St. Vincent and Carrie Brownstein
St. Vincent and Carrie Brownstein

Happy Friday to you, dear readers and fellow music lovers. We’ve reached the end of the first full work week of the new year. How are you feeling? Are you getting back into the groove of things after the double holiday whammy? We’re not quite there yet. But as is always the case, the music world is starting to pick up a head of steam with festival lineup and tour announcements, fresh tunes, and a look back at the year (and decade) that was. Let’s not waste any more time. Press play!

Yesterday, Billboard and Nielsen Music/MRC Data released their Year End Music Report, an annual roundup of information about how people listened to music over the past 12 months. And the big headline about 2019 is that streams—through services like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Tidal—broke the one trillion mark. That was a whopping 29.3% increase from last year’s report, fueled by the massive success of viral hits like “Old Town Road” (which logged a stunning 2.5 billion on-demand streams) and Arizona Zervas’ “Roxanne” (17 million on-demand streams), as well as folks streaming Post Malone and Billie Eilish’s albums like crazy.

And when I say “folks,” I mean “teens,” because they are the ones listening to their damn music all the damn time. According to the report, “streaming accounts for 53%” of their music listening, compared with 41% of “average music listeners” (meaning: olds).

Naturally, the report is breathless in its excitement about these trends, especially the sale of vinyl, which continued to trend upwards. But, digging into this even a little bit reveals that, as always, the only people benefiting from these numbers are the superstars. The Top 10 Vinyl Albums sold in 2019 features all the classic rock stalwarts (The Beatles, Queen, and Fleetwood Mac) and King of Pop himself Michael Jackson. The only new album on there? When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? by Billie Eilish. And although the numbers are going up when you include streaming, total album sales, including physical and digital copies of records, are going the other direction, dropping nearly 19% from last year.

The bottom line? With everyone consuming music through streaming, it’s only the big, big, big artists that are making any money. Remember that Spotify pays out between $0.00331 and $0.00437 each time a song is played. If there once was a middle class in the music industry, it’s getting quickly squeezed out.

The Nielsen report also included some numbers for the decade, as well. And tucked away in them is some nice news for at least one Portland artist. According to the data, Portugal. The Man were all over the radio in the ’10s, with their song “Feel It Still” landing in the Top 10 of spins on Alternative Rock Radio and Triple A Rock Radio. Well done, gents!

We may have lost Maya Bon, the singer/songwriter who fronts the band Babehoven, to LA and Philadelphia, but we’ll always think of her as a Portlander. Especially when she writes gentle, moody songs that go so well with cold, rainy days. “Only So” is the group’s latest and it’s another smoldering expression of heartache and self-reflection from this wonderful project. It also kicks off Babehoven’s forthcoming EP Demonstrating Visible Differences of Height, which is set to be released on February 7.

Singer/songwriter Bart Budwig has also dropped a new tune into the world today. “Four-Leaf Clover” is the third single from the Oregon artist’s forthcoming album Another Burn on the Astroturf and is, according to the man, “a song for the beautiful, impermanent parts of life.” A couple of spins through this song have melted my icy exterior with every plush acoustic guitar chord and the vocal interplay of Budwig and Kati Clayborn (of Astoria folk duo The Hackles). Budwig is currently in the throes of a West Coast tour that will bring him back to our nape of the woods on January 25 for an album release show at Bunk Bar, and a gig the next night at the Suttle Lodge & Boathouse in Sisters, Oregon.


The Sundance Film Festival—the annual shitshow of a movie event that turns Park City, Utah, into a nightmarish hellscape of branding and celebrity worship—will get underway on January 25 this year. And what does that have to do with a music news post, you may ask? First off, rude. And secondly, tucked away in the schedule is The Nowhere Inn, a film co-written by Sleater Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Annie Clark (AKA St. Vincent, AKA the woman who produced the last Sleater Kinney album and in doing so upended the power dynamic in the band, which likely led to Janet Weiss quitting).

Here’s how the Sundance blog describes the film: “When St. Vincent sets out to make a documentary about her music, the goal is to both reveal and revel in the unadorned truth behind her on-stage persona. But when she hires a close friend to direct, notions of reality, identity, and authenticity grow increasingly distorted and bizarre.” In other words, as potentially hilarious and annoying as an episode of Portlandia.

The big concert news of the week was the announcement of Bonnaroo’s 2020 lineup, which you can check out here. It finds the festival dipping into the pop world with a headlining set by Lizzo and appearances by Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey, and Young Thug, alongside jam band faves like Tool, Primus, and Oysterhead. But there are some pleasant surprises like modern jazz drummer Makaya McCraven, Brooklyn band Turkauz playing Talking Heads’ Remain In Light with help from Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew, and...ahem…Nelly performing Country Grammar!!! That alone is enough to make me think about trekking to Tennessee for the first time.

Back here at home, the big Portland tour announcements this week came from pop goddess Halsey, who will be hitting the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater on June 4 (with support from CHVRCHES and Omar Apollo) in support of new album Manic, and… wait for it… KIDZ BOP AT THEATER OF THE CLOUDS ON SEPTEMBER 12. That’s right, “the ultimate family concert experience, ‘sung by kids for kids,’” comes to town promising “a new engaging set design, exciting choreography, and tons of cool surprises,” as well as the horror show that will be the “Parent Dance Off.” You’ve been warned.