Community
18 Black Innovators in the Music Industry From Berry Gordy to Rihanna
The truth is: there are so many black innovators in the music industry.
Black music has influenced trends, fashion, sound, culture and the list continues. Here are 18 influential black artists that dominate the music industry through their voice,...
Community
Black Postmodern Jukebox Performers Pen Open Letter About Mistreatment
On Thursday, July 16th, in a brave act of solidarity and dissent against their employer, black musicians penned an open letter to the founder and leader of Postmodern Jukebox, Scott Bradlee.
Many posted this letter and subsequent demands to social...
Community
Who in Music Is Supporting the Black Community Right Now
Most music companies around America participated in #TheShowMustBePaused movement and gave their employees the day off to do THE WORK. But some did not. Last Saturday I attended the Black Lives Matter peaceful protest in Los Angeles. It was very inspiring. For the first hour in Pan Pacific Park right by CBS studios and The Grove (and Canter’s Deli - my favorite), we listened to speeches by black community members. Namely, we heard from family members of people who had been killed by the LAPD and have yet to see justice. We all said their names together over and over again. There were so many names I didn’t know.
Music
How I Reclaimed Myself After a Decade Long Relationship Ended
For the first couple months of living on my own, I was very unstable. I was living amongst boxes. I couldn’t unpack my former life into my new one until a friend came over and forced me to. I hadn’t quite learned how to stand on my two feet and hold myself up - on my own. I buried myself in work, in community, in live music and occasional sexual explorations which were fun, but confusing.
Community
UnCancelled Music Festival Supports Venues and Artists During the Shutdown
About 2 and a half weeks ago when the Los Angeles mayor shut down all music venues (and restaurants, bars, nightclubs and every public gathering), I was sitting at home watching his live address with my friend Ashley Maietta...
California
I Met With AB5 Author Assemblywoman Gonzalez. Here’s How It Went
Yesterday morning 5 musicians and I piled into my car at 7am (!!) and we made the excursion down to San Diego to Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez’s office to discuss the effects of California’s new law AB5 on the music community. If you’ve been living under a rock the past cou...
Community
California’s Music Economy Is About To Crash
Photo: Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee California is on fire. But this economic blaze will ignite abruptly on January 1st and will affect the California music industry so drastically that it could completely burn it down. As the fifth largest economy in the world and the...
Community
Vulfpeck Funk Up Their DIY Movement at the Greek
Vulfpeck | Photo by Michelle ShiersYou’d be hard-pressed to find an act out today who has enjoyed as much success as Vulfpeck - without the assistance of a manager or a label. I’ve been following these funky trendsetters for the past four years or so and have seen them catapu...
Community
What’s The Point of Music Conferences Anyway?
I’m still about 300 emails behind from what I missed at SXSW. I completely forgot to turn on the vacation responder when I left. Only a couple people freaked out at my delay. When I'm at a music conference it's impossible to keep up with any work not pertaining directly to the...
Community
150+ Female Producers You Need To Know
In honor of Women’s History Month, I’ve started a (living) list of badass female producers. This was inspired by Ebonie Smith’s op-ed in Billboard which was inspired by the previous Billboard article “Where Are All The Female Producers.” Well! Some of them are right her...
Latest News
An Iranian Refugee Became a Hit Producer and Now Finds Humanity with Global Collabs
This week, Ari is joined by alt-pop singer, rapper & multi-hyphenate Noga Erez to discuss the creative process and working with labels.