✨ IC Community Weekly #53
ft. Chastity Belt returning with their first full-length in five years, a job at A2IM, a new VIAL record, a Jessica Pratt single and tour, a Joanna Newsom anniversary, IC updates, and more!
Hey and welcome to the latest edition of the IC Community (Champion) Weekly!
In a week where friend of IC and longtime inspiration Damon Krukowski wrote about paltry streaming rates and the The Living Wage for Musicians Act, the IC community released the usual plethora of great music and announced new signings, tours, and more.
Keep scrolling for that, but first, the news from IC HQ…
There are just a few days left to vote for us as your Independent Champion at the A2IM Libera Awards - if you’re a member it would mean the world if you would consider voting for us before next Wednesday, April 3rd!!
It’s the final week of our Q1 special sale! If you’ve been tempted to join our long list of happy customers and want to save some cash, sign up before Sunday for 30% off your first 3 months.
It’s “crunchtime”, aka the time at the end of March (and September) when our system experiences its highest traffic and load times by a healthy margin. We’re doing everything we can to keep things humming, and sincerely appreciate your patience - new under-the-hood improvements are being rolled out as we speak.
Speaking of tons of new statements going out, we’ve updated the Payee FAQ section of the Knowledge Base, where payees can find answers to questions about, say, the Payee Dashboard:
We created a new importer + documentation for US indie distributor and legendary label Light In The Attic Distribution.
…and the community:
Big props once again to the A2IM Libera Awards nominees in our midst, namely Merge Records, Mexican Summer, Innovative Leisure, Captured Tracks, Topshelf Records, Bayonet Recordings, Kill Rock Stars, Single Lock Records, Secretly Distribution and Polyinyl. More info on what they’re nominated for and how to vote for them before next Wednesday’s deadline here.
Fire Talk have another Scratch and Dent sale featuring steep discounts on records that have incurred small dings, creases and scratches on the jacket and/or packaging but the record itself is still sealed and has never been played.
A2IM has partnered with NYC Pride Month 2024 and applications for talent are now open here.
👋 If you’re an IC catalog and you’ve got news, releases, or other fun stuff you want us to include, just reply and let us know - this goes out to 2500+ inboxes every week!
JOBS IN THE COMMUNITY
🧑💻 A2IM are looking for a Head of Business Development to attract new partners, create and activate new programing and deliver mutual value for A2IM, its members and sponsors. The new hire will be based in NYC, work full time on a hybrid basis, and report to the General Manager. Apply here.
NEW RELEASES
ALBUMS
🎧 Suicide Squeeze are releasing Live Laugh Love tomorrow, the latest album from legends of the Seattle scene Chastity Belt. It’s their first new record in five years and sees the band, known for their scrappy, clever noise pop packed with homages to the Pacific Northwest, mixing sincerity and a touch of sarcasm to craft songs that balance “…the pain of existence with lighthearted humor”. It’s already earning big plaudits too, with Stereogum naming it their album of the week.
🎧 Get Better released the new album from powerhouse indie punk trio VIAL today. It’s called Burnout and is the Minnesota band’s third full length.
🎧 Get Better released Demarcation the latest EP by She-Nut AKA Juicebox P. Burton, a Black, trans-fem multi-disciplinary artist living in New Orleans whose music frames “…narratives of trauma in the context of horror and sci-fi in order to heal the collective spirit of the Black community.”
🎧 Pack Records released Mundane Pleasure, the new EP by Waukegan-raised, Chicago-based musician Jackie Hayes today, which expands on her signature indie rock sound with propulsive melodies and angsty lyrics.
SINGLES
🎧 Mexican Summer (with City Slang) released a new Jessica Pratt single this week called World on a String, the latest from her upcoming album Here in the Pitch, out May 3rd. It also comes with a lovely video by Kate Bollinger, which you can watch here.
PRE-ORDERS
🎧 Kill Rock Stars announced the return of Logan Lynn with new album SOFTCORE, which comes out June 7th and is available for pre-order now! They also revealed the lead single/ video To Be Of Use to concede with the announcement.
🎧 Earth Libraries revealed their special Record Store Day release of the mesmerizing soundtrack for the documentary Butterfly in the Sky, which tells the story of the beloved PBS series Reading Rainbow.
Brought to life by the innovative sounds of The Octopus Project, “…every track is a musical journey that intertwines the spirit of knowledge-seeking with whimsical undertones.” As an additional treat, The Flaming Lips also lend their iconic sound to a reimagining of the cherished Reading Rainbow theme song.
Get your hands on the beautifully crafted vinyl release by checking out the Record Store Day map here.
VIDEOS
🖥️ Kill Rock Stars released a live performance video for the Brennan Wedl track Fake Cowboy, which Stereogum described as a a song that “starts out like a sparse ’90s alt-rock ballad (and) ends in a grunge inferno, lacing in latent bits of country influence in a way that feels completely natural and unforced.”
INTERVIEWS
🎙️ Last week’s cover star Rosali (Merge Records) spoke to Bandcamp about her musical career, her collaborators and bandmates and upping sticks for Omaha, Nebraska to make music.
FROM THE ARCHIVE
🖥️ Where I choose a video I love from YouTube’s treasure trove of music videos, live performances and curiosities.
This week marks 20 years since the release of the Joanna Newsom (Drag City) masterpiece The Milk-Eyed Mender, so in honour of that here’s a sublime performance from 2007 of Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie on Later... with Jools Holland.
SHOWS, TOURS + EVENTS
🚌 Bridget Kearney (Keeled Scales) hits the road next month for some Comeback Kid album release shows! | TICKETS
🚌 PACKS (Fire Talk) added new shows to their Spring / Summer tour of Europe inc. playing The Great Escape | TICKETS
🚌 Jessica Pratt (Mexican Summer & City Slang) is touring the US & Europe this summer | TICKETS
📆 UPCOMING INDUSTRY EVENTS
+ check out the 🎟 Events Directory for more conferences, festivals, record fairs, webinars, etc!
Mar 28th - Apr 13th ‣ Savannah Music Festival (Savannah, GA, USA)
Apr 1st ‣ iHeartRadio Music Awards (LA, CA, US)
Apr 2nd - 6th ‣ Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival (Nashville, TN, US)
Apr 9th - 11th ‣ Scenario 2024 (LA, CA, US)
Apr 10th - 13th ‣ Westway Lab Conference (Guimarães, Portugal)
Apr 12th - 14th ‣ Coachella Weekend One (Indio, CA, US)
Apr 15th - 19th ‣ TED 2024 (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Apr 19th - 21st ‣ Coachella Weekend Two (Indio, CA, US)
Apr 20th ‣ Record Store Day (Worldwide)
Apr 25th - 28th ‣ Launch Music Conference & Festival (Lancaster, PA, US)
Apr 26th - 28th ‣ Stagecoach Festival (Indio, CA, US)
Apr 26th - May 5th ‣ New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest (New Orleans, LA, US)
May 2nd ‣ Music Week Awards (London, UK)
That’s all for this one! Stay safe and we’ll catch you again next week for more of the same.
- Adam & the Infinite Catalog crew