Free-range journalist, editor. Music enjoyer.
SF-Bay Area
Joined February 2018
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as we gear up for festival season, remember to support your local independent venues. catch local bands and dj sets at the joints that look like they've seen better days. that's where culture lives (& where the drinks tend to be stronger, and the people friendlier)
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melisa retweeted
more experiences like Despacio and Floating Points Sunflower Sound System please more experiences like Despacio and Floating Points Sunflower Sound System please more experiences like Despacio and Floating Points Sunflower Sound System please more experiences like Despacio and Fl
melisa retweeted
pusha t advocate for journalism ❤️
Pusha T speaks on the ‘Let God Sort Em Out’ rollout and why they made an effort to tap into journalists to spread the word:
“You mention the Vatican, people talk about the rollout. That’s just all me loving journalism. That was the Clipse missing being able to go and pick up a mag and see ‘4 mics.’ That’s me missing actual commentary…
Journalism saved us. The blog era saved us. Writing about it, talking about it…We gotta always make this an event.”
@Kazeem pointed out that J. Cole did this with his rollout as well, dope to see multiple artists bringing this back.
Via Hot 97
melisa retweeted
the thing about reading substack is… I really do understand why editors were invented
melisa retweeted
A 27-year-old employee at BlackRock has let AI 'journalists' loose on the Bay Area. They're mostly taking human reporters' work. missionlocal.org/2026/08/the…
melisa retweeted
For years, Ticketmaster/Live Nation has abused its power against musicians, fans, and venues, dominating the live music industry while worsening it for everyone else.
This jury verdict holding that the company violated state and federal antitrust laws is a key first step towards ending Live Nation’s monopolistic control and securing real relief for those it harmed.
Congratulations to the state attorneys general who kept litigating the case after the Trump DOJ settled cheaply and bailed.
"...At the center of all of this: not whether fandom should be covered, but whether the people inside it are being treated with the same care as the culture they are helping create."
Insightful piece by Crystal Bell for @TeenVogue, published today.
teenvogue.com/story/journali…
Fandom is no longer a niche corner of the internet; it shapes the culture around us. But does that mean every fan work is fair game for journalists?
My latest for @TeenVogue is about where the line is between covering fandom and intruding on it.
teenvogue.com/story/journali…
melisa retweeted
two years ago i created @1202magazine after continuous budget cuts and layoffs from working at other publications. please support black woman-owned, independent journalism 💘
melisa retweeted
In a letter to shareholders today, Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl noted that just 27% of US music streaming consumption in 2024 came from new releases, versus 45% a decade ago.
This corroborates what I wrote in my essay, The Struggle For Independence in the Modern Age: "It is a fair question to ask whether the majors have become less interested in investing in the emergence of new music by new artists, which often requires riskier investment and which may cannibalize revenues from their bell cows, compared to 30 years ago."
The music recording industry has increasingly become a catalog one in recent years. It is harder than ever for new artists and the independent labels supporting them to find fans and build sustainable businesses.
melisa retweeted
A drum machine doesn't train on millions of drummers' performances without consent and then hollows out the economic infrastructure that sustains drummers as a working class. A drum machine doesn't raise the question of whether drumming as a skill will atrophy over a generation.
