Streaming
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Britney Spears is officially the member of the Spotify Billions club. The singer scored her first billion-streaming song on the service on Sunday (July 23) when her beloved 2003 banger “Toxic” reached a billie. This would normally be the spot where we refer to Spears’ latest post on her Instagram account, but Brit deleted her […]
Spotify said on Monday (July 24) it is raising the price of its premium individual plan by $1 in North America, Europe and Asia amid widespread calls from investors, analysts and the music industry to join other streaming platforms that have raised prices. “The market landscape has continued to evolve since we launched,” Spotify said […]
Spotify will raise the price of an individual subscription in the United States by $1 — from $9.99 to $10.99 — according to a report Friday (July 21) at the Wall Street Journal. The move has been widely expected by investors and analysts following numerous comments by Spotify executives about an eagerness to raise the […]
Sales and streams of Jason Aldean‘s single “Try That in a Small Town” have surged, following controversy that erupted this week surrounding the song and its corresponding music video.
After selling around 1,000 copies of the song each day from July 14 through July 17, according to preliminary reports from Luminate, sales rose after Billboard’s July 18 exclusive that CMT had pulled the video. The song earned 12,000 in sales on July 18, before surging to 108,000 in sales on July 19 and 103,000 in sales on July 20. The latest sales total for the week (July 14-20) is 227,000, according to the preliminary reports.
U.S. official on-demand daily streams of “Try That in a Small Town” also exploded over the past week.
After earning 204,000 official U.S. on-demand streams on July 14, and then dipping to 194,000 on July 15 and 174,000 on July 16, streams rose 24.3% to 216,000 on July 17, then surged 178% on July 18 to 600,000. On July 19, U.S. official on-demand streams of “Try That in a Small Town” skyrocketed to 3.2 million, a 440.2% increase.
The sales and streaming spikes come the same week social media commenters began questioning the song’s lyrics and the video’s imagery — with many calling it racist and anti-protest. “Try That in a Small Town” was written by songwriters Kelley Lovelace, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy and Neil Thrasher. The video features Aldean performing in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tenn. — the same location where a lynch mob murdered a Black man, Henry Choate, in 1927 — with an American flag hanging from the entrance. The performance is interspersed with footage of a flag burning, protesters screaming and attacking police in various scenarios as well as looting and robbing a convenience store.
Artists including Sheryl Crow and Margo Price have spoken out against Aldean and/or the song and video, while others, including Aldean’s labelmate Blanco Brown, have defended the singer.
Aldean issued a statement on July 18 that read in part, “In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to a comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous. There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage- and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music- this one goes too far.”
In the week since it was released, the official music video for “Try That in a Small Town” has now been viewed more than 9 million times on YouTube. On the morning of July 18, before the controversy broke, it had been viewed around 350,000 times.
In terms of radio airplay, on last week’s Country Airplay chart (dated July 15), “Try That in a Small Town” rose one spot from 26-25, though it declined 2% in audience impressions for the week. On this week’s Country Airplay chart (dated July 22), the song holds at No. 25 but gained 16% to 6.5 million audience impressions in its ninth week on the chart.
YouTube raised prices on the individual plans for both YouTube Premium and YouTube Music for new and current U.S.-based subscribers on Thursday (July 20), marking the first time YouTube Premium has increased prices for individual plans in the United States since launching in 2018. Subscribers to YouTube Premium will pay $13.99 per month, up from […]
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For the eighth year in a row, hip hop fans will gather together for Rolling Loud Miami 2023. If you couldn’t get tickets or a good travel deal, don’t worry, there’s still a way for you to watch all the sets live — and from the comfort of your home.
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Amazon Music and Rolling Loud Miami have partnered to exclusively livestream the festival on Prime Video and Twitch starting Friday (July 21) until Sunday (July 23). Right now, Amazon offers a 30-day free trial for Prime, which means you you’ll be able to catch every artist’s performance including headliners Travis Scott, A$AP Rocky and Playboi Carti, for free.
Prime Membership Free Trial
Other performances you can watch for free online include Ice Spice, Lil Dirk, Central Cee, Lil Yachty, Key Glock, pop singer PinkPantheress and Latin music stars Anuel AA, El Alfa as well as the punk band Turnstile. Check out the full Rolling Loud Miami 2023 lineup here.
Keep reading to learn how to watch the festival online for free.
When & How to Watch Rolling Loud Miami 2023
On Friday (July 21), fans can tune in to the Prime Video starting at 4 p.m. ET to watch the festival live. If you have a Prime membership, you’ll be able to watch the live stream at no additional cost. You can watch it under Rolling Loud Day 1 or you can find it under the Live Channels section on Prime Video.
Not a Prime Member? Enjoy a 30-day free trial to stream Rolling Loud Miami 2023 and other content in the massive library of films, movies and TV shows. Prime Video has a large selection of original series and movies available to stream free of charge for members. Once the free trial ends, your Amazon Prime membership will cost $14.99/month (or $139/year).
