SXSW: The Evolving Landscape of Record Labels for Artists

By | March 18, 2024

photo of Taylor Hanson

Taylor was at SXSW last week on a panel – The Evolving Landscape of Record Labels for Artists.

SXSW has added a recording of this panel to their website 

Join us for a dynamic discussion on the rapidly shifting landscape of record labels and its implications for artists. Our diverse panel of industry experts, including independent artists, label executives, and music technology innovators, will delve into the challenges and opportunities presented by the new music industry paradigm. From the impact of streaming services to the evolving nature of artist contracts, we’ll explore how artists can navigate and succeed in this transformed environment. Whether you’re an aspiring artist, industry professional, or music enthusiast, this panel will provide valuable insights into the future of music production, distribution, and promotion.

By | March 18, 2024

WEEKLY PIC
This week Taylor kicked off his birthday week talking with music business colleagues with @SPIN, @SXSW conference and fellow @RecordingAcademy members during SXSW festival in Austin. The Music Lives.

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Radio Ink At SXSW Thursday: How Will AI Deliver The News?

By | March 15, 2024

RadioInk

Taylor Hanson

Hello again from Austin! After my less-than-stellar break into AI song production on Day 1 of Radio Ink‘s SXSW coverage, Thursday seemed like a great time to attend some industry mentoring sessions. Whether you’re interested in the airplay, streaming, marketing, artist, musician, management, legal, or technical side of the music industry, there was a session for you.

Michele Solomon, from SiriusXM/Pandora’s AMP platform gave guidance alongside Michael Star from Glassnote Records, Rose Campbell from SoundCloud, Judy Tent, Counselor at Law, Leslie Rosales of label HIGH STANDARDz, and Marielle Jade Te of Media Arts Lab.

Next was The Hollywood Activism session with legendary activist David Fenton, Hollywood icon Jane Fonda, and climate behavioral scientist Sweta Chakraborty sharing their secrets to creating real and meaningful change. The masterminds behind freeing Nelson Mandela, Fire Drill Fridays and We Don’t Have Time shared how to use media and communication to mobilize the public for meaningful action and policy progress.

One thing about this year’s SXSW: there’s always time for more AI talk.

With AI’s use in the media, particularly in news, a point of curiosity and concern, I sat in on a demo of Curio AI. Curio is pitched as an AI-powered news co-pilot providing a “trusted,” custom news experience. Curio already works with some of the biggest media publications including The WSJ, Economist, FT, Atlantic, Guardian, and WIRED to produce high-quality journalism that fits with “your” schedule, so it must be trustworthy, right?

Sheila Dang, a tech reporter at Reuters, took us through how the technology works and what impact it could have on both society and democracy. It was a look at how AI could not only be beneficial for news brands across the country but also how it could change the way we source and report news.

Finally, the day was capped off with The Recording Academy Texas Chapter’s famous annual SXSW Grammy Block Party on the banks of the Colorado River.

The party kicked off with an address by Taylor Hanson – yes, the ’90s Hanson Taylor Hanson – who is now President of the Board of the Texas GRAMMYs Chapter.

Wanda Adams, a Houston native and one of the most acclaimed Gospel singers of all time, and other Texas musicians and bands who have been nominated for GRAMMYs appeared and performed. Fresh off their acclaimed NPR Tiny Desk Performance, Austin-based BLK ODYSSY closed out the night.

 

New Feature: Birthday Show Achievements!

By | March 14, 2024

In honor of Taylor’s birthday, we’re giving you all a gift – a new achievement!  This one is obtained by having seen a show on any of the band members birthdays – March 14, October 22 or November 17.  At this point we are not doing separate achievements for each guy’s birthday, but it’s possible that changes in the future.

You can view this achievement on your public user page: https://hansonstage.com/members/users.php?username=USERNAME just replace “USERNAME” with your username or a friend’s!

As always with new features it is possible that there may be some glitches and I can’t fix them if I don’t know about them so if you’re seeing anything funky be sure to let me know at blog@hansonstage.com  Screenshots, error messages, what browser you are using, etc will be helpful in helping me fix it!

Setlist: March 5 Mother Road Sons

By | March 6, 2024

Old Time Rock And Roll (Bob Seger Cover)
Honey Bee (Tom Petty Cover)
Never Gonna Rain (Bryan Adams Cover)
Another Rainy Day in Tulsa
Mother of Exiles
Working
Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen Cover)
Begin Again
This Old Heart
Free Falling (Tom Petty Cover)
If It Makes You Happy (Sheryl Crow cover) *
One More Last Chance (Vince Gill Cover)
Some Kind of Wonderful (Grand Funk Railroad Cover) *
I Want to Love Somebody
Today Is All You Get

The truth about ‘Lucy in the Sky’: What did Lennon really mean?

By | February 24, 2024

hitnewsindustry

In this case, it is not entirely about a bad interpretation of the text. Musicians rather had a problem with people not seeing any meaning in the words. The song, of course, became a hit because the famous “MMMBop” did the job, but for the average listener it was about… nothing. Brethren Hanson they finally explained that “MMMbop” means time. So the song says that life passes very quickly and instead of chasing unfulfillable dreams for years, we should focus on things that are really important.