Welcome!
Here at The Music Gaga we just love music!
From bringing you music information and music news, to discussing our latest collection additions, to comparing our trivia knowledge, to talking about music and bands it all comes together here to present to you a comprehensive round up of music you won't find anywhere else!
So enter the world of The Music Gaga...
The Music Gaga supports the #brokenrecord movement
Help Us Support Artists
In keeping with our mission to support singers/songwriters as much as possible, each quarter we will be raising money for an artist voted for by the fans of The Music Gaga. Every cent raised will go towards one of these featured artists.
Why should you donate? With artist returns already shrinking thanks to the digital age and the onset of COVID-19 creative content is under threat more than ever. Nothing does more for an artist than buying directly from them or donating directly to them. Every dollar matters.
Each month we will be showcasing a band right here with interviews, albums, their history... as much as we can to bring them to you!
All you'll have to do is vote at the end of each quarter and the most popular vote will receive the donation made by music fans.
Stay tuned to this section for our first feature artist. And if you are a singer or in a band, get in touch as we'd love to discuss getting you on this page!
How Can You Support The Music Industry As A Whole?
Buy direct from artists
If your favourite artists have a website, purchase whatever you can through that medium: merch, concert tickets, any promos. And hit up their social media with Likes and comments as much as you can (without being creepy about it!).
Physical beats digital
Yes it's old-school, but artists receive about twice as much via physical purchase of their music than by streaming. If you can't buy physical then download! One AUD2.49 download is the equivalent to about 300 streams. And when was the last time you listened to a song 300 times?
Stream ethically
Yes the structure of payouts to artists sucks, but for better or for worse streaming is here to stay. Balance streaming with downloading or buying physical copies. Use platforms that pay better (such as Napster, Tidal, and Apple). Or try out platforms (SonStream, Soundcloud) that pay-per-play, rather than the traditional aggregated formula.
Go to live performances
Hurrah! More reasons to go watch your favourite bands in person!
Agitate for change
Follow industry figureheads (see suggestions at the bottom of this page) to keep up to speed on changes in the industry. Importantly, put your support behind campaigns to improve the livelihood for musicians and songwriters. Many have been soundtracks to our lives and we want that to continue for future generations.
featured news
August 7 2021: The UK DCMS Committee has handed down its findings from its investigation into the economic impact of music streaming on the industry, and the findings are a step forward for the struggling music industry.
The report itself is over 100 pages long, but David Turner from Penny Fractions has - as usual - broken the report down for the benefit of others.
(By the way I highly encourage you to subscribe to the Penny Fractions newsletter, one of the best regular reports on the music streaming business. You can only read Turner's analysis by subscribing).
There's also some interesting side opinions, positing that the downfall of the industry was decades in the making, and not solely of Napster's doing.
Among the recommendations was one that the system move towards "equitable remuneration", as discussed in this site's blog regarding WIPO.
The next step is for the UK government to look at the report and take steps (if any) to start the music industry off in a better direction.
June 14 2021: The music world has resoundly welcomed the news that Sony Music has canceled all unrecouped debts from artists who signed to their label prior to 2000.
This announcement cannot be understated. For decades thousands of artists have been repaying major labels for advances they received from the labels when they first signed on. These repayments come out of royalties which means innumerable amounts of artists have rarely seen an actual royalty cheque.
All these artists - if they are still active - will now finally start receiving some sort of income from their work.
Does this mean a) the other "majors" (Universal and Warner) will follow suit, and b) we might start seeing some new work produced or tours by artists who for years have been disincentivised because of the terms of their contracts? Fingers crossed for YES on both accounts.
Read the article here.
June 7 2021: The Broken Record campaign has been further bolstered by the addition of dozens more notable musicians getting behind the Tom Gray-led campaign to "fix streaming."
Today The Rolling Stones added their backing to move the streaming remuneration to reflect more that of the radio payout model.
The list of signatories and the campaign outline has been sent to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
This comes at a time when the UK DCMS (Digital Culture Media and Sport) Committee are due to hand down their findings into the issues with the streaming payout model. The claim has been further backed by the release of the WIPO report into the future of musicians in the digital age.
