#96 - Sunday Best 🌞

ILYSFM review, Fred again.. announces ten days, Drake 100GB, Aerosmith retires from touring, Spotify surpasses UMG, Udio & Suno copyright infringement, Luminate mid-year takeaways, August album rush, Forrest Frank.

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Happy Sunlighter Sunday, and welcome to the 113 music enthusiasts who’ve joined since our last edition!

We’re back with our first monthly edition and… a lot has happened in the music industry: StubHub delayed its IPO, Forbes officially declared Bruce Springsteen a billionaire, and Chappell Roan drew the biggest Lollapalooza crowd, perhaps ever (and she wasn’t even a headliner). Prince was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Usher is getting his own AMC experience, and Siri has opinions on the Kendrick vs. Drake battle. YouTube Music & TikTok activate a “hum” search feature while the latter is under fire by the DoJ. Lastly, Carrie Underwood will come home to American Idol as a judge. Because we’re highlighting four weeks of news into one edition, our newsletters will be longer reads, so feel free to take it in small bytes!

Rating Rationale: In what must be one of the most difficult tasks for any artist, Glass Animals took on the practically insurmountable challenge of gripping early listeners along with mainstream newcomers on their fourth studio album following magnum opus, Dreamland. The CliffNotes is that ILYSFM is an outstanding album, but it falls short of the aforementioned task. However, we recognize that the body of work is unequivocally head and shoulders above most album releases this year (perhaps even in our top 10? 👀). Thematically, ILYSFM is an intentionally vague interpretation of love across 10 songs. While the album is well-produced, there is a slight drop-off in the creativity of Dave Bayley’s uncanny lyricism, and the production feels a bit more homogenized and borrowed from their sonic approach that shined in Dreamland. A noteworthy detail is that ILYSFM is their first release through Polydor (UMG), with the majority of their previous releases being through indie label, Wolf Tone Records 🤔. Nonetheless, it’s still a strong album, and our favorites are, “Show Pony,” “Creatures in Heaven,” “A Tear in Space (Airlock),” and “White Roses.”

Electronic

Fred again.. and The Blessed Madonna ready new albums, Empire of the Sun returns from an eight-year hiatus, Knife Party teases a return to music, Palm Tree Festival heads to Cali

In what will be one of EDM’s most highly anticipated albums of the year, Fred again.. will be releasing his new record, ten days, encapsulating ten songs about “really very small quiet intimate moments.” Aside from his first three singles, we expect the remaining seven songs will include Sampha, The Japanese House, Emmylou Harris, Joy Anonymous, SOAK, and Duskus. Separately, The Blessed Madonna will be releasing her debut album, Godspeed, which will include features from Kylie Minogue, A-Trak, and mutual Fred again.. collaborator, Joy Anonymous.

A few weeks ago, the “Walking on a Dream” duo, Empire of the Sun, released their album, Ask That God, marking the end of an eight-year hiatus. We presume they’ll be on the bill for several festivals next year. Additionally, Australian DJ duo Knife Party is teasing a return to music after going on hiatus in 2019.

Kygo’s Palm Tree Festival will be returning to Dana Point in October with headliners Martin Garrix, OneRepublic, Calvin Harris, and The Chainsmokers, along with a brilliant undercard that includes Cannons, Harry Hudson, and Sunlighter favorite, ayokay (Quinn XCII producer). Finally, The Sphere will see its first EDM show from Anyma on New Year's Eve.

PnB Rock receives posthumous justice, Drake drops 100GB worth of content, Mike WiLL Made-It follows DJ Mustard on releasing a record, John Legend is making a children’s album?

Back in September 2022, when we found out that PnB Rock was fatally shot at a Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles restaurant in Los Angeles, we decided to pay homage by spotlighting PnB Rock as our 5th artist of the week. This week, justice was finally served after a jury found both a 42-year-old man, who orchestrated the senseless action, along with his 17-year-old son, guilty of homicide. Separately, Tory Lanez, who is currently serving 10 years behind bars for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, released two new songs as part of his “Prison Tapes” series.

