Welcome to the first installment of the Musonomics Monday Reading List!
Every Monday we’ll post a list of the previous week’s best reads. Amongst our curated list of the best music industry writing, you might find an explainer on the latest music industry merger, or a Q&A with an artist or an industry player of note — or maybe just a terrific essay penned by a music legend.
No matter what, our picks will always shed light on some unseen part of the industry, bring clarity to a hot-button issue, or provide a new perspective on an old problem.
Check out this week’s Monday Reading List after the jump:
Perhaps the biggest news of the week came in the form of Condé Nast’s acquisition of indie music’s favorite publication, Pitchfork. In this Q&A that ran on Billboard.biz early last week, Pitchfork’s President Chris Kaskie speaks about the acquisition, what it will mean for both companies, and how the idea came about.
From Hypebot: “…renowned Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler followed up his letter of complaint to the Trump campaign regarding the unauthorized use of his music, using it as a jumping off point to explore broader issues regarding artist’s rights concerning their work, and the need to raise the standard for artist compensation.”
http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2015/10/politicians-respect-and-protect-copyright-draft.html
As Jay Z and Timbaland’s “Big Pimpin’” lawsuit continues, questions arise about how the outcome will effect how hip hop is made, specifically how — in a genre of sampling — this suit might raise the cost of production across hip hop.
New streaming service Aurous is in hot water less than a week after its first alpha launch. The RIAA has slapped Aurous with a suit claiming massive copyright infringement, calling the service no better than Grokster, Limewire or Grooveshark. Aurous claims that it is not infringing on copyright because it uses licensed content APIs to to put playlists from services like YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and Deezer into Auros. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/oct/14/music-labels-sue-aurous-filesharing-copyright-theft
Thinking of tech and streaming giant Apple doesn’t usually conjure images of old folks sitting around listening to the classics — but rather young, vibrantly colored millenials dancing about to the newest track you’ve never heard of but soon won’t be able to escape. However new data suggests that when it comes to Apple’s streaming service, Apple Music, you’re more likely to encounter the former than the latter.
http://qz.com/526689/older-people-are-more-likely-to-pay-for-apple-music/
Check back next week for another edition of Monday Reading list, and stay tuned for more great stuff from the Musonomics team this week!