Story
Spotify Offering Labels, Artist Boost In Algorithm For Reduced Royalty Pay Out
Spotify’s playlist algorithms have provided them with a leg up on their competitors. The playlists specifically curated for the user have helped introduce artists to the masses while also giving the listener the perfect soundtrack suited to the vibe.
In a press release titled, “Amplifying Artist Input in Your Personalized Recommendations,” Spotify revealed that they’ll be testing out a new feature for artists and labels that will allow them to recommend songs specifically to your playlist. The service will give artists the opportunity to spotlight a track, be it a new single or the anniversary of a prominent track, and have that feed into the algorithm that would place it in your recommendations. Of course, this will also be based on their refined algorithms. They won’t be placing random songs that you probably wouldn’t listen to on your playlist.
This feature will only be offered for the algorithm that determines radio and autoplay, rather than fixed playlists they curate on their own.
The feature is meant to help artists have a say in how people discover their music. Of course, this service does come with a price. Though no numbers have been revealed, artists will have their pay-outs reduced if they agree to “promotional recording royalty rate for streams in personalized listening sessions where we provided this service.”
This could either be a dope feature that helps artists out even more or it could turn into a new way to manipulate streams. Given Billboard’s recent decision to nix merch bundles from official album sales, it seems the latter will somehow be inevitable.
Artist Spotlight
PLAN-A-EMCEE unveils a call to see clearly with latest release “Lyrically Reclaim Your Brain”
PLAN-A-EMCEE‘s latest release, “Lyrically Reclaim Your Brain,” is a lo-fi hip hop and cloud rap album with a waking-up theme. This one is for those stuck in an NPC-like life, moving toward awakening and ready to challenge their environment. The infectious hook is hard to miss, and delivers the song’s main message, “unmask the blindfold, that you might see!”
The track concept is simple and focused, produced by and rapped by Emcee PLAN-A-EMCEE, aka Anwar. The combination creates a direct relationship between the beat and the vocals, keeping the message front and center. The busy musical approach lets the words do the heavy lifting over the cold lo-fi base.
“Lyrically Reclaim Your Brain” is a musical reminder to pause, look closer, and be more aware of your surroundings. PLAN-A-EMCEE turns that idea into a memorable hip-hop statement, with an infectious refrain and an undeniably purposeful edge.
Connect with PLAN-A-EMCEE on Spotify || Soundcloud || Facebook || Youtube
Entertainment
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Just Swept The Emmys
Bad Bunny is officially an Emmy winner — and not just once. At Saturday’s Creative Arts Emmys, his Super Bowl LX Halftime Show swept every single category it was nominated in, all seven of them, making it the most-decorated nominee of the night.
The headline win was Outstanding Variety Special (Live), a category the show became only the third halftime show ever to claim. From there it just kept going: music direction, choreography, sound mixing, lighting design, technical direction and camerawork, and directing all went home with the Puerto Rican star’s team. There’s technically an eighth trophy with his name attached, too, though it won’t land in his hands — the “Saturday Night Live” episode he hosted last season separately won Outstanding Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction, or Reality Program.
The sweep is good news for Jay-Z as well. As an executive producer on the halftime show, he now has two Emmys to his name, having previously won for producing Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX performance in 2025 — the show that, until Saturday, held the record for most Emmys won by a Super Bowl performance.
Bad Bunny wasn’t the only one having a night. Sabrina Carpenter picked up her first Emmy as a performer and executive producer on “The Muppet Show,” edging out Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour | The Final Show” for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded). The Billy Joel HBO miniseries “And So It Goes” won for sound mixing on a nonfiction program, and 50 Cent’s Diddy documentary “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” took home picture editing honors. A big weekend for live spectacle, all around.
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