Since losing his rap beef battle against Kendrick Lamar, Drake has stayed relatively quiet… until this week. Unexpectedly, Drake released an archive of 100GB worth of material through 100gigs.org. A treasure trove of past content, 100 GIGS FOR YOUR HEADTOP is organized by past projects via a hard drive-style folder system and includes numerous studio session recordings, video footage, artwork, audio clips, and three new songs. Maintaining its aura of secrecy, the website also has several “easter eggs,” including a redirected link to a public Instagram account titled, plottttwistttttt. Separately, Drake also announced that he would be releasing a collaborative album with PARTYNEXTDOOR later this year.

Several other artists are busy preparing for new album releases. Mike WiLL Made-It will release his first album in seven years, R3SET, later this year. Cordae announced his upcoming album, The Crossroads. Finally, John Legend is working with Sufjan Stevens on a children’s album titled, My Favorite Dream, which is expected to be released later this month…(this one was definitely not on our bingo card).

Indie & Alternative

MUNA’s Katie Gavin and Foals’ Yannis Philippakis pursue solo projects, several indie album releases set to arrive in October

In the current zeitgeist of on-demand music streaming and the relative ease of becoming an artist, several artists this year have branched out to explore solo projects. Joining the ranks of Adrienne Lenker and Josephine Vander West, among others, Katie Gavin of MUNA and Yannis Philippakis of Foals have announced respective solo projects, What a Relief and Lagos Paris London.

October is set to be a big month for indie artist releases: Texas-native soul singer, Leon Bridges, will be releasing his self-titled album, Leon. Soccer Mommy will be releasing her first album in two years, Evergreen. Finally, Billie Eilish’s brother, FINNEAS, will be dropping his second solo studio album, For Cryin’ Out Loud! after co-writing and producing Billie’s Hit Me Hard and Soft.

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World Music

More K-pop artists launch solo careers

Within the last week, both Jaehyun from NCT and Tzuyu of TWICE have announced solo debut mini-albums. Jaehyun’s upcoming album, aptly titled, J, will arrive later this month while Tzuyu’s upcoming mini-album, abouTZU, is pending a release date. Notably, Tzuyu now follows Nayeon and Jihyo as the third member of TWICE to go solo (that’s 3/9 members) and has recently seen a resurgence in popularity after being mistaken for a Korean archer during the Olympic games, subsequently seeing her old archery videos going viral.

Pop

Charli xcx and Chappell Roan dominate summer streams, Joe Jonas focuses on solo music, Jade Thirwall closes the Little Mix chapter, Taylor Swift’s Austria concerts canceled

Summertime music has always been a focal point for listeners, and the popstars who have undoubtedly taken the mantle this year are Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Charli xcx. We’re still riding the highs of Brat summer, as she recently surprise-released a remix to her song “Guess” (from her extended album) with Billie Eilish. This effort helped her score her first UK #1 single in a decade, yet another achievement after being recently short-listed for the Mercury Prize. In a similar vein, Chappell Roan’s meteoric rise within the last few months has also helped her reach her first UK #1 album.

Finally, here are several other notable highlights from pop artists within the past month:

  • Last month, Joe Jonas announced his sophomore solo album, Music For People Who Believe In Love.

  • JADE released her debut single, making her the final member of Little Mix to pursue a solo career.

  • Taylor Swift’s concerts in Austria were canceled due to a terrorist threat. As a result, fans took to the streets to sing her hits.

  • Addison Rae officially released her first song, “Diet Pepsi,” through a major (Columbia Records) - it’s not great 😬

Rock & Metal

Aerosmith retires from touring


Last fall, only three dates into their farewell tour, Aerosmith’s frontman, Steven Tyler, injured his vocal cords, forcing the band to postpone their remaining tour dates to 2024. Now deemed irrecoverable, the band officially announced that they plan to retire from touring and will subsequently be canceling all remaining dates.

Desert Daze returns after its cancellation last year

After a one-year postponement, the psychedelic rock and indie-focused festival, Desert Haze, is returning to Southern California with a lineup that includes Jack White, Cigarettes After Sex, Alex G, The Mars Volta, Thundercat, Fleet Foxes, and more.

