That enough acronyms for ya?
If you want an idea about what artists may be big in the next couple of years, check out the full lineup for music mecca Austin, TX’s South By Southwest Festival, running from March 9th-18th this year. Bruce Springsteen will be the keynote speaker, among A-list performers Talib Kweli, Counting Crows, and others. Rising performers that have been featured on I am tuned UP include SBTRKT and Youth Lagoon. Check out a list of highlights at Prefixmag (and these are just the HIGHLIGHTS)
A music trend site would be severely lacking if it didn’t comment on the SOPA controversy this week.
The Stop Online Piracy Act has people stewing over the fact that the bill is overly broad and could cripple the internet as we know it. Wikipedia actually offers a pretty good summary of this act here. Wikipedia, Reddit, the Cheezburger network, and select other sites are participating in a voluntary black-out January 18th. The implications for music? On one hand, if applied correctly it will be easier for sites to discern what is “illegal” streaming versus not, although a strong counter-argument could be made that any publicity for an artist is good publicity. I am tuned UP will post a more detailed commentary following the blackout.
Finally, a small piece of music history was made January 14th when Lana Del Rey, an artist from New York who is running mainly on internet publicity, performed on Saturday Night Live. She is the first artist to perform on the show prior to any major label debut since Natalie Imbruglia. Not everyone was impressed with the performance, as Stereogum reports but the fact that it occurred corroborates the fact that the power of internet hype is undeniable and increasingly relevant.
