Pop Rock

POP POPROCK ROCK THE AGE OF STREAMINGÂ AND "MEME MUSIC" THE QUARANTINE ISSUE How to support your favorite artist without leaving your couch.

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR FEATURED ARTIST

HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS DURING A PANDEMIC MUSIC TO LISTEN TO IN QUARANTINE LARS WAS RIGHT EDITOR'S PICKS 1

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

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ith more time on my hands I have to find things to keep myself busy during this qurantine. I have finally made a Tik Tok account and I do not necessarily know how to feel about that but on the app, I have come to a realization that there is a formula to blow up with your music and that is what I'd like to call making "meme music". Making "meme music" has worked for artists such as Lil Nas X turning him into a 2 time Grammy winner at the age of 20 and making his mega-hit "Old Town Road" certified diamond. Lil

Nas can thank Tik Tok for that; I am not undermining his talent as an artist but the playful, "memey" tone to the song certainly fits the Tik Tok song aesthetic. The Tik Tok formula is great for emerging artists as it gives them a push. But what exactly is the Tik Tok formula? I thought about some of the songs that circulate the platform and they all include their own respective dance which allows users on the platform to make videos of them dancing along to the songs and posting their videos. This the future of music, whether you like it or not.

Drake recently has put out a song called "Toosie Slide" which includes a dance with its instructions in the lyrics, "Left foot up, right foot slide." "Toosie Slide" is the fastest track to reach a billion views on Tik Tok, yes, with a b. The music industry is rapidly changing and has been for a while now. Artists can "meme" their way to fame now. In conclusion, we are living in the meme era with not only artists utilizing memes for exposure but politicians as well.

Album of the month - Bandana by Freddie Gibbs

Freddie Gibbs, even at 37-years-old, can go toeto-toe with any rapper in the industry charts with his cerebral verses and raw flow. He raps with proficiency over Madlib’s hard knocking beats, sampling old records and Bollywood songs giving them a new light as cocaine-rap bangers. Bandana is gritty and rough around the edges. Lead single Flat Tummy Tea features Freddie Gibbs’s head bopping, infectious flow over the fuzzy beat’s riffs. Song epic “Giannis” and the dreamy “Crime Pays” are among the highlights of the album.

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CONTRIBUTORS

Rodolfo Senties is student at St. Edward's University with a major in Communication. He finds joy in writing music and misses playing shows in his hometown in Laredo, Texas. His goals are to focus on writing and putting out music for his band Lagarto.

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FEATURED ARTIST: JUSTIN LORENCEZ

Justin Lorencez is an Austin based artist making a name for himself. Born and raised in Laredo, Texas, Justin moved to Austin in hopes to expand his audience. His sound is dreamy chorus guitars with slow mellow drums and echoing synths coupled with mellow vocals which make the perfect elements for a breakup tune. You can find his music on all streaming platforms and on Soundcloud.

Recommended songs: Fool4u and A Formula to end a Letter You might like Justin Lorencez if you like: Cigarettes After Sex, Deftones or The 1975 4

HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS DURING A PANDEMIC 5

MAKE A PLAYLIST

It is a known fact that artists's biggest source of income comes from touring.

In the age of streaming artists make significantly less from their music.

Spotify pays artists $0.00437 per stream, Apple Music pays $0.0110. The streaming service that pays artists the most is Napster at $0.0167 per stream.

The new norm of how artists get paid even resulted Taylor Swift to pull all her music from Spotify in 2014. With the world at a halt, bands and artists cannot tour. This greatly affects smaller independent artists that do not get as many streams as someone like Taylor Swift. These artists might not be able to tour for months at least so here are ways you can support the ones you like.

If you have a song saved by an artist you like add it to your favorite playlist if it isn't already there. Chances are you will hear that song more often which means more streams for the artists.

DOWNLOAD BANDCAMP Bandcamp is a website where artists can post their music without having to pay a distributor. What makes bandcamp different from Spotify and Apple Music is that Bandcamp gives the fans an option to donate to the artist. Bandcamp recently has had days where they waive the fees from the artists for an entire day so they can keep 100% of the money.

BUY THEIR MERCH Many, if not every established band has merchandise you can purchase that would greatly benefit them. Whether it be a shirt or a cap. There are many options to choose from; band Japanese Breakfast has crayons on their website with each color having the title of one of their songs.

DONATE TO A FOUNDATION 6

Aside from donating to an artist directly, you can donate to foundations helping struggling artists during the pandemic. Some foundations doing so are Sweet Relief, and Musicares.

If you have purchased a concert ticket you should hold onto it. Music venues are suffering just as much as artists so it is best to support them to. If you cannot hold onto it anymore gift it to a friend or sell them online for someone else to use.

WATCH LIVESTREAMS

SUPPORT LOCAL MUSICIANS

Something a lot of artists have been doing since the pandemic has started are online streams of them performing.

Sites such as Twitch have donation options that go directly to the artist.

Watching livestreams of your favorite artist does not have the same energy you would find at a live concert but it is a great alternative and you get to watch at the comfort of your own home and are usually free.

HOLD ONTO YOUR CONCERT TICKETS

Local musicians are hurting the most when it comes to artists. Give your favorite local musician a shoutout on your social media and double down on streaming their music.

SHARE MUSIC If you like a song from an artist, don't be shy to share it with a friend or relative. Chances are they might end up liking the song too and lead them to saving it on Spotify or Apple Music.

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MUSIC TO LISTEN TO

Dark Demo Tape - Drake

Pray for Paris Westiside Gunn

Invisible People - Chicano Batman

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The N T

What Dead Me Trivium

O IN QUARANTINE

New Abnormal The Strokes

en Say m

4eva is a Mighty Long Time Big K.R.I.T.

Modus Vivendi - 070 Shake

Social Cues - Cage the Elephant 9

LARS WAS RIGHT

THINK PIECE BY RODOLFO SENTIES I'm going to say it. Maybe Lars was right. For those who don't know what I am referring to, I am talking about the 2000 lawsuit drummer of Metallica filed against music downloading platform Napster. The reason he sued was because one of their demos had leaked onto the site. Lars ended up winning the lawsuit which resulted in many protesting the band. Fans were furious claiming the biggest metal band in the world could afford havingÂ

a few people downloading their song for free. It is ironic to see people burning CDs when protesting an artist, you gave them money anyway but maybe it's all about symbolism?

Lars had the right to sue. Ignore the fact that Metallica are millionaires and own mansions. What if it was a significantly less established band? You have to pay for food when you go to a restaurant because it cost money to

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make it just like how it cost money and work to record and produce a song. People often forget it takes a team to put out a body of work. You have to pay producers and engineers aside from the band themselves.

Producing just one song can cost thousands of dollars so you can imagine why Lars didn't want you to download a leaked version of his band's song. People were still buying CDs in the year 2000 which meant artists got a bigger chunk of profit as opposed to how much they make per stream nowadays

The song that was leaked was "I Disappear" which was featured in Mission Impossible 2.

I don't believe Lars was completely in the right especially when the lawsuit became a witch hunt. Over 30,000 Napster users were banned from the service.

Ultimately, I think Lars was right and eventually what was Napster can be compared to Spotify and Apple Music with Spotify owing millions to record labels. It is hard to live as a musician let alone even become one that can sustain the costs of living.

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EDITOR'SÂ PICKS

Album: Freddie Gibbs's PiĂąata If you like trippy, mesmerizing beats and catchy refrains this one is for you. Album highlights include High, Shame and Lakers.

Show: Ozark If you want to be productive and have a big workload DO NOT watch this show. It is a binge-worthy show about a money laundering family always on their feet trying to stay alive.

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