Bi-Weekly-ish Newsletter #51 w/ 🎄💸Mariah Carey, 🎄💸Blackstone's Seasonal Greetings, 🥁🧔🏻♂️The Best Drummer in the World, 🐭💸Mickey Mouse in The Public Domain, and a new 🤖💸AI Master Tool.
Hi reader!
Edition number 51 of the bi-weekly-ish yadda yadda by yours truly. Last one of the year and somewhat of a Double-Thick Holiday Extravaganza Edition to keep you entertained during the week where you get to be your worst self... the X-mas to New Year break.
Read On!
Drink Up!
Eat Well!
Get Fat!
Enjoy!
1. All I Want for Christmas is...
To Know How Much Money Mariah Carey Makes Each Year From "All I Want For Christmas Is You"
It's the time of year again of roasting chestnuts on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping on your nose and Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas" everywhere you turn. Being in the business of music and music rights, the question, "Marcel, how much money does Mariah Carey make off this song each year?" is one I often get asked around this time. The answer? An estimated $100m since its 1994 release and an additional $3m+ per annum, concentrated in Nov/Dec from radio, TV, and streaming, a figure that does not include the rumored record-shattering sync deals, which are said to be around the million dollar mark.
Legend has it that the song was created in less than an hour. In 1993, Carey released her best-selling album "Music Box" (which sold 28 million copies). She and her then-husband, Tommy Mottola, were considering how to follow up the success. Mottola — the CEO of Sony Music (which owned Columbia Records) — suggested a Christmas album. Initially reluctant, Carey agreed to produce an album of classic Christmas tunes and one original track.
Come summer 1994, Mariah decorated her home studio in Christmas paraphernalia and got to work with her writing partner, Walter Afanasieff. The two differ on the exact details (and had a multi-decade falling out over the song's credit), but they agree that the original music and composition were completed in about an hour. Afanasieff described the studio session: "It was like a game of ping-pong. I'd hit the ball to her; she hits it back to me." After two weeks of polishing, a new holiday classic was born.
Speaking about the top 10-holiday canon, here are the other 9 tracks in case you were wondering:
"White Christmas" by Bing Crosby (1942)
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" by Bing Crosby (1943)
"Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" by Gene Autry (1947)
"Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms (1957)
"Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee (1958)
"Jingle Bells" by Ella Fitzgerald (1960)
"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Andy Williams (1963)
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid (1984)
"Last Christmas" by Wham! (1984)
All this to say one thing and one thing only: enjoy the song a million more times this week, then get ready for ABBA's "Happy New Year" the following week and New Order's "Blue Monday" for the month after that.
More about this song… watch below.
2. Parody and Portfolio
Private Equity's Pop Performance
Besides sharing insights on music and technology, I tend to feature commercials that are usually well-crafted, boast great music and hold some sort of relevance to current events. The following commercial might not fit that mold… or perhaps it does, and I just can't quite pinpoint it. Regardless, it's remarkable enough to warrant a share here so that you can be the judge.
Blackstone, the private equity firm that manages $1T (1,000,000,000,000) in assets (and not to be mistaken with Blackrock, the world's largest and most hated real estate asset manager), has just released its annual holiday video. Straddling the lines between corporate self-promotion and self-parody, this internal production is a spectacle in its own right.
Embracing their love for Taylor Swift, Blackstone dedicates this edition to the iconic singer and songwriter, heralding the arrival of the corporate Swiftie era. This tribute traces back to President Jon Gray's experience at a Swift concert with his daughters. Inspired, he suggested adopting this theme for their video, leading to a proposition where Gray pitches the idea of the company going on "An Alternatives Era" tour to raise its next fund.
A carefully thought-out bad idea, teetering on the edge of post-cringe, it surprisingly grows on you after a second watch. Catch the full 5-minute The Office-like spectacle here, with the music video just below.
3. The Rise of the YouTube Drumming Demigod
Beat, Baffle and Bewilder
I am a drummer... or better, I used to be a drummer.
Some four years ago, I thought it would be fun to rent a practice space and jam out, only to realize it wasn’t; the whole muscle memory thing is a myth, and to conclude: I suck!
Come to think of it, I always sorta sucked. Something that would become very apparent every time I saw a drummer that didn't and consequently made me wonder why I would even bother continuing to play.
