Jamie xx’s homage to UK rave, the indie publisher saving music, and Mixcloud takes on SoundCloud.
The Indie Publisher Saving Music. Since forming in 2000, Kobalt has not only become the largest independent music publisher in the world, but has also changed the rules of the music industry using data and technology to empower artists, songwriters and publishers with transparency, flexibility, ownership and control. Read Wired‘s piece on Kobalt, and an interview with its CEO and founder Willard Ahdritz, here.
Jamie xx’s Homage to UK Rave. The story behind the rave nostalgia found on Jamie xx‘s debut solo album and homage to UK club culture, In Colour. The album was conceived while Jamie was homesick on tour with The xx, with the first single ‘All Under One Roof Raving’ sampling old pirate radio recordings and YouTube documentaries on the UK rave scene, which he watched to transport him home. Read The New Yorker‘s full story here.
The Tech Helping Techno Get Paid. Keeping track of what gets played in clubs isn’t always easy, and the producers of electronic music often miss out on royalties as a result. Thanks to new technologies, that’s beginning to change; black boxes built for music recognition are being installed in German clubs, providing the German performance rights organisation with the data required to make sure producers get paid. Find out more in the BBC’s feature here and read more about Pioneer‘s own black box, KUVO, here.
SoundCloud vs Mixcloud. Following the breakdown of negotiations between the Berlin-based streaming platform and Sony Music, SoundCloud now faces fire from their smaller London-based competitor Mixcloud, who have announced the beta launch of a new mix importing feature that will allow users to easily import all their own mix uploads from SoundCloud directly into Mixcloud. Find it here.