New Blog - Eurovision!

Eurovision is an annual international song contest in which participating countries from Europe (and in recent years, some countries outside of Europe) submit an original song to be performed live on television. The contest has been held since 1956 and is one of the longest-running television shows in the world. 

Each country that participates in Eurovision selects a song and performer through a national competition or internal selection process. The countries then compete in two semi-finals, with the top performers from each semi-final advancing to the final. The final is broadcast live across Europe and in other parts of the world. During the final, each country casts votes to determine the winner, with a panel of judges and viewers at home each having 50% of the vote. The country with the most votes is declared the winner and gets to host the contest the following year. 

Eurovision has become a cultural phenomenon and is known for its over-the-top performances, catchy tunes, and extravagant staging. It ranks among the world’s most watched non-sporting events every year. Last year’s edition of Eurovision reportedly attracted over 161 million viewers in 34 different markets.  

Traditionally held in the country which won the preceding year's event, the contest provides an opportunity to promote the host country and city as a tourist destination. Thousands of spectators attend each year, and journalists are present to cover all aspects of the contest, including rehearsals in venues, press conferences with the competing acts, and other related events and performances in the host city. 

This year will be the 67th edition of Eurovision. The 2022 winners Ukraine will not be hosting this year as the country has been ruled unsafe due to the ongoing conflict. Instead, the runners-up UK were given the responsibility which led to a fierce bidding war from many cities across the country all fighting for a chance to host this year's edition. But ultimately the city of Liverpool was victorious and means that The United Kingdom will host the Eurovision Song Contest for a record 9th time. 

The main event of Eurovision - the grand final - will take place on Saturday 13 May, kicking off at 8pm. There will be two semi-finals in the run-up, one on Tuesday 9 May and one on Thursday 11 May. There will be a total of 37 countries participating in this year's Eurovision. Of the 37 nations taking part, 31 will compete in two Semi-Finals with 10 successful acts from each Semi-Final joining 4 of the Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy and Spain), hosts the United Kingdom and Ukraine in the Grand Final. 

Mae Muller will be representing the UK. She will be performing “I wrote a track”, a song written about an ex-lover. But she is far from a novice in the music scene as having previously supported Little Mix on their tour in 2019 and has a US Top 10 with her platinum-selling single, “Better Days” released last year. Like last year's UK representative Sam Ryder, she brings to Eurovision an established following on social media with over 2 billion streams on YouTube and 6.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify. 

Whilst the tickets for the final sold out in 36 minutes earlier this month, Eurovision will be broadcast live on BBC One for UK viewers. Viewers will also be able to watch the live shows on the official Eurovision YouTube channel.

New Blog - The Recent Phenomenon of "Sped Up" Songs On Tik Tok

In the last few months, there has been a surge in “sped-up” remixes of songs that have been appearing on many platforms accumulating millions of listens. These remixes are being created and used in videos by users on TikTok which are being viewed by millions and have helped certain songs become viral. This is because TikTok enables users to mess around with songs and upload their own versions of popular sounds. TikTok is popular for its high-speed interface as users swipe through and consume lots of short videos. Moreover, TikTok and sped-up songs complement each other well as they are both fast-paced. Sped-up songs are then well suited to the short attention spans of TikTok users as the songs can be condensed into a shorter window of time. On TikTok, the hashtag “spedup” has 17.4 billion views and similar hashtags such as “spedup sounds” have garnered 11.9 billion views which demonstrates just how popular these remixes are.  

But this trend is not only popular on TikTok and has spread to other platforms. For example, on YouTube, there are many playlists filled with sped-up versions of songs that have accumulated millions of views. On Spotify, there is a playlist made specifically for sped-up versions of songs which has 105 songs and over 1.1 million likes. Moreover, an artist on Spotify called “sped up nightcore”, dedicates their account solely to posting sped-up remixes of popular songs and has over 9 million monthly listeners. Because of the recent popularity of sped-up versions of songs on TikTok, many artists have seen their songs become popular and, in some cases, even go viral. As a result, many artists are now releasing an additional sped-up version of their songs along with the original to capitalise on the trend.   

Steve Lacy had one of the biggest songs in 2022 with “Bad habit” which was his first song to chart in the Billboard 100. The song was released in June 2022 and was already accumulating millions of listens. But TikTok users began using unofficial sped-up remixes of the song in their videos, including one used in over 430,000 videos, which were all helping the song gain even more attention. The success of these remixes presented an opportunity for Steve Lacy and saw him release an official sped-up version just one month after the original was released.In an interview, he was asked about the sped-up version of his smash hit where he revealed that it was his music label which introduced the idea of releasing a remix to his song after they saw it go viral on TikTok. At the time, the song had sat number 2 on the Billboard charts for four weeks straight, but Steve Lacy wanted it to reach the top spot, so he gave his music label the go-ahead to release the sped-up version of the song. This turned out to be a good decision as it helped the song finally reach number 1, dethroning “As it was” by Harry Styles who held the top spot for 14 consecutive weeks.  

