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Love Fiend – “Hard Feelings” (Video Premiere)

Love Fiend
Adam Grundy

Today I’m thrilled to bring everyone the latest single and video from rock band, Love Fiend, called “Hard Feelings.” On this 60’s stylized synth rocking jam, Love Fiend quickly establish themselves as an artist to keep a keen eye on as the year unfolds. The band shared, “What began as a conversation surrounding the meaning of the common phrase ‘no hard feelings,’ became a structured academic study into the cosmological origins of emotion. What we discovered was that before the human heart had fully developed, emotion first rested silently in the earth’s crust – petrified, rock-solid, HARD.” If you’re enjoying the latest single, please consider supporting this talented band here. I was also able to catch up with the band for a brief interview below.

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Spotify’s New Royalty Model to Pay Songwriters Less

Jason Tate

Kristin Robinson, writing at Billboard:

When Bloomberg reported that Spotify would be upping the cost of its premium subscription from $9.99 to $10.99, and including 15 hours of audiobooks per month in the U.S., the change sounded like a win for songwriters and publishers. Higher subscription prices typically equate to a bump in U.S. mechanical royalties — but not this time. 

By adding audiobooks into Spotify’s premium tier, the streaming service now claims it qualifies to pay a discounted “bundle” rate to songwriters for premium streams, given Spotify now has to pay licensing for both books and music from the same price tag — which will only be a dollar higher than when music was the only premium offering. Additionally, Spotify will reclassify its duo and family subscription plans as bundles as well.

To determine how great this loss in royalty value would be for the music business, Billboard calculated that songwriters and publishers will earn an estimated $150 million less in U.S. mechanical royalties from premium, duo and family plans for the first 12 months that this is in effect, compared to what they would have earned if these three subscriptions were never bundled

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Review: Dua Lipa – Radical Optimism

Adam Grundy

The world around us is quite brutal and ugly currently, so who couldn’t use a little optimism that things can and will get better? Dua Lipa has returned to the music world with a shimmering album titled Radical Optimism. With songwriting and producer credits from Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, plus other seasoned veterans like Danny Harle, Ian Kirkpatrick, and Andrew Wyatt, Dua Lipa comes well-armed for success. The album plays out quickly over the 11-song, 37-minute play time that is filled with thrilling moments, great vocal performances from Dua Lipa, as well as plenty new tricks to her arsenal. Radical Optimism is a heat-seeking missile to the eardrums and is bound to make even the most negative person feel a little bit better about their day after spending some time with it. While the current pop scene seems to lean towards darker elements (much like the brooding pop Billie Eilish), Dua Lipa cuts through the negativity with a surgeon-like precision on this instant pop classic.

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