Radio Edit
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Radio Edit

Radio Edit

2.24.2023

Radio Edit Team
February 24, 2023

This week we have Epic Games’ first utilization of their Bandcamp acquisition, a key Grammy deadline, and a proposal for increased visa fees that could threaten international artists’ ability to tour the US.

Other stories include a new streaming feature for Spotify, some festival updates, and a new podcast by the guy from the Wild Thornberrys.

Top Stories

Bandcamp takes over Fortnite’s in-game soundtrack feature with indie-driven playlist

Now through March 8th, Bandcamp will be hosting a takeover of the Underground Radio soundtrack within the massively popular video game Fortnite. This 11-track playlist is curated by Bandcamp editors and features independent artists from all over the globe.

While the announcement of Epic’s acquisition of Bandcamp last March was met with some raised eyebrows, this integration may indicate how the gaming company plans to utilize the music service. In line with its “vision to build out a creator marketplace ecosystem for content, tech, games & art,” this takeover allows Epic to enhance their users’ gaming experience with music they can easily and ethically license.

With approximately 400 million registered users, the hope is that this exposure to Fortnite’s large and extremely engaged fanbase will drive users to the featured artists’ Bandcamp pages, where merch and more music is available. Billboard

Recording Academy membership application deadline approaches

Each summer, the Recording Academy announces a brand new class of members to kick off their upcoming awards season. Your role in the industry dictates your level of membership and affords you different rights and opportunities accordingly. Each of these membership tiers are briefly outlined below:

Professional- for industry professionals who directly support music creators. Think label executives, managers, publishers, agents, etc. Members of this tier are able to help facilitate and shape the Grammy process by proposing rule changes and submitting albums/tracks for Grammy consideration.
Voting- for artists and other music creators like producers, engineers, and songwriters. Along with the rights afforded to Professional members, Voting members have the ability to vote on the two ballots that determine Grammy nominations and winners.
Grammy U- for students currently enrolled in college who want to work in the music industry. Benefits include access to exclusive Grammy U programs and the ability to volunteer at various Academy events.

To be considered for membership, each applicant must submit two letters of recommendation and complete a profile outlining their work in the industry by March 1st. For more info on the membership process, head here.

Proposal for increased fees on visas threatens international artists’ ability to tour US

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has drafted a proposal to raise the price of visa fees for international musicians and entertainers looking to tour in the US by 250% from $460 to $1,615. With acts like Easy Life and Santigold already canceling tours due to the increased cost of touring to begin with, this price hike could further threaten many international artists’ ability to tour in one of the world’s largest music markets. Other potential effects from this fee increase include:

A smaller proportion of international acts on US festival lineups
Loss of work opportunities for touring crew personnel
US fans suffer as it will likely demotivate international artists from touring the US. And for those that do, US fans will likely see increased ticket and merch prices
Ripple effects for Canada and Mexico as it would likely be cost-prohibitive for international acts to tour those territories without also hitting the States.

Artists and industry professionals have until March 6th to oppose the change via the Federal Registrar’s website. NME

What Else Is Going On

Signings

Brad Paisley signs with Universal EMI Nashville

Evan Bogarts’ Seeker Music inks DJ Kito

Streaming

Spotify’s new feature, DJ, offers premium users an algorithmic playlist paired with commentary about the selections

Where is Spotify HiFi?

Podcasts are coming to YouTube Music

Publishing

Lululemon signs deal to provide their live and online fitness classes with licensed music via Tuned Global. Instructors can search catalog for key words like bpm and genre

Live / Touring

Las Vegas’ When We Were Young Festival adds second date

Goldenvoice’s alt-country festival Palomino not returning in 2023

Tech / Social

Jaxsta acquires Vampr, a community building and networking platform for artists and creatives

Other

Guns N Roses sponsored and wrapped a Nascar in last weekend’s Daytona 500 as a vehicle for their 2023 tour announcement

Billboard releases their 2023 edition of Women in Music

BB Gun Press and MixedMediaWorks team up to form 2B Entertainment. The new firm’s roster includes My Chemical Romance, Meghan Trainor and Shania Twain

Black Music Action Coalition and Academy of Country Music launch OnRamp, a new program dedicated to empowering Black artists and professionals through mentorship, professional development, and financial assistance

This year’s Latin Grammy ceremony is heading to Spain

Flea has a podcast

Appointments / Departures

Appointments

Concord promotes Clare Maxwell to VP, Marketing in London

Yvette Medina named Head of Latin Music at YMU

Crypto.com Arena names Jeff Olson VP of Booking

LVRN taps Bryan-Michael Cox for SVP, A&R role and will serve as executive producer on all in-house projects. The Atlanta-based label’s current roster includes 6lack and Summer Walker

Range Media brings on Joel Zimmerman as Partner in music division

RCA UK names Stacey Tang and Glyn Aikins as Co-Presidents

SiriusXM elevates Gail Berger to SVP & GM of Automotive Partnerships

Primary Wave brings on Robin Godfrey-Cass to lead catalog acquisitions

Departures

Max Cutler will be stepping down as Spotify’s VP of talk creator content and partnerships

Upcoming Shows

Nashville | Feb 24 | Vlad Holiday | Third Man - Blue Room | Tickets

NYC | Feb 24 | The Piano Recital (Japanese Breakfast, Kevin Morby, + more) | Carnegie Hall | Tickets

London | Feb 25 | Yungblud | OVO Arena, Wembley | Tickets

Los Angeles | Mar 3 | Chiiild | Roxy Theater | Tickets

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