Steve Lacy is just one example of many artists taking advantage of the success of sped-up songs. More recently, artist RAYE with her song “Escapism” was the next artist to see success through this method. Her song was released in October 2022 and soared up the charts after it went viral on TikTok where users were making fan-made sped-up versions. Seeing the success of this, RAYE would release an official sped-up version of the song just one month later. The original version of the song now has 213 million listens on Spotify, whilst the sped-up remix has 86 million making for a combined 299 million streams in total. On TikTok, the official sped-up version of the song has been used over 600,000 times by users in their videos, with all of this eventually helping her song to top the UK singles chart in January. In a recent interview, RAYE revealed that she was flattered by the original fan-made sped-up version of the song as it helped it gain popularity, and she even went on to thank the fan personally.  

But it is not only new songs that have benefitted from sped-up remixes. Songs that were released years ago such as Ellie Goulding‘s “Lights” and Sam Smith‘s “I’m Not the Only One,” both enjoyed a surge in streams thanks to the success of the remixed versions on TikTok. This shows that sped-up songs have the potential to breathe new life and attract new listeners to older songs that otherwise might have been forgotten. Record labels have also noticed this which has made it become more common that sped-up versions of songs are being released officially. It also helps that this is relatively fast and cheap to make, as they are not creating anything new and are just remixing the original version.  

This recent trend of sped-up songs being popularised on TikTok has helped artists see their songs become more successful as it can act as free promotion that helps it reach a new audience. Not only does this drive engagement for the original song and propel them up the music charts, but in some instances, the remixed version is as popular or even more popular than the original. Even old songs have received new life that would not have done so without this trend. Therefore, it is becoming common that more and more artists and their record labels are catering to this demand for sped-up remixes of songs and as a result, they are releasing official remixes to reap the rewards. 

New Blog - The Resurgence Of Vinyl Records

Vinyl records were once thought to be a relic of the past, something that had been replaced by newer and more efficient technologies. But in recent years, there has been a renewed interest in vinyl. The resurgence of vinyl has surprised many people and raised questions about why people are returning to this older technology.

Vinyl is making a comeback for many reasons. For some people, vinyl&#39s sound quality attracts them. Vinyl records have a warmth and depth often lost in digital formats. Vinyl’s analogue format captures sound waves continuously and physically. In contrast, digital formats convert them into a series of ones and zeros, which can lead to information loss. Therefore, vinyl can provide a more immersive and authentic listening experience.

The physical nature of vinyl is another reason for its popularity. A vinyl record is a tangible object that can be held, touched, and collected. In many cases, the packaging and artwork are as important as the music itself to the listening experience. Digital music, on the other hand, feels ephemeral and disposable.

Vinyl’s resurgence is also driven by a younger generation discovering it for the first time. Vinyl allows these listeners to connect with the past by experiencing music in the same way as their parents or grandparents. Vinyl offers a sense of nostalgia and authenticity that can be hard to find in an increasingly digitised and intangible world.

Despite the rise of streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, vinyl has managed to find a place in the music market. Due to vinyl’s popularity and increased demand, artists are releasing their albums on vinyl. Many record stores and online retailers are also benefiting from the vinyl revival, experiencing increased sales and demand. Whether it is the sound quality, the physicality, or the sense of nostalgia that draws people to vinyl, there is no doubt that this old format has found new life in the digital age.

But the resurgence of vinyl comes with some challenges, of course. One of the main issues is the cost. Vinyl is more expensive in terms of records and equipment. The cost of a good turntable, cartridge, and receiver with phono input will be higher than that of a digital player. The price of vinyl records is also higher than CDs and digital downloads. There is also the issue of availability, with some records being difficult to find or out of stock. Unlike digital music, vinyl records require a dedicated setup and cannot be played on the go. Additionally, they require manual flipping of the disc for playing the other side, making them less convenient than digital music.

Despite vinyl’s exponential growth, experts are not expecting it to dominate the market as it once did. Over 80% of revenue generated by the recording industry comes from streaming, and that number is increasing every year. Vinyl can earn popular artists some extra money, but for undiscovered acts seeking to make it, the internet is far more cost-effective. Selling vinyl is a profitable decision for popular musicians who want to connect with their most dedicated fans. As sales skyrocket, you can expect more major acts to release their projects on vinyl.