TMA Music Newsletter: August 2023
REST IN POWER
Within the month, we lost two iconic artists – Tony Bennett and Sinead O’Connor. Take some time to listen to Variety’s top Tony Bennett song picks and Billboard’s top Sinead O’Connor song picks.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MUSIC & TIKTKOK
Has TikTok already taken over the world or are they just getting started?? Just in the past few weeks, they’ve announced Elevate, where they will highlight emerging artists/songs on the platform. TikTok also decided to compete with Spotify and Apple, newly launching their streaming service TikTok Music in Brazil and Indonesia, while testing in other global markets like Australia, Mexico, and Singapore. In addition, they struck a licensing deal with Warner Music Group, which will give users greater ability to access WMG music for content, among other things.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MUSIC & BRANDS
Pokémon Music collective taps South Korean boy band ENHYPHEN for a special music collaboration. Skin care brand Youth to the People announce Omar Apollo as their first ever ambassador. The Weeknd is getting into the coffee biz – partnering with Blue Bottle to launch a new line of its Samras Origins range. The fusion of hip-hop and Parisian luxury fashion is at an all-time high, including Future’s upcoming collection with LANVIN and the launch of Pharrell’s first Louis Vuitton menswear collection at Paris Fashion Week.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN TMA MUSIC
We were thrilled to help our friends at Gain to license the iconic song Take My Breath Away and create a modernized version. If you’re tuning into Spotify this weekend, hopefully you’ll hear Bounty’s new radio spot featuring T-Pain’s Buy U A Drank during a commercial break.
WHAT’S INTERESTING
Barbie is a mega-hit and so is the lead single Barbie World by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice (which samples Aqua’s Barbie Girl). But, did you know Mattel at one time sued Aqua about it, being quite contentious for years?
Check out more music news here, and stay tuned for next month’s newsletter with trends, stats, and more!
