Along with specializing in one-liners and rapid-fire delivery of jokes—which were often self-deprecating, Bob Hope was celebrated for his long career performing United Service Organizations (USO) shows to entertain active service American military personnel. He made 57 tours for the USO between 1941 and 1991, and Hope was declared an honorary veteran of the United States Armed Forces in 1997 by act of the U.S. Congress.
iHeartRadio And NPR Strike A Deal
Some great news for anyone and everyone who falls into the talk radio category – your favorite NPR stations are coming to iHeartRadio. In a brand new collaboration with NPR, more than 260 NPR member stations can add their live News Talk programming to iHeartRadio, to stream directly their 85 million registered users.
Adding NPR member stations to iHeartRadio adds even more signature content and best-in-class News Talk programming, plus it allows NPR stations to reach their audience across more than 80 unique device platforms. NPR listeners who tune in through iHeartRadio will also have the option to donate to the station to support public programming. Talk about a win-win!
Teens are big on streaming, smartphones and (kinda) subscriptions
The Music Business Association (Music Biz) and data partner LOOP (Lots of Online People) published their “Music & Millennials” report, the first in-depth report from the member-exclusive Music Biz Consumer Insights portal, with 3,014 U.S. respondents, the report breaks down a variety of music consumption patterns by age, providing unique insight into the habits of the millennial generation.
The report shows that 15-to-19 year olds have embraced on-demand streaming as their format of choice, accounting for 51% of their total listening time on a typical day (more than double the overall average of 24%, which includes all age groups). This comes at the expense of more traditional formats, most notably AM/FM radio. While broadcast radio still accounts for the highest listening share among the general population at 35%, 15-to-19 year olds reported that they spend only 12% of their time with the format despite a weekly reach of 65% (on par with the overall average of 78%). This indicates that even though millennials are being exposed to radio, they are not engaging with it, and on-demand streaming is making up the difference.
This is further reflected in millennials’ device usage. AM/FM radio receivers again topped the overall tally, accounting for 33% of the general population’s listening time. However, 15-to-19 year olds bucked the trend once more, saying the device only accounts for 11% of their time. Instead, they rely heavily on connected devices like smartphones, which accounted for 41% of their listening time, more than double the overall average of 18%. This also explains why 15-to-19 year olds are far more likely than the general population to upgrade to a premium streaming account because they want to access the service on their mobile phone. According to the report, 40% of this group cited mobile access as a major factor in the decision to upgrade, compared to only 29% of the general population.
In addition, the report shows that, for the first time, YouTube has overtaken broadcast radio for music discovery among the general population. When asked how they typically discover new music, 34% of all respondents cited YouTube, while only 32% cited AM/FM radio. This was even more prevalent among 15-to-19 year olds, 56% of whom cited YouTube and 23% of whom cited AM/FM radio. However, recommendations from friends remain the #1 source for music discovery, cited by 46% of the general population. Among 15-to-19 year olds, it is neck and neck with YouTube at 56%.
The study also found that some people who have a premium account with a streaming service do not actually pay for that subscription, with 18% of the general population saying their premium access came through a free trial, a bundle with another product/service, or that they use someone else’s account. Among 15-to-19 year olds, 24% said they do not pay for their premium subscriptions, with 11% saying it came with a purchase and 10% saying they use someone else’s account.
“We are thrilled to offer our members this uniquely insightful report, which provides a roadmap for the future of the music business through the eyes of the millennial generation,” said James Donio, President of Music Biz. “The quicker the music business can adapt to new trends, the more successful it will be. By examining how young music consumers access the songs they love, we can begin to understand the market trends of the future and get a head start on optimizing the system for the new generation.”
“This study confirms that younger millennials are moving away from traditional means of music consumption and embracing more interactive music services and devices,” said David Lewis, Co-Founder of LOOP. “We look forward to tracking how those preferences evolve in the coming months and years as they grow and take on new responsibilities in their daily lives.”
Harvesting Guitars from the Bones of New York City
Fancy playing a guitar that was literally once part of a New York City landmark? How about owning a guitar designed by a man who has sold guitars to Bob Dylan, Lou Reed and Steely Dan? At Carmine Street Guitars in New York City, every guitar has a story. Owner Rick Kelly creates each custom instrument from reclaimed lumber that once belonged to buildings around the city. These are more than simple guitars, they’re history in your arms.
Napster, rebranded from Rhapsody, is back
Remember when Napster said it was coming back? No, you didn’t dream that – it’s very real and it’s available today for a 30-day trial. Napster, rebranded from Rhapsody which acquired the former company in 2011,finally has more details about what’s in store: there’s an updated app with a new homescreen, a global network for you to check out other users’ playlists, and a dashboard for your most played tracks, artists, and playlists.
