October 8, 2023
NCTzens, the wait is finally over. On October 6, NCT 127 returned with their fifth album, Fact Check, accompanied by a futuristic music video for the album’s title track...
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October 8, 2023
Riot Games has paired up with global K-pop sensation, NewJeans, a five-member group composed of Hanni, Danielle, Minji, Hyein, and Haerin. On October 4, 2023...
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October 6, 2023
The wait for the Toronto rapper’s long-awaited album is finally here. After a summer full of teasing, Drake’s fourth album in barely two years ”For All the Dogs” has arrived...
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October 5, 2023
Few hip-hop projects have managed to retain their timeless quality to the same extent that Drake and Future's "What a Time to Be Alive" has. This 2015 album's release...
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October 5, 2023
The Sonder group is a rare find in the world of modern R&B. Producer's Atu, Dpat, and lead vocalist Brent Faiyaz make up the band Sonder, which spins a captivating musical story...
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October 5, 2023
Resentment" stands out among emotional ballads and provides listeners with a musical haven in which to confront and work through their own inner issues...
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October 4, 2023
What makes Alan Walker's music so special is its ability to evoke a profound sense of nostalgia. His songs are often associated with the 2010s, a time when many people were just enjoying their youth..
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October 2, 2023
This year, we shine a spotlight on The Snotty Nose Rez Kids, a dynamic, ultra-talented, Indigenous hip-hop duo whose music and activism spreads the message of truth and reconciliation through rap.
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September 29, 2023
Madison Beer's journey began in the most modern of ways: on the internet. Born on March 5, 1999, in Jericho, New York, Madison was introduced to music at a young age...
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September 29, 2023
After a long two year wait since the release of her first breakout album “Sour”, Olivia Rodrigo is back with her sophomore album, “GUTS.” Olivia Rodrigo has been a revelation in the music...
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September 29, 2023
Throughout the show, the trainees trained rap, dance, and vocal skills through a variety of battles. On April 20, 2023, the nine members of ZEROBASEONE (ZB1) were announced....
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September 27, 2023
The highly awaited sophomore album from Lil Tecca, the 21-year-old hip-hop sensation, is called "TEC," and it's safe to say that it demonstrates the artist's development and professional maturity...
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Photo: How to Geek
Snapchat has recently announced Snapchat Sounds Creator Fund, a monthly grant program of up to $100,000 awarded to independent artists distributing music on the platform. Snapchat claims that through this fund, they want to recognize and support independent artists for their role in the entertainment space. The criteria for artist selection remains undisclosed, however, most likely Snapchat will analyze the artists’ level of engagement and choose the top-performing uploaders. Popular sounds will also be included in Snapchat Lenses to further increase exposure and potential for audience reach.
Currently, there are 2.7 billion videos created using the “Sounds” feature on Snapchat, resulting in more than 183 billion collective views. Thus, proving Snapchat’s key role as a distribution tool for music creators that wish to share their music globally and gain recognition.
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Photo: Tubefilter
Although Snapchat claims to be driven by altruistic motivations, the Sounds Creator Fund is probably an attempt to compete with TikTok’s popularity. It is evident that music creators and artists have been a critical component of TikTok’s engagement and new user growth. TikTok has quickly amassed 1 billion global users in a short span while Snapchat only has 332 million users. Additionally, Snapchat is facing financial pressure as it revealed that it missed its financial forecast for the second quarter of 2022 despite already reducing it. Snapchat’s market cap is now at $16.1 billion, which is less than half of what it was at the start of 2022, and is only 12% of its peak market cap reported in September 2021. Hence, the Sounds Creator Fund may be a strategy employed to replicate TikTok’s success.
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