🎵 Making musicians go viral

PLUS: Richard Branson goes to space. July 9, 2021 [The Hustle] [The Hustle]( Authorities in Los Angeles confiscated $1.2B of illegally grown marijuana last month. Raids resulted in 131 arrests, 65 vehicles seized, and ~375k plants netted. Those numbers sound quite high, wouldn’t ya say? The big idea [spinning record]( Music startups have raised $350m+ to help artists go viral In the annals of internet-enabled stardom, Justin Bieber’s journey from a [12-year](-[old]( YouTube musician to global icon ranks up there. The “next” Justin Bieber will most likely be found on TikTok, the viral short video platform. The app -- which is dominated by 10-to-30-second videos -- has even influenced musicians to make [shorter]( songs in an attempt to break through. A number of music-related startups… … have raised $350m+ to help independent, aspiring artists blow up on TikTok (and competing services like YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels), per [The Information](. These include: - Rapchat: An online recording studio for rappers - Splice: Music production tools and a library of royalty-free beats - Music Breakr: A marketplace connecting artists with social media influencers (that can help a song go viral) - UnitedMasters: A platform that helps artists distribute songs to streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music Going viral on TikTok is no joke A number of songs have topped streaming charts after breaking out on [TikTok](: - Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” - Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” - 24kGoldn’s “Mood” And who can forget the [viral]( cranberry-drinking skateboarder who sent a Fleetwood Mac album back onto the Billboard charts for the 1st time in 4 decades. Music industry is almost back to its peak Sales of recorded music -- with streaming accounting for 83% of the pie -- hit [$12B]( in 2020, +9.2% YoY. This is the 5th straight year of growth, putting the industry near its record revenue of $14.6B in 1999. Whether or not this industry momentum actually produces the next Bieber, it’s safe to say “[Despacito](” will always be the best summer song ever. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Music+startups+have+raised+%24350m%2B+to+help+artists+go+viral%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F07092021-Music-startups%3Futm_campaign%3DMusic%2BStartups%2B2%26utm_content%3D07092021-Music-startups%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS NEW! Introducing our new and improved [Snippets](. You can now get extra snippets on your favorite topics. Follow the button below to get started. (It takes less than 30 seconds!) Can’t Dodge this EV news: Auto giant Stellanis says it’ll [invest]( $35.5B+ in electric vehicles through 2025. That includes developing all-electric Dodge muscle cars, Jeeps, and a Ram pickup. Juul is getting smoked. The e-cig company is [surviving]( a $500m sales nosedive and a ¾ cut in staff. It also paid $51k to fill the entire May/June issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior with Juul-backed research; 3 journal board members resigned afterward. NBA viewership is up… but also down. The 1st game of this year’s NBA Finals saw 8.5m [viewers](, +15% from last year’s oddball COVID season, but down 35% from 2019 and (brace yourself) 50% from 2018. No fans allowed: The Tokyo Olympics will ban spectators as Japan [declares]( a COVID-related state of emergency. (This could have a huge impact on advertisers, as we previously [covered](.) Wells Fargo has news: The banking giant is [shutting down]( all personal lines of credit (typically between $3k and $100k). This move “may have an impact on your credit score,” it warns… Join the 71,103 others who are now enjoying extra, personalized snippets. Click the button👇 to choose your favorite topics and see your list grow in tomorrow’s email. [Personalize Your Snippets]( space virgin [Richard Branson]( Source: Virgin Galactic Richard Branson is space traveling and his businesses are making a COVID comeback If the weather holds, Richard Branson will [head]( to the edge of space Sunday aboard his Virgin Galactic spacecraft. If all goes well, Branson will win a space race with Jeff Bezos, who’s going 9 days later aboard his New Shepard spaceship (which [some say]( looks like… well, see for yourself). The launch follows a rough year for Branson’s businesses Branson’s companies didn’t exactly mesh well with COVID. For instance: - Virgin Atlantic Airways raised $1.5B to avoid bankruptcy - Virgin Australia Holdings, another airline group, was taken under the wing of Bain Capital - Virgin Voyages, a cruise line that got its 1st ship delivered right before the pandemic, said, “sorry, bad timing?” - Virgin Active, which operates gyms, lost 25%+ of its members But they’re on track to make a comeback Virgin Atlantic is going full throttle in London, Virgin Voyages is setting sail in August, and Virgin Hotels is welcoming back guests. Some fun facts about Branson: He survived a hot air balloon crash, his boat capsized while trying to cross the Atlantic in record speed, and he’s driven a tank into Times Square. