Their popularity can’t be explained by the nostalgia of baby boomers or superior sound quality. So what’s going on?
Tobi accepts the Juno Award for Rap Album/EP of the Year during the Juno Awards in Edmonton on March 13, 2023. Tobi is among the many Juno-nominated and Juno-recognized artists who have received grants partly funded by Canadian radio profits.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Timothy Matwey
Here’s how radio Canadian content policy started, and how Canadian legislation, C-11, could contribute to supporting and growing home-grown music in the digital era.
(From left to right) Maseo, Posdnous and Trugoy the Dove from the rap group De La Soul.
Everett Collection Inc/Alamy
With their back catalogue finally being made available on streaming services, a new generation of rap lovers will get to enjoy their groundbreaking work.
The episodes on this playlist span the start of the pandemic with its worldwide demonstrations against anti-Black racism, to the most recent violence this winter.
Use of Spotify Wrapped has quadrupled since its inception in 2017.
Shutterstock
Spotify Wrapped bills itself as a playful musical year in review – but for its users, its omnipresence on social media can inspire more negative feelings.
Part of the fascination with end of year roundups is that they’re a stocktake of the year – but they also give insights into the way we listen to music that might surprise some people.
Rebecca Giblin and Cory Doctorow’s new book reveals the tricks behind ‘Chokepoint Capitalism’ – how big corporations use low prices to lock in users and creators, while locking out real competition.
Ye, formerly Kanye West, lost some of his corporate partners after expressing antisemitic remarks.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Whether we’re talking songs that are popular on Spotify, or were Billboard hits through the ‘40s up to recent years, popularity cannot be attributed solely to quantifiable acoustic elements.
One of the recent shifts in podcasting has been the introduction of paywalls and exclusive content.
Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
By implementing paywalls, making exclusive content deals and incorporating ad tech, big media companies have reshaped what was once an entirely free and open ecosystem.
Irina Surdu, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick
The mud rarely sticks.
Neil Young isn’t the first artist to speak out about musicians’ relationships with large streaming servies.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Invision - Amy Harris
A Spotify boycott wouldn’t fix the working conditions of most musicians. Fostering a more equitable, community-based music culture requires changing how we listen to music and support its production.
Tech giants such as Spotify like to claim they are platforms, not publishers, and aren’t editorially responsible for the content they host. But with COVID threatening lives, they have to do better.
Spotify will pull Neil Young’s music after the musician demanded the streaming service remove The Joe Rogan Experience from its platform, as an episode of the podcast promoted COVID misinformation.
30, going on 33 1/3.
Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images
Adele released her fourth studio album 30 and wants people to listen to the songs in the order she intended - asking Spotify to remove the “shuffle” function from her album.
The iPod was a marvel: a sleek device that let you pocket your favourite tunes and roam around town. Today it’s more or less obsolete — but its impact has been evident.