I continue to enjoy watching drummers, whether live or in an endless stream of YouTube videos and Instagram reels. Interestingly, with the advent of YouTube and other video platforms, musicians, especially drummers, have gotten significantly better over time, to the point where it becomes ridiculous. I would think that this has to do with the countless hours of influence, ideas, and how-to's you can access as a drummer through these platforms, leading to a current wave of bateristas that seem otherworldly and probably couldn't have existed during a pre-YouTube era (and why I am not the greatest drummer alive).
Among the numerous talents, one stands out: El Estepario Siberiano (The Siberian Steppe Man). As revealed in a recent interview, this Spanish musician has nothing with music per se, doesn't play in a band, but wanted to perfect drumming as a craft by practicing approximately 8 hours a day for eight years straight, and it shows. The video below is of El Estepario Siberiano covering "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd, and mere superlatives don't do justice to his performance. Arguably, and perhaps as he said himself, this has nothing to do with music and is more like a circus performance and a dash of autism.
What is even better than watching his videos are the videos uploaded by people reacting to his drumming, like here, here, and here. They all have in common that they generate the same sentiment I had 20 years ago while watching the greats… How? What? And why do I even bother?
Watch below for my favorite reaction video by 66 Shamus, who also concludes that El Estepario Siberiano either makes you want to quit drums or practice every day for the rest of your life. I know what camp I am in.
4. Mickey Unbound
The Mouse Marches to Public Domain
Mickey Mouse in his earliest Steamboat Willie form, a quintessential piece of intellectual property and perhaps the most iconic character in American pop culture, is set to become public domain on January 1st, 2024. A transition that comes with a plethora of "ifs," "buts" and other caveats since Mickey's creator, Walt Disney, and his army of lawyers have strived to prevent this through what is colloquially known as the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act," which has pushed for term extensions.
This scenario is steeped in irony, considering Disney's history of prolifically “borrowing” from the public domain to create its beloved films. Classics such as Beauty and the Beast (1740) by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Around the World in 80 Days (1873) by Jules Verne, "Alice in Wonderland" (1865) by Lewis Carroll, and "Snow White" (1812) from The Brothers Grimm, to name a few, were all Disney-fied from older works. The complexity of this battle over intellectual property rights and their broader impacts, such as slowing down cancer research, are well explored in the 2008 documentary "RiP! - A Remix Manifesto."
The impending release of Mickey Mouse into the public domain is certainly good news for those eager to creatively engage (make money!!!!) with Mickey Mouse and the classic Disney art style. A notable example is the recent trailer from FUNI Games for their first-person shooter, "MOUSE." This gritty, jazz-fueled game is described in a review as "Mickey Mouse bustin' caps in asses!" Check out the trailer below for a glimpse of this audacious approach.
5. Sonic Science
The AI Engineer Enhancing Music
Mastering in music is the final step in the audio post-production process. It involves refining and enhancing a track's overall sound to ensure consistency and balance across an entire album or single, as well as making sure the recording meets the technical standards required for distribution across various formats and platforms. Mastering is an art in and of itself, requiring a delicate balance of technical skill and creative judgment. It's a field championed by absolute heroes such as Bob Ludwig (Bruce Springsteen, Daft Punk, and Radiohead), Bernie Grundman (Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Prince's "Purple Rain") and Wez Clarke, whose mastering skills are particularly valued for enhancing the energy and clarity of dance tracks, ensuring they stand out in both club settings and personal listening.
Enter Masterchannel, a Norwegian company that has created an AI clone of Wez Clarke. In the same way that voice clones capture the vocal characteristics of singers, the Wez Clarke AI encapsulates the expertise of the two-time Grammy nominee. This innovation builds on Masterchannel's existing AI mastering service, which functions autonomously like a professional music engineer. This tool allows everyone from bedroom musicians to professional artists to experience Clarke's meticulous decision-making during the engineering and mastering process, creating tracks that resonate across all platforms.
This development represents another subtle but exciting advancement in the realm of music creation. The concept can be replicated with other engineers in the future, paving the way for a scalable model of AI integration in the music industry. This is particularly relevant for the ever-growing number of recordings that require mastering for various platforms. For more information, check out their website.
Thanks so much.
See you all in the new year.
Swept out from under your feet your youth's gone and you wonder why...
BECAUSE TIME FLIES
Marcel