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Richard+Branson+is+space+traveling+and+his+businesses+are+making+a+COVID+comeback%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F07092021-Richard-Branson%3Futm_campaign%3DMusic%2BStartups%2B2%26utm_content%3D07092021-Richard-Branson%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Ed Tech [annual streaming prices] There’s a grain of truth in every joke… (Source: [Reddit]() Can livestreaming classes finally shake up online ed? One of the most viral memes at the outset of the pandemic was the image above that compared the annual prices of streaming services. Without the on-campus component, Harvard’s lofty education is reduced more or less to pre-recorded lecture videos. While obviously a joke, the meme is a pointed jab at how little online education has progressed. One way of improving online ed... … is by making the experience live and interactive. [Gura]( -- a livestreaming platform for premium learning experiences -- just launched with exactly this value proposition. Per [Influencive](, Gura turns a 2-3 month process to create a pre-recorded curriculum into a turnkey experience for any creator looking to sell their expertise. The platform has the tools to host live sessions, sell virtual tickets, and connect with students. Live isn’t the only value prop, either [Maven]( is also a live education platform, but with a specific emphasis: cohort-based learning. The startup raised [$20m]( in May, per TechCrunch. According to co-founder Wes Kao, cohorts pair educational content with “community and accountability” that comes from peers. (Maven’s other co-founder and CEO, Gagan Biyani, helped teach The Hustle’s first Ideation Bootcamp). If live online ed cracks the code and makes the Harvard streaming meme obsolete… we’ll always have this joke to fall back on: [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Can+livestreaming+classes+finally+shake+up+online+ed%3F%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F07092021-livestreaming-classes%3Futm_campaign%3DMusic%2BStartups%2B2%26utm_content%3D07092021-livestreaming-classes%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( TRENDS What could make summer better? How about winning a laptop Friday has arrived - our fourth and final day of the [Trends Summer Kickoff.]( That means it’s officially the last day to get in on the massive discounts we’ve been offering all week and be entered for a chance to win one of many incredible prizes we put together for you. We’re cutting it close, but you still have time to [grab a discounted year of Trends.]( That’s a year of access to: - Thousands of business ideas you can build in a weekend. - A network of world-class founders and operators from around the globe. - Exclusive community events - And much more. If you’ve been wanting to start or grow a business in 2021, this is your chance for a huge head start. This promotion ends at midnight tonight, so do not miss out. [Sign up now for a discounted year of Trends and a chance to win one of our amazing prizes.]( We’ll see you on the inside. Stat of the day [music with chorus] It’s not in your head, songs actually are getting shorter. The rise of streaming -- which pays per play -- incentivizes smaller audio bites. Between 2013 and 2018, the average pop song went from 3:50 to 3:30 in [length](. The average song length is almost certainly lower now, as artists optimize for popularity on TikTok. To wit: Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” (which blew up on the short video app) is only [1:53]( long. It’s not just the length that’s changing: - songs are shortening intros... - … and getting to the chorus much faster [The Economist]( previously noted a marked increase in the percentage of hit songs with a chorus in the first 15 seconds. Guess that’s one way to “hook” listeners. Shower Thoughts - [“If tomatoes are a fruit then pizza sauce is jam.”]( - [“‘Tropical’ sounds awesome unless followed by ‘storm.’”]( - [“There’s a random day of your life in which you’ve breathed the most/least.”]( - [“We could have saved so much paper if we had made default margins narrow.”]( - [“In a couple hundred years, more will start mistakenly assuming that Einstein or Lincoln had internet.”]( - [“A treehouse is putting a dead tree on another tree.”]( [via Reddit]( SHARE THE HUSTLE [Hustle Cons Greatest Hits ebook]( Over the years, we’ve learned… secrets. The business secrets, tips, and tricks that have helped founders go from zero to millions -- and even billions -- of dollars. Want to see ‘em? Just refer 3 more friends to The Hustle and we’ll send you our curated set of interviews with founders from brands like Zola, AWAY, Vungle, Bonobos, and more. Here’s a message you can use to share with your friends: Hey! Do you read The Hustle? 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