Rolling Loud Miami 2023
$14.99/month after 30 days free
The massive collection of Prime Originals includes Citadel, Daisy Jones & The Six, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Swarm, The Powder, Harlem, Invincible, The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Fleabag, The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Wheel of Time, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Legend of Vox Machina and more.
Besides Prime Video access, Prime members get access to Prime Music, Prime Gaming and Prime Reading in addition to free same-day, one-day or two-day delivery on millions of items, exclusive deals, groceries, savings on prescriptions and more. Amazon also provides 50% Prime memberships for qualifying students and EBT/Medicaid recipients.
Looking for other ways to watch Rolling Loud Miami 2023 for free? Amazon Music and Rolling Loud’s official Twitch channels will be also be live streaming all three days of the festival.
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Stephen Curry is giving fans an intimate look at his life on and off the court with his new documentary, Stephen Curry: Underrated. The release date for Curry’s coming-of-age doc is Friday (July 21) on Apple TV+, and will showcase his rise to superstardom within the NBA. Right now, you can get a seven-day free trial of Apple TV+, which means you can watch the Stephen Curry documentary for free.
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Apple TV+ Free Trial
Starting Friday, fans will gain a deeper understanding as to why Curry was thought of as an underrated player. While being tall is considered an asset and practically a requirement within the professional basketball world, Curry has proven that skill and height don’t always equate to being the most successful. Standing at 6’3″, the NBA player has more than proven his worthiness going from an “undersized college player to a four-time NBA champion,” according to the documentary’s description.
The film will feature archive footage as well as intimate interviews with Curry and those close to him. Emmy-winning director Peter Nicks helms the documentary, and is known for his immersive camera work and vérité style, which means fans can expect to get up close and personal to Curry throughout the feature.
Keep reading to learn how to watch Stephen Curry: Underrated for free online.
How to Watch Stephen Curry: Underrated
The documentary is an Apple TV+ Original, which means subscribers to the streamer can watch it for free without an additional cost.
Not a subscriber? Whether you’re looking to cord cut or don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars to watch your favorite programs, Apple TV+ give a free seven-day trial, which means you can watch the documentary and more for free. After the trial ends, you’ll be charged $6.99/month.
‘Stephen Curry: Underrated’
$6.99/month after 7 days
Click here or the buy button above to start your free trial and watch Stephen Curry: Underrated when it’s released on Friday (July 21). Not only will a subscription give you access to the documentary, but you’ll be able to stream Apple TV+ Original movies, TV series and exclusive content such as Ted Lasso, Platonic, Silo, Foundation, The After Party, Ghosted, Still A Michael J. Fox Story, Shrinking, The Big Door Prize, Hijack, High Desert, The Crowded Room, The Last Thing He Told Me, Schmigadoon!, Loot, The Problem With Jon Stewart and more.
You can also add on MLS Season Pass for $12.99/month (regularly $14.99/month) for a limited time, which provides live matches and the ability to watch the entire MLS season, playoffs and Leagues Cups.
Watch the Stephen Curry: Underrated trailer below.
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Shortly after its initial official launch, TikTok Music is already in expansion mode.
The new app, which is a full-catalog subscription music streaming service that ties into a user’s TikTok account, is launching in three additional countries: Mexico, Australia and Singapore, the company announced today (July 18). The announcement comes just two weeks after the company announced the creation of TikTok Music, with its initial availability limited to Brazil and Indonesia.
The launch in the three new countries will initially be in closed beta, with users being invited to try the service with a three-month trial after downloading the app.
“TikTok Music is a new kind of music service that combines the power of music discovery on TikTok with a music streaming service offering millions of tracks from thousands of artists,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement. “We are now beta testing TikTok Music in Australia, Mexico [and] Singapore, and will have more news to share on the launch of TikTok Music in the coming months.”
TikTok Music grew out of, and is replacing, TikTok’s initial foray into music streaming, which it called Resso and which had been operating in India and Indonesia since March 2020, before later expanding into Brazil. That service was initially a free, ad-supported streamer before TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, announced in May that it would become subscription-only. Resso’s availability in Indonesia and Brazil is sunsetting on Sept. 5.
The announcement caps a big day for TikTok, which also unveiled a major new licensing partnership with Warner Music Group (WMG) allowing the company’s music to be used on the main app as well as in its commercial library, among other uses, while giving WMG artists greater access to some of TikTok’s tools to reach fans and sell merchandise. TikTok also announced the launch of a new emerging artist program called Elevate to promote artists both on and off the app.
TikTok Music is a significant step in the relationship between the wildly-popular social media app and the music business, which has been contested in recent years but has since begun to thaw with an increased partnership between the sides. Sony, which had pulled its catalog from Resso in recent months, struck a deal to return its catalog to both Resso and TikTok Music, for example. TikTok has also been rolling out tools to help creators, and additionally to help users find artists on the platform. The expansion of its streaming service could be a huge change in the digital service provider landscape, which hasn’t seen a new major player emerge in several years at this point — particularly one with as massive and engaged a user base as TikTok.
