#81 - LP Global 🌞

Happy Sunlighter Sunday! Friction was the backdrop of this week in music: Kendrick Lamar took shots at Drake and J. Cole, severe weather impacted Ultra Music Festival, and tragic news came from Moscow’s Crocus City Hall. We’re hopeful for better days ahead.

Rating Rationale: If you’re like us and you’ve been a fan of Kacey Musgraves since Same Trailer Different Park, Pageant Material, and Golden Hour but were disappointed with the departure of star-crossed, you’re in luck. With Deeper Well, take comfort in knowing that Kacey has found her way home. Kacey stays true to her internal compass of authentic storytelling while being one of the most endearing and engaging artists in country music. Over the last year, Kacey has explored the art of folk-country through her Grammy award-winning and chart-topping collaboration with Zach Bryan and her feature on Noah Kahan’s Stick Season. In her sixth studio album, we hear her fully lean into this sound. Recorded at Electric Lady Studios in NYC, Kacey describes it as her most grounded album, embracing the theme of ruthlessly removing resistance to growth. That said, we miss the 1-2 upbeat tracks that often made her previous albums feel more complete (“Dime Store Cowgirl,” “High Horse”). The standout tracks for us are “Sway” and “The Architect.”

Lollapalooza shares Sunlighter-heavy lineup, Country Calling features Lainey Wilson, Noah Kahan headlines Pilgrimage Festival, and Festival d’été de Québec scores diverse lineup

Festival lineups continue to roll in as Lollapalooza announced its 2024 lineup featuring SZA, Tyler, The Creator, and Blink-182 as headliners along with several upcoming artists we’ve previously featured as Artist of the Week (Laufey, Tyla, Lizzy McAlpine, Teezo Touchdown).

As country music continues to dominate streams, Country Calling Festival will debut in Ocean City, MD with headliners Eric Church, Jelly Roll, Tyler Childers, and early Sunlighter favorite, Lainey Wilson.

Confirming the “season of the sticks” is alive and well, Noah Kahan prepares to headline the 10th Annual Pilgrimage Festival in Franklin, TN this September. Stephen Sanchez joins the lineup, alongside COIN, NEEDTOBREATHE, Hozier, and Dave Matthews Band.

Finally, Billboard coins Festival d’été de Québec as the “best kept secret in Canada,” and this summer, they’ve unveiled a diverse lineup, including Post Malone, 50 Cent, Nas, Nickelback, J Balvin, and the Jonas Brothers.

“Don’t Stop Believing” hits 18x platinum, Yungblud curates BLUDFEST, and Vampire Weekend will play solar eclipse show

Earlier this week, Forbes reported Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” is the biggest song of all time, officially certified 18x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

While teasing the inspiration for his upcoming album, Yungblud is aiming to recreate the feeling of old-school punk gigs by curating an event called “BLUDFEST,” which is set to take place at the Milton Keynes Bowl in England this August. The event will feature Lil Yachty and Nessa Barrett, among others. 

Vampire Weekend revealed that they’ve been recording a new project with an imaginary backstory, hinting at a departure from their usual musical style and potentially offering fans a glimpse into their creative experimentation. Meanwhile, the band shared plans to livestream a special solar eclipse show on April 8th in Austin, TX.

Metronomy’s Anna Prior announces Almost Love, Porter Robinson’s “Cheerleader,” and Coachella’s new EDM stage

Long-time DJ and Metronomy drummer, Anna Prior, announced the tracklist for her debut solo EP, Almost Love, coming on June 13.

“Ooh, I think that I found myself a cheerleader,” is a nod to the OMI song but also the name of the first single from Porter Robinson in two years.

The demand for EDM continues to grow as Coachella announces the launch of Quasar Stage, an EDM-focused addition to its lineup. So far, Diplo, Mau P, Honey Dijon, and Green Velvet are among the confirmed artists.

LP Giobbi

Primer: Leah Chisholm, better known as LP Giobbi, is more than just an artist - she’s an evangelist for matriarchy, both through her music and by way of her mother’s maiden name (Giobbi). Leveraging her extensive classical piano training since second grade, Leah first immersed herself in jazz piano performance at UC Berkeley before pivoting to electronic production post-college after meeting Peter Franco, an engineer for Daft Punk. Realizing that women comprised only 2% of charting producers, she doubled down on her pursuit of gender impact in electronic music after founding FEMME HOUSE, a nonprofit that creates opportunities for gender expansiveness through music collaborations. Now, as the global music director at W Hotels and head of her label, YES YES YES, she continues to embrace her role as a non-traditional DJ to empower other women to pursue music.

Genre: Electronic dance music, pioneering the “piano house” sound

Influences: The Grateful Dead - so much so that she was inspired to integrate their songs into her house music sets, dubbed “Dead House.”

