Link - PAGE 135

Apple Music and Pandora No Longer Promoting R. Kelly

Jason Tate

Apple Music and Pandora have also stopped promoting R. Kelly on their platforms:

Now, a source close to the matter tells Pitchfork that Apple Music also begun to stop promoting R. Kelly in featured playlists over the past several weeks. The decision was made quietly, and it pre-dates Spotify’s announcement. Kelly’s music has been pulled from Apple Music-curated playlists such as “Best Slow Jams of the 90s, Vol. 1” and Vol. 2. (Kelly is prominently featured in the artwork for the playlists, but his music is no longer in them.)

I want a “block artist” button on Apple Music (and Spotify). Something that I can click to keep an artist from ever showing up at all, anywhere, on the platform. Maybe even granular control so you could check one box to just block that artist everywhere, and another if you still want their “features” to appear in the tracklists for albums you listen to.

I also think that these services should start looking into informing listeners on artist pages about things that someone may want to know before listening to an artist. These pages already have biographies on them, why not include the facts about abuse allegations as well?

Geoff Rickly Talks Mental Health

Thursday
Jason Tate

Parker Molloy talked with Geoff Rickly of Thursday about how mental health issues in the arts needs to be talked about more:

“I think mental health is still a source of great shame for most people,” Rickly adds. “Implying that there is anything wrong with their mind is still often considered an insult. For artists, I think there’s a sense that we don’t have much (money, material success) but the one beautiful thing that we get as an artist is a state of mind, a high level of imagination and a lot of time to explore it. If you devalue that, by saying our thinking is sick, it takes away from the one thing we have of any value. Or it can feel that way.”

‘Rick and Morty’ Gets Renewed

TV
Jason Tate

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Rick and Morty has been given a 70-episode renewal:

A Rick and Morty renewal was given, but the extent of this new pact is quite unexpected. Should Roiland and Harmon maintain anything close to their current production schedule, this will keep the show on the air for as long as another decade.

Nine Inch Nails Announce New Album and Tour Dates

Nine Inch Nails
Jason Tate

Nine Inch Nails will release their new album, Bad Witch, on June 22nd. Pre-orders are now up. The band have also announced new tour dates but the catch is that the ticket pre-sale is happening at physical locations:

The promise of a world made better by computers and online connectivity has failed us in many ways, particularly when it comes to ticketing. Everything about the process sucks and everyone loses except the reseller. We’ve decided to try something different that will also likely suck, but in a different way. We’re hoping many of you will be happy with the results, while some may do what they always do and bitch about it.

You (an actual human being) show up at the box office, interact with the ticket seller (another actual human being) and purchase up to four tickets that will actually be handed to you on the spot. The tickets will not be available online or anywhere else before or during that day. All seats (including the best seats) will be available first come, first serve. You may actually encounter other actual human beings with similar interests likely wearing black clothing during the process and potentially interact with them. The experience has the potential to be enjoyable. Nine Inch Nails has always been about bringing people together, living life to the fullest and good times.

Read More “Nine Inch Nails Announce New Album and Tour Dates”

Spotify Removes R. Kelly From Playlists

Jason Tate

Spotify has a “Hate Content & Hateful Conduct Policy” that states:

We don’t censor content because of an artist’s or creator’s behavior, but we want our editorial decisions – what we choose to program – to reflect our values. When an artist or creator does something that is especially harmful or hateful (for example, violence against children and sexual violence), it may affect the ways we work with or support that artist or creator.

As of today they’ve used this policy to remove R. Kelly and XXXTentacion from their playlists. A Spotify spokesperson told Billboard:

We are removing R. Kelly’s music from all Spotify owned and operated playlists and algorithmic recommendations such as Discover Weekly. His music will still be available on the service, but Spotify will not actively promote it.

Good.

Inside Amazon’s Fake Review Economy

amazon
Jason Tate

Nicole Nguyen, writing at BuzzFeed:

The systems that create fraudulent reviews are a complicated web of subreddits, invite-only Slack channels, private Discord servers, and closed Facebook groups, but the incentives are simple: Being a five-star product is crucial to selling inventory at scale in Amazon’s intensely competitive marketplace — so crucial that merchants are willing to pay thousands of people to review their products positively.

Ticketmaster Invests in Facial-Recognition Technology

Ticketmaster
Jason Tate

Jacob Kastrenakes, writing at The Verge:

Someday in the not-so-distant future, you might be able to walk into a concert venue without waiting in line for your ticket to be scanned — because instead, the venue will automatically scan and identify your face.

That’s the experience that Live Nation and Ticketmaster suggested they’ll try to develop last week, when announcing an investment in Blink Identity.

All the technology we grew up watching and reading in dystopian movies and novels is basically coming to pass. Should I be worried?

Hayley Williams, Laura Jane Grace, and More Donate Gear for Auction

Hayley Williams
Jason Tate

Hayley Williams, Laura Jane Grace, and a bunch of other musicians have donated some gear to the Girls Rock Camp Alliance auction:

Today, we here at Reverb are excited to announce our partnership with a slew of exceptional artists and musicians for an auction launching this Thursday, May 10 in support of the Girls Rock Camp Alliance (GRCA)—a nonprofit supporting more than 100 summer camp and music education programs around the world for female, transgender, and gender non-conforming youth.

Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison Reported Missing

Frightened Rabbit
Jason Tate

The BBC is reporting that the lead singer of Frightened Rabbit, Scott Hutchison, has gone missing:

Insp Graeme Dignan said: “We are keen to locate Scott as soon as possible to ensure he is safe and well and would urge anyone who can assist with our ongoing inquiries to come forward. If you believe you have seen him since the early hours of Wednesday morning or know where he currently is, then please contact police immediately.”