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Summer’s hottest country hitmakers will take centerstage as CMA Fest returns to ABC on Wednesday (July 19). Dierks Bentley and Elle King will return as hosts for the primetime special alongside Lainey Wilson. This years star-studded lineup of performers includes Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Miranda Lambert, Avril Lavigne, Little Big Town, Ashley McBryde, Reba McEntire and Tim McGraw.
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In addition to hosting, King, Bentley and Wilson are all expected to take the stage for their own performance.
Additional performers include Alabama, Leon Bridges, Dan + Shay, Jordan Davis, Vince Gill, HARDY, Tyler Hubbard, Cody Johnson, Jo Dee Messina, Old Dominion, Jon Pardi, Carly Pearce, Darius Rucker, Tanya Tucker and Keith Urban.
The TV special, featuring a night of epic collaborations, was filmed during the milestone 50th CMA Fest in Nashville this past June. Keep reading for ways to watch and stream the CMA Fest TV special online.
How to Watch CMA Fest Online
CMA Fest 2023 is set to air on ABC on July 19 at 8 p.m. ET and will stream on Hulu the following day. Country music fans who don’t have cable may be able to watch it through an antenna to access local channels. You can join Hulu for free for the first month to stream CMA Fest and more.
Hulu starts at just $7.99/month for the basic, ad-supported plan and $14.99/month to stream without commercials. Enjoy hours of exclusive programming, live sports and new episodes of select cable and network TV shows the day after they air on Hulu.
Hulu
$From $7.99/month after 30 days
The streaming platform offers a few other options to save you money overall. For example, Hulu’s annual plan (from $69.99 a month) is a quick way to save on your bill, and there’s a bundle option that gets you Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ for $12.99/month. Or, you can subscribe to Hulu + Live TV and enjoy Hulu Originals, FX shows and tons live network TV channels for $69.99/month.
Hulu allows up to six profiles under one account, stream from any compatible device (including a smart TV, laptop or gaming console), and stream on two different screens simultaneously.
Direct TV Stream is another great, budget-friendly way to watch live and on-demand local and cable channels. For a limited time only, streaming packages are $10 off for the first three months (regularly $74.99). The package comes with channels including ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS, Nickelodeon, ESPN, Bravo, BET, MTV, ESPN, TNT and HGTV.
Country music fans can also catch the CMA Fest primetime special on Sling TV and Fubo TV, and Express VPN, which gives you access to ABC, Hulu and more from outside of the U.S.
Right now, you can take advantage of Sling TV‘s limited-time promo, which gives you the first month for as low as $15 on both the blue and orange plans (regularly $40). You can also combine both plans for $30 (regularly $55) and enjoy over 60 channels, DVR storage and the ability to stream on multiple devices at once.
Amazon Music elevated Ryan Redington to general manager on Tuesday (July 18). The announcement was made by Steve Boom, who joined Amazon’s senior leadership team in December, where he now oversees not just Amazon Music but Audible, Wondery, Amp, Twitch and Amazon Games.
Redington has “played a number of critical leadership roles in Amazon Music’s journey to becoming one of the leading global streaming services today,” Boom wrote to staff in an email. “… He’s earned trust with the industry across dozens of artist partnerships, finding new ways to scale their new releases through global concerts and festival livestreams. Amazon Music already pays rightsholders billions annually, and under Ryan’s leadership we will continue to build a foundation to help artists scale and monetize their fanbases in new ways.”
Redington is a 15-year veteran of Amazon, starting on the video team and then moving over to the physical sales side of the organization, focusing on CDs and vinyl. He subsequently shifted to digital and was part of the team that launched Amazon Music back in 2014.
In his wide-ranging current role, he oversees artist and genre marketing, label and artist relations, playlisting and programming, livestreams and editorial content, physical merchandise, and artist analytics.
Last year, Amazon Music Unlimited raised its price for Prime subscribers and expanded its ad-free offering for Prime members from 2 million songs to more than 100 million songs. Prime members can only listen to all that music on shuffle, unless they upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited.
“We need to think about a streaming service as not just being a catalog of recorded music, but being a host of services that connect artists and fans together,” Boom told The Verge in November. “… When you get into areas like merch, there are unlimited amounts that people are willing to spend to connect with their favorite artist and to represent their fandom. Obviously, Amazon has a position as a pretty big global retailer that is good at e-commerce and logistics, and it is a brand that people really trust as a place to spend money. I think that sets us up really well for the future.”
In January, Amazon announced that it was upping prices again for U.S. and U.K. subscribers. Amazon Music Unlimited went from $9.99 to $10.99 for individual subscribers in the U.S. and increased from $4.99 to $5.99 for subscribers to the student plan.