Money 4 Nothing

Making the Mainstream: The History of Top 40 with Eric Weisbard

You know what Top 40 radio is. But…think about it for a second. Top 40 what? Songs? Albums? Bands? And top for who? Once you get started, the supposedly homogenous “mainstream” at the center of American listening is actually pretty complicated. To help us explore the past of pop, we talk with Eric Weisbard, music critic and professor of American Studies, whose book “Top 40 Democracy: The Rival Mainstreams of American Music” examines how radio formats and the artists that populated them helped make modern music. We go from the bizarre pan-ethnic brass band sounds of Herb Albert to the Cleveland station that invented classic rock—with a stop along the way for some Dolly.

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Buy Top 40 Democracy: The Rival Mainstreams of American Music by Eric Weisbard

 

 

Twitch Trolls Metallica

Metallica recently got trolled by Twitch when the gaming platform dubbed over a live performance. The Internet LOL'd considering the metal band's history with suing its own fans and taking down Napster. But there's so much more behind this move that is more important and could shape the future of music copyright. 

 

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Pulling Back the Veil on Posthumous Albums

Plenty has been written about the music and legacy an artist leaves behind when they pass prematurely. But there hasn’t been much of a discussion on how the obligatory posthumous album is handled and marketed. Sam and Saxon discuss the different ways the music an artist leaves behind is handled by taking a critical look at Nirvana, Elliott Smith, the red-tape legal battles (and exploitation) of Jimi Hendrix and Tupac and the head-scratching collaborations of a deceased Michael Jackson. Also, a passionate defense of Sublime’s self-titled and the good work the majors can (sometimes) do if they choose to put on the white gloves.

 

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Bootleggers, Hippies, and...Lawyers: How piracy remade music with Dr. Alex Sayf Cummings.

When people talk about music piracy, it almost always carries a 21st century slant— Napster, Pirates Bay, iPods and so on. As it turns, battles over who has a right to make and sell music has a FAR longer history, one that stretches from the jazz loving Hot Record Society in the 1940s to acid-fried hippies trying to take Dylan to the people, and the battles around sampling that reshaped hip hop in the 90s. To learn more, we talked to Dr. Alex Sayf Cummings, whose book “Democracy of Sound” dives into the long and messy story of how folks on the outside of the industry (and often, the law) remade the systems of copyright and ownership that define our favorite sonic commodity. Come for the Basement Tapes and Biz Markie. Stay for the story of Modular Records, owned and operated by FBI undercover agents. 

NF(t) DOOM or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Blockchain

In the last month, the music world has gone positively gaga for NFT’s, the blockchain-based goods that (some say) promise to transform basic dynamics of the industry, bypassing major labels, reversing decades of artistic austerity, and basically doing everything short of reuniting the Beatles. We…aren’t so sure. Saxon and Sam dig into the phenomenon, trying to separate pump-and-dump tech-bro scams from the genuine potentials of technology. Are NFTs digital beanie babies? Almost certainly yes. Could the blockchain remake music forever? Also… yes. More importantly, some version of this future is coming. And if we don’t figure it out, Elon Musk wins.

BONUS Episode: Stephen Thomas Erlewine

On this **Bonus** episode, music journalist Stephen Thomas Erlewine talks with Saxon Baird about the death of the greatest hits album, the encyclopedic glory of Allmusic, The White Stripes and more.

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“God is My Girlfriend”: Christian Rock and Niche Genres with Andrew Mall

Christian music and especially Christian rock is a world of its own, a self-contained universe that mirrors the trends and styles of the mainstream. But how does it work? And what can it tell us about the interactions between audiences and industries that structure popular music? We talk to Andrew Mall, the author of “God Rock Inc.: The Business of Niche Music” to explore everything from the Jesus People to Christian Metalcore, while discussing how the complex relationship between sacred and secular pop can help us understand the ethics, aesthetics, and boundaries that define musical genre.

Financialization Feeding Frenzy with Cherie Hu and David Turner

When we first covered the vast amounts of cash that companies like Hipgnosis were throwing into the music publishing market, we thought things had hit some sort of insane peak. Well were we VERY wrong. In the months since, the press has been filled with one enormous deal after another, peaking (at least for now) in the reported sale of Dylan’s entire catalog for 300+ million dollars. But does…any of this make business sense? Or is it just rank speculation? And how will it shape the future of music?  To sort things out, we got together a dream team—Cherie Hu of Water & Music and David Turner of Penny Fractions—to talk through what’s happening and what might come next.

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Liz Pelly on Alternative Platforms and Possible Futures

We talk to writer and critic Liz Pelly who has long been one of the most astute critics of the modern musical economy. But while we all know that streaming is broken—what comes next? Liz has recently been exploring a set of new platforms that are seeking to create alternatives to existing industry structures. We dig into everything from public library-based programs that support local music to swing-for-the-fences proposals for government intervention in the streaming markets. Tomorrow’s ethical consumption—today!

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Further Reading:

Protest Platforms: Music Streaming Cooperative Restores Agency to Artists - Shadowproof 

 

 

Consent Decrees

What’s a consent decree and why did one over 80 years old recently make headlines? Sam and Saxon explore the Department of Justice's latest decision to NOT remake the music industry, before diving into the history of ASCAP, BMI, and Tin Pan Alley to figure out some of the shady battles at the heart of payouts and this whole performing rights thing. BUT FIRST—we talk King Gizzard commodities, re-contextualized profit-centers, and Tom Lehrer’s copyright end-run. Something for the whole family, as long as your family are exclusively music lawyers.