The Daily Chord Weekly Recap – Friday, July 14

Spotify is the focus of two big stories this week. They announced a deal with Sony, which paves the way for an IPO and they responded to the controversy surrounding 'fake artists' on their playlists. In other links, we learned about the musical friends of Donald Trump Jr. and we did not chart on the top 50 moneymakers in music list. Join the moguls and the rabble-rousers and subscribe to the Daily Chord email blast for a music news morning update each weekday.

Monday, July 10

• Green Day issue statement about Mad Cool festival death
  Post from Stereogum
• Spotify on non-existent artist allegations:'We do not and have never created fake artists'
  Post from Billboard
• New research estimates value of removing DRM locks
  Post from EFF
• UK music industry gets boost from 12% rise in audiences at live events
  Post from The Guardian
• Crackdown chills Hong Kong's indie music scene
  Story from NY Times
• The secrets of a hit summer song
  Post from BBC News

Tuesday, July 11

• Spotify reaches deal with Sony Music: Sources
  Post from Billboard
• Why the music industry needs computer coders
  Guest post from Hypebot
• MTV News, Chance The Rapper and a defense of negative criticism
  Post from New Yorker
• Does music played in a metadata void actually make a sound?
  Post from Newmusicbox
• Subcultures will never die, they're just different now
  Post from Noisey
• Google search now casually highlights 'best torrent sites'
  Post from The Verge

Wednesday, July 12

• Is the threat of a copyright lawsuit stifling music?
  Post from BBC News
• Spotify is accused of creating fake artists - but what is a fake artist?
  Post from NPR
• The unfinished work of Alan Lomax's global jukebox
  Story from NY Times
• Rob Goldstone: The music publicist mixed up in Trump-Russia saga
  Post from USA Today
• Who is the Russian pop star linked to Donald Trump Jr.? His bland music offers few clues
  Post from LA Times
• Making a serious case for prog rock
  Interview from Pitchfork

Thursday, July 13

• What's really going on with Spotify's fake artist controversy
  Post from The Verge
• SoundCloud sinks as leaks say layoffs buy little time
  Post from TechCrunch
• Radiohead releases a surprise ZX Spectrum program for OK Computer anniversary
  Post from Ars Technica
• The night disco died
  Book excerpt from Chicago Magazine
• Revolutionary music, from rousing to mindless
  Post from The Economist
• Remember when Martin Shkreli bought that single-copy Wu-Tang Clan album?
  Book excerpt from Wired

Friday, July 14

• Billboard's top 50 money makers of 2016
  List from Billboard
• A deal to acquire concert tracker Pollstar is raising eyebrows
  Post from NY Post
• 2 Live Crew rapper 'Fresh Kid Ice' dies
  Obituary from CNN
• Prince estate's $31 million distribution deal is rescinded
  Post from NY Times
• Ariana Grande made honorary citizen of Manchester
  Post from The Guardian
• Net neutrality supporters send the FCC 2 million comments
  Post from CNET