The music festival and performance scene has taken notable hits since COVID-19 entered the picture in March 2020. The industry itself was almost completely shut out, leaving artists to resort to virtual concerts to connect to fans and supporters. Hope may have been lost for a stretch of time, but it is certainly returning after some canceled festivals have recently been scheduled.

Splendour in the Grass is a popular festival that takes place in the North Byron Parklands that is set to take place in July of 2022. Established and emerging artists such as Gorillaz, The Strokes, Kacey Musgraves, Glass Animals, and Triple J are highly anticipated among fans. The lineup drop last week has energized the music scene in Australia.

The rise of new COVID variants such as Omicron has shaken a few nerves, but music fans hold on to the hope that festivals such as Splendour will stay on track to take place.

It’s no secret that Mariah Carey’s smash hit “All I Want for Christmas is You” is one of the most popular songs of all time. Mariah Carey has seemingly been able to hack the system for over a decade, as every year around the holidays, the song shoots back onto the charts as if it had just come out. The song has earned her over $60 million in royalties, and from Nov. 24 to Nov. 30 in 2020, the song averaged a million daily streams.

Somehow, Mariah has found a way to extend the song’s longevity even further this year, by doing a “Famous Order” with McDonald’s. McDonald’s has become known in the past couple years for selling celebrities’ prefered meals at the restaurant, in an effort to raise brand awareness and bring in new customers.

McDonald’s is aware of the draw that Mariah Carey has though, because instead of simply doing one meal, they are instead releasing an entire menu, marking the first time they have done this for a single artist. The branding around it is pretty cheesy however, with Mariah making the bizarre claim that she’s had amazing memories with McDonald’s over the years.

“Just like so many of my fans, I have such amazing memories with McDonald’s over the years,” Carey said in a statement. “I always get a sense of nostalgia when I see the Golden Arches, so creating throwback merch with one of my favorite photos from the ’90s was really fun for me.”

Despite that though, the partnership holds value from a media studies perspective, as it is an example of mediums crossing over with each other creating another layer of hyperreality.

Since the failed contract agreement back in October, roughly 1,400 workers from Kellogg’s cereal plants have remained on strike. In demand of better pay and health care benefits workers, walked off the job at the companies four plants in Battle Creek, Michigan; Lancaster, PA; Memphis, Tennesee, and Omaha, Nebraska.

On December 7 the majority of Kellogg workers voted against the latest proposed five-year contract. This proposed contract would’ve included a 3% raise, provided the cost of living in future contracts, and protected the worker’s current health benefit. Kellogg workers shared that they were essential in the running of the plants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This strike was also intended to show the workers’ disagreement towards the companies recently proposed two-tier system. This system will give transitional employees less pay and benefits while removing the amount of low-tiered employees. This limitation will directly impact the Union, taking away a majority of its power. Frequently working more than 80 hours a week “sometimes 100 to 130 days in a row” the workers on strike are not budging on their demands.

Kellogg has stated that they won’t be doing any more negotiating with the Union or its strikers. They are currently working to permanently replace the 1,400 strikers.

Political figures like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have publicly sided with the Union while many customers have begun boycotting Kellogg’s product. As someone interested in the advertising field, I’m curious to see the future effect of this strike on the Kellogg brand. Big named brands can afford to hire new workers but not a tarnished brand name. In the era of cancel culture and heightened social awareness, major brands must be careful. If enough people boycott Kellogg’s products the companies sales and brand capital will plummet. If this does happen I wonder if Kellogg will consider revisiting the strikers’ demands. As consumers, we must show our support for those not being paid what they deserve.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/kellogg-permanently-replace-striking-workers-union-rejects-new-contract-2021-12-07/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/07/kellogg-strike-workers-pay

https://www.npr.org/2021/12/07/1062240467/kellogg-to-hire-replacements-for-striking-workers-who-rejected-a-proposed-contra

Adele is one of those artists that has stood the test of time. Her music is loved by many if not all who listen, and she has managed to stay in good graces of the public avoiding any scandals for the entirety of her career. Adele’s new album “30” has been No. 1 on the charts for the second week in a row. She’s managed to have the biggest opening of any album released this year. She was also able to stay in front of artist Taylor Swift following her own version of her album “Red”. Despite the fact that downloads and streams are booming, Adele was still not able to top a million albums sold within the first week. There has not been an album to reach this accolade since 2017, proving how truly difficult it is to accomplish. One of the reasons it has become increasingly difficult is because of streaming.

Adele remains at the top with the equivalent of 288,000 sales in the United States, according to MRC Data, Billboard’s tracking arm. That number, which includes 81 million streams and 225,000 copies sold as complete packages, is down 66 percent from its opening last week. But with no major new releases it was enough for Adele to maintain the lead handily.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/29/arts/music/adele-30-billboard-chart.html

Since internal reports were leaked about the damage Instagram has on the mental health of young adults, developers have been working tirelessly on developing software to combat the issue. On Tuesday, the platform announced a new feature entitled “Take A Break”. The feature will be advertised and encourage users to set reminders in order to limit scrolling time. With this announcement came another tool which will be the first of its kind for the Facebook owned company. This feature will be parent friendly and allow guardians to set limits on their children’s scrolling time and what they have access to viewing. Hopefully, these new features help to lessen the negative effects of the app that have only recently come to light.

