The holiday rush is here! I can’t believe it’s December already, and we know what this season means. A mad rush to the stores both virtually and in person. As more and more consumer excitement is building, one of this …
Beats & Bytes – Thanksgiving Music Industry
Although 2016 has been a tough year there are definitely some bright spots to be thankful for. Mainly, after almost two decades of relentless decline caused by piracy and falling prices, the music business is enjoying a fragile recovery thanks …
Beats & Bytes – The Patch 2 Year Anniversary
What a week. Election upsets, the passing of legends such as Cohen, Russell and Ifill. There was much to mourn but in the sour and sweet of it all, the Nue Agency celebrated an important birthday. The Patch, a project …
Beats & Bytes – Make The Music Industry Great Again
We finally made it. Election day is here! What a wild race it’s been. I definitely feel a little anxious. To watch two ridiculously dynamic personalities battling it out to be the leader of the free world is something else. …
Beats & Bytes – Social Feedback Loop
This past Halloween season was the biggest ever. I’m sure you felt it too. It’s moved beyond a simple night into weeks of build up and days of parties. According to recent reports Halloween spending was up this year breaking …
Beats & Bytes – Quality Festivals, Quality Brand Activations
I saw a lot of great festivals this year. Besides quality music, a common theme was quality brand activations. You can read all about my top five that I saw in 2016 right here. The big lesson here: Like any …
Beats & Bytes – Share Your Tech Ideas
Six months ago we started incubating a new content series for the hip hop tech space called Hot In Tech.You may have seen it in Beats + Bytes before and now we need you. If you are a founder, a …
Beats & Bytes – San Francisco Spirit
Traveling always helps bring about a change for your mind. New people, new experiences, and new conversations allow us to grow and be inspired and this past weekend in San Francisco was that for me. I was in SF for …
Two New NYC Festivals
With great risk comes great reward and this weekend two new festivals launched in NYC. It almost felt a little greedy. After all of the amazing festival music this summer was there any way to top it? Both The Meadows and …
Beats & Bytes: Global Citizen Fest
What a weekend! Global Citizen Festival was the most fun I’ve had all month. Doing good feels good! The Global Citizen Festival is so unique because it combines actionable social good and festival culture. It’s well done and shows the …
The streaming wars continue to intensify
The streaming wars continue to intensify. Spotify is gearing up for their IPO. Pandora announced a new streaming service rate of $4.95 per month and Questlove as their artist in residence. And there are rumors of Tidal losing 27 million …
Beats & Bytes: Artist Curated Festivals Work
In two weeks Chance The Rapper will launch the first ever Magnificent Coloring Day Festival at U.S. Cellular Field on Chicago’s Southside. The show has a great lineup and is breaking every attendance festival record at the White Sox Stadium. A …
Beats & Bytes: 2016 MTV VMAs
This weekend I was invited to my third VMAs. My first one was when I signed and represented the Clipse and Justin Timberlake for his world premiere of his first single as a solo artist featuring Clipse. The second time was …
Beats & Bytes: VMEGA Joins Nike
While I was out in LA last week, Nike announce that it purchased a New York based Tech company called VIRGIN MEGA (VMEGA). VMEGA is the brainchild of Ron Faris who was previously an executive of Virgin Mobile. Essentially, the …
Beats & Bytes: WORLDZ of Inspiration
The first ever WORLDZ conference has me more than inspired. I left with a whole new set of friends and constituents. It was a crazy week in LA with WORLDZ, Heaven Sent and Teen Choice Awards. At the WORLDZ premiere, …