Why LaCroix is Suddenly Everywhere

Jason Tate Jun 21, 2016

Libby Nelson and Javier Zarracina, writing for Vox:

LaCroix isn’t the only brand to benefit from the sparkling water boom. But it’s the one that’s risen to the coveted status of lifestyle brand, not just generating loyalty but becoming part of how we define ourselves. The secret behind LaCroix’s rise is a mix of old-fashioned business strategy and cutting-edge social marketing. When Americans wanted carbonated water, LaCroix was positioned to give them them fizzy water. Then, sometimes by accident, LaCroix developed fans among mommy bloggers, Paleo eaters, and Los Angeles writers who together pushed LaCroix into the zeitgeist.

When I’m working on the computer I need something to drink nearby.1 About a year ago, I made it a priority to remove (as much as I could) sugar from my diet, and picked up the habit of drinking sparkling water almost every day. I didn’t know it had become a trend. I feel so fashionable.

I’ve long joked I can tell what time of day it is by what I am drinking; progressing from coffee to sparkling water to beer.↩

Next iPhone to See More Subtle Changes

Jason Tate Jun 21, 2016

Daisuke Wakabayashi and Eva Dou, writing for the Wall Street Journal:

Apple Inc. plans to break with its recent pattern of overhauling the design of its flagship iPhone every two years and make only subtle changes in the models it will release this fall, according to people familiar with the matter….
The biggest planned change in this year’s phones is the removal of the headphone plug, which will make the phone thinner and improve its water resistance… Apple plans bigger design changes for 2017, the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone.

The “like the 6S but without a headphone jack” is going to get beat to death by the tech press. I’m willing to bet the internals are a nice upgrade. At this point Apple should just introduce new colors since the outside appearance is what seems to matter the most to some people. But, it definitely looks like it’s time to prepare for our 3.5mm jack-less world.

Drake Continues Run at Top of the Charts

Jason Tate Jun 20, 2016

Drakespends his seventh week at number one on the Billboard charts. Nick Jonas debuts at number two and the Hamilton soundtrack rises up to number three.

At No. 3 on the Billboard 200 is the original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton, which zooms from No. 13 to No. 3 following its huge night at the Tony Awards on June 12. (The set earned 62,000 units — up 119 percent, with 45,000 of that in traditional album sales — up 164 percent). This is Hamilton’s first week in the top 10, as it had previously topped out at No. 11. It debuted at No. 12.

180 Artists Sign Petition For Digital Copyright Reform

Jason Tate Jun 20, 2016

Rob Levine, writing for Billboard, on how 180 musicians have signed a petition to close some of the loopholes from the DMCA:

In an ad that will run Tuesday through Thursday in the Washington DC magazines Politico, The Hill, and Roll Call, 180 performers and songwriters are calling for reform of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which regulates copyright online. A range of big names from every genre signed the ad — from Taylor Swift to Sir Paul McCartney, Vince Gill to Vince Staples, Carole King to the Kings of Leon — as did 19 organizations and companies, including the major labels.

I think this is good, but also hope they don’t go too far in the other direction. As someone that runs a forum where anyone can sign up and create an account, some of the safe harbor protections of the DMCA make a forum of that size possible.

Ticketmaster Awards Free Show Vouchers

Jason Tate Jun 19, 2016

Sabrina Weiss, from Refinery 29, explaining why you may have some free ticket vouchers available from Ticketmaster:

The 50 million customers who purchased tickets from Ticketmaster.com between October 21, 1999, and February 27, 2013, are eligible to receive at least one (and up to 17) vouchers good for two free tickets to an event. They’ll also receive discount codes (up to 17) for $2.25 toward the purchase of future tickets and, if they arranged for UPS delivery in past transactions, up to 17 coupons of $5 toward future UPS charges. To see what you’ve got, log in to your Ticketmaster account, click on My Account, and then Active Vouchers.

I wonder what the “eligible events” will be.

Blog: Bill Simmons on His ESPN Ouster

Jason Tate Jun 18, 2016

Lacey Rose, writing For The Hollywood Reporter:

For the time being, Simmons has taken no other outside investment, using what insiders describe as seven-figure revenue generated primarily by sponsorship and branding deals to help fund The Ringer side of the enterprise. “I had all of these people who wanted to [invest,] famous f—ing people,” says Simmons. “But one of my goals was to have as few people in my life as possible who would be like, ‘Why are you doing that? What’s going on here?’ ” Looking ahead, he and Eric Weinberger, whom he recruited from the NFL Network to run the company, won’t rule out taking on additional investors.

Fascinating story.

Streaming Only Now Eligible For Grammys

Jason Tate Jun 16, 2016

The Grammys have announced that streaming only projects will now be eligible for the awards ceremony.

Works must be released via general distribution, defined as the nationwide release of a recording via brick and mortar, third-party online retailers, and/or applicable digital streaming services. Applicable streaming services are paid subscription, full catalogue, on-demand streaming/limited download platforms that have existed as such within the United States for at least one full year as of the submission deadline.