It’s no secret that Tik Tok has blown up over the past two years, but what is it that makes the platform so popular? Many similar short form video apps have failed to take off, but Tik Toks algorithm is what makes it so hard to stop scrolling. An internal company document proves that the platform is the most successful video app in the world. Much of Tik Toks success can also be attributed to its user friendliness. People have consistently acknowledged that Tik Tok seemingly reads your mind when it comes to preferences. The algorithm accounts for things like time spent watching a video, likes, comments and so much more that other platforms overlook. An extremely simplified algorithm looks something like this Plike X Vlike + Pcomment X Vcomment + Eplaytime X Vplaytime + Pplay X Vplay. Tik Toks parent company, ByteDance, has been under fire for possibly leaking sensitive data from the platform. The Trump administration claimed that the data could be used as a threat against Americans. Chief Executive of Tik Tok attempted to mollify the outrage by storing data within the US. Many people argue that the site could not pose more or less threat than any other platform. While there are varying opinions about the security issues it may bring, one things for certain, and it’s that Americans can’t get enough.

“Freaking out about surveillance or censorship by TikTok is a distraction from the fact that these issues are so much bigger than any specific company or its Chinese ownership,” said Samm Sacks, a cybersecurity policy fellow at the research organization New America. “Even if TikTok were American-owned, there is no law or regulation that prevents Beijing from buying its data on the open data broker market.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/business/media/tiktok-algorithm.html

Social media has encroached into nearly every sector of our lives, and publishing is no exception. Scoring a book deal may be easier for people with large followings on social media platforms. With this in mind, just because an individual has a large following on social media, doesn’t mean their book will fly off the shelves. In order for a book to sell, there needs to be a ‘perfect storm’ of sorts. Because many of the metrics to measure success can’t be quantified, publishers are turning to social media to try and make more informed guesses about what will hit. Follower counts can affect things like advances for the author, but they don’t solidify a good book. A person could have followers from a plethora of reasons. Someone may have followers because they were in office ten years ago or someone could have a following of million with low engagement and reach. History shoes that celebrity book deals often don’t perform as well as they’re initially projected. BookTok, or the ‘book side of Tik Tok’ has grabbed the attention of publishers in recent months. Creators who post book reviews and ideas to their vast followings have scored book deals in the last year from reputable publishing houses. The general consensus seems to be, although we can say definitely that social following means high book sales, it certainly helps.

Take Justin Timberlake. His book “Hindsight” was acquired for over $1 million, but when it came out in 2018, Mr. Timberlake had bruised vocal cords and was unable to promote it as planned. The 53 million Instagram followers he had at the time weren’t able to make up for it. “Hindsight” has sold about 100,000 printed copies since its publication three years ago, according to BookScan, not nearly the number his publisher was hoping for.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/07/books/social-media-following-book-publishing.html

After a highly anticipated 4-year-wait, the Smokin Grooves Festival is set to return on March 19! This neo-soul one-day festival will take place at the LA State Historic Park. After the captivating acts of H.E.R and Lauryn Hill at the 2018 Grooves festival, this year’s lineup has another impressive array of talent. Enjoy the smooth and classic sounds of Erykah Badu, The Roots, Miguel, Jhene Aiko, India Aire, Talib Kweli, Sir, Nas, Smino, and many other talented artists! Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at Smokin Grooves’ official website: smokinggroovesfestival.com.

Although the Smokin Grooves festival appears to be your average festival its history is unique and proves otherwise. The first Groove’s festival occurred in 1996. It was the first amphitheater tour in which the majority of the headliners were rooted in hip-hop. This was in direct response to the famous rock-heavy festival Lollapalooza. Smokin Grooves was the first festival to provide a space where R&B, funk, reggae, hip-hop, and soul artists could perform together. The festival featured legends like the Fugees, A Tribe Called Quest, Erykah Badu, and The Roots. This wasn’t just a historic event but an entertaining one! The festival only lasted for a couple of years and toured in cities such as Columbus, Ohio, and Park City, Utah. This festival would go on to have a huge impact on the growth and public perspective of hip-hop.

As a music lover, I was immediately drawn in by the lineup. With such a talented roster I was curious to learn more about the festival and its history. Interestingly enough there isn’t a lot of information readily available. This puzzled me because festivals like these have played a major role in social change. Festivals with such an important history deserve more recognition. I hope the current organizers make Smokin Grooves a yearly event and continue to honor the legacy and history of its origin.

Sources:

https://pitchfork.com/features/article/how-the-smokin-grooves-tour-brought-rap-to-the-masses/

https://www.pollstar.com/article/smokin-grooves-announces-2022-festival-lineup-149287

On Monday, December 6th, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into a claim about a company that has had business with Donald Trump’s new social media deal. For month’s now it has seemed like the former president has always been teasing this new social media platform that him and all of his supporters would be able to post freely what they think without the “fake news” taking down their content. It is not much of a surprise when you find out that the reason big tech banned trump and is “silencing” his supports is due to the fact that they all support outrageous claims that have been debunked and they also spread misinformation about the election and about COVID-19. Trump’s social media platform was going to be acquired by DWAC, Digital World Acquisition Crop., however, the company has disclosed that there is a probe and they disclosed that they are publically filing with the SEC. A direct quote from the filing states,

“DWAC received a voluntary information and document request from the SEC which sought, inter alia, documents relating to meetings of DWAC’s Board of Directors, policies and procedures relating to trading, the identification of banking, telephone, and email addresses, the identities of certain investors, and certain documents and communications between DWAC and TMTG,” the filing said. It added that, “According to the SEC’s request, the investigation does not mean that the SEC has concluded that anyone violated the law or that the SEC has a negative opinion of DWAC or any person, event, or security.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-new-media-deal-draws-sec-scrutiny-one-company-involved-n1285417

Trump is projecting his new platform to be a host to almost 81 million users by the year 2026. That is 7 million more than the amount of votes he received in the 2020 election. Trump is also trying to bring his company, Trump Media & Technology Group to the stock market and it has been stated that DWAC has lined up 1 billion dollars in promised investments. There is still no final say as to what is going to happen with his platform but as the information comes in, we will see if his “vision” comes true.