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Matt Skiba Talks With Music Radar

Jason Tate

Matt Skiba of Blink-182 talked with Music Radar:

I’m not doing something I haven’t ever done before; it’s just on a different scale and with different guys. I’m really lucky that lightning struck twice in my life. When all is said and done, it was a pretty easy transition. Yes, there were moments of total terror and panic, but that’s life. That’s just wanting to do a great job.

And:

We had a group of songs that we still may or may not use, I don’t know. There’s way more material than just what is on the deluxe record; there’s a whole other record’s worth of material that I personally thought sounded too much like Alkaline Trio.

That’s how I write; it’s hard to change. It’s like you can’t just change your fingerprint. We discussed the record at length and made sure that we didn’t just really like it, we had to love it. You can’t put something out that is anything short of true love and true pride.

John Feldmann Talks About New Goldfinger

Jason Tate

John Feldmann sat down with Alternative Press to talk about the new Goldfinger album:

If I listen to the song and it makes me happy, that’s all that matters for Goldfinger. The point isn’t trying to connect at radio. With Blink, the intent was a comeback record. We knew going into it that it was time to get on the radio and put the band back on the map where they belonged, because they’re a timeless, classic, legendary group. Not that Goldfinger isn’t, but we were always underground. I was singing about animal rights and telling Ted Nugent to fuck off. I was never trying to compete with whatever was on pop radio at the time. When we were blowing up, it was Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys, ultimately. That was never my goal; it was just to get my aggression out. “A Million Miles” came out of a spot of “I still care about music.”

On-Demand Audio Streaming Hits Record High

Jason Tate

Sarah Perez, writing at TechCrunch:

A new report from Nielsen out this week paints a picture of the booming on-demand audio streaming business, pointing to a significant increase in consumers’ use of streaming services and record numbers of streams being served. According to the mid-year report, which focuses only on the U.S. market, on-demand audio streams surpassed the 7 billion figure for the first time ever during March of this year.

That’s audio streams, to be clear – not just music.

That is, the term “audio” also includes non-music streams like spoken word recordings and podcasts – the latter of which has also seen rapid growth.

DJ Khaled Tops the Charts Again

Jason Tate

DJ Khaled once again has the top album in the country:

Debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 is Calvin Harris’ Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1, earning the superstar DJ/producer his highest charting album yet. The star-filled dance-meets-R&B/hip-hop effort features guests ranging from Frank Ocean and Katy Perry to ScHoolboy Q and Nicki Minaj. Harris’ previous high on the Billboard 200 was logged when his last studio effort, Motion, debuted and peaked at No. 5 in 2014.

Brendon Urie Talks With People Magazine

Jason Tate

Brendon Urie talked to People Magazine:

When I told them I wasn’t going to college or on a Mormon mission, that I don’t believe in God and I was pursuing music, they were like, “You’ve gotta move out.” They cooled off, and when we made our first Panic! at the Disco album, I got a care package from my family with this beautiful letter: “No matter what, we will always love you.”

Memorial Fund Set Up for Chris Avis

Jason Tate

Chris Avis, a well known music videographer, passed away a few day ago. A GoFundMe has been set up to raise funds for a memorial:

To honor his memory, we’re setting up this GoFundMe as something positive at a time of terrible darkness. With the blessing of his family, we’re asking that anyone also feeling at a loss to channel those feelings into something good that Chris would appreciate, raising money for the Bakersfield High School Drillers athletics program. Beyond music, everyone knows how deeply he loved coaching basketball, having also played in high school himself under the current BHS varsity coach, so it felt like the best way to honor him.

Further Reading: ‘Spider-Man’

Spider-Man
Jason Tate

Did you see Spider-Man: Homecoming this weekend? Are you looking for more and want to check out the spectacular world of comic books that inspired this friendly neighborhood web-slinger’s cinematic adventures? Members of our comic book thread have assembled some great recommendations perfect for anyone who wants to dive into the world of Spider-Man.

If you’re looking for even more Spider-stuff, I recommend checking out the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon, the Spider-Gwen series, and the entire run of Miles Morales: Spider-Man, all three are very good.

How Spammers, Superstars, and Tech Giants Gamed the Music Industry

Jason Tate

Adam K. Raymond, writing for Vulture:

A sub version of this ruse is to create an “artist” for one ripoff song and use the same name as the original. For example, 1.7 million people looking for “Demons” by Imagine Dragons have instead listened to “Demons” by Imagine Demons. It’s the only track this “band” has on Spotify.

And:

Streaming’s impact on the way artists make music goes all the way to the top. Take Chris Brown, whose upcoming album Heartbreak on Full Moon has 40 tracks, and not because he has so much to say. The famously unscrupulous pop star has found a way to boost his streaming numbers, which in turn inflate sale figures, and will, he hopes, send his album shooting up the charts quicker than it otherwise would.

And:

That means that songs on playlists generally get a ton of plays. It’s why there are countless articles providing tips on how a band can get their music on a playlist. It’s also why Spotify is allegedly paying producers to create fake artists whose music can rack up plays without costing the company any more than what they paid up front.

Reports: ‘The Umbrella Academy’ Coming to Netflix

Gerard Way
Jason Tate

The Splash Report is reporting that Gerard Way’s The Umbrella Academy will be coming to Netflix:

At that time Slater said that they were still shopping around the pilot, well now sources have told me that The Umbrella Academy will be hitting NETFLIX and that Gerard Way is definitely involved in the project, and that they will indeed still be using Slater’s script for the project

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