Taylor Swift keeps releasing different vinyl editions of “The Tortured Poets Department.” Is this wasteful?
Northeastern Global News (2024). Billie Eilish recently called out artists who make multiple variants of the same vinyl like Swift does. But Swift is not the first artist to do this, said Andrew Mall, an associate music professor at Northeastern University. Swift is part of a larger trend of those “gamifying” vinyl collecting, where consumers will buy every variant of a record — whether they offer a different cover, record color, or bonus tracks — in order to complete their collection.
Hardcore Community at Furnace Fest
IASPM-US conference panel (2024). In 2023, our six-member team was on site in Birmingham, Alabama for five days, building upon over two years of prior research in 2021 and 2022. In this panel, four fieldwork team members share their findings along distinct themes. Together, we explore the ways in which community is substantiated and maintained at Furnace Fest.
Hardcore Nostalgia at Furnace Fest
MEIEA conference presentation (2024). What is the nature of hardcore, and how does hardcore nostalgia reflect its values and meet its needs? More than merely a marketing ploy, is hardcore nostalgia also an invitation to revisit and romanticize the anxieties of our youth; an attempt at a do-over; or perhaps even an act of emotional and mental self-care? In this presentation, we trace these trends in hardcore and emo to ask: what do we do with nostalgia that asks us to remember when we were young and angry and sad?
Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture reviews God Rock, Inc.
Leah Payne reviewed God Rock, Inc. for the Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture.
Journal of the Society for American Music Reviews God Rock, Inc.
Adam Perez reviewed God Rock, Inc. for the Journal of the Society for American Music.
Sound not found: The disturbance within TikTok
The Arkansas Traveler (2024). From Ariana Grande to Zach Bryan, TikTok has prevented many artists' music from syncing onto the social media platform. Reporter Mark Garcia quotes Andrew Mall’s insights recently published by the Associated Press.
Here’s Why Millions of Your Favourite Tik Tok Videos Have Fallen Silent
The Quicky (podcast, 2024). Mamamia podcast house Claire Murphy speaks with Andrew Mall about the emerging licensing standoff between Universal Music Group and TikTok.
Why Taylor Swift’s Album Announcement During the Grammys Is Unusual
Northeastern Global News Magazine (2024). Swift had been dropping hints about new music leading up to the Feb. 4 ceremony, but using an awards show to announce a new project isn’t an industry standard, said one Northeastern music expert.
CBC Talks with Andrew Mall about Universal Music vs. TikTok
CBC (television broadcast, 2024). On the night of the Grammys, CBC's Deana Sumanac of CBC Newsroom talks with Andrew Mall about Universal Music vs. TikTok.
Songs by Taylor Swift, Drake and More Are Starting to Disappear from TikTok. Here’s Why
Associated Press (2024). TikTok may look (or sound) a little different when you scroll through the app going forward. Earlier this week, Universal Music Group — which represents big-name artists like Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Drake — said that it would no longer allow its music on TikTok following the Wednesday expiration of a licensing deal between the two companies. Avid TikTokers are already seeing the effects. Here’s a rundown of where things stand.
Sound and the Sacred
Music plays important roles in religious contexts: among other things, it connects worshippers to spiritual realms, centers practitioners within continuous traditions, distinguishes between sacred and secular spaces (and places), enables communal cohesion, facilitates transcendent experiences, imbues everyday activities with religious intent, orients believers to ritual practices, and contributes to religious identities, both at the individual and the collective (or congregational) levels.
Journal of World Popular Music Reviews God Rock, Inc.
Daniel Thornton reviewed God Rock, Inc. for the Journal of World Popular Music.
From Kate Bush to Glass Animals, How TikTok and TV Help Give Music a New Life
Northeastern Global News Magazine (2023). Whether it be reviving a decades-old holiday classic or breathing new life into an older release, TikTok, television and movies hold great sway. Where DJs and dance clubs once influenced people’s musical tastes, social media and entertainment are the new tastemakers as they introduce or resurrect music. This leads to songs released years ago hitting charts in a way they didn’t upon release.
How this class is preparing students for the world of music festivals
Northeastern Global News Magazine (2023). Want to try your hand at a designing a music festival or learn about the history of these events? These Northeastern experiential learning courses help create the next generation of festival organizers.
Is Beyoncé’s Renaissance concert film a sign of things to come for movie theaters and the concert experience?
Northeastern Global News (2023). Part concert film and part behind-the-scenes tour documentary, “Renaissance” promises to give fans a glimpse into the famously private superstar’s life during her recent Renaissance tour. It also promises to be a bright spot for movie theaters in the post-Thanksgiving box office doldrums. But could “Renaissance” be something more: a sign of things to come for the movie theater business and the theatrical experience?
Rock That Doesn’t roll, “Bookstore Guys”
Rock That Doesn’t Roll podcast (2023). Who could a 1990s Christian rock aficionado turn to in order to find the latest and greatest releases? For mainstream music fans, tastemakers included record store clerks of 1990s indie music stores, or retail juggernauts like Tower Records and Wherehouse - the kind of superfans depicted by Jack Black in High Fidelity. But for many evangelical teens of the 1990s, record stores were not the place to find kid-tested, parent-approved music. For that, Christian teens usually had to go to Christian bookstores.
Author Meets Critics: Andrew Mall’s God rock, Inc.
AAR (2023) “author meets critics” panel on God Rock, Inc. Panelists will consider how Christian music as a niche business shapes religious communities in the United States (and beyond), as well as how its many genres and subgenres - pop, rock, metal, rap, hip hop, praise and worship, etc. - reflect and shape evangelical Christian politics, practice, and theology.
Religion Journal Reviews God Rock, Inc.
Rosalind I. J. Hackett reviewed God Rock, Inc. for the journal Religion.
Mosh Pit Methods: Team-based Collaborative Fieldwork at a Hardcore Punk Festival
SEM conference presentation (2023). In this paper, we address the complexities of collaborating at these multiple levels: with each other, research assistants, festival organizers and staff, community leaders and members, and festival attendees. In attending to these challenges and opportunities, we open a conversation about the power and potential of team-based, collaborative fieldwork.
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