2022 flew by with a flurry of major headlines impacting the world of music. Check out Fresh Tracks' top stories in 2022 to catch up on what you missed:
Kanye West’s yearlong meltdown
How bizarre was that?
13 rappers lost in 2022
The rap genre was particularly hit hard last year with several musician deaths—some of them violent.
The great ticket debacle
If you tried to claim a seat for Taylor Swift's upcoming tour, you're very familiar with this fiasco. Her presale on Ticketmaster went so poorly that it may shake up the ticketing industry this year.
New music, new music new music
The CEO of Universal Music Group says there are as many as 100,000 new tracks added daily to streaming services. As one example, Apple Music has over 100 million tracks on its platform alone.
It would take 571 years with no sleep to listen to them all. It's also becoming increasingly difficult for artists to separate their music from the pack. Around 80% of tracks on Spotify have fewer than 50 monthly listens.
Trends shaping the soundwaves
The average length of popular songs has been steadily shrinking. On average, Billboard Hot 100 songs were 40 seconds shorter in 2022 compared to the average length in 2000.
Plus, the songs you hear may feel like they're going a little faster. That's because they are. It's become a trend on sites like TikTok to speed up popular songs and those clips are going viral.
Music from the holidays
The Bad Plus: "The Bad Plus"
"The Bad Plus" is this Minneapolis band’s 15th studio album. On it, they show they haven’t abandoned their punkish attitude, which has built their audience far beyond traditional jazz. They have also covered songs by Queen, Nirvana, Black Sabbath, Johnny Cash and Pink Floyd amongst others.
Weyes Blood: "And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow"
"And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow" is a West Coast folk rock album released in late November. It is the second album in Natalie Mering's ambitious trilogy that began with “Titanic Rising” in 2019.
This album reminds Fresh Tracks of many of the message albums of the late 60s and 70s. Take a listen.
