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Music Notes: Week of Nov. 4

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Music Notes: Week of Nov. 4

By: Carlos Ybarra, Anyi Wong-Lifton, and Sarah Molloy, TMA Entertainment Team

Your weekly look at what’s happening in music trends, partnerships, new releases, and more courtesy of the TMA Music Team.

This Week’s Music Trends

The saying goes, give credit where credit is due, and the music industry has slowly began to put this philosophy into practice. Over the last couple of years streaming services including Spotify, YouTube, and, recently, Tidal and Pandora have made full(er) song credits featuring musicians, songwriters, producers, and more viewable on a track’s page. While on the tech front, companies are developing new music-creation tools that will make it easier for all of those involved in the creation process to receive their due credit. Finally, the Recording Academy announced a campaign at the end of last month encouraging artists to recognize everyone who contributes to making their hit songs.


Spotify (2018), YouTube (2018), Pandora (2019), Tidal (2019)

New app Bounce wants to change the way music is made

Max Martin, UMG, Avid, DDEX, Session announced ‘Creator Credits’ initiative at SXSW

The Grammys’ new campaign credits the talent behind hit songs

Partnership News

Adam Met, ⅕ of the band AJR, is a humanitarian as well as a professional musician. He founded Sustainable Partners, Inc. (SPI), an organization dedicated to helping influencers and companies advocate for causes they care about in a meaningful way. The latest example of this consisted of a partnership between SPI, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and iHeartMedia.

UNDP and Sustainable Partners, Inc. teamed up with iHeartMedia, the largest audio company in America, to spread some important messages. The campaign saw a series of inspirational PSAs launched across the entire iHeartMedia network, featuring artists such as Steve Aoki, Rachel Crow, and of course, AJR. The PSAs are meant to encourage listeners to adhere to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, a set of ideals that Sustainable Partners, Inc. was founded on. They highlight important systemic and policy changes that need to be implemented as well as simple actions, such as using reusable coffee cups and protecting rainforests with thoughtful food choices, among other things. While each PSA is different, they all echo one message – we need to save the planet before it’s too late, and here’s how you can help. 

iHeartMedia affiliates reach about a quarter of a billion listeners every month and touch nearly every content platform, so these organizations couldn’t have chosen a better means to distribute their message. The campaign will run on iHeartMedia until the end of November, but If you’re one of the few people outside of the network’s reach, you can catch one of their PSAs below.

Partnership Highlights

image of rapper Drake next to logo for Canopy Growth.
  • Canopy Growth, the same company in which Constellation Brands invested $4 billion USD, announced yesterday that it will partner with Drake to launch the More Life Growth Company. The Toronto-based rapper will own 60% of the newly formed company while Canopy will hold More Life’s distribution rights and manage operations and facility maintenance.
  • Vans and Spotify launched a new weekly playlist called “Off The Wall Wednesdays.” The curated playlists will tap into Spotify’s music expertise and Van’s 50-year history of teaming up with Artists to provide listeners with a personalized listening experience.
  • Electronic accessory producer CASETiFY and K Pop supergroup BTS are co-releasing a capsule collection. The BTS x CASETiFY collection will debut with merchandise portraying BTS’s recent EP, MAP OF THE SOUL: PERSONA.
  • Rap Snacks, the brand known as “The Official Snack of Hip Hop,” is now available in all 4,700+ Wal-Mart stores after signing a distribution deal with the retailer. The brand, started by Meek Mill’s marketing manager is famous for including the faces of rappers like Cardi B, Migos, and Fabolous on its packaging.

Creativity That Matters

Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, known for his culture blending designs, and Billie Eilish known for pushing creativity forward, have been at the forefront of culture and creativity. The two collaborated earlier this year to create the video for Eilish’s single “you should see me in a crown,” and were reunited this week at Adobe MAX 2019 to participate in a keynote interview. The two discussed their creative influences and the role creativity plays in their lives.


