Another week has ended and its time for a bit ‘o buli, as in Liv Buli, who as Data Journalist for Pandora’s Next Big Sound has the bestest job title ever. Each week she steps away from the stats to share her version on 5 Bullet Fridays for the music industry. Read and learn:
_______________________________________
Hello friends,
I spent the morning volunteering at BARC shelter in Williamsburg. It was probably the best way to spend a morning ever, even though the puppy I was walking pooped a good five times.
It went pretty much like this:
PUPPIES!!!!
In more serious (but also fun) news, big announcement in the NY Times for us this week. Questlove is going to be partnering with Pandora and hosting a weekly podcast. If the mixtape is any indication, this will be sick guyzzzz.
Pandora Looks for a Way Out of the Doldrums. Cue Questlove.
As of last weekend, Frank Ocean kind of put me out of my misery and released both an album, “Blonde” (spelled “Blond” on the cover which is like ridiculously confusing as this whole ordeal has been), and a visual album, “Endless.” Both are Apple Music exclusives though, so…
Frank Ocean, Apple Music, and the Headache of Streaming Exclusives
But then, according to Ben Sisario, Lucien Grainge was like ‘wassup peeps, had enough of this already,’ and put the kaibosh on future exclusives.
Frank Ocean’s ‘Blonde’ Amplifies Discord in the Music Business
And obviously everyone was talking about it.
Earlier this week, I took a quick look at how James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke series has impacted the tracks that they sing.
James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke Gives Music Artists A Huge Boost
Speaking of Carpool Karaoke, Britney Spears (who just dropped her new album “Glory”) made an appearance this week. The parts where she lip-syncs make me feel a little uncomfortable.
And finally, yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of Aaliyah’s sudden passing. It’s kind of nuts how high her streaming numbers still are.
15 Years Later: Aaliyah’s Legacy By The Numbers
That’s all folks!