You could envision a day where maybe [music venues] can do social distancing, but it’s really hard in mosh pits to do that. (I know that from my daughter. I can’t say I’ve been in a lot of mosh pits myself.) | | | | David Bowie in London, May 12, 1973, in an iconic outfit by the late Kansai Yamamoto.
(Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns/Getty Images) | | | | | | “You could envision a day where maybe [music venues] can do social distancing, but it’s really hard in mosh pits to do that. (I know that from my daughter. I can’t say I’ve been in a lot of mosh pits myself.)”
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| | rantnrave:// A quick note to anyone considering staging a concert anytime soon (I use the word "soon" loosely) with, say, a DJ who doubles as CEO of GOLDMAN SACHS, pop-star headliners who are in a position to chat with the DJ about pre-IPO equity positions, and tickets that start north of $1,000 and end somewhere in the neighborhood of $25,000 (or any kind of concert, but this template popped into my head for some reason). First, ask yourself why you are doing this now and if the very very well publicized dangers and tradeoffs are worth it, even for a great cause. You could just give a bunch of money to charity. Or do something on ZOOM. Just a thought. But anyway, I write to gently remind you that six feet is not some magical distance beyond which no particles of any size can pass. Six feet is not some GANDALF-like magical force field. Six feet is a recommended best practice based on the best available science. It's better than three feet, not as good as 10 feet. You're always welcome to go with a higher number, a greater distance. The people who buy those four- and five-figure tickets might appreciate that. And they might not stay between the lines anyway. Photos and videos of will be posted to TWITTER and INSTAGRAM, and they may or may not give a true picture of the social distances those people choose for themselves, all your efforts and warnings notwithstanding. It's amazing what you can do with camera angles and cropping, not to mention a few drinks. To be safe, it might be a good idea to plan your show with enough of a buffer that people on Twitter and Instagram and the governor of New York and the commissioner of health of New York and the local town supervisor whose band is opening the show won't be led to believe that the revelers upfront are packed a little too tightly together. Whether or not they actually are. And whether or not they're wearing masks, which some of them definitely won't be. And, seriously, look out for that town supervisor in the opening band. When the opening band has the power to cite you for permit violations, be extra careful. Think of how far apart people should be, then maybe double it. Or just scrap it altogether and make a nice donation to your favorite charity... BMG, which pledged in June to review its catalog of acquired record contracts, "mindful of the music industry’s record of shameful treatment of Black artists," says it has analyzed the royalties paid to 3,000 artists and will share its findings shortly. Based on PITCHFORK's interviews with Black artists on the TROJAN, SUGAR HILL and SOLAR labels—all in BMG's portfolio—there's going to be a lot to share. "There’s some six-figure number in there that we could track down, and that would be great," says KOOL MOE DEE of the records he cut for Sugar Hill with the TREACHEROUS THREE. "Come royalty time... you wind up owing *them* money," says MELLE MEL, another Sugar Hill star. If you're reading this, you probably know all this. Which, it goes without saying, doesn't make it right.. (Maybe one of BILLBOARD's top music lawyers 2020 can help)... RIP KANSAI YAMAMOTO, DENISE JOHNSON and JOSEPH B. JEFFERSON. | | | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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| As the music-rights behemoth BMG reviews its old contracts with Black artists, legends like Kool Moe Dee and Melle Mel remain skeptical that they’ll receive their fair share. | | |
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| Numbers suggest that alarm bells are starting to ring for Universal, Sony and Warner over ad revenue - especially in “mature” streaming markets. Will they take action? | | |
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| The EDM duo will likely face citations and fines from multiple city departments, according to Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman. | | |
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| It’s time to do more to honor Chicago blues, and it should start at 4339 S. Lake Park Ave. | | |
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| Spotify’s third-party distribution platform is flawed, allowing scammers to impersonate popular artists for weeks on end, stealing thousands of streams in the process. | | |
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| The essential history and crucial artists behind the explosively popular, globally expanding genre. | | |
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| As live music venues are awarded £2.2m in emergency government funding, Fergal Kinney asks if it is enough and speaks to artists about the small venues that they love. | | |
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| If there has been one event in the past 25 years that has been absolutely catastrophic to the nightlife industry, it's COVID-19. With a death toll that is now well over 600,000, stringent travel restrictions, and even a few all-out lockdowns, it is easy to see why many local nightlife scenes have been totally decimated. | | |
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| In an interview with Rolling Stone, the Minnesota Senator explains why she co-introduced the Save Our Stages bill to help independent venues across the country. | | |
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| Fans, concerned about a conservatorship that controls Britney Spears’s estate, have begun parsing her Instagram account for clues about her well-being. | | |
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| Big artists hoover up huge payouts from Spotify and Apple Music, while others get a pittance. Could a user-centric payment system be the answer? | | |
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| Jhené Aiko is a living legend. You wouldn't necessarily know it because Aiko has always been a moody and understated presence - someone who lays back in the cut letting you come to her rather than making herself inescapable. | | |
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| Ole Obermann, TikTok’s Global Head of Music, and Believe CEO/Founder, Denis Ladegaillerie, talk charts, hits and cannibalization. | | |
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| Alf Clausen, who spent 27 years as the animated show's lead composer, says Fox is being deceitful about the motivations for his firing. | | |
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| With Friday’s ‘No Pressure,’ Logic became the latest high-profile MC to announce they’re hanging up the pen and pad. But history shows that most can’t leave hip-hop alone. Will the Maryland rapper follow suit? | | |
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| In over 40 years of working with historic sound recordings, there has only been one record in which I had an irresistible burning interest and passionate curiosity to hear but one which a) no one had or b) had never even heard of: a single June, 1923 OKeh session credited to a Thomas LaRue billed as "Der Shvartzer Khazn/The Black Cantor." | | |
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| The coronavirus is keeping Berlin's legendary clubs closed but techno attraction Berghain has found a way to throw its doors back open, luring visitors with an unusual sound exhibition. Just 50 people are let in at a time to allow for physical distancing, but without the venue's notoriously | | |
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| As with analog live performances so goes digital performances. With a daily flood of livestreams, most fixate on the biggest artists from the biggest genres: Chris Martin on Together at Home, Blake & Gwen on The Grand Ole Opry, Erykah Badu battling Jill Scott on Verzuz, Neil Young tramping around Colorado with Daryl Hannah on his Fireside Chats, etc. | | |
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| Going behind the scenes with esteemed builders Linda Manzer, Kathy Wingert, Rosie Heydenrych and more. | | |
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| David First’s new album, “The Consummation of Right and Wrong,” attempts to reconcile ideas about melody and sustained tones. | | |
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| The formerly named Dixie Chicks talk to Laura Barton about why they changed their name, Trump, their new album, and gaslighters. | | |
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| | | | | | | "Times are changing, strangers getting stranger / Generations faced with genocide." A new kind of soft summer jam, from the deluxe edition of "Chilombo," out now on ArtClub/ARTium/Def Jam. |
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