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Spotify Closes Russian Office

Jason Tate

Variety:

Spotify has taken several steps in response to Russia’s military attack on Ukraine, including closing its offices in Russia “indefinitely.”

The company is not disabling access to its service within Russia. “We think it’s critically important to try to keep our service operational in Russia to allow for the global flow of information,” a Spotify representative said in a statement provided to Variety.

Like other internet platforms, Spotify has restricted the discoverability of Russian state-affiliated content on the streaming audio service. In addition, the company has removed all content from Kremlin-backed outlets RT and Sputnik from Spotify’s platform.

Bandcamp is Joining Epic Games

Bandcamp
Jason Tate

Bandcamp is joining Epic Games:

I’m excited to announce that Bandcamp is joining Epic Games, who you may know as the makers of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, and champions for a fair and open Internet.

Bandcamp will keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community, and I will continue to lead our team. The products and services you depend on aren’t going anywhere, we’ll continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model (where artists net an average of 82% of every sale), you’ll still have the same control over how you offer your music, Bandcamp Fridays will continue as planned, and the Daily will keep highlighting the diverse, amazing music on the site. However, behind the scenes we’re working with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp, from basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, payment system, and search and discovery features, to newer initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services

🤯

Phoebe Bridgers Launches SiriusXM Radio Show

Phoebe Bridgers
Jason Tate

Phoebe Bridgers will be launching a new SiriusXM Radio Show:

Saddest Factory Radio will feature Bridgers in conversation with artists — including label signees Muna, Sloppy Jane, Claud, and more — while she introduces listeners to her favorite songs. “My favorite way to consume music is incidentally — something playing in the grocery store, an opening band I’ve never heard, a college radio station while trying to find signal on a road trip,” Bridgers tells Rolling Stone. “I hope I can offer something like that to people who tune in. […]

Saddest Factory Radio will premiere on March 3 at 6 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET on SiriusXMU (Channel 35, with encores continuing throughout the weekend. Each episode will arrive the first Thursday of each month.

‘Encanto’ Still Tops Charts

Jason Tate

The Encanto soundtrack is still the number one album in the country:

The Encanto soundtrack stays firm at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart for a sixth nonconsecutive week on top. It is now tied with Adele’s 30 for the third-most weeks at No. 1 in the last five years. Only Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album (with 10) and Taylor Swift’s Folklore (eight) have tallied more weeks at No. 1 since January 2017.

Talking Tech With Dashboard Confessional

Dashboard Confessional
Jason Tate

Chris Carrabba talked with Newsweek about the tech used on his new album:

My home studio is Pro Tools based. My new record is centered around acoustic guitars, and I found that a mic chain that I knew I loved for recording vocals seemed to also work really well for tracking acoustic guitars.

I tracked both vocals and acoustics with my Wunder CM7 microphone through a Vintech Audio 273. These two pieces of gear really were outstanding.

Another great piece of gear was one that I used during the demo phase. I was trying to do things really quickly, to demo the songs on acoustic guitar to give the producer James Paul Wisner what I had in mind for us to work on together. I didn’t want to send him lousy-sounding stuff he couldn’t enjoy listening to, but I was also trying to work quickly. I was able to do both by using the Fishman Aura DI. It’s more than just a simple DI [direct input]—it does microphone simulation, creating a bit of air and space and depth to your DI sound and replicates a microphone incredibly well.

‘Futurama’ Getting New Season at Hulu

Hulu
Jason Tate

Deadline:

Fry, Leela and Bender are set for more 31st century adventures. After months of negotiations, Hulu has finalized deals for 20 new episodes of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen’s cult animated sci-fi comedy Futurama to premiere in 2023 on the streamer. In addition to Groening and Cohen, set to come back is the majority of the series’ voice cast, including Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr and David Herman.

Missing from the list is one of the three lead voice actors, John DiMaggio, who voices foul-mouthed robot Bender among half a dozen characters. The role is currently being recast ahead of the first table read on Monday. The decision was made after DiMaggio’s negotiations with Futurama studio 20th Television Animation came to a standstill though there is a desire on both sides to have him rejoin the cast and reprise his role.

Punk in Drublic Festival Announced

NOFX
Jason Tate

NOFX are set to headline four separate dates of the Punk in Drublic Craft Beer & Music Festival. The dates will be: March 19th (Mesa, Arizona), March 26th (San Diego), March 27th (Ventura, California), and May 7th (Sacramento, California).

Created from the mind and livers of NOFX’s frontman Fat Mike and craft beer fanatic / festival promoter, Cameron Collins, the Punk In Drublic Craft Beer & Music Festival will take place in various cities across the US and will  also be making some stops in Europe this summer.  These events featuring the best in punk rock music and regional craft beer.   Additional lineups and dates will release soon!  

Each festival date will feature up to three hours of craft beer tastings showcasing an impressive selection of craft beers, including some of the regions best and local favorites.   

The Weeknd Tops the Charts

The Weeknd
Jason Tate

The Weeknd has the number one album in the country this week:

The Weeknd’s Dawn FM hits No. 1 for the first time on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, as the album re-enters atop the list (dated Feb. 12), following its CD release on Jan. 28. The set sold 37,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 3 (up 2,547%), according to MRC Data – nearly all from CD sales. The album had previously only been available via streamers and as a digital download.

“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” Hits #1

Jason Tate

Billboard:

“We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” from Disney’s Encanto, makes a magical move to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.

The ensemble song – by Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz and the Encanto Cast – rises from the Hot 100’s runner-up spot and becomes just the second No. 1 ever from a Disney animated film.

“Bruno” also marks the first Hot 100 leader for the song’s sole writer, Lin-Manuel Miranda. He and Mike Elizondo co-produced it and earn their first and second trips to No. 1, respectively, in those roles.

The New York Times Buys Wordle

The New York Times
Jason Tate

The New York Times has purchased Wordle for seven figures:

The sudden hit Wordle, in which once a day players get six chances to guess a five-letter word, has been acquired by The New York Times Company.

The purchase, announced by The Times on Monday, reflects the growing importance of games, like crosswords and Spelling Bee, in the company’s quest to increase digital subscriptions to 10 million by 2025.

Wordle was acquired from its creator, Josh Wardle, a software engineer in Brooklyn, for a price “in the low seven figures,” The Times said. The company said the game would initially remain free to new and existing players.