Primer: The namesake of today’s edition was a hit song by a duo called Surfaces that went viral during COVID, but today, it’s fitting for several reasons: 1) It’s Sunlighter Sunday, and 2) you might be wearing your Sunday Best while listening to this artist’s latest album. Surfaces saw commercial success with “Sunday Best”  and several other singles, including a collaboration with Elton John. Now, one of the duo’s founding members, fellow Texan and Baylor grad (sic’em 🐻) Forrest Frank, is on a mission to dismantle the notion that “Christian music is boring,” and spread the joy of his faith around the world with his solo debut album, CHILD OF GOD. Upon its release, the album shot to #1 on the Global iTunes charts across all genres, debuted at #28 on the Billboard 200, and became the #1 Christian album in the world. You might say, “feeling good, like you should,” but he would say none of the commercial success matters and direct all glory to God.

Forrest grew up going to church, with early musical influences from his mother, who served as a co-worship leader, and his grandmother, who wrote children’s music. It wasn’t until he purchased and started playing his MASCHINE Mikro that he discovered he could build a music career. Throughout his college years, Forrest dedicated any free time he had toward making music, even being led to what he says was a life-changing worship night at a local church in Waco, where he rediscovered his faith. After working in a corporate job for a year, Forrest decided to leave work and pursue music full-time. While he plans to continue releasing secular music through Surfaces, Forrest hopes that this new chapter of his solo music allows the world, particularly the younger generation, to be open to the possibilities of Christian art.

What’s Next: Forrest is currently performing his Child of God Tour, which wraps on September 9th in Phoenix, AZ. The album is authentic, genuine, and true to who Forrest is as an artist, inviting artists like Tori Kelly, JVKE, and Hulvey as featured collaborators.

Spotify surpasses UMG market cap, Udio & Suno admit to copyright infringement, Disney partners with Audioshake

💰Cash Me At Spotify: Spotify has surpassed Universal Music Group to become the world's most valuable music company, with its stock rising over 12% over the last month. The streaming giant reported a record-high quarterly profit and a 12% increase in paid subscribers, bringing the total to 246 million, despite facing a major patent lawsuit from Bluejay Technologies.

👨‍⚖️ Uh Oh: After the big three music labels (Universal, Warner, Sony) and the RIAA collectively sued them for copyright infringement last month, Udio and Suno are admitting to training their AI models with unlicensed music. We hope that the lawsuit sets the stage for an industry-wide solution that not only engenders more opportunity for creators but also compensates artists fairly.

🪇 Shake It Off: Disney Music Group has partnered with AI music startup Audioshake to create new listening experiences and fan engagement opportunities by leveraging AI technology to unlock innovative ways for fans to interact with Disney's catalog. Additionally, the music-focused AI company has also introduced a new paid promotion tool for artists, allowing them to sponsor songs on the platform.

UMG 🤝Prorata: Universal Music has struck a strategic agreement with AI startup Prorata, which recently raised $25 million, to streamline royalty payments and ensure fair compensation for artists through its AI chatbot and attribution tools., 

🤖 Streamers Adopt AI: Following in the footsteps of larger digital streaming platforms, Deezer has launched a beta feature for building AI-generated playlists. Additionally, YouTube Music is testing an AI-generated conversational radio feature, and Tencent Music's new AI technology is allowing users to sing in multiple languages, allowing artists such as Irish pop group, Westlife, to release songs in Mandarin 🤯.

🖊️ New Tech Helps Old Music: The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) has partnered with Beatdapp to enhance streaming fraud detection services, aiming to improve the accuracy and reliability of royalty distributions to artists. Additionally, Platoon has quietly elevated its services for songwriters, although specific details on the improvements remain sparse.

🤝 Music Partnerships: Timbaland's music marketplace Beatclub has expanded to China’s massive Chinese music market through a partnership with NetEase Cloud Music. TikTok has teamed up with Eventbrite to enable in-app ticket sales, enhancing the platform’s utility for live event promotion. Cirque du Soleil has partnered with BMG to enhance its music offerings, blending live performance with music production. American Airlines inked a deal with Ticketmaster, allowing AAdvantage frequent flyers to purchase any events, including concert tickets, with miles.

