The Politics Of Music Sampling
And: An Artist That Defines You, TikTok Teaser Craze, Industry News
Recently I got asked to name 3 tracks that have shaped my musical identity. On the surface quite a cheesy question, but eventually it got me thinking, is there a particular artist that actually caused a shift in my aesthetic, and that made me be more conscious about my taste in music?
And yes, there is! First, I would like to know what that artist is for you - so please leave a comment below and tell me, I’ll feature all answers in the next newsletter.
For me, that artist takes the shape of German indietronica pioneers The Notwist. They really opened up a brand new world to me, and I haven’t stopped listening since (I saw them live a bunch of times too). Funny thing is, I discovered them by luck, thanks to my drum teacher. It was meant to be eh?
‘Common decency’: Beyoncé’s Renaissance sparks debate about the politics of music sampling
The Guardian writes about sampling practices in the contemporary music landscape, highlighting its ups and lows.
“Robin Stone found out that her seminal 90s house hit Show Me Love was sampled on Break My Soul, the lead single from Beyoncé’s new album Renaissance, at the same time as everyone else. As the performer rather than the writer and producer of the song, her approval wasn’t required to clear its use – nor does she receive any income from it.
While Stone sees the nod as a compliment and proof of her 30-year relevancy, it also brings up old wounds. The writers of the song, Allen George and Fred McFarlane “never gave me my proper credit”, she says. “That first note is mine, the ad-libs are all mine, I added flavour to it. They’ve been eating at my table and I’ve been feeding their families for well over 30 years.”
Stone isn’t the only artist startled by the use of their music on Renaissance. This week, Beyoncé removed an interpolation – a kind of sampling that sees song excerpts re-recorded and often reworked – of Kelis’s 2003 hit Milkshake from the song Energy after the latter publicly criticised Beyoncé for not having the “common decency” to let her know. As Kelis explained, the situation rehashed an alleged dispute with the track’s credited songwriters, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of the Neptunes, whom she claims “swindled” her out of publishing rights for the two albums they made together.”
‘People love to feel part of the process’: how the TikTok teaser turbo-charged the song of the summer race
The Guardian - “This week, the Spanish pop superstar Rosalía released a new song called Despechá. It’s a zippy, zingy track – a kind of minimalist take on merengue and mambo that finds her rapping and singing about fickle fame and even more fickle boys over bright piano chords and a flinty, industrial beat. It’s only been officially out for a couple of days, but in Spain it has been the song of the summer for weeks. Go to any Rosalía concert and you’ll find tens of thousands of fans singing along; speak to people on the street, and they’ll likely have heard it too.
This is not a Josie and the Pussycats-style brainwashing situation, but another example of the way TikTok is fundamentally changing the way we interact with music. Where songs used to worm their way into the cultural psyche – and, as with Glass Animals’ slow-rising Heat Waves, sometimes still do – they can now reach full societal saturation before they are officially released.
In July, Rosalía posted a TikTok of her singing and dancing to Despechá; by the time she was ready to release the finished song, demand from her fanbase and the Spanish pop-listening public was deafening. You can understand why: the song’s piquant piano stabs, combined with Rosalía’s carefree, escapist lyrics (translated: “Baby, don’t call me / I’m busy forgetting your ills / I’m going out tonight / With all my motomamis”) have an irresistible sun-kissed charm.”
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Industry News
📀 Spotify’s Online Studio Soundtrap Launches Live Collaboration, Auto-Save Tools
“Soundtrap, a digital audio workstation acquired by Spotify in 2017, is offering live collaboration and auto-save tools as new test features, allowing artists to work on a project from different devices in real time.”
🎧 As Live Music Bounces Back After Lockdown, Spotify Dips a Toe Into Concert Ticket Business
“This week, Spotify started testing concert ticket sales directly to fans via a new ‘Spotify Tickets’ site.’