Current Label: Counter Records; FEMME HOUSE releases music in partnership with Insomniac Records

Audience: ~2.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify

What’s Next: After releasing her first LP (no pun intended), Light Places, in 2023 and dropping her second volume of FEMME HOUSE earlier this month, we expect Leah’s momentum, unique sound, and mission of inclusivity within the EDM space to catapult her towards mainstream audiences. You can catch her at several EDM festivals or a brief residency of her “Dead House” set at the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas. Not sold on her talent? Here’s an insightful video by the Recording Academy of Leah’s journey and mission:

🤖 AI x Music Updates: While AI was getting booed at SXSW, it has continued to gain traction in the music industry. Check out Rolling Stone’s profile of Suno AI, an AI-powered song generator, and a letter from the founder of Soundful, an AI music production tool - both companies detail the possibilities of bridging the gap between AI and human creators. In Tennessee, legislators signed the first law protecting musicians against AI through the “Elvis Act.” Meanwhile across the pond, Jammable is facing legal challenges in the UK for its artist voice cloning service that houses over 3,000 AI models.

📻 Boombox on Roblox: Music and gaming continue to play well together as UMG and Republic Records recently launched an ad-supported portable music player on Roblox.

📉 Stats on Streamers: Spotify continues to embrace pay transparency by updating its Loud & Clear website (Music.ally examines the trends here). For the first time since it launched in the U.S., TikTok’s subscriber base has begun to stagnate following the removal of the UMG catalog and possible stateside ban.

🎵 What If Music Was Enough?: Earlier this month, singer-songwriter, James Blake, expressed his frustrations with the shortcomings of the music industry via X. His boldest claims were specifically associated with fair pay for artists, stating, “the brainwashing worked and now people think music is free.” Over the past week, he announced a partnership with Vault to make royalties directly accessible to artists. To start, he uploaded his unreleased tracks (including one with Anderson .Paak) to his personal Vault, which fans can unlock for only $5/month.

😬 Streaming Fraud: A man in Denmark was sentenced to 18 months in prison for streaming fraud after using bots to manipulate his streaming numbers. Meanwhile, IFPI and Music Canada called out nine streaming companies who falsified streaming numbers, all of which have been shut down. Both cases highlight James Blake’s claims of the vulnerabilities within the streaming ecosystem and call for the importance of pay transparency in the streaming industry to ensure fair compensation for artists and rights holders. 

📈 Music Market Growth: Although streaming continues to have its fair share of hardships for both artists and rightsholders, it was the main driver of global music revenue growth in 2023, increasing 11.2% YoY, and overall music revenues, rising from $10.2 billion to $28.6 billion. Streaming revenues make up nearly 50% of the music market today. Read the full report from IFPI here.

🌍 International Updates: Saudi Arabian media conglomerate MBC acquired a 14% stake in Anghami, the leading music streaming platform in the Middle East.

💰 Securing the Bag: Wavemaker, a music licensing startup, launched with a significant boost of $5 million in funding, aiming to streamline the complex process of licensing music across various platforms. Warner Music India invested in Jetsynthesys Global Music Junction, indicating the label's strategic focus on expanding its presence and influence in the Indian music market. Iconoclast acquired the catalog of legendary crooner Tony Bennett.

Ariana Grande shines on charts and helps her grandmother make history

📈 Ariana Grande becomes only the fourth artist to simultaneously claim the top album, top song, top artist, top songwriter, and top producer spot on the Billboard charts in a given week. Additionally, because her “nonna” was credited as a co-writer on the track, “Ordinary Things,” her 98-year-old grandmother now holds the title of the oldest living person to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter leads heavy album release week

📅 For upcoming albums, tours, and festivals access our comprehensive music calendar here.

🚨 Surprise Drops: Hozier released Unheard, an EP of previously unreleased music.

📣 Album Announcements: We’ve got a lot this week. After switching record labels, Anitta announced her first LP with Republic Records, Funk Generation, will drop in April. Bryson Tiller will also be releasing his self-titled album in April. Remi Wolf has Big Ideas for her next album in July. renforshort will be embracing clean hands dirty water in her upcoming EP.

⏩ Here are album releases to look out for this week: 

1. Beyoncé, Cowboy Carter

2. MGK & Trippie Redd, Genre:Sadboy

3. Gesaffelstein, GAMMA

4. j-hope, HOPE ON THE STREET VOL. 1

5. Blu DeTiger, All I Ever Want Is Everything

6. Chief Keef, Almighty So 2

7. Enrique Iglesias, FINAL (Vol. 2)

8. HARDY, HIXTAPE, Vol. 3: DIFFTAPE

9. Kenny Chesney, BORN

10. Sheryl Crow, Evolution

11. Sum 41, Heaven :x: Hell

12. Boyz Noize & Rico Nasty, HVRDC0RE DR3AMZ

13. Buddy, Don’t Forget To Breathe

14. Chastity Belt, Live Laugh Love

The Merch Table

• ✨ How to Disappear: Radiohead's Colin Greenwood is set to release a photo book chronicling the band's journey, offering fans a glimpse into their creative process and behind-the-scenes moments. 

• 📕 Sum Memoir: Sum 41's frontman Deryck Whibley reveals plans for a memoir titled Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell, promising a candid reflection on his personal struggles and triumphs throughout his music career.

If you enjoyed today’s edition, feel free to show us. Tap the “heart” icon below, drop a comment, or share it on your social media platforms of choice. After all, music is best when shared with your people.

Meanwhile, check out our other articles and give us a follow on Twitter!

See ya next Sunday 😎

Donya and Chris