R&B in the 21st century has been in a constant state of flux, tugged between safe traditionalism and blurry attempts at progression. For the last decade-plus that "progression" has seen R&B music become more indebted to trap records and the moody atmospherics of alternative bands like Radiohead, Coldplay, or My Bloody Valentine.
The only song here that really matters. Written just hours after the murder of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and released a few days later, Springsteen names names (looking at you, Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem) and speaks bold, specific truth. With a title that recalls his own impactful Streets of Philadelphia, a melody reminiscent of Bob Dylan, and an urgency not felt since Neil Young's Ohio, it may not be groundbreaking musically, but Streets of Minneapolis is exactly what we need right now.
Musicboard, an app for music discovery and recommendations, has been struggling, according to its users. Over the past several months, users said the app experienced outages, the website went offline, and the Android app disappeared from the Play Store. This has concerned its devoted, if small, user base. (The app has been downloaded around 462,000 times to date, according to market intelligence provider Appfigures.) On Reddit, users have been recommending alternatives and offering each other support as they wait for any update.
The new index will be released semi-annually, and will be derived from polling of nearly 60 independent artists, managers, and music lawyers. "The Index's goal is to increase transparency in a historically opaque market and share insights and perspectives, which we hope will empower music creators to make the best financial and catalog management decisions for themselves," Duetti CEO Lior Tibon says.
RCA is reviving Jive Records as a standalone label, the company announced today (February 3). Former UnitedMasters executives Mike Weiss and David Melhado will serve as co-presidents of the revamped imprint. They'll run operations from Sony Music 's New York City headquarters.
"There's a bit more clarity of purpose to it as opposed to writing for myself. I was thinking of all the hardships the characters have endured, and how if you are an empathetic, good person you can hope that people will be there for you when it's your time to pass on. I suppose it's really about karma. I love how this show champions our healthcare workers and first responders who do what they do for all the right reasons:"
The 68th Grammy Awards aren't just a night of music industry awards, but a rock star celebration of music itself. There was a slew of showstopping performances at this year's awards ceremony, hosted at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, one of which featured all seven nominees for the best new artist category inlcuding Olivia Dean, Lola Young, and Sombr. Other performances included the in memoriam segment of the show, which featured country superstar Reba McEntire performing at the Grammys for the first time.
The song reflects on two contrasting visions. In the first verse, he looks back on his childhood growing up female and compares it to living in a dream. Then, after a stirring bridge, he revisits the same reflective structure and ponders his childhood growing up as a boy: "When I was a little boy I wanted to be real/ I wanted to feel all of the things my body wanted me to feel," he sings.
A MARTINEZ, HOST: As we finish this year, let's listen to some of the musicians we lost in 2025. Sam Moore was half the R&B powerhouse Sam & Dave. He sang on smashes such as "Hold On, I'm Comin'," "I Thank You" and this one. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOUL MAN") SAM AND DAVE: (Singing) I'm a soul man. I'm a soul man. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: We also lost the guitarist on that song, Steve Cropper. He defined the sound of Memphis soul with the Stax Records House Band. He appeared on hits by Otis Redding, Booker T. & The M.G.'s and Wilson Pickett.