Katy Controversy, Chris Surprise Performance & a French Win.

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Not All the Love for Katy Perry 

Katy Perry’s new album, “143”, is not winning over critics. While she has a loyal and supportive fanbase, known as the KatyCats, winning over the media isn’t coming easy.  

Thanks to the KatyCats, the figures for “143” are on the rise. Perry’s highest-streamed album, “Teenage Dream: The Complete Collection,” has 5,369,248 daily streams, and “143”, despite only being a week old, has 3,993,761 daily streams (Kworb). 

Katy said about 143:   

“I set out to create a bold, exuberant, celebratory dance-pop album with the symbolic 143 numerical expression of love as a throughline message.”  

So, what has gone wrong?  

A couple of days ago, Slate published a deep dive into the issues and controversy surrounding Katy and the album. It is an eye-opening read. There were questionable releases like “Witness” in 2017, followed by the quickly forgotten “Smile” album debacle at the start of the pandemic in 2020.  

But “Woman's World” has really tipped the scales against Katy.  

Media critics, some fans, and music lovers worldwide are united in their disappointment in her choice of co-writing and co-production partner: Dr. Luke.  

Dr. Luke is the producer against whom Kesha filed a lawsuit for sexual assault (read the full timeline by Vulture). While he denied the claims, this decision ultimately influenced critics' opinions on “Woman's World.”

The Cut—“so forgettable, so cringe, that it overshadows the blatant hypocrisy of having an alleged predator produce it." With the album not getting rave reviews, the pop princess’s comeback isn’t going as well as hoped.  

And to quote The Cut once more, she has a “fundamental misunderstanding of her appeal.” Multiple critics say the appeal isn’t “purposeful pop” but “bubblegum pop.” Feel good without the political pretense and off-point messaging.  

All that aside, her streaming figures are a tell-tale sign that her fan base backs her despite the album's tirade of bad reviews.

Seven-Year Siphoning Scam (Allegedly)

Earlier this month, Michael Smith, a 52-year-old from North Carolina, was charged with three felonies relating using bots to stream AI-generated songs. Reports say Smith generated over $10 million in royalties since 2017. 

“Michael Smith allegedly produced hundreds of thousands of songs with artificial intelligence and utilized automatic features to repeatedly stream the music to generate unlawful royalties to the tune of $10 million.”  - FBI Acting Assistant Director Christie M. Curtis. 

In an earlier issue, we covered streaming fraud and the AI tools being implemented by streaming platforms. Specifically AI music creation and bot siphoning, the damage it causes to the industry, and what platforms like Spotify and Deezer are doing about it.  

Spotify recently released its own statement about the case, highlighting that its platform only accounts for 1% of the revenue generated. Findings from the BVMI and CNM found that 3% of all Spotify streams are from bots and scripts. The problem is being combated, but not at the speed the industry needs.  

On September 18th, Smith pleaded not guilty during a brief proceeding, and Judge John Koeltl issued an order on Smith, setting his bail at $500,000.  

If found guilty, Michael Smith faces charges of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. Each charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Le marché de la musique

France’s music industry is making big moves.  

A 5.9% growth in H1 2024, hitting $463.35m despite a nearly 7% drop in physical sales. Digital pulled in $371.80m, up 9.6% YoY, while CDs and vinyl brought in $91.55m. 

Despite the 7% overall drop, vinyl saw a 0.2% bump, outselling CDs for the first time since the '80s. 

This shows a nostalgic pull even in a streaming-heavy market, following our trend spot of superfans choosing physical more often.  

Streaming dominates the market, making up 62% of it, and subscription revenues hit $288.62m, up 11.3%.  

Ad-supported (free accounts) streaming reached $42.45m, up 6%, while video streaming grew to $35.14m, up just over 5%.  

Only 23% of French users subscribed to paid services last year, so there’s still a lot of potential for growth as more listeners switch. 

Spain outpaced France with a 16.6% revenue jump, reaching $269m, driven by audio streaming, which made up 83.5% of the total. Unlike France’s dip in physical sales, Spain’s physical market nudged up by 0.03%, showing that both countries have distinct market dynamics.  

French artists are winning, though, with over 70% of the top-sellers in H1 2024 coming from local talents like Aya Nakamura, Ninho, and SCH.  

Even international artists are jumping into the French scene. Central Cee and RAYE released “Moi," further highlighting the cross-cultural appeal of French music and the language. 

Taylor Swift’s “Tortured Poets Department” was the only non-French album to crack the top 10, landing fifth. Unlike Spain, where Latin American stars often take center stage (rather than local artists), France keeps its focus local, creating a powerful connection with its audience. 

With streaming driving most of the revenue and local artists dominating the charts, France’s music scene is not just keeping pace; it indicates that local acts will be significant in terms of trends in the next year. 

Super exciting for local talent!

The Clock Stops on TikTok Music

TikTok Music just announced that it will be closing in November. The platform has been available since 2023 in several regions, including Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, and Australia. However, entering a fierce and competitive market, even with the support of the massive social app, wasn’t enough.

The TikTok Music website currently hosts a notice outlining the last dates for music transfer and refund requests. The final date users can transfer their music is October 28^th, and refund requests must be made before the 28^th of November (the date the service closes for good). 

Wondering why it was so short-lived?  

They had issues with labels over artists’ pay and weren’t clear enough on artists’ copyright protection. Big names like Taylor Swift and Drake both pulled out of being on the platform, and those are the names that bring in high-volume user subscriptions.  

Not to mention that TikTok is still in a tussle over a potential ban in the US.

Surprisingly, TikTok Music has been around since 2019 under the name Resso, which you may be more familiar with. The rebranding from Resso to TikTok Music in 2023 did nothing to gain attention. However, with competition from Apple Music and Spotify, it never really stood a chance of getting a good market share.    

Viva La Vida Las Vegas

Coldplay’s Chris Martin made fans smile earlier this week with a surprise performance in Las Vegas. 

Disguised in an oversized suit, a copper wig, massive glasses, and holding a pink balloon, the star began singing along to “All My Love.”

“All My Love” is the ninth track on Coldplay’s 10th studio album, “Moon Music,” due out on October 4^th.   

Both “feelslikeimfallinginlove” and “We Pray” singles have the typical Coldplay style that fans know and enjoy. Seeing Little Simz, Burna Boy, Tini, and Elyanna on “We Pray” surprised and delighted fans – a crossover track they didn’t know they needed. So, we expect to see some big streaming numbers in the release week.  

Thanks to Chris’ very distinctive voice, it wasn’t long before the karaoke bar customers knew this wasn’t your average bar singer.  

A fan video captured Martin nervously swaying on stage with his pink balloon and amusing attire. He then calls a woman up on stage, hugs her, and hands over the balloon while he finishes the song. 

It turns out that the star was secretly filming the music video for "All My Love" and finished the set by pulling off his wig, much to the crowd's delight.   

Dino’s Lounge was quick to share the ultra-cool appearance on their Instagram: 

Let us know in the comments if you got it right. ⬇️

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