Billboard charts and market share charts point to a decline of hip-hop in recent years, however, it's not that simple, Dan Runcie points out. Lil Uzi Vert’s 'Pink Tape' will be the first 2023 hip-hop album to top the Billboard 200, which will be the furthest in the calendar year it took for a hip-hop album to top the Billboard 200 since 1993 (that year, Cypress Hill’s 'Black Sunday' topped the chart on the week of August 7). Billboard argued it is due to the lack of hip-hop stars who released albums, less room to grow than other genres, the impact of deaths, drugs, and legal issues, chart stagnation, and the return of club music. Runcie on the other hand argues "If hip-hop’s global impact were categorized appropriately, no one would talk about a 'decline'. Latin music is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, and most of that revenue is generated by artists who, like Bad Bunny, consider themself hip-hop".

A great long-read in the Mix Mag which explores the connection between the rising living costs and the downfall of clubbing. It also takes into account the societal, political, and behavioral factors, and sets forth some ideas as to how to deal with it. Finally, it tries to guess what this change will mean in the broader society.

Culture and music editor Eleanor Halls looks into Frank Ocean's Coachella unique performance which had left fans disappointed and enthralled. She draws comparison to Elvis Presley and Lauryn Hill in this regard. "What happens when an artist refuses to play ball?" - Halls asks, and wonders whether fans should really be disappointed.

Andy Chatterley of MUSO, a London-headquartered technology firm providing anti-piracy services and market analytics for music companies, discusses the hot topic of the recent "fake Drake" song that appeared on streaming platforms, only to be soon taken down from them.

He's got a few questions about it:

• "How can we be certain the ‘fake Drake’ track is AI and not a canny marketing tool?
• If this is indeed AI, [and] if musicians and/or content creators are being used as source data for an AI model, should they be compensated?
• How do you prove, as a creator, that your work has been used as source material for AI?
• Who owns the AI in any given case?
• How do you sue something that has no name, no social security number and no company number?
• Do you sue the prompt engineer who inputs the command to make the track?"

An amazing story by Ted Gioia, who has discovered, with a little help from other music lovers, a song that has over 50 different titles, and over 50 different writers credits attributed to it on Spotify. There were other instances of the same phenomena on other streaming platforms, with other songs as well (mostly short and lousy). What's going on? "Spotify may be working to switch listeners from songs released by major labels to generative music, which could be licensed at low royalty rates or even purchased as a work-for-hire. Under this scenario, a streaming platform could lower its costs substantially, and improve profitability—but with the result of less money paid to flesh-and-blood musicians."

"For all its ostensible simplicity, techno is a genre with a complicated history that can mutate and shift depending on whom you’re talking to" - The New Yorker looks into the origins of techno music. The author finds the first threads both in Detroit and Frankfurt, however, it points out that many techno pioneers feel that Black and queer artists in Detroit have been overlooked at the recently opened Museum of Modern Electronic Music (MOMEM) in Frankfurt’s Hauptwache square,

After a few A.I.-generated songs that sound like Drake, The Deeknd, and Ice Spice appeared online, the music industry reacted with demands for these songs to be blocked on streaming services. "This feels like Napster in 1999. New technology is here and the industry’s protocol is to resist" - Dan Runcie points out in his memo, suggesting the labels shouldn't fight back, but rather embrace it. "It’s in the superstar artist and record label’s best interest to enable experimentation—as long as there’s a fair way to compensate the artist and rights holder. Their work would be the most-accessed music for generative songs anyway, so why not lean in?".

The Face is wondering whether artificial intelligence is going to take our jobs: "Again, as long as we value human emotion, creativity and connection, there’s only so far AI can take us. Like music, for example. Sure, AI can churn out catchy TikTok songs which makes for genuine competition when it comes to already-manufactured pop tunes. But we value music for the meaning, person and creativity behind it, all of which would be massively diluted if made by robots, who, to put it simply, can’t feel anything. That goes for DJs, too. We happily pay to watch a human spin some tracks in a sweaty club – would you pay to listen to a machine to the same?".

Thailand has recently legalized marijuana, so Michelle Lhooq, the drug & parties expert had to go visit, with her parents! Small weeds shops have opened all over the place in recent months, but they just might soon get endangered. Hugely popular US weed brand Cookies opened its first dispensary in Bangkok in January, and there are fears the market will soon be dominated by foreign companies that will put small mom-and-pops out of business. Lhooq points out that the current legal uncertainty around Thai cannabis has prevented international interests from entering the scene, however, companies like Cookies are paving the way for a franchise model where US brands team up with local partners to sell name-brand weed.