VEVO, with another revamp, wants to be the Vice of music videos
Vevo in Thursday launched a sleeker app — its second revamp in less than a year — that adds firepower for personalized recommendations, puts artists on greater display and aims to hone the edge to its original content.”This a big bet,” Erik Huggers, the CEO of Vevo, said in an interview Thursday. “There is a real opportunity beyond…just dropping a song or video in a playlist.”
Vevo’s new app introduces a video player that favors “vertical” viewing, the way most people naturally hold their phones.
The revamp is the latest attempt by Vevo to establish its own identity apart from the little logo in the corner of YouTube’s most popular videos. Vevo is a bedrock for music videos on the internet. It offers 200,000 official music videos that draw 18 billion views a month globally on its popular YouTube channel and its own site and app.
David Bowie’s Personal Art Collection to Feature in Three Sales From Sotheby’s
This November, Sotheby’s will stage Bowie/Collector, a three-part sale encompassing some 400 items from the private collection of legendary musician David Bowie. At the heart of which is a remarkable group of more than 200 works by many of the most important British artists of the 20th Century, including Frank Auerbach, Damien Hirst, Henry Moore and Graham Sutherland.
Bowie’s famously inquisitive mind also led him to collect Outsider Art, Surrealism and Contemporary African art, as well as pieces by eccentric Italian designer Ettore Sottsass and the Memphis group. Bowie’s diverse tastes nurtured his extensive archive of important works from celebrated, and less widely-known, artists in a collection of uparalleled eclecticism.
From 1–10 November, the collection will be exhibited at Sotheby’s New Bond Street galleries in London, giving fans, collectors, art lovers and experts a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to immerse themselves in the extraordinary range of objects that informed Bowie’s private world. Ahead of the landmark ten-day event in London, preview exhibitions will be held in New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Full details are listed below.
2016 Polaris Music Short List Is Here: Grimes, Carly Rae Jepsen, PUP and more!
The Polaris Music Prize, presented by CBC Music and produced by Blue Ant Media, announced its 2016 Short List of Canadian albums today.
Here’s the Short List:
Black Mountain – IV
Basia Bulat – Good Advice
Grimes – Art Angels
Carly Rae Jepsen – E•MO•TION
Kaytranada – 99.9%
Jessy Lanza – Oh No
PUP – The Dream Is Over
Andy Shauf – The Party
U.S. Girls – Half Free
White Lung – Paradise
Bulat (2008, 2014, 2016) now joins Caribou, Drake, Metric, Shad and Owen Pallett as the only acts to be nominated for the Short List on three separate occasions. This is second time Black Mountain, Grimes and Jesse Lanza have made the Short List. Carly Rae Jepsen, Kaytranada, PUP Andy Shauf, U.S. Girls and White Lung are all first-time Short List nominees.
Announcing the 2016 Short List were this year’s Polaris Gala hosts: Tom Power, CBC Radio 2 Morning host and Polaris jurist, and Amanda Parris, host of CBC Radio 2’s Marvin’s Room and CBC’s Exhibitionists. The Polaris Music Prize Gala will be held at The Carlu in Toronto on Monday, September 19 at 8 p.m. ET and streamed live on CBC Music’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
At 6 p.m. (6:30 p.m. NT) this evening, CBC Radio 2 will feature a special hour-long broadcast celebrating the Polaris Music Prize Short List on Drive with Rich Terfry. Local CBC Radio 2 frequencies can be found at cbc.ca/frequency or the broadcast can be streamed online at cbcmusic.ca.
The Polaris Music Prize will award $50,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year. Each of the nine other Short List artists will receive $3,000 courtesy of Slaight Music. Judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration of genre or record sales, the prize’s past winners are Buffy Sainte-Marie (2015), Tanya Tagaq (2014), Godspeed You! Black Emperor (2013), Feist (2012), Arcade Fire (2011), Karkwa (2010), Fucked Up (2009), Caribou (2008), Patrick Watson (2007), and Final Fantasy / Owen Pallett (2006).
The eligibility period for the 2016 Polaris Music Prize runs from June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016. An independent jury of music journalists, broadcasters and music bloggers from across Canada determines the Long List and Short List. Eleven people are selected from the larger jury pool to serve on the Grand Jury and they will convene the night of the Polaris Gala to select the Polaris Music Prize winner.
Chance The Rapper, Bono, Beyoncé, Janelle Monaé Talk About 23 Ways You Could Be Killed If You Are Black in America
Chance The Rapper, Bono, Beyoncé, Janelle Monaé, and many other musicians appear in a somber video raising awareness about the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police.
Follow us on Instagram @thatericalper
Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.
Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com
© Copyright - That Eric Alper