Luminate mid-year report takeaways, ORCA indie think-tank, music lawsuits, and M&A prospects

💡 Mid-Year Reports: Luminate, a premier music and entertainment industry research firm known for powering the Billboard charts, recently released its mid-year report. Here are a few major takeaways: global on-demand audio streams grew by 15.1% to 2.29 trillion in the first half of 2024, indicating a healthy appetite for music streaming. The "middle class" of artists (defined by those achieving between 1 million and 10 million on-demand audio streams) grew to 29,253 in the same period, showing a diversification in streaming success across a broader range of musicians. For more music industry takeaways on the 1H of 2024, you can also check out Believe, Reservoir, Deezer, SiriusXM, SM Entertainment, and Live Nation’s mid-year reports.

✌️ Long Live Indie Music: Independent music labels have formed ORCA, a think tank focused on recorded culture and arts, aiming to foster innovation and collaboration in the indie music sector. Meanwhile, YouTube Music's Foundry program has returned to support the next wave of independent artists, providing them with resources and exposure.

🕴️ More Suits: SoundExchange has filed a lawsuit against AccuRadio, alleging non-payment of royalties for streaming music, escalating legal tensions over streaming revenues. Record labels have sued Verizon for over $2 billion, alleging that the ISP failed to address copyright infringement notices related to music piracy. The New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves face lawsuits for allegedly using music in TikTok videos without proper permission. Utopia Music has been ordered by a US court to pay $1.9 million to the former owners of Lyric Financial, highlighting financial disputes within the music tech industry.

💰 Securing the Bag: Believe fully acquired Dogan Music Company, Turkey’s largest independent label, by buying the remaining 40% stake for $42 million. Ticketmaster expanded its presence in Africa through the acquisition of Quicket, aiming to tap into the continent’s growing live event market. Boomplay follows suit by partnering with K-pop music firm YG Entertainment as K-pop grows its presence in the African market. Both DICE and Downtown Music are eyeing potential sales. Although the details are undisclosed, Bridge Audio & Submix closed funding rounds.

📚 Catalogs: Sony Music Group and Apollo raised $700 million to acquire catalogs, with Queen being a notable acquisition target. Calvin Harris’s music catalog changed hands, though specific details on the buyer or terms were not disclosed.

🪶 Birds of a Feather: Billie Eilish and Finneas have kicked off Amazon Music's Songline series, which features in-depth artist stories and performances. This series aims to offer fans a closer look at the creative process and personal experiences of their favorite musicians.

📹 MTV VMAs 2024: Taylor Swift and Post Malone, lead the nominations for this year’s VMAs, with 10 and 9 respectively, including a nomination for Best Collaboration on their single, “Fortnight.”

🥽 VR Tour: K-pop group Tomorrow X Together is embarking on a VR tour in collaboration with AmazeVR. This will allow fans to experience the group's performances in a virtual reality setting.

August album rush to meet GRAMMYs 2025 consideration deadline

JPEGMAFIA, I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU | ¥$, VULTURES 2 | Khalid, Heatstroke | Ella Langley, hungover | Gryffin, PULSE | Killer Mike, Michael & The Mighty Midnight Revival: Songs For Sinners And Saints | Orville Peck, Stampede | Tones and I, Beautifully Ordinary | Jack White, No Name

Logic, Ultra 85 | beabadoobee, This Is How Tomorrow Moves | J Balvin, Rayo | Latto, Sugar Honey Iced Tea | NIKI, Buzz | Larry June, Doing It For Me | Benny the Butcher, summertime butch | King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Flight b741 | Kali Uchis, ORQUÍDEAS PARTE 2 | Polo G, HOOD POET

Post Malone, F-1 Trillion | Tinashe, Quantum Baby | Hozier, Unaired | Foster the People, Paradise State of Mind | Rich the Kid, Rich Forever | The Script, Satellites | Ray LaMontagne, Long Way Home | Amy Shark, Sunday Sadness

Sabrina Carpenter, Short n’ Sweet | Lainey Wilson, Whirlwind | Mura Masa, Curve 1 | Luna Li, When a Thought Grows Wings | Magdalena Bay, Imaginal Disk | Fontaines D.C., Romance | Sofi Tukker, BREAD | Thomas Rhett, About a Woman

Zedd, Telos | Tycho, Infinite Health | AWOLNATION, The Phantom Five | Muni Long, Revenge

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See ya in September 😎

Donya and Chris

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