Jay Z's Foray into Music Streaming

It's no secret that the music industry has changed.  The way in which we consume music is different.  The days of the prominent record stores are long gone and so is the era of purchased music downloads.  In this past year alone, track and album downloaded purchases dropped by 12.5% and 9.4% respectively.  What's taking the downloaded purchases place? Streaming.  The introduction of companies like Spotify, which boasts 15 million subscriptions, and SoundCloud are redefining how music is listened to and how it is consumed.

Having been vocal about the evolution of the music business in past interviews, Jay Z has jumped into the fray by purchasing Aspiro, the parent company of two subscription streaming services, WiMP and TIDAL.  The $56.2 million offer, which has already been approved, represents a 59.1% premium over the company's closing share price.  The proposal was made through one of Shawn Carter's subsidiary companies, Project Panther Bidco, with the intention of expanding and improving upon the two companies' technology and services.

Project Panther Bidco, Ltd ("Panther"), an entity controlled by S. Carter Enterprises, LLC ("SCE") is pursuing a possible acquisition of Aspiro AB ("Aspiro"), based in Sweden. Aspiro is a media technology company in the forefront of the ongoing redefinition of music consumption. Through the subscription services WiMP and TIDAL, Aspiro offers a complete experience of higher HiFi quality. The platform encompasses audio, video and integrated editorial features. 

Panther believes that the recent developments in the entertainment industry, with the migration to media streaming, offers great potential for increased entertainment consumption and an opportunity for artists to further promote their music. Panther's strategic ambition revolves around global expansion and up-scaling of Aspiro's platform, technology and services.

The acquisition is subject to shareholder approval. As such there is no guaranty that a transaction will take place.

WiMP was initially founded in 2011 as a direct competitor to Spotify.  Although it has been unable to reach the volume Spotify has, it does have a current paying subscription list of 512,000 users.  Moreover, WiMP provides a unique video syndication platform, RADR Music, which presents videos and live performance footage to online media enterprises.  Rivaling media behemoth YouTube, RADR is an interesting element to the Aspiro portfolio as it could be used to expand upon Jay Z's current cultural website Life and Times.  TIDAL, while similar to WiMP, is for the music purists, combining High Fidelity sound quality, High Definition music videos and a uniquely curated experience.

Although the specific details of the change to be implemented have yet to be disclosed, there is much work to be done in terms of transforming these companies into being actual competitors to the already popular streaming services.  Things don't get any easier when you consider the re-launch of Beats Electronics' streaming services by Apple in the coming months as well.  Jay Z, forever the business man, continues to diversify his ventures in ways that expand upon the foundation he has built.  Stay tuned with InTheRough for more developments on Aspiro.

Big Sean featuring Drake and Kanye West - Blessings

Earlier this week Big Sean officially announced the news of his third studio album, Dark Sky Paradise, coming February 24. To promote the album Big Sean follows his video announcement of the project with a single that moves the DSP hype meter up by a mile. "Blessings" gets the bid as the first single off Sean's album and it comes with a great supporting cast in the likes of Vinylz on the production, Drizzy Drake, and Kanye West. All involved comment on how fortunate and proud they are to be standing at the top of the game, paying no attention to those trying to suppress the rappers. Drake notably says, "I could give two fucks 'bout where the Grammy's go/ I just gave out Grammy's on my Instagram”. Moral of the story: do you and stay blessed. Enjoy "Blessings" below and look for more singles to drop from Dark Sky Paradise soon as the LP's featured list includes Jhené Aiko, Travi$ Scott, E-40, DJ Mustard, and many more.

Chance The Rapper for GQ

Chance The Rapper begins 2015 prepared to release his debut album, Surf. This means we will be seeing a lot of Chance from now until the project's release date which is still undisclosed. For February GQ has called upon the Chicago Rapper to highlight the function, versatility, and aesthetic of the suede boot saying, "One day soon, winter will end. It always does, remember? And on that day, you will want to throw your snow boots into the back of the closet and switch into these: lightweight springtime suede boots." In the editorial we see Chance looking cooler and dapper than usual, after all it is GQ, sporting boots such as wingtips, desert boots, Chelseas, and work boots emphasizing the many creative options each variation provides. Check out the visuals above and go to GQ's site to see more boot silhouettes from the likes of Timberland, Calvin Klein, and ASOS, as well as read on about the goals for Social Experiment and album talk.

Kaytranada - Drive Me Crazy feat. Vic Mensa

Vic Mensa is one of the most exciting emcees in the industry right now. Another face of the Savemoney conglomerate, he’s got a versatile flow that allows him to spit on even the trippiest of productions. Kaytranada, in the same vein, presents a unique and mesmerizing style that pairs well with Mensa’s abilities. Their most recent single, “Drive Me Crazy”, follows up their late summer release “Wimmie Nah” and doesn’t sacrifice a sliver of intensity or bounce in comparison.  These two truly represent the meaning behind making art and music. With a palpable chemistry and a filling sound, these two hungry artists are taking the right steps in the music industry, and making music not with a checklist of mundane hooks, verses, and time signatures, but with attitude, soul, and an audible passion. I can guarantee that when Vic or Kaytranada release something that it’ll be different, that it’ll be the child of serious thought and growth, and that the effort that’s put into the tracks is reflected in what comes out of my speakers. That being said, I can’t wait to hear more from them, as individual artists or as a duo, and hope that they remain on the course that they’ve been traveling on thus far. Listen the new single below, and check our OfficeVibes tab for a few of our favorites from the artists. 

2nd single off my upcoming LP on XL Recordings. artwork by Jeff Fresco

Key & Peele's East/West Bowl 3

Comedy Central's hit show, Key & Peele, have released the third edition of the hilarious "East/West Bowl" skit.  With cameos from NFL pros such as Aaron Rodgers, Ha Ha Clinton Dix, Prince Amukamara, and several others, the comedic team comes up with some wildly creative and hilarious names, like Stumptavian Roboclick and Marmadune Shazbot.  Check out the segment below and be sure to tune into their Super Bowl special tomorrow, January 30 at 10/9c.