On today’s Monday Reading List: Music Business Worldwide tells us why this week will be so important for the industry, Taylor Swift and Apple join forces (again), a new study suggests that streaming might actually help record sales, and the RZA considers stealing back the Wu-Tang album that recently sold for millions.
Episode 3, “What’s a Mixtape Anyway?” is now live!
On this episode we look at the economy of the mixtape in hip-hop. The mixtape has been a staple in the hip hop world since the dawn of breakbeats — but how has it’s role in the music ecosystem changed since those early days? To figure it out, we take a look back at how the mixtape was born and what it has evolved into. Alyse Howard of The Urban Coin brings us a special report on how Nipsey Hussle and the Wu-Tang Clan and have used artificial scarcity to create demand and drive pricing. And Larry Miller chats with Billboard Senior Editor Gail Mitchell about what it means to release a mixtape in today’s music economy.