Tag: Maggie Rogers

Spotify EQUAL Presents the All Things Go Creator Summit to Inspire Action Through Music

September 29, 2023

Fans flock to music festivals to see dozens of their favorite artists in one go, embrace their fandom as a pack, and celebrate the power of music. But to this day, there stands a gender equity issue: organizers unveil lineup after lineup with a consistent lack of women headliners and acts. 

So in 2018, All Things Go, the DC-based music festival, partnered with singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers to co-curate a women-led lineup. The festival has only grown since, doubling attendance year after year. This weekend, 32 artists—including Lana Del Rey, Maggie Rogers, boygenius, Carly Rae Jepsen, Mt. Joy, MUNA, Arlo Parks, and more—will perform across multiple stages at the iconic Merriweather Post Pavilion. And as fans count down the hours to the sold-out two-day experience, All Things Go’s organizers are getting ready to kick off their biggest, most impactful weekend yet. 

Spotify is also joining in with the chorus of voices calling for gender equity in music. As the festival’s digital-streaming partner and sponsor of the All Things Go Creator Summit 2023 Presented by Spotify EQUAL, held the Friday before the festival, we’ll host panels and programming featuring some of the most notable voices in music, entertainment, and journalism. 

“Fans have always said that our festival feels like their ultimate playlist, so when we had the opportunity to partner with Spotify EQUAL, it was a no-brainer given the diverse group of artists that the EQUAL ecosystem empowers through equity in the audio sphere and celebrating women’s contributions in music,” says All Things Go cofounder Stephen Vallimarescu.

“We built the Creator Summit as a place for festival fans to connect and get inspired via a sneak peak behind the curtain of music, technology, activism, and entrepreneurship, with engaging panel discussions featuring some of those industries’ brightest stars alongside ATG festival artists. I’m so pleased this is the fifth consecutive year we’ve been able to host it,” adds cofounder Will Suter. “There’s a lot of great speakers and information in store.” 

Harmonizing Equity

NYLON Editor-in-Chief Lauren McCarthy will moderate a dynamic conversation that celebrates the multifaceted roles of women in the music industry. The panel brings together streaming visionaries like Spotify Rock & Alternative Artist Partnerships manager and Global Chair of Education for Women in Music Chissy Nkemere and Spotify Global Music Programs Social & Equity Lead Bel Aztiria. It also includes non-profit and equity work pioneers like Amplify Her Voice founder Kristina London and Cities Without Houses Head of Memberships Autumn Merritt. Together, they’ll explore how women are reshaping the landscape, from the creative process to the business strategies that drive the industry forward.

These panelists are industry professionals who are constantly creating new opportunities and designing diverse spaces for women’s voices and talents to be recognized across the music industry. Join them for a discussion on empowerment in male-dominated business spaces, the importance of the mentor-mentee relationship, the streaming-equity evolution, and the role women play in creating electrifying live-music experiences. 

“At Spotify, we wholeheartedly acknowledge the importance of lifting women’s voices within the music industry,” says Bel Aztira. “Our wish is that panel attendees depart with a deeper appreciation of Spotify’s EQUAL initiative and its mission, as well as knowing that each person can play a role in fostering positive change through active listening. The Creator Summit sets an inspiring tone for what promises to be an unforgettable weekend, and I am humbled to share the stage with so many industry trailblazers.”

Inspiring Action Through Music

The second panel will see U.S. Congressman Maxwell Frost moderate a conversation between Calling All Crows founder Sybil Gallagher, Spotify Social Impact Media Responsibility Lead Casey Acierno, The Ally Coalition Director of Operations and Community Engagement Geoffrey Morrissey, and Meet Me @ The Altar vocalist Edith Victoria. These visionary voices from different corners of music and activism will discuss how music can be a transformative tool for democracy and advocacy. 

“After our panel, I hope attendees walk away recognizing that impact has always been a critical part of music,” says Casey Acierno. “Artists have played a key role in the major social movements of our time—not only as the soundtrack, but as leaders that inspire action.”

Together, they’ll explore the influence of music in catalyzing positive change, driving social impact, helping with collaboration and coalition-building, providing LGBTQIA+ representation, and positioning artists as advocates. 

“I also hope that attendees walk away recognizing that we can demand better from the live-music spaces that we’re in,” Casey adds. “We’re proud to partner with organizations like Calling All Crows and The Ally Coalition, who are leading the charge in making the music industry safer and more inclusive. By learning more about their work, music fans can find out how they themselves can build a stronger community and support the most marginalized among us.”

Can’t attend in person? Stream the All Things Go 2023 Official Playlist.

Spotify’s Latest U.S. RADAR Artist girl in red Turns the Volume Up Ahead of Her First Album Release

March 3, 2021

Marie Ulven, the 22-year-old Norwegian singer-songwriter better known as girl in red, was walking her dog Luna in her Oslo neighborhood when a group of teenage girls started singing at her. Marie started dancing while continuing to walk—they were singing her 2018 song “i wanna be your girlfriend,” one of her two standout tracks that have now accumulated over 150 million streams on Spotify. “I’m in love with you!” one called. 

Since the release of “i wanna be your girlfriend” and “we fell in love in october,” girl in red has continued putting out melodic, dreamy tracks about mental health and romance at a rapid pace, with several singles and two EPs over the last two years. Fans have flocked to her Spotify profile by way of social media, where she’s become something of a queer icon. Her music has landed on several Spotify playlists, including Lorem, Bedroom Pop, New Music Friday, and Out Now. And now, as Spotify’s fifth U.S. RADAR artist, girl in red will also be discoverable to new fans through the genre- and globe-crossing emerging artists program. 

Spotify created RADAR to help artists across all stages of their careers use the strength of our platform to deepen connections to their audiences. As Spotify’s latest RADAR artist, girl in red will be featured in the RADAR playlist, create a Spotify Singles recording, and release a forthcoming biographical mini documentary. She’ll also receive promotional support for her upcoming releases, including today’s billboards in NYC and Oslo, plus a full suite of marketing  and social promotion. 

“We’ve been closely watching girl in red’s steady ascent over the past few years—she’s built a tight-knit community of devoted fans in a remarkably organic way, based on her self-assured songwriting and deeply personal lyrics—all as an independent artist,” says Ned Monahan, Spotify’s Head of Global Hits. “We’re beyond excited for her debut full-length, and look forward to helping with her global ascent via RADAR.”

girl in red’s RADAR spotlight comes at an opportune time. As she announced today, girl in red will release her first full-length studio album, if i could make it go quiet, on April 30. After several years of bedroom production, the songwriter is now looking forward to the beginnings of a lifelong career in music. “I’ve had a little bit of a realization making this record. I just gained so much respect for people who’ve dropped their eighth studio album. I want to be like that artist—one day—who has eight records because they just love making music.” 

For the Record caught up with Marie after a busy day in which she reviewed the music video for her newest single (and FINNEAS collaboration), “Serotonin.” Read on to hear her thoughts on dabbling in rap, covering Maggie Rogers for Spotify’s Studio Oyster program, and Spotify Canvases. 

Spotify Fêtes Best New Artists at 2020 Celebration

January 24, 2020

For the past four years, Spotify has celebrated the Best New Artist nominees at a one-night-only party to remember. The event is intended to help further amplify the voices of several breakout stars, and this year was no different. All eight members of the 2020 class—Billie Eilish, Black Pumas, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, Maggie Rogers, Rosalía, Tank and The Bangas, and Yola—hit the stage last night and delivered electrifying performances. 

Collectively, the category’s nominees have racked up a total of more than 15 billion Spotify streams to date. We caught up with the artists from the red carpet at The Lot Studios in Los Angeles, California—read on to hear what they had to say and to check out the night’s picture-perfect moments. 

Lizzo

Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Spotify

  • “Aye yi yi” did Lizzo knock her performance out of the park. On the red carpet, Lizzo shared her thoughts on what the Best New Artist nomination meant to her: “For me, it was really cool to be like ‘Oh, I was impactful.’ Not only did I put out a good album, but I really showed the world who I was this year; and the world really fell in love with who that person was.” 
  • Lizzo is the collaboration queen. Everyone wants her voice on their tracks. With 23 collaborations to her name, Lizzo is the most featured artist of all the Best New Artist nominees.

Yola

Credit: Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Spotify

  • Born in Bristol, England, Yola’s country-soul vibe spans across genres, and at last night’s event, she highlighted the impact of her Best New Artist nomination: “It means a sense of validation … It just feels so much like I’m being lifted up by people. People are seeing me for my ability to write, for my ability to perform. Yeah, it’s an utter joy.”
  • Many listeners are discovering Yola’s music on Spotify’s Best Folk & Americana Songs of 2019 playlist. Also, Yola covered Elton John on her debut album—check out her soaring version of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”

Billie Eilish

Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Spotify

  • “Don’t say I didn’t warn ya,” but Billie Eilish’s performance was “!!!!!!!” The singer’s stripped-down set, with brother Finneas on piano, included “bad guy” and “everything i wanted.” “The video for this song just came out today,” Eilish told the audience as she introduced the latter. “Very exciting!” 
  • With roughly 55 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Billie conquered the charts in 2019—and then some. Last year the singer had the largest number of songs on our Global Top 50 Chart at the one time. On April 1st—and this is no April fool’s joke—14 of the tracks on the Top 50 were Billie’s, and “bad guy” was in the number one spot. 

Black Pumas

Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Spotify

  • This soul-funk duo from Austin, Texas, said the nomination caught them by surprise. “We just started working on music two years ago with humble goals, you know,” said Black Pumas’ guitarist-producer Adrian Quesada. “‘Let’s just make songs that move us,’ and here we are two years later. It’s exciting.” 
  • Since the Best New Artist nominees were announced, Black Pumas saw the largest percentage increase in the number of playlists their music was added to.

Maggie Rogers

Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Spotify

  • “We’re always searching for language,” Rogers told Spotify before her set. “If you’re an artist, you were born an artist. Everyone here has been working for ten, five, seven, eight, however many years to make music and be at this place; and I think tonight is really about celebrating that work.” 
  • Of all the Best New Artist nominees, Maggie Rogers saw the biggest increase in streams in the week following the announcement of her nomination: Her music shot up more than 103%.

Lil Nas X

Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Spotify

  • Lil Nas X crushed the stage with his performance of “Old Town Road,” with Billy Ray Cyrus beside him. “It means I’m one of the few artists who the Grammys saw as deserving of a nomination in a year of so much amazing music. And I’m thankful for that. With Spotify, it’s easier for a new artist to be heard; and when ‘Old Town Road’ was just coming up, the playlisting helped so much.” 
  • While five of the Best New Artist nominees have remixed versions of some of their tracks, Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road – Remix” with Billy Ray Cyrus is the top streamed, with more than 870 million streams.

Rosalía

Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Spotify

  • Rosalía Vila (aka Rosalía) hails from Sant Esteve Sesrovires, Spain, though she’s certainly made her mark beyond her hometown. At Spotify’s Best New Artist event, she performed a rousing five-song set, which included a surprise appearance by Ozuna for the hit track “Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi.”  
  • Rosalía, who has collaborated with the likes of J Balvin, Pharrell, and James Blake, has the most geographically diverse audience of all the Best New Artist nominees. 

Tank and The Bangas

Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Spotify

  • The night ended with a “banga” performance from Tank and the Bangas, who had noted earlier that the best new artist category is a catalyst for discovery.  “(We) definitely checked out the Black Pumas and … Rosalia, everybody. You really are a Best New Artist because I’m checking out people who I never knew and that’s pretty dope within itself.”  
  • Listeners from Japan to the UK to Germany to Brazil have been streaming this band’s music. Their 2019 album Green Balloon has generated their two most-streamed songs, the curiously titled “Ants” and “Smoke.Netflix.Chill.”  

Fashion Force Elaine Welteroth Says You’re ‘More Than Enough’

June 11, 2019

You may know Elaine Welteroth from her time as editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue or, more recently, as a judge on Project Runway. The youngest Editor-in-Chief ever appointed in Condé Nast history in 2017, she’s well-known as a groundbreaking 32-year-old journalist and editor. But you can also refer to her as her lesser-known, unofficial title: Karaoke Queen.

We sat down with Welteroth—the first African American to hold the post of beauty and health director at a Condé Nast publication—to learn a bit about her role on Project Runway, the music she loves writing to, and how she hopes to inspire young women with her upcoming memoir, More Than Enough.

Oh, and her go-to Karaoke song? SWV’s “Weak.” Though as you’ll read below, she’s anything but.

This week is a big one for you: Your book More Than Enough is being released and it’s the season finale of Project Runway. What has been the best part of the season?

The best part has been working alongside people that I just adore and respect. Karlie, Brandon, Nina, and Christian—I’ve learned a lot from each of them. And then of course I love being able to nurture the designers. I got really invested in all of them and ended up crying more times than I thought I would.

What are you looking forward to bringing into the next season of Project Runway?

I think what I’ll continue to bring into next season is some degree of social consciousness, trying to contextualize their work as it relates to what is happening in the world and how fashion can be a platform for speaking about issues that matter to you. My goal is to continue to push the conversations so that they are not just about the fabrication and about the colorways and about the designs, but really about what it means to be a designer and an artist at a time like this.

What was your musical upbringing like? How do you discover music now?

I grew up in a very musical family. My mom is a gospel singer, my dad is a rock guitarist, and my brother is a punk rocker, so my house was filled with music discovery. It was like the original Spotify. In one room you would have gospel, and in one room you have Rancid or Green Day, and in another you have Eric Clapton. I was all about Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey—more Top 40s, R&B, and pop music.

Now I’m engaged to a musician who has exposed me to a lot of different types of music that I probably wouldn’t listen to otherwise. One of the most recent discoveries from him has been Maggie Rogers. I am completely obsessed with her.

Do you have any other favorite young artists whose music and lyrics are really resonating right now?

Lizzo is killing it. I think she captures the spirit of this generation, and is the kind of disruptive, unapologetic, outspoken pop star we need. I love that she’s coming here to just break out of every box that women have been put in. She’s like, “I am who I am. I am expansive and I can do it all. You’re going to watch me and you’re going to love it.”

What do you listen to while writing?

Through Spotify, I discovered different types of jazz music that help me focus while I’m working. As a writer, I can’t really listen to any music that has lyrics—you wind up writing what you’re listening to, or you start singing along and you can’t think of words.

I wrote my memoir while listening to binaural beats, which is really, really relaxing and puts you in this really focused, creative mindset.

Can you tell us a little bit about the types of songs on the playlist you’re making to accompany More Than Enough?

It’s curated to evoke the emotions that the chapters take you through. I want people to listen to it while they read the book, because I think that sensorial experience will be incredible. The playlist as a whole captures the emotional journey that this book takes you on. It’s filled with highs and lows and surprises along the way. But ultimately, it ends on a really triumphant note.

There’s a lot of gospel influence because, like I said, I grew up in a household filled with gospel music. It was really important to carry that sort of thread throughout the playlist. I have the modern interpretations of that too, with Chance the Rapper.

There’s also a lot of ’90s classic R&B music. I especially love Mariah Carey. Growing up as a biracial girl, Mariah Carey was my mixed-race icon. She was the only celebrity I ever saw that I could relate to in terms of racial identity—she had curly hair, she had brown skin—she was in-between worlds in the way that I was.

I hope that in the end, you put down the book and you end the playlist sort of just feeling good. Feeling good in your own skin.

Why was it important to you to spread the message that your readers are “more than enough?”

We live in a world that tells women we are not enough. And we’ve internalized these messages over time or throughout conditioning over generations. We are made to feel like we are not beautiful enough, not smart enough, not woke enough, and not successful enough.

I want this book to be a reminder—a mantra—that pushes back against all of those messages internally and externally. Because the reality is, you can experience that liberated, empowered sense of being more than enough even when you are a work in progress. The goal is not perfection; the goal is to continue to chase the biggest, most expansive version of who you are and to be bold enough to walk away from anything that threatens to hold you back.

Pick up a copy of Elaine’s new memoir, More Than Enough, out today. And don’t forget to stream the playlist soundtrack that chronicles her incredible journey.