JOURNAL CLICKS
ON STREAMING'S
NEW HITMAKERS

The Wall Street Journal has anointed a collection of music geeks working for streaming services as the new gatekeepers with the power to control who has a hit record.

The Journal declares that the clout playlist creators yield is unlike any other in recorded music’s history. For example, their experts say Top 40 programmers are turning to see who is succeeding at Spotify and Apple Music to determine what records make it on air.

They quote music-industry lawyer David Jacobs saying “We’re consolidating 60 years of regional tastemakers, spread around dozens of markets around the country and the world, into one system. Basically, three or four people.”

Those people, per the Journal, are Tuma Basa, global head of hip-hop at Spotify who curates RapCaviar; Spotify’s Mike Biggane (pop) and Allison Hagendorf (rock); Apple Music’s Carl Chery; and Amazon Music’s Alex Luke.

They all discuss the lack of a need for crossover, the use of metrics, and the promotional machinery of major labels. Nothing resembling “payola” is occurring, the services want everyone to know.

After seeing the article, the GOP tax plan creators made their own playlist: “Money”; “It’s Money That I Love”; “Can’t Buy Me Love (Actually It Can Remix)”; “Mo Money, Fewer Problems”; “Money on My Mind”; “Mony Mony”; “Must Be the Money” and “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That).”