The Daily Chord Weekly Recap – Friday, April 28

In this week's Daily Chord stories, streaming services made deals and offered new initiatives to extend their reach. Spotify bought a blockchain service, Pandora focused on country music and Apple Music and Musical.ly made a deal. IFPI released a global sales report that confirmed significant increases in revenue. Net neutrality and royalty reform are on the table in Washington. Jonathan Demme died, leaving a body of work that celebrated music. Subscribe to the Daily Chord email newsletter to get important music stories in your inbox each weekday.

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Monday, April 24

• Streaming music surges, turns tables on recording industry
  Post from SF Chronicle
• iHeart Radio parent may not survive another year
  Post from Hollywood Reporter
• T.I. speaks out on police brutality
  Post from CNN
• Vinyl takes video game music appreciation to new levels
  Post from Kotaku
• On the charts: Kendrick Lamar sets 2017's best-selling week with 'DAMN.'
  Post from Rolling Stone
• Prince practiced being famous long before he was actually famous and 4 other very Prince stories told one year after his death
  Post from Vulture

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Tuesday, April 25

• IFPI global report 2017: Industry sees highest revenue growth in decades, but the YouTube issue remains
  Post from Billboard
• Spotify is working on its own music hardware
  Post from The Verge
• As streaming services boom, SoundCloud strives for relevancy
  Post from Wired
• Phoenix's new album arrives in a darker world, but the beat goes on
  Interview from NY Times
• The little-known nonprofit helping your favorite bands give back
  Story from Pitchfork
• A smooth conversation with Michael McDonald
  Interview from Noisey

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Wednesday, April 26

• Songwriters push for royalty reform in era of Trump deregulation
  Post from Variety
• Isle of Wight Festival takeover bid by Live Nation investigated
  Post from BBC News
• Sony cuts ties with Dr. Luke amid Kesha legal battle
  Post from NME
• Amazon is taking a more simplistic approach to music streaming
  Post from The Verge
• Universal Music Group owner says label worth $22B
  Post from NY Post
• Doritos and Marvel partner for Guardians promotion
  Post from Billboard

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Thursday, April 27

• Jonathan Demme, Oscar-winning director, is dead at 73
  Obituary from NY Times
• Jonathan Demme's greatest musical hits: Justin Timberlake, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Talking Heads
  Post from Billboard
• FCC chairman begins assault on net neutrality rules
  Post from CNET
• Apple Music goes Hollywood: Inside Jimmy Iovine's video plans
  Story from Bloomberg
• How can I get on Spotify's playlists?
  Post from Medium
• Celebrating Susan Tanner, heart and soul of our music scene
  Tribute from Buffalo News

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Friday, April 28

• Fyre Festival: Ja Rule is behind the luxury festival that has descended into the Hunger Games
  Post from The Independent
• Musical.ly syncs up with Apple Music
  Post from Recode
• Can country music save Pandora?
  Post from The Verge
• Spotify acquires blockchain startup Mediachain to solve music's attribution problem
  Post from TechCrunch
• Einstein vs. The Clash: How I used music to hack my brain
  Post from CNET
• Return of the KLF: "They were agents of chaos. Now the world they anticipated is here."
  Story from The Guardian