The Daily Chord Weekly Recap – Friday, August 23

Make the most efficient use of your surfing time with the Daily Chord, SXSW's music news aggregator which posts a handful of carefully chosen stories each weekday. From stage to studio to streaming, you'll have valuable information on hand without getting lost in a rabbit hole. This week featured stories on merch's impact on the industry, musicians in the courts, and artist profiles on Jay Som, Billie Eilish, Neil Young, Portishead, and more. Subscribe to the Daily Chord email newsletter for a quick look at the headlines in your inbox.

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Monday, August 19

• Hey Google, please finish one of your music apps
  Review from Ausdroid
• Is Billie Eilish really that weird?
  Post from Buzzfeed News
• How to build your own artist development team: The music publisher
  Post from Hypebot
• Daniel Ek rubbishes iHeart boss Pittman's claim that '73% of Spotify's listening comes from just 3% of their audience'
  Post from Music Business Worldwide
• Department of Justice backs Led Zeppelin in 'Stairway To Heaven' copyright case
  Post from Variety
• 'If Israeli soldiers start shooting, we won't stop the interview': Palestinian hip-hop crew BLTNM
  Interview from The Guardian

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Tuesday, August 20

• Neil Young's lonely quest to save music
  Story from NY Times Magazine
• Spotify is reportedly working on Instagram-like story feature for its platform
  Post from Tech2
• 'Soul Train' musical is in the works
  Item from Pitchfork
• Universal Music Group: Original masters for 'many of the artists' named in class action were not lost in fire
  Post from Billboard
• Billie Eilish's 'Bad Guy' has finally dethroned Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' at no. 1
  Post from Stereogum
• Jay Som is taking control by letting go
  Profile from The Ringer

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Wednesday, August 21

• The rise of all-lowercase and all-uppercase song titles
  Post from Quartz
• Latest acts to receive Music Momentum Fund support revealed
  Post from Music Week
• Chillwave: A momentary microgenre that ushered in the age of nostalgia
  Story from The Guardian
• Shirley Manson's podcast is about more than just music
  Interview from Vulture
• 'Kind Of Blue' drummer still keeping time as album turns 60
  Story from AP News
• 21 new songs out today
  List from Brooklyn Vegan

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Thursday, August 22

• Will merch save or doom the music industry?
  Post from The Fader
• Eminem publisher sues Spotify claiming massive copyright breach, 'unconstitutional law'
  Post from Hollywood Reporter
• How artist imposters and fake songs sneak onto streaming services
  Feature from Pitchfork
• Five years later, it's time to admit we overreacted about Apple putting a free U2 album on our phones
  Post from Uproxx
• Portishead's 'Dummy' is 25. The band asks that you play it loud.
  Story from NY Times
• Why James Acaster thinks 2016 was music's best year ever
  Interview from BBC News

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Friday, August 23

• Rosanne Cash, Phoebe Bridgers, Corinne Bailey Rae and more unite for Tom Waits tribute album
  Item from NME
• Apple Music's latest playlist suggests new tracks every day
  Post from Engadget
• Forget guitars: Buy a rocker's childhood home
  Story from Rolling Stone
• 'The word 'manager' is misleading. People somehow think we're the boss of the artist. It's the opposite; they're the boss' - Danny Goldberg
  Interview from Music Business Worldwide
• Notable releases of the week
  List from Brooklyn Vegan
• Taylor Swift is the only artist who still sells CDs
  Story from Quartz