machine Gun Kelly is due to that Eminem diss track ‘Rap Devil’ he dropped in 2018. He’s been on the scene a fair while and has never managed to truly permeate the mainstream in the way you...
What makes Gen Z influencer houses so viral?
The first time you probably heard of an influencer house was during the height of Vine’s popularity in 2016. Here’s why they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. Social media stars all living under one roof as a giant collective is a phenomena that many older millennials and parents will probably fail to fully grasp, but make no mistake – these are powerhouses of online entertainment. Whether it’s the UK YouTubers...
The Weeknd ‘After Hours’ – Review
The Weeknd brings his usual dark, moody R&B style to his newest record, and it’s more consistent than nearly all of his previous efforts. You could easily argue that The Weeknd is perhaps the biggest pop star of the last ten years. He’s kept up a consistently stellar track record when it comes to big, chart-topping albums and singles, and has remained the soundtrack to many a social media trend...
