The Daily Chord Weekly Recap – Friday, January 25

The Daily Chord offers a service that sifts apart the sense and nonsense in music news. Each weekday, we share a handful of links to the most interesting music-related news stories and features that have been recently posted. This week we covered the scandalous business practices of PledgeMusic, the latest news on R. Kelly, and new gear highlights from Erica Synths and Yamaha. Jump over to this page to subscribe to our email blast and let us pick the stories for you.

Monday, January 21

• R. Kelly dropped by RCA Records after documentary furor
  Post from NY Times
• Dolby quietly preps augmented audio recorder app '234'
  Post from TechCrunch
• Music to YouTube's ears: Article 13 in disarray as European copyright directive stalls
  Post from Music Business Worldwide
• Spotify will soon let you block artists
  Post from Thurrott
• How Stop The Violence Movement's 'Self Destruction' became one of hip-hop's most important tunes
  Post from Okayplayer
• Get to know hip-hop heartthrob Lil Tjay, who wants to be the next Usher
  Profile from Pitchfork

Tuesday, January 22

• Chris Brown detained on rape, drug allegations
  Post from Variety
• Rappers Skengdo and AM breached injunction by performing drill music
  Post from BBC News
• What the major fest announcements tell us about 2019
  Post from Pollstar
• Our Music My Body wants conversations about harassment and consent to include the concert scene
  Post from Chicago Reader
• 200 Canadian musicians and industry members release statement supporting Wet'suwet'en land defenders
  Post from CBC
• Video game menu music gets its own tribute album
  Post from Kotaku

Wednesday, January 23

• Aya Nakamura - Afropop's reluctant face of empowerment
  Interview from The Guardian
• R. Kelly really hasn't been 'dropped' by anyone in music
  Post from Rolling Stone
• iHeartMedia reorganization plan approved, Bob Pittman to remain at the helm
  Post from Celebrity Access
• Universal Music snaps up rights/branding firm Epic Rights
  Item from Music Ally
• Wait, is Maggie Rogers a pop star now?
  Interview from Vulture
• This synth module overdrives your music using actual lightning
  Post from The Verge

Thursday, January 24

• SoundCloud is losing its second and final co-founder
  Post from Engadget
• Why subscriptions matter to musicians
  Guest post from Hypebot
• Oliver Mtukudzi, Zimbabwe's Afro-jazz legend, dies
  Obituary from BBC News
• Bob Dylan's 'Blowin' In The Wind' accompanies Budweiser's next Super Bowl ad
  Post from Star-Tribune
• Def Jam chief says 'rap camp' concept 'encapsulates our new direction'
  Post from Variety
• Kodak Black grapples with tough questions in his music, but nowhere else
  Story from NY Times

Friday, January 25

• PledgeMusic, once a crowdfunding haven for artists, now owes them thousands of dollars
  Story from Billboard
• The five most powerful people in the music industry don't work in the music industry
  Story from Rolling Stone
• TV, games, esports...lessons from outside the music industry bubble
  Post from Music Ally
• Hundreds of punks hit the desert. The modern music festival was born.
  Story from NY Times
• Spotify data shows how music preferences change with latitude
  Post from Ars Technica
• Yamaha's Sonogenic keytar is equal parts instrument and party trick
  Post from Engadget