MUSIC BUZZ: Spotify // The Knife // More

Filed Under: Buzz — By: Oliver Bouchard

More about Taylor Swift vs. Spotify

Taylor Swift’s decision to put her music off Spotify was still discussion topic number one this week. Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek wrote in a blog post:

When I hear stories about artists and songwriters who say they’ve seen little or no money from streaming and are naturally angry and frustrated, I’m really frustrated too.

This seems to be the point – everybody is frustrated. Except the fans, who are somewhere in between. Randall Roberts writes for the LA Times:

Fans want their musicians to succeed, just as they want unlimited access.

Then some rock heavy-weights chime in too – of course they made their fortune before the Internet changed everything. The Rolling Stone quotes Bono:

“I think artists should be paid way more than they are,” Bono said. “But the greatest way you serve your songs is to get them heard.” In the U2 frontman’s opinion, services like Spotify are most beneficial to artists starting out. “I’m already paid too much,” Bono said. “I’m a spoiled rock star. I’m the wrong spokesperson for this, but I have to tell you: if I were starting a band now, aged 17 or 18, I would be very excited…

And David Growl:

In Grohl’s expletive-adorned opinion, the biggest hurdle for musicians is getting their work heard. “You want people to fucking listen to your music? Give them your music,” he said. “And then go play a show. They like hearing your music? They’ll go see a show. To me it’s that simple, and I think it used to work that way.”

Does that help?

Goodbye to The Knife

The Knife gave their last concert ever in Reykjavik. We saw the show at Terminal 5 in May and it truly was breathtaking. On a side-note: Sharon Funchess, who joined the Knife on stage, is DJing tonight at Glasslands.

Let the year-end list craze begin

Best-of lists are a favorite part of the year end. The record store chain Rough Trade provided the first one. The Temples, really? But there’s also Little Dragon, Caribou and Alvvays in the top 20 – all were featured on glamglare. And Warpaint is on 23, also not bad.

Spike Hill closes

After three venues in the block between South 2nd Street and Kent Avenue are closing, we learned that another iconic venue in Williamsburg shuts down before the end of the year: Spike Hill, which became lately a favorite venue of ours. One can’t help to see Williamsburg turning from a cultural hub into a rich residential neighborhood close to the city.