The Current Music News

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Artists doing whatever it takes to sustain themselves as pandemic pressures grow Jul 08, 2020

Show notes

The shock has faded, and the long scary slog has set in. How can artists sustain themselves over the course of a pandemic that could last well into next year? Today, we look at ways people in the music world are struggling to keep their heads above water.

Country music faces racial reckoning Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

Changing their name to the Chicks, the band formerly known as the Dixie Chicks have declared that they want to 'meet this moment.' Is this the moment when country music finally faces a reckoning that will unseat the genre's longstanding racial exclusion?

How musicians are fighting white supremacy Jun 23, 2020

Show notes

As the music world confronts institutional racism and white supremacy, individual artists are wondering what steps they can take to establish a new, more equitable norm. Jeff Tweedy and Fiona Apple are sharing revenue, Patterson Hood is acknowledging 'the bad name I gave my band,' and the Beths are wondering about the responsibilities of white artists releasing new music.

Drive-in shows by Garth Brooks and others a bright spot amid dark outlook for live music Jun 18, 2020

Show notes

As music venues continue to fight for their survival during the coronavirus pandemic, artists are getting creative. We talk to the company behind Garth Brooks's upcoming drive-in streaming show, look at what went wrong during the U.K. 'quarantine raves,' and consider the risk Live Nation is now asking artists to assume.

Interview with Nabil Ayers Jun 17, 2020

Show notes

Nabil Ayers is the U.S. General Manager for the record label 4AD. He's also a musician and a writer, and recently in the New York Times, Ayers published an interview with Ed Eckstine, who was the first Black person to be appointed head of a major label in the U.S. In this episode, Jay Gabler asks Ayers about that New York Times article and about the conversations happening in the music industry around Blackout Tuesday.

From the Grammys to 'Lady A,' music industry changes its language Jun 16, 2020

Show notes

In the wake of Blackout Tuesday, will real change come to the music world? The Grammys are changing their use of the word 'urban' and the band formerly known as Lady Antebellum are now 'Lady A,' while BMG is looking at its historic contracts to root out inequities.

Epidemiologists uneasy about concert safety for another full year Jun 11, 2020

Show notes

Most epidemiologists say that at this point, they won't feel comfortable attending a concert for more than a year from now. Even as the United States starts to reopen from coronavirus lockdown, the financial crisis for the concert industry is deepening, with a potentially devastating round of permanent venue closures looming.

Artists respond to George Floyd's killing with new and renewed songs of protest Jun 09, 2020

Show notes

As protests of a scale not seen in decades spread around the world in the wake of George Floyd's killing, musicians released both new songs and songs of continuing relevance.

Will 'Blackout Tuesday' lead to meaningful industry change? Jun 04, 2020

Show notes

'Blackout Tuesday' was a very visible music industry statement that spread across social media, but artists and fans are wondering whether the industry can go beyond a statement to truly change structures that have historically disempowered black artists.

Minnesota music community shows up, helps out, calls for change Jun 02, 2020

Show notes

After a week of protest and pain in the Twin Cities after the death of George Floyd, Jay and Jade look at the Minnesota music scene and its calls for institutional change. Also, Andre Cymone reflects on his experiences with racism in Minneapolis when he was growing up with Prince.

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