Month: June 2017

ABRA CADABRA – IMAGE Vicky Grout.

Congratulations on your journey so far- how’s the ride been from Tottenham, North London to national focus?

Thank you! its been a crazy journey so far and it’s all happening so fast… There is a lot more work for me to do though and I’ll keep on pushing and hopefully people continue to like what I do.

2016 saw you break through with numerous big moments from awards and viral singles, what would you say was your first big break?

Man’s first break came with me doing the Black Box Freestyle and then Krept & Konan reaching out and jumping on the remix. Its been mad since then.

Abra Cadabra | BL@CKBOX

You’re a Tottenham lad, what is it about Tottenham that breeds so many great music names?

Tottenham has a lot of talent and us younger people sometimes get forgotten about – Kush and Poppy & Legz, for example. But Tottenham has nurtured and will continue to nurture the best.

Tottenham’s also a hotbed for activism after the infamous riots and social housing communities. London has recently seen attacks and the Grenfell Tower disaster, but music acts far and wide like Akala, Low-key, Lily Allen and more have spoken about rights for working class communities. What do you make of it all? Does society care less about poor people?

Of course I think society cares less about poor people. They don’t give a damn about us.

This past election saw more young people than ever all across the UK become interested in voting and politics, what do you think has happened in recent months to make that happen?

It’s all in the campaign, LOL.

Rap music has always been political with Americas first rappers talking about their social conditions and the system. In 2017 should music stars still speak about politics?

Yeah, but everyone should speak their own opinion.

Why does grime love Jeremy Corbyn?

He rates and respects young people.

ABRA CADABRA – IMAGE Vicky Grout.

MUSIC

Your award winning single Robbery grew in popularity from word of mouth, the grime music scene has shown how they are powerful without a music label, what are your thoughts on signing to a major vs being an independent artist?

I think each situation can work for different artists – If you’re doing your ‘ting proper and independent and making dough you would only sign to a label if they can prove that they can change the whole situation and make you more money than you’re making and I wouldn’t even call my kinda music grime. There’s no one way to define but I’d categorise as my own sound…… differontos.

Abra Cadabra ft. Krept & Konan – Robbery Remix

Your appearance on Belly Squad’s Banana Remix saw you exploring the Afrobeats/rap axis…you clearly love experimenting and are open to new sounds…what other musical journey might we see Abra Cadabra take?

Man does every style, haha. I like melody so I’m always trying to new stuff… I just like experimenting with new sounds. I’ve got some stuff coming soon which will definitely surprise people. My latest sound I got with Danzey, another up and coming rapper from Tottenham. It’s called ‘Stay’ and I released it on my own channel. It briefly touches the Afro swing audience.

You’re cited as being one of the most exciting MC’s in the UK right now…(fusing afrobeats and rap, riding the murky UK version of drill), what way are you and your peers generally pursuing new directions?

We do a lot of collaborations with artists and producers so we are always bring new sounds in and trying new stuff. So man is always into new stuff.

You’re a MOBO best single winner, how important are the MOBO AWARDS to British black acts and what brand points does MOBO give you that no other UK awards do?

When man won the MOBO that was just weird, in a good way, coz I grew up watching it and thought that it was another world. So when I was a winner, it was another madness. The MOBO’s are so important, as they are part of the handful of award shows that has always supported and celebrated black music alongside Posty’s Grm award. Without them we wouldn’t be making the strides we are now. Every artist who does what we do wants to win a MOBO. Manz looking forward to this years MOBOS – it’s gonna be crazy.

The GRM / Rated Awards are also big for the grime generation, how has the GRM brand impacted your music and exposure?

Big up Rated Awards always . That was the first award I ever won. I was so shocked when my name got called out as the winner I jumped on Posty. It feels like so long ago when I made that infamous speech . Winning that award made me feel like I’m definitely on the right path. A lot of people reached out after that win.

USA / UK

Many American artists are taking an interest in the U.K. market, with names like Drake featuring Giggs on his More Life playlist. If you could collaborate with any American name this coming year, who would it be and why?

It would have to be…… it’s a difficult one… let me think about it and get back to you in 2 working days loool

British rappers used to really care about making it in America, do you still?

I think now we just believe in ourselves more now and we know that we are sick at what we do and we don’t need approval anymore. Obviously man wants to have success in America, like every artist does, but one step at a time.

What makes British acts so cool and innovative?

We are just real and don’t change for anyone and I think people respect that.

Whats coming next for Abra Cadabra?

Lots of stuff happening. I’m gonna be dropping more videos over the next few months, you’ll see some more collabs also. I’m gonna continue performing live at all these festivals over the summer. Go subscribe to my YouTube channel if you want to stay updated. But big shout outs to Fais and Wize – two people that play big parts in my career who are the unsung heroes and I’d like to end by sending my condolences to Uncle Ounto who recently lost his brother to knife crime.