What we’re listening to this week…

(Note: may contain explicit content)

“Track selection today comes from our ears in the UK. It includes London grime artist AJ Tracey who is trying to actually break UK hip hop in the US, is it possible? It is accessible, commercial grime, but he doesn’t give away respect in the scene to do so. Pop hit from Lewis Blissett for fans of Billie Eilish who he also names as one of his fans alongside Rihanna and Ariana. One non-UK track from Terrell Hines, US artist to listen to, immersed in energy and vision, he sounds like an artist of the times. Various UK RnB artists to watch, Bree Runway, Little Simz, Finn Foxell and the playlist ends with Ireland’s Biig Piig, following into a track of hers with Mac Wetha whose poetic vocals blend on to a new track from Arlo Parks, give her some of your time. Enjoy and do let Sorcha know what you love as there are plenty more where they came from.

~ Sorcha Collister

cover art for FKA Twigs album "Magdalene"

Magdalene x FKA Twigs

In the follow up to her 2014 debut, Tahliah Barnett returns with the artistry and creativity that has become synonymous with the South London native. This genre-defying album will leave you wishing there a couple more tracks to keep the experience going.

cover art for Doja Cat album "Hot Pink"

Hot Pink x Doja Cat

In her latest release, LA native Doja Cat, continues to carve out her space among Hip-Hop’s mainstream Artists. Her latest collection shows why the future looks bright for this rising star.

cover art for Max Cooper album Yearning For The Infinite

Yearning for the Infinite x Max Cooper

Known for creating immersive soundscapes, Max Cooper returns with his latest project – this time created in partnership with the British arts and learning center.

cover art for SebastiAn album "Thirst"

SebastiAn: Thirst

A key collaborator with M.I.A. and Frank Ocean, SebastiAn returns with his  socially aware and politically charged sophomore project. The mix of electronic styles and genres serve as a reminder of the Parisian’s versatility.

cover art for Luke Combs album "What You See Is What You Get"

Luke Combs: What You See Is What You Get

Honky-tonk love songs and ice cold beers – what more could you want from a country album? With his latest effort you literally get what you see from Luke.

About TMA Music

We help brands harness the power of music and use it to foster a deeper bond with your customers. Our team of seasoned experts helps you navigate the music industry to develop a comprehensive music strategy, ideate on creative music concepts, license songs, partner with the right talent, and execute on every facet of a music marketing program.

Larry Weintraub – President of Music at TMA, Larry is a lifelong entrepreneur who champions the customer experience with a personal passion for disruptive technologies and innovative products. As head of the TMA Music Team, Larry leads music strategy for Fortune 100 brand clients. Larry also leads innovation at the agency with an internal and client-based concentration on emerging technology to better help consumer engagement. Larry also loves sour beers, inhales podcasts, and has a massive Pez collection.

headshot of Carlos Ybarra

Carlos Ybarra – Born in Sterling, IL and sharpened by the City of the Broad Shoulders, Carlos followed his passion for music and joined TMA’s State Farm Music team in 2017 after spending nearly a decade as a Multicultural marketer. Shortly after, Carlos transitioned to Los Angeles to join TMA’s entertainment practice where he provides strategic music consultation to the agency’s clients. Carlos graduated from Benedictine University with a B.B.A. in Accounting and in his spare time enjoys attending shows, documenting street art, traveling and cooking.

headshot of Anyi Wong-Lifton

Anyi Wong-Lifton – Anyi is a Strategy Coordinator for TMA’s Culture Marketing group who tracks entertainment trends, writes weekly music columns, and organizes diversity education programs. She grew in Portland, Oregon before it was cool and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Scripps College before moving to Los Angeles. When not making professional use of her pop culture obsession, Anyi volunteers at a dog rescue, collects pencils, and avoids driving.

headshot of Sarah Molloy

Sarah Molloy – Sarah is an Operations Coordinator in TMA’s Los Angeles Office, where she and has one hand in finance and the other in entertainment. She joined TMA as the Entertainment Apprentice in January 2019. She is originally from Boston, MA and went to school at Emerson College in her home city. In her free time, she likes to go to the beach, take naps, and sing karaoke (when she has the chance).

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