Oakland, CA — Things are constantly changing in the music industry and it’s important to stay on top of trends and news updates, especially as an independent artist. We’ve got you covered with a weekly recap of the top stories you need to know.
NICKI VS. MEEK
Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill have been arguing like a married couple ever since they broke up. The rappers recently took the beef to Twitter to settle the mess in an open forum. With all the back-and-forth and nasty allegations coming from both parties, we can only hope there is a silver lining to this ugliness and it leads to more great music from them... we’ll see!
LIL WAYNE ON THE MASKED SINGER, PERIOD
In the Season 3 premiere of "The Masked Singer," Lil Wayne was revealed as the robot! He performed Lenny Kravitz’s "Are You Gonna Go My Way." Wayne said he picked the robot costume for his kids because he knew they would like his costume. We love a family-minded king. UBUNTU!
OPRAH X APPLE TV DROPPED RUSSELL SIMMONS DOCUMENTARY
Oprah Winfrey stepped down as producer for "On the Record," a film telling the stories of women who have accused Russell Simmons of sexual assault. It was slated to premiere in 2020 on Apple TV+, but Apple backed away from the deal after Winfrey distanced herself from the project. HBO Max recently acquired the U.S. rights to "On the Record."
SPIKE LEE TO DIRECT DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA BROADWAY SHOW
Spike Lee is set to direct the filme version of the Broadway show "American Utopia." The show debuted in November 2019 and runs until March 2020. It’s set to be produced by Participant Media Company, River Road Ent., Warner Music, Radical Media, as well as David Byrnes's and Spike Lee's production companies Todomundo and Forty Acres and a Mule. No release date is known.
YOUTUBE REVEALS REVENUE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER
For the first time, Google let us in on a big secret...YouTube’s advertisement revenue. According to the multi-billion dollar company, YouTube generated $15.1 billion in ad revenue in 2019, including $4.1 billion in the fourth fiscal quarter. This means YouTube is a big business for Google and Alphabet.