A Little Knowledge... #92

Welcome to A Little Knowledge #92 – our free weekly LinkedIn newsletter.

This is only a glimpse into this week's Knowledge – subscribe to the full newsletter for FREE, and every Friday it’ll splashdown into your inbox!

📬 BULLETIN NEWS:  Kate Nash defends OnlyFans move

Musician Kate Nash’s decision to launch an OnlyFans account last week is sparking a lot of debate within the industry and the wider media. So much so that in a new post to Instagram this week, Nash firmly defended the move.

• “Don’t be ‘sad’ that I started an onlyfans to fund my tours. It’s very empowering and selling pics of my arse is fun & funny, sex is fun & funny,” she wrote.
• “Women being in control of their bodies is vital and something we should all be standing by and fighting for. If you could remove shame & sadness from your perception of sex work you can help empower sex workers.”
• Nash also reiterated her assessment of industry economics. “Are you sad music has little to no value? Would you be interviewing me or writing about me or talking about me if I had simply posted ‘going on tour, the business is shit, help me protect my employees & integrity of my show’,” she asked.
• She's forthright and pragmatic about the consequences of her decision, too: “Would my tour be on the front page of Reddit 2 days in a row? F*ck no it wouldn’t. My arse is shining a light on the problem.”
• Touring’s current challenges are a straightforward argument: below superstar level, many artists are struggling.
• The politics of sex work? That’s a much more complex debate, with a spectrum of views ranging from strong support for Nash to criticism of OnlyFans as a platform; via the topics of disempowerment, privilege and the male gaze – discussions which could also be applied to a number of areas of the music industry, not just this individual case.

👉 Read the article in full here.

🕰️ TIME MACHINE: What we were writing about this week five and 10 years ago

Change in the music industry happens fast - even faster than the world's fastest tiny house, built on top of a Tesla. Here’s what Music Ally was writing about five and ten years ago:

5️⃣ In 2019 we were writing about then-WMG boss Steve Cooper predicting “plenty of room for more growth” in streaming, after his company’s annual streaming revenues surpassed $2bn for the first time. Five years on, that total has more than doubled: this month WMG reported just under $4.2bn of streaming revenues for its last financial year – $3.44bn from recorded music and $752m from publishing.

🔟 In 2014 we reported on global labels body the IFPI’s latest ‘Investing in Music’ report, which noted that its members’ spent $2.5bn on A&R and $1.8bn on marketing in 2013. How have those investments grown since? In the same body’s Global Music Report this year, it said labels spent $3.9bn on A&R and $3.2bn on marketing in 2023. That’s a combined spend of $7.1bn, up 65% from a decade ago – although we’re not correcting for inflation there.

What's new on Music Ally Pro:

• NEW Campaign Tracking: Tyler, The Creator ‘CHROMAKOPIA’:This new campaign tracking dives into the innovative marketing strategies and activations propelling Tyler, The Creator’s record-breaking album CHROMAKOPIA. Discover how Tyler and his team are creatively using visual branding and live performances to tell the story of the album and engage with fans. Pro subscribers can access the full campaign tracking here.
• Weekly Roundup: In this week's roundup, explore how Tate McRae and her team are expertly teasing and promoting her new album following its official announcement. Plus, see how Sam Austins is capitalising on his viral moment with the trending track "Seasons." Dive into these innovative marketing strategies and more in our latest roundup.

🤔 A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA...

Our daily Bulletin newsletter is loved by subscribers for its instant industry analysis - but secretly, the part they like most is the ‘A Little Something Extra’ section at the bottom of the email. Here's a few of the best recent links:

• In 1987, British science show Tomorrow’s World predicted what technology would look like in 2024. How did they do?
• As part of our ongoing ‘keep an eye on the quadruped robot dogs because one day they will rise up and overthrow humanity’ duties, we can report that they’re now running full marathons.
• Tired? Showers. Wired? ‘The Human Washing Machine of the Future’.

💼 MUSIC ALLY JOBS

The latest and best jobs for the global music business, trusted by both top music industry companies and experienced professionals on top of their game.

Are you looking for a job? Click here to see the full list of vacancies!

This is only a glimpse into this week's The Knowledge newsletter – subscribe for FREE and every Friday it’ll arrive in your inbox with:

• 🌍 Highlights from our latest COUNTRY PROFILE REPORTS;
• 😵 💫 Some great and/or strange music in SOMETHING 4 THE WEEKEND;
• 🕰 A look back in TIME MACHINE;
• 🎧 The Music Ally Focus PODCAST;
• and 🤔 more links to our favourite unusual stuff in A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA.