Tag: UK

Spotify Returns to BBC Music Introducing Live 2019 As Official Partner

November 1, 2019

BBC Music Introducing Live—the three-day, all-access event to help you make it in the industry—is back. From October 31 to November 2, music professionals (established and aspiring) from around the world will come together at London’s Tobacco Dock for a weekend of live performances, conversations, and advice to help launch their careers. 

Following a successful partnership in 2018, Spotify is returning to the festival to resume our pivotal role in having a relevant, cultural, and educational voice for the 15,000 up-and-coming artists, songwriters, producers, and creators in attendance.

We chatted with Bryan Johnson, Lead, Artist & Industry Partnerships at Spotify, at the start of the event to learn about the sessions Spotify will be overseeing at the festival.

You’ve been entrenched in the music industry from the very beginning of your career. How has your professional trajectory (and your experience as an artist) manifested itself in the work you’re doing today at Spotify?

My work at Spotify naturally has the artist front and center. Experiences as both an artist and industry professional come in to play and really help me make the right informed and instinctive decisions that I believe will benefit both the artist community and Spotify. 

A key personal and professional mission has always been to ensure that Spotify and the wider industry are accessible and in reach. I’m proud to say that through partnerships such as BBC Music Introducing Live, we’re able to make that happen.

BBC Music Introducing Live 2019 is underway. Why is Spotify partnering with BBC to sponsor this festival? What do you hope attendees will get out of the event?

As an official partner, we’ve curated plenty of relevant and interesting sessions for the attendees. We’re showcasing our key UK podcasts, such as Who We Be TALKS_ , providing a platform for artists to discuss their podcasting journeys through the Why I Podcast panel, and shining a light on health and well-being through the Keeping It Together panel (which we’re copresenting with Headspace).

We’re also bringing our Best Advice educational series to the stage for the very first time, and providing best-in-class education and guidance on how artists and their teams can use Spotify to further their careers via the Spotify Artist Masterclass. In addition to all of this, we’ll be bringing the Spotify x Soundtrap Pop-Up Studio to the UK for the very first time!

All in all, it’s a well-rounded series of events that I believe will have wide appeal and be truly inspiring.

The Wave of London Musicians Making Jazz Their Own

April 22, 2019

“I was 19 years old and got to travel Europe with a rapper—a dream come true,” says Femi Koleoso, drummer and bandleader of Ezra Collective, one of a growing number of London-based jazz groups bringing newfound global attention to the genre. Speaking by phone, he shared the story of his first big gig, when he was spotted at a jazz club and asked to support the acclaimed Queens, New York, rapper Pharoahe Monch on tour six years ago. Today, Koleoso is gearing up for the release of Ezra Collective’s debut album, You Can’t Steal My Joy (out April 26), while on tour drumming for Brit Award-winning singer Jorja Smith.

Like many of their peers on the UK jazz scene, Ezra Collective have been making their way to increasingly bigger stages of late. The quintet were included on last year’s celebrated We Out Here compilation, a project organized by DJ and broadcaster Gilles Peterson and released through his label, Brownswood Recordings. The album is a sweeping collection of offerings from across London’s vibrant jazz revival, from the cosmic sounds of Shabaka Hutchings, member of the Mercury Prize-wining band Sons of Kemet, to the Afrobeat-influenced grooves of eight-piece band KOKOROKO, whose self-titled debut EP was released earlier this month.

With Hutchings as its music director, the critically acclaimed compilation serves as a pivotal document of the scene, and Peterson recently announced a festival of the same name taking place on August 15-18 in Cambridgeshire. The fest is yet more evidence of the growing interest in new jazz in the UK, especially among young people. Just last year, the number of UK users aged 30 and under listening to Spotify’s Jazz UK playlist increased by 108%.

Stream the Top Tracks of St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland

March 15, 2019

St Patrick’s Day, March 17, is a global celebration of the Irish. Green-clad crowds swarm parade routes from Tokyo to Toronto; in Chicago, the river is dyed green; and in New Orleans, strings of green beads soar through the air along St. Charles Street. In Ireland, however, it’s music that’s central to the St. Patrick’s Day experience.

A look at our users’ listening habits from the past several St. Patrick’s Days shows that Irish music lovers use the holiday to stream songs primarily by their ample homegrown talent. Across artists and genres, most of the songs in the top ten have that classic Celtic twang, historical roots, or both. The tunes also tend to be upbeat and joyful—perfect for a spirited singalong.

From Galway to Dublin and Cavan to Cork, here are the most consistently streamed songs on St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland over the past five years. Feel free to turn up the volume and belt the lyrics as if you’re in a pub in Limerick—or anywhere else.

“Dirty Old Town” by The Pogues

The song was originally written and recorded in 1949 by British folk singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl, but has been covered by countless Irish artists—most famously by The Dubliners in 1968. This 1985 version by British Celtic punk rockers The Pogues tops the list.

“Seven Drunken Nights” by The Dubliners

A St. Patrick’s Day cliché? Not if you listen to the lyrics, which tell the funny tale of a hapless drunkard on a futile mission. The song is actually based on a 1700s Scottish folk song called “Our Goodman,” recorded in a period-perfect accent by Ewan MacColl (see above).

“The Irish Rover” by The Pogues

Everyone loves a tall tale told over drinks, and this one—about a fictional Irish ship overloaded with cargo—is about as wild as they come. The lyrics have been tweaked and recorded by dozens of Irish artists over time, but The Pogues’ version featuring The Dubliners is the most popular. Irish listeners also love this rendition by Ronnie Drew.

“N17” by The Saw Doctors

This song was one of the Irish rock band’s biggest hits, coming from their debut 1991 album. It celebrates a famously picturesque road, the N17, which once extended from Sligo to Galway in the west of the country.

“Mandinka” by Sinead O’Connor

This was one of the singer-songwriter’s earliest hits, a few years before her international sensation “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

“Where The Streets Have No Name” by U2

The most famous Irish musicians have dozens of songs frequently played on St. Patrick’s Day, but this singable and anthemic track from the 1987 album The Joshua Tree is the only U2 song in the top ten.

“Blackbird” by Sharon Shannon

Accordion master and fiddler Sharon Shannon has recorded some of the most popular albums of traditional Irish music. Several of her countrymen and women—including Hothouse Flowers and Sinead O’Connor—have collaborated on her songs.

“Teenage Kicks” by The Undertones

This song about teenage lust was far and away the biggest hit by the ’70s punk-pop band from Northern Ireland. “Teenage Kicks” attracted the band’s first record deal.

“The Rocky Road to Dublin” by The High Kings

This 19th-century folk song—about a man traveling from Tuam, in western Ireland, to Liverpool—has been covered countless times, including renditions by The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys, and even The Rolling Stones.

“Brewing Up A Storm” by The Stunning

The Galway-based rock band released this song in 1990 on their debut album. It remains their biggest hit, thanks in part to the song’s being regularly played in sports stadiums.  

Check out our Happy St. Patrick’s Day playlist for some of these classics and more tunes to fuel your celebrations. Plus, for a more contemporary look at music from Ireland, try A Breath of Fresh Éire, The New Éire, Hands In The Éire and An Alternative Éire.

Sound Up Bootcamp UK Amplifies Diverse Women’s Voices

December 21, 2018

This autumn, hundreds of podcast hopefuls submitted their pitches for an original show. Ten were awarded the opportunity to learn how to bring their stories to life. Ultimately, three finalists emerged, who will go on to make their own podcasts, thanks to Spotify UK’s first-ever Sound Up podcast bootcamp.

The week-long, intensive bootcamp for up-and-coming podcasting producers was specifically created to help foster talented—but often underrepresented—voices in the field. To qualify for consideration, Sound Up applicants had to identify as a woman or non-binary person of colour.

“We wanted to look at ways in which we could highlight diverse voices in podcasting,” says Alexandra Adey, UK Podcast Partner Manager at Spotify, “and to give people the tools to make content if they weren’t able to do so previously.”

Inspired by the success of a similar Spotify event in New York, Alexandra and her London-based team invited ten creatives to join the budding podcasters for five days of talks, master classes, and studio time. Attendees heard from industry experts on how to develop and improve their skills in sound design, editing, branding, production, social media, and storytelling.

At the end of the week, they pitched their podcast ideas to a panel of external judges, all prominent figures from across the UK audio industry. Three winners were selected: Sangeeta Pillai, Kym Oliver, and Olorunfemi Fagunwa. They were rewarded with ongoing technical and marketing support from Spotify, as well as free software packages and studio time to help bring their podcasts to life.

“A lot of women from my culture don’t even listen to podcasts, because [the topics are] not relevant to them. I think if we make content that speaks to what they care about, and open up spaces for them, I think there will be a lot of engagement,” says Sangeeta, whose Masala podcast focuses on “lovely warm chats over a cup of tea” with other women “doing something fantastic in their field.”

Sound Up also leaned into the democratising power of the medium. As Alexandra shared, “Podcasting is fantastic because in one respect it’s a very level playing field … A good podcast creates its own little fan club or listening gang. And it gives you room to hear content you wouldn’t hear on mainstream radio.”

Accessibility, in a different sense, is especially important to Kym Oliver. A wheelchair-user, she values the fast-track options to creativity that a podcast readily offers. Her winning submission was for an audio play about a failed fictional reality TV star.

“A podcast is super accessible,” she affirms. “You can just put your thought out there. And I don’t think people historically went into it thinking, ‘I’m gonna do a podcast, I’m gonna become a millionaire!’ They did it because they wanted their voices to be heard. It’s an audience-driven thing.”

Kym further shared that her week at Sound Up “was collaborative, it was loving, it was sharing, and everyone was supporting each other. And even the generosity of the people who were coming to give the master classes was really inspiring.”

The third winner, Olorunfemi Fagunwa, is the force behind the podcast Notorious, “about women in history who are known as being disruptors or troublemakers in some ways. We want to throw a light on women around the world who are often overlooked or not paid attention to, and get a sense of their time and space.” Her work focuses on interviews with historians, researchers or people who might have known them. First up: Winnie Mandela and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.

Sound Up is now sounding off—helping to amplify voices and increase diversity—and it’s clear that the podcast revolution is on.

Your Favourite BBC Podcasts, Now on Spotify in the UK

August 13, 2018

If podcasts now act as your constant companion on a commute, at the gym, or while you’re in the bath at the end of a long day, you’re not alone: millions of listeners across the UK are making podcasts part of their lives every day.

The BBC was one of the first podcast creators in the world when it made Radio 4’s ‘In Our Time’ downloadable online in 2004. Today, the BBC podcast library boasts hundreds of programmes across thousands of episodes and caters to millions of listeners across the UK and worldwide.

“The BBC is one of the largest content creators in the UK, and have worked with the biggest and best audio talent in the world,” explains James Cator, Spotify’s Head of Podcast Partnerships, EMEA. “To have a comprehensive audio catalogue in the UK, the BBC are essential, so adding the BBC to our rapidly-expanding catalogue of podcasts was a natural partnership.” To that end, Spotify has added podcasts from iPlayer Radio and BBC Sounds to the platform, making hundreds of BBC podcasts available to Spotify users in the UK from today.

That’s thousands of episodes across a number of diverse genres – all in one place. To access the podcasts, users can simply visit the podcast section in Browse on Spotify and browse categories including Comedy, News & Politics, Educational, Sport & Recreation, Lifestyle & Health, Business & Technology, and Kids & Family.

“You can now be assured of finding the perfect podcast for every moment and mood on Spotify,” says James. “Whatever you want to learn about, or whatever mood you want to feel, it is all available to you, however you want to listen – on your laptop, phone, or on your connected devices via Spotify Connect.”

The number of podcast listeners in the UK is growing rapidly every year, with many of those streaming original BBC shows. And, in James’ opinion, everyone has their own unique reason for streaming.

“Podcasts allow people to turn time that would otherwise be wasted into time that is productive and full of interest and wonder,” James says. “You can satisfy your innate curiosity, listen to some of the best storytelling in the world, and hear gripping true crime stories, all while travelling to work. Escapism, personal development, education, comedy, there are so many reasons to listen, and there really is a podcast for every situation. You can find people talking about topics with an honesty that doesn’t exist in any other medium.”

And although podcasts are growing more and more popular, James notes that it isn’t for everyone – yet. “I think there is so much left to create, and the majority of the population doesn’t listen to podcasts – yet. The beauty of podcasts is that it is so easy for everyone – whether you’re an individual self-starter, a small independent media company, or a huge corporation – to create a podcast and experiment with new formats. The breadth and variety of podcasts are growing at an incredible rate, and I think we will see podcast listening become truly mass market in the not-too-distant future.”

If you’re an aspiring podcast listener in the UK but aren’t sure where to begin, check out some of James’ recommendations from the BBC, all of which you can stream on Spotify in the UK from today:

Short Cuts: Short documentaries and adventures in sound presented by Josie Long.

James’ take: “I love this show. Each episode is based around a theme, and can be anything from short stories to poetry to documentaries. Some themes have been ‘tough love’, ‘fear’ and ‘magical realism.’ One episode was about ‘nothing.’”

Desert Island Discs: Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: What would you take to a desert island? Kirsty Young invites her guests to share the soundtrack of their lives.

James’ take: “A classic show that has interviewed some of the biggest names in the world and reveals so much about them from just the few items they’d take to a desert island. Bruce Springsteen’s is a particular favourite.”

The Infinite Monkey Cage: A witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists’ eyes. With Brian Cox and Robin Ince, updated weekly.

James’ take: “Brian Cox and Robin Ince look at the world through science, but in ways that are always surprising, often hilarious and fascinating from start to finish. Great podcast for ‘did you know…’ pub facts.”

To listen to BBC podcasts in the UK head over to the Podcasts within Browse on Spotify.