Trent Reznor Not Happy With YouTube’s Business Model

Jason Tate Jun 15, 2016

Trent Reznor, speaking with Billboard, blasted YouTube for their stance on copyrighted material:

“Personally, I find YouTube’s business to be very disingenuous,” said Reznor. “It is built on the backs of free, stolen content and that’s how they got that big. I think any free-tiered service is not fair. It’s making their numbers and getting them a big IPO and it is built on the back of my work and that of my peers. That’s how I feel about it. Strongly. We’re trying to build a platform that provides an alternative — where you can get paid and an artist can control where their [content] goes.”

YouTube has responded:

The overwhelming majority of labels and publishers have licensing agreements in place with YouTube to leave fan videos up on the platform and earn revenue from them. Today the revenue from fan uploaded content accounts for roughly 50 percent of the music industry’s YouTube revenue. Any assertion that this content is largely unlicensed is false. To date, we have paid out over $3 billion to the music industry–and that number is growing year on year.

I get what YouTube is saying, but I can go there right now and type in virtually any song and find dozens of “copyright not intended” videos uploaded.

MacStories iOS 10 Overview

Jason Tate Jun 15, 2016

If you missed Apple’s WWDC Keynote yesterday, MacStories has a fantastic overview of all the new stuff coming to iOS 10.

One notable omission is the apparent end of another short-lived attempt at a music-themed social network from Apple. Yes, the Connect tab is nowhere to be seen in iOS 10’s Music app, and unless they plan to add it back in a later beta, the service that was such a big portion of Apple’s music announcements last year may have already been deemed a failure. I don’t think anyone is going to miss it.
Beyond the new design, the Music app is also now gaining native support for lyrics, a great addition if it can compile a database as big as the likes of Musixmatch. The new lyrics feature is also being added to the updated iTunes in macOS Sierra.

Acceptance Delay a Few Upcoming Shows

Jason Tate Jun 15, 2016

Acceptance have decided to delay a few upcoming shows.

Friends, in the midst of what is a horrific and historic tragedy in Orlando, we also had a substantial loss closer to home. The days have been long for the Acceptance family as of late. Earlier this week, our brother and guitarist, Kaylan, lost his mother to her battle with cancer. Time seems to be moving just a bit slower as we mourn with Kaylan and his family for a cherished mother, wife, and grandmother. Always, Lori was open arms and the warm, motherly smile each of us needs so much. Her light was one that only emanates from the biggest of hearts filled with the most unshakable love. We ask that you forgive us, but we need to postpone our shows this weekend in Orlando, Atlanta, and Nashville.

Rhapsody Bringing Back Napster Name

Jason Tate Jun 15, 2016

Rhapsody is rebranding itself as Napster.

Rhapsody is part of the old guard of music streaming services, launched way back in 2001 as Listen.com. It never got the traction of it’s rival Spotify, and is now competing against titans like Apple and Google as well. So now, in a bizarre move, Rhapsody is relaunching as Napster, the service it acquired in 2011 which is also synonymous with rampant file sharing and music piracy. “No changes to your playlists, favorites, albums, and artists,” says a blog post on Rhapsody’s website. “Same music. Same service. Same price. 100% the music you love. Stay tuned!”

A pure marketing move. Meh. I’ve gotta think we’re close to when most music listeners won’t even remember using Napster. Can you remember the first song you downloaded on the program? I am pretty sure mine was Eve 6’s “Inside Out.”

Third Eye Blind Rescue Kids at Sea

Jason Tate Jun 14, 2016

Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins and drummer Brad Hargreaves rescued four kids who were swept out to sea:

The kids were struggling to get out of a rip current that had dragged them 100 yards out to sea, TMZ.com reports. Stephan and Brad paddled out to the boys and let them rest on their surfboards, before bringing them back safely to shore. Luke McNees, manager of Third Eye Blind, told the website that other than being winded and scared, the boys were uninjured and very grateful to the rockers who saved them.

Microsoft Buys LinkedIn

Jason Tate Jun 13, 2016

Microsoft:

Microsoft Corp. and LinkedIn Corporation on Monday announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire LinkedIn for $196 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2 billion, inclusive of LinkedIn’s net cash. LinkedIn will retain its distinct brand, culture and independence. Jeff Weiner will remain CEO of LinkedIn, reporting to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. Reid Hoffman, chairman of the board, co-founder and controlling shareholder of LinkedIn, and Weiner both fully support this transaction. The transaction is expected to close this calendar year.

I’d pay half that to never get a “so and so wants to join your network” email ever again.

‘Hamilton’ Wins Eleven Awards at 2016 Tony Awards

Jason Tate Jun 13, 2016

Hamilton ended up winning eleven awards at the 2016 Tony Awards.

The Tony Awards on Sunday night were a bonanza for “Hamilton,” as Broadway’s wildly popular hit musical collected an impressive 11 prizes, including the coveted one for best musical. While the results reflected the widespread audience and critical acclaim for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop biography of Alexander Hamilton, they did not quite match the record 12 prizes bestowed on the musical “The Producers” in 2001.

Laura Jane Grace on Orlando Shooting

Jason Tate Jun 13, 2016

Laura Jane Grace, of Against Me!, spoke with Rolling Stone about the horrific shootings that occurred in Orlando over the weekend:

You’d ideally want to think that venues and shows and clubs, places where people are going to dance and celebrating and enjoying life would be the safe place, but it’s clearly not. To think that whatever crazy fucking religious wars or whatever wars are happening out there are leaking into those areas, it’s so fucking terrifying.