Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
spotifylatest news & developments

Spotify renews Joe Rogan podcast with multi-year deal

Rogan was an early adopter of the podcasting format in 2009, and built up a loyal fan base that is still unrivalled in its size and enthusiasm

Nobuhle Ashanti

The ones that got away…

Musicians out of Cape Town are making fabulous sounds that have been passed over by reviewers and which AI couldn’t churn out

Profit: Daniel Ek, Spotify’s founder and chief executive who is worth $2.8 billion, has announced that the company will shed 1 500 jobs. Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Musicians spot the problem

There is a great divide in earnings between top artists and those still emerging

How to download Spotify music to your phone

Enjoy your favourite songs uninterrupted, without depending on an internet connection

Spotify has announced changes to its app and user experience, with a focus on creators.

Spotify overhauls app. Now it’s like TikTok, Instagram Stories mash-up

The new feed of visual clips allows users to scroll through music, podcasts and audiobook previews

Scorpion Kings: Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa.

The Scorpion Kings Tour is back this festive season

Amapiano giants Kabza de Small and Dj Maphorisa will be touring South Africa from December 2022 to early 2023.

Music producer Evens Radebe works on a song with his partner Augustine Mbatha as dancer Jayden looks on.
Photo: Oupa Nkosi

The evolution of amapiano

Sound that has taken the world by storm is in danger of dying out in a lacklustre industry

Today, many people across Africa are able to watch their favourite movies and TV shows seamlessly on YouTube and other streaming apps like Netflix without worrying too much about buffers.

As mobile internet speeds rise, Africans are spending more time streaming

The move online due to Covid-19 restrictions further boosted the demand for such services by people on the continent

Radio needs to continue being innovative so that it continues being a great and reliable medium. (Taylor Weidman/Getty Images)

The future of audio in Africa is young, bold, and online

The continent has so many stories and so many skilled storytellers who need a platform to reach a wider world

Drake regularly finds himself at the top of the charts in the streaming era. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for dcp)

Do music charts matter in the digital era?

Patterns in how people consume music are changing. Does this mean music charts are losing their relevance?

Singer and songwriter Bill Withers poses for the cover of his album ‘The Essential Bill Withers’,  in Beverly Hills, California. (Ed Caraeff/Getty Images)
Audio

Playlist: The Bill Withers’ Essentials

With a career spanning over four decades, the Mail & Guardian recalls how the late Bill Withers’ music infiltrated our collective psyche.

Mary J. Blige performs her biggest hits onstage at the CBS Interactive Music Group’s “Live on Letterman” Web cast from the Ed Sullivan Theatre. (Heather Wines/CBS Broadcasting Inc)
Audio

Playlist: RnBetter Not Go Outside

Fight the indoor blues with our R&B lockdown playlist featuring the likes of SWV, Ashanti and Keith Sweat

Some of the more popular music-streaming platforms in South Africa include Apple Music, Google Play, Deezer, Tidal and the world’s biggest streaming platform, Spotify. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

SA joins digital music mainstream

The demand for music streaming services is growing as digital sales outstrip physical ones

There has been public outrage over relatively low levels of tax paid in Britain by giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Google. (Reuters)

UK ratchets up pressure on US tech giants with new tax

The 2% tax levy on sales made by large digital companies in Britain would apply to search engines, social networks and e-commerce channels

With a music career spanning 30 years, the Texas-born artist has made us cry, dance and fall in love

Beyoncé, Jay-Z release joint album on marriage and identity

The album came out late on Saturday exclusively on Jay-Z’s fledgling Tidal streaming service

In a March interview, Kelly vehemently denied the charges and said he was “fighting” for his life. (Getty Images)

After years of allegations, R. Kelly faces sexual assault lawsuit

The R&B artist is accused of sexual battery, false imprisonment and failure to disclose a sexually transmitted disease

The Belgium-based company produces a third of the world’s beer

R Kelly among artists affected under Spotify’s new policy

The digital music platform has announced new policy preventing the promotion of music from any ‘hateful’ artist

Genetic sequence data on a strain of bird flu show the virus has acquired some mutations that might make it more likely to cause a human pandemic.

Spotify in talks with Vodacom over music deal in Africa

International digital music service Spotify is said to be in talks with Vodacom to provide users with access to its music library.

A Twitter Music app will be launched for iOS devices later this month

Twitter to launch music service

Twitter will launch a music-specific app, following its acquisition of music discovery service We Are Hunted last year, according to a CNet report.

Giving music wings

Giving music wings

The <em>M&G</em> speaks to the founder of new online music service Airborne about how SA artists can make the most of an enormous internet audience.