Billboard has recognized Power Players within the music industry that have moved the needle over the years and have had a positive impact on the music business. These are people that have been nominated by theirs peers and companies all over the music/ entertainment business then chosen by the editors. The list includes independent entrepreneurs, music publishers, concert promoters, label executives as well as artist managers to name a few. In the first instalment of season 2, we've chosen the head honchos over at Love Renaissance, an independent label from Atlanta, Georgia. Home to Summer Walker, DVSN, 6LACK, Westside Boogie, Alex Vaughn, Spinall, DRAM, TxC and Tanner Adell.

We also review some projects that were released last week Friday. Hot Takes: Album of the year conversation & Tony Dayimane's debut album.

We have a special announcement or two in the works. Count on us for more cool sh*t OTW!

One of our favourite artists, San Francisco's very own, Larry June has paved his own way within the business of music. In this episode we delve into Larry June and his various business ventures like his own record label The Free Minded including his well renowned clothing brand Midnight Organic. How he started making music as well as why he treats his catalogue like real estate and the significance of "orange" as a fruit and colour.

MODAR artist and also a member of the Qwellers, Lowfeye aka uMabulala dropped his highly anticipated mixtape "Mfana kaMakhulu" and it has the SA HipHop streets going crazy at the moment.

New music to check out, Naye Ayla's "Getting Low" EP dropped on Friday. She's a remarkable songwriter and actress. Thank us later for putting you on her music. New artist on our radar, Trophy also dropped the extended version "If Anything, It's Nothing".

There's a new DSP out called Rokk, that also adopted Tidal's model of enabling subscribers to pay a percentage of their monthly subscription directly to a band.

That's it for season one! Count on us for more cool sh*t on the way and that's for anybody in the way.

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For episode 9, we also explore Travis Scott's business model and how his team navigates the business side of music which is mainly through partnerships within the different industries. In case you missed it, gamma. also launched their South African division in June, exciting times ahead for our artists and executives.

We review new music from Marcus Harvey who dropped a new album under the [STAY LOW] stable. uSomnyama, Blxckie also released his highly anticipated "see u soon" EP under Def Jam. We also check out offerings from an RnB artist named Riley Escobar.

SORRY FOR THE WAIT, MORE COOL SH*T OTW!

Nipsey Hussle's "Proud2Pay" campaign really set the tone for independent artists in the music business, the real blueprint. For episode 8, we explore another California native's business model that we've also flawlessly executed over the last 2/3 months. From offer-based merch to giving his fans equity and royalty splits to his backyard show (yes his own backyard) residency, it's safe to say that LaRussell Thomas & Good Compenny have been pioneers in that regard for the new generation of independent artists.

Yasiin Bey or Mos Def as most people know him was quite on the other side of the internet a couple of months back for giving an unpopular popular opinion on Drake's music. However that message was lost in translation, the 1996 Telecommunications Act shifted the way in which we consume music and we thought that would be important to mention. Sidenote: The veteran music executive Larry Jackson, former Global Creative Director of Apple Music now founder of Gamma also mentions this act in his most recent interview on the Joe Budden Podcast.

In this episode we also give a reviews on the first lady of OVO, Naomi Sharon's "Obsidian" album that dropped in October of 2023 as well as uCwepheshe's & The C-Side Boys "10 Minutes" EP. The Qwellers have taken South African Hip-Hop scene by storm and we just had to give a review of their Supa Bhexeza debut project.

Thank you all for being on this journey with us!

SORRY FOR THE WAIT, MORE COOL SH*T OTW.

Wassup err'body. Episode 7, we're LIVE. We start the episode off by standing on some business, arguably the craziest story to hit the news cycle in 2024 re: the business of music. Everyone was caught off guard by Universal Music Group and TikTok not continuing their relationship as their licensing agreement expired at the end of January 2024.

We also look back at the biggest award season night, how the GRAMMYs went and big takeaways from the night.

We also can't end an episode without reviewing some music, Priddy Ugly's latest offering "DUST" has taken the music consumers in the country by storm. The project is ever dubbed by some as an instant classic. We'd like to hear your thoughts on the album. We also review SANGO by ZRi and Streetwise 2 by Horid The Messiah.

STAY TUNED! We have a special announcement on the way.

NB: Sorry for the wait but count on us for more cool shit on the way.

For the first  episode of 2024, we explore one of the business models flawlessly executed by Since The 80s which is a black owned and operated American record label ran by Barry Johnson & Zeke Nicholson. 
Then we give a review of our time at A'RISE by Heineken, a music festival held annually with 4 instalments taking place during the in Johannesburg and Cape Town. 
Lastly, we end this episode with a review of Shane Eagle's latest album "AKIRA" and a few hot singles released by some of our favourite artists in the quarter of 2023. 
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In the 5th instalment of the Neighborhood Studios Podcast, we revisit an important opinion made by producer and audio engineer, Herc Cut The Lights on the importance of Split Sheets, why every artist need to make sure that they sign split sheets before or after sessions and also making sure that the correct details are in the documents so that everyone involved can have all their ducks in a row when it comes to solidifying their ownership percentages. The CFO of Spotify cashed out on $9.3 million in shares right after cutting 17% of their staff, this is Spotify's third time cutting jobs in the year 2023 alone. This all happened after their Spotify Wrapped campaign. We're also introducing a new segment we're we'll be doing a deep dive into different business models that artists all over the world & their teams have implemented that has helped them build a solid foundation and have a set system in place. 

We discuss the state of MTV Base's Hottest MCs Top 10 List, the judging panel and the show in its entirety. What are your thoughts on this list? Did your favourite MC make the list?  We also do a review of Drake's For All The Dogs - Scary Hours Edition and the new "Beverly's Hills" EP by an artist named Jermaine Will. 

Could  we be witnessing the beginning of the end of Spotify? Do they need to revisit their business model? Spotify is the most popular audio streaming subscription service with 551 million users, their current business model is not working as they have put policies in place to turn the situation around. For episode #4 we discuss the new Spotify royalty payout model that will come into effect early next year as announced by Spotify. 

A documentary on musicians Phonte, Big Pooh & 9th Wonder (May The Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story) is out, written by Yoh Phillips. We give a review of this "not-so-typical" music documentary.

In new music news we cover one of the best RnB sensations in the country at the moment, Oxii Moron's last two projects. Cash Cobain can be considered a pioneer of Sexy Drill/ New Jersey Club scene sub-genre (And this beat from Cash not from YouTube. Usimamane & Tony Dayimane are coming for the crown in the SA Hip-Hop scene, we also give a review of Usimamane's 19th Deluxe project.