Okayyyy, we all know that the world is now digital.
Millennials have taken the digital baton and sprinted ahead with it, doing for themselves today what was once impossible.
Used to be that the establishment and old skool gate-keepers would decide who, what, when and why things would happen.
Nowadays the current generation of young people are building their empires online via their own special style of disruptive marketing.
The internet and digital movements have opened up a world where anyone with a it of tech-savvy know-how can make it and the industry this is most apparent in is music.

Music is the most widely watched content type among 12-15 year olds on YouTube, though YouTubers like Zoella and KSI are becoming the new pop stars for Gen Z

85% of 16-19 year olds say that music is an important part of their life while 74% say that music for
them is about going out and having fun.

Music record labels, PR teams, radio playlists and event management teams have been forced to look at digital platforms and work alongside them instead of competing with them.

Yesterday saw labels association the BPI and entertainment retail body ERA host a joint Insight Session which will see Mark Mulligan of MiDiA Research unveil a report into Generation Z: Meet the Young Millennials, which explores the music consumption habits and social media behaviour of today’s young Millennials.

The report found that teens value video platforms for music discovery and social engagement, but, as they develop as music consumers, look to audio streaming services and are more prepared to pay for music

Also, the report for BPI/ERA explores the music consumption habits and social media behaviour of today’s young Millennials (aged up to 19) and how their engagement across streaming and video platforms and social media and messaging apps, including Instagram, Snapchat and Musical.ly, is shaping longer-term trends.

It finds that YouTube still dominates in the social media space
The research finds that for today’s tweens and teenagers YouTube is a pervasive platform – not only for new music and content and access to influential YouTubers like Zoella, but for social engagement also. YouTube plays a key role as “a video destination, music app, social platform and educational resource rolled into one”.

Similarly, messaging apps have replaced social networks…..
Messaging apps including Snapchat and Instagram are becoming increasingly important, replacing social networks for Generation Z and enabling them to act on their impulse to “live in the moment” and “narrate their lives”. As such they help build engagement around music and artist profiles.

More recent apps like Musical.ly and Dubsmash – video social network apps for video creation and messaging – are also growing in popularity. This is in part due to a rate of app innovation that is accelerating thanks to the “Millennial feedback loop” of older millennials shaping app experiences for the younger Gen Z.

But Spotify dominates music space and drives discovery…
The research additionally shows that, as teenagers develop as music consumers, they are likely to be drawn to audio streaming services such as Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music. For those aged 16-19 Spotify is overtaking YouTube as the main music app, with 53 per cent weekly user penetration compared to 47 per cent for YouTube.

This helps to underline another finding highlighted in the report from previous MiDiA research showing that younger consumers (16-19 years: 67%) are more prepared to pay for music than other age groups (56%).

Streaming is, however, also transforming UK Teens’ relationship with music, with Millennials increasingly accessing individual tracks or playlists rather than engaging with artists or albums See LINK XX to full report and key summary findings below.

Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive BPI & BRIT Awards, said: “If we are going to prepare for the future of music, we need to better understand Generation Z and the influences that shape their engagement with music. These young digital natives are not only important as a key segment of the market, but the way they interact with music helps to unveil trends that will become more widespread among music fans over time.”

Kim Bayley, Chief Executive ERA, said: “It’s not news that entertainment is changing, but none of us should underestimate the achievement of the streaming revolution. Not only has it helped stop piracy in its tracks, it has created the first real growth in the music industry in more than a decade and has done so with an unbeatable consumer proposition: 24/7 access to virtually all the music in the world. In the fast-paced digital world, however, nothing is forever and it is vital to stay close to emerging generations of music fans, many of whom were not even born at the dawn of the MP3 age.”

Generation Z: Meet the Young Millennials – Summary of Key findings:

· 85% of 16-19 year olds say that music is an important part of their life.
· Authenticity, relevance, shareability and context are key to Gen Z.
· YouTube is the most pervasive entertainment platform for Gen Z, peaking at 94% monthly penetration among 16-19 year olds.
· However, for these 16-19 year olds, as interest in music develops, Spotify is overtaking YouTube as the main music app, with 53% weekly user penetration compared to 47% for YouTube.
· Music is the most widely watched content type among 12-15 year olds on YouTube, with YouTubers such as Zoella (11.8m subscribers) and KSI (16.1m) becoming the new pop stars for Gen Z.
· UK teens (16-19 years) are more willing to pay for music. 67% consider it to be worth paying for regularly compared to 56% of overall consumers.
· A third of 8-11 year olds in the UK use Snapchat, rising to 67% for 16-19 year olds, while 63% of 16-19 year olds use Instagram.
· Messaging apps like Snapchat and Instagram are replacing social networks for Gen Z.
· Among 16-19 year olds YouTube and social media unsurprisingly dominate, with much higher penetration rates than the overall population.
· Streaming is transforming Gen Z’s relationship with music: 74% of all 16-19 year olds say they are mainly listening to single tracks and playlists instead of albums.
· 71% of 16-19 year olds listen to music radio on an at least monthly basis, just 3 percentage points above the all-ages average.

Table 1: Weekly use of music apps by UK teens (compared to all users average), December 2016

Table 2: Snapshot of Gen Z social media useage