Read the article here.
The current 234 "big-name" signatories
Music News In Brief - click image for article link
Universal Goes Public
ARIA Launches Our Soundtrack Our Stories
Will Drake's Scorpion Ever Be Beaten?
September 22 - The launch of UMG as a publicly traded company went better than almost anyone expected, with MBW reporting its price increased to over a third larger than that of its opening. Many - such as Reuters - believe this is a sign that streaming revenue has a ways to go.
Will Drake's Scorpion Ever Be Beaten?
ARIA Launches Our Soundtrack Our Stories
Will Drake's Scorpion Ever Be Beaten?
September 10 - There's been two huge albums released over the past week: Kanye West's "showy" launch of Donda, and the slightly more subtle Certified Lover Boy by Drake. While both are smashing streaming sales, MBW predicts neither they nor anyone else will ever top Scorpion.
ARIA Launches Our Soundtrack Our Stories
ARIA Launches Our Soundtrack Our Stories
Is The Era of the Streaming Mega Hit Already Over?
August 6 - The Australian music community has launched an initiative to encourage Australians to consume more home-grown music.
Is The Era of the Streaming Mega Hit Already Over?
Is The Era of the Streaming Mega Hit Already Over?
Is The Era of the Streaming Mega Hit Already Over?
August 5 - Olivia Rodrigo's 2021 Drivers' License has reached number one with the lowest amount of streams since 2017. Here Rolling Stone journalist Tim Ingham looks at why this might be a sign we won't be seeing huge streaming hits.
The BTS Army and Billboard Accounting Shortcomings
Is The Era of the Streaming Mega Hit Already Over?
The BTS Army and Billboard Accounting Shortcomings
August 5 - further to our June 7 news post, here Sonny Says delves deep into BTS Army fan obsession and how they exploit the sales process. And how Billboard doesn't care. Warning: in-depth content!
by Ben Hockings
Artist: Republica
Song: Ready To Go
Album: Republica
Released: 1996
YouTube: https://youtu.be/JgffRW1fKDk
Maybe not a "classic" song in the main sense of the word, but a "classic" song if you want an example of electro rock in the 90s.
Book-ended by acoustic guitar, the song takes very little time in coming out hard after the intro. It's a classic 90s pump beat designed to get heads banging and feet jumping.
From there it never really lets up. The song literally makes you feel like climbing up onto the nearest rooftop and "shout it out."
Ok so this song wasn't meant to be lyrical perfection, but the lead vocalist Saffron is perfectly suited to take us on this frenetic journey of a song. It's the 90s baby: forget what you're singing and just dance.
If you want an amp-up song, add Ready to Go to your playlist.
Interestingly the most well-known version wasn't what was initially recorded. The original - softer - recording didn't make it to an album until their "Best Of' album in 2002. All I can say is, praise be. The '96 version is superior.
The self-titled album that this song was the lead single for contains numerous bangers. The beat is strong throughout. Honorable mentions to Drop Dead Gorgeous (featured in the movie Scream - a reference not previously made on the song's Wiki page until I updated it) and also to Wrapp, a short hard-hitting sub-woofer-shaking of a song. Crank it.
Fancy yourself as a good music reviewer?
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Other Great Music Sites
Here are links to other sites which will either help you gather ideas on how to support the music industry, get in-depth news, keep abreast of music information and music news, or what the next music and bands you should be listening to are!
Follow Tom Gray on Twitter for developments in the #brokenrecord campaign.
Cherie Hu is an acclaimed music journalist, researcher, and entrepreneur.
Musically.com for industry news.
thetrichordist.com supporting artists' rights on the internet.
riaa.com for US music industry stats and news.
aria.com.au is the Australian music governing body.
apraamcos.com.au handles music licensing in Australia.
netopia.eu is a platform for discussion on the future of the internet.
futuremusic.org Future of Music Coalition is one of the best analytical and artist-friendly organisations around.