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Feb 15 2023

🔵 Smart moves here from Hipgnosis with Beatclub...

The latest news from the music and tech industries
Hi there -

I will admit that in the past I have not been generous to Timbaland's Beatclub startup, mainly because it pivoted once or twice amid much PR, whilst still struggling to crisply summarise what it actually did.

Revisiting the site today, it appears to have not only found its niche but really set itself up as a serious contender. Offering sounds, plugins, distribution, masterclasses from bona fide production legends, contests with prizes and more, it strikes me as a genuinely appealing proposition; very much an all-in-one spot with considerable credibility to back it up.

One further step ups the ante even more: a new partnership with Hipgnosis, that will see the catalogue giant allowing the top tier of production talent access to its portfolio of songs with a view to generating new hits.

The really smart bit? Hipgnosis has invested into Beatclub too, meaning it not only wins if someone uses its IP to create a hit, but it benefits from the growth of the Beatclub platform too.

Ironically, Hipgnosis aren't the first to explore this model. Universal has its own Usample service that was written about last June. Even then, I'm not 100% it was first over the line. What both illustrate however is that desire to keep recycling hits by sampling them or just covering them in full.

Either way, I suspect we'll see more and more companies now seeking to close these kinds of deals. It makes complete sense, and I suspect will be setting up for some very interesting times ahead as more hits emerge recycling catalogue in one form or another.

Have a great evening,

D.

🎶 written whilst listening to LCD Soundsystem's "The Long Goodbye - Live at Madison Square Garden" album. I must confess I bought this on CD on a whim in Frome of all places, then never played it until the other day. On CD - and Apple Music, I would say with some certainty given their streaming quality is so much higher - the moment when the beat drops on opener "dance yrself clean" is truly a gem, with the dynamic range of the release suddenly become clear. It also holds the tension just long enough that when it finally comes in, you get a mighty adrenaline rush. Glorious - go try it!
Stories from the Music Industry:
Hipgnosis invests in Timbalands music marketplace Beatclub, grants producers and artists access to sample from its catalog
According to Beatclub, “by allowing access through a curated system,” the platform will grant its Elite members the ability to sample songs from the Hipgnosis catalog, “in turn, creating the next generation of hits”. The announcement adds that this partnership “will bring added ancillary value to an already iconic catalog of songs”.

👆🏻Hot take: this is a very smart move from Hipgnosis, not least because it is now in a win-win situation by having a stake in the business and increasing opportunities to drive revenue through its catalogue portfolio. 
The answers to all of these questions could shift earnings up or down. But if we use that 39 cent weekly figure, that gets you to about $20 annually. After taxes you’re probably taking home around $14 – $15 a year. At that rate, it would take approximately 14 or 15 years to recoup your initial $210 investment. So either I’m fundamentally misunderstanding a key part of this math, or anotherblock defines a 6.5% rate of return very differently than I do.

👆🏻Hot take: some great points being made here and in general I agree that this whole space requires more oversight if it is to really take off. NFTs have a dreadful reputation now, and things like this do not help. 
TikTok has partnered with Snoop Dogg and Death Row Records to bring the iconic record label’s catalog to TikTok through its independent distribution platform, SoundOn. According to TikTok, starting this past Sunday (February 12), and continuing for the rest of the week, the Death Row catalog is available to stream exclusively on TikTok. TikTok says that users will find Death Row’s music in its music hub, available to use in their videos, “in advance of its wider release next week”.

👆🏻Hot take: curious whether this is the first of many such moves on TikTok's part. The majors ruled out these windowed approaches, but as the market fragments, perhaps others may not be so quick to rule them out.
The report also looks to reinforce the value of streaming as a way to discover music, citing the finding that 86% of streamers surveyed said that they find their streaming service’s recommendations for new artists and songs useful. It also paints a picture of where this discovery leads: an important point of debate in an era where many musicians worry that they’re just a line on playlists, and that listeners won’t remember them afterwards even if they liked the track.

👆🏻Hot take: I share Music Ally's view that this report is worth a look provided you keep in mind their wider agenda (i.e. to talk up streaming services in general). 
According to a profile in The Times, Cory-Smith and Prabhu launch their company with upwards of EUR €30 million in backing from Freshstream, a London-based private equity firm. With backing from Freshstream, Bella Figura has been able to acquire Guy Chambers’ publishing catalog, including Robbie Williams hits such as ‘Angels’, ‘Feel’ and ‘Let Me Entertain You,’  in addition to David Gray’s record label IHT, which controls all of his albums from the breakthrough 1998 ‘White Ladder’ to the 2019 hit ‘Gold In A Brass Age.’

👆🏻Hot take: another acquisition business showing that the market interest around catalogue purchases is still very much alive.  
Stories from the Broader World of Tech:
The AI photo app trend has already fizzled, new data shows
At their height of popularity, the apps topped 4.3 million daily downloads and ~$1.8 million per day in consumer spending via in-app purchases. Those numbers have significantly dropped since. On November 11, the apps saw their lowest revenue, at $0.37 million. And, a week later on November 19, they saw the lowest number of downloads, at 0.84 million. As of yesterday (not shown on the chart below), the same group of apps saw only around 952,000 combined downloads and around $507,000 in consumer spending, as the numbers continue to fall.

👆🏻Hot take: I find this trend telling, as it reveals that AI arguably still has some work to do in showing its long-term utility. Arguably these things are turning into classic "feature not a business" case studies. 
Twitter deployed code to automatically “greenlight” all of Musk’s tweets, meaning his tweets will bypass Twitter’s filters designed to show people the best content possible. The algorithm now artificially boosted Musk’s tweets by a factor of 1,000 – a constant score that ensured his tweets rank higher than anyone else’s in the feed.

👆🏻Hot take: apps like Orb on the Lens protocol showing just how great social apps can be,. When you experience those, then see the state Twitter is in, it just looks ridiculous now. Musk needs to take his ego and go. 
The report says the company is working on a paywalled video feature that would allow creators to charge users $1, or another amount of their choosing, to access a video. While it’s unclear how exactly this would work, the feature would be a way for the app’s creators to make money directly from their popular videos. The idea of exclusive content for paying users isn’t a new concept, as Instagram lets creators share subscriber-only content.

👆🏻Hot take: another no-brainer feature addition IMO. Still smart to build this out though.  
Other Reads I've Enjoyed Lately:
Måneskin Negative Album Reviews: Why Aren't There More?
A viral takedown of the Italian band Måneskin prompted a reader to ask Steven Hyden why there isn’t more mean criticism.

👆🏻Hot take: this very thought crossed my mind when reading *that* review of Måneskin - so here's one take on why that is. Thanks to Ben Dietz for the link and be sure to sign up to his own newsletter if you want a digest of incredible reads!

Whether you want to thicken a stew, tenderise meat or get your scallops squeaky-clean, the pros have a trick for it

👆🏻Hot take: I can't lie, articles like this are like catnip for me, hahaha. And this one's full of gems! 
Broken bones. Eye trauma. Brain injuries. How America’s sketchy “less-lethal” weapons industry exports its insidious brand of violence around the world.

👆🏻Hot take: a grim read detailing the rise of weapons that won't kill you... but might well leave you permanently scarred, disfigured or disabled. 
The latest from Motive Unknown:
We are so excited to be working with Duff McKagan this year! Lots of exciting things are in the works all geared towards growing Duff's online presence and owned channels. CRM, audience development and acquisition, and the website is getting a makeover too 🤟🏻
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