100,000 Songs Per Day?

Spotify recently reported that, on average, 100,000 songs are uploaded daily. In other news, Apple Music says that over 100 Million songs are now available on their service. No need to do the math - that is far more than any human can ever listen to in a lifetime.

On glamglare, we post seven new songs per week, and I would estimate that we  evaluate 800 songs per week. So what are the other 699,200 new songs on Spotify? Admittedly, even at a music blogger’s level of engagement in the music scene, we only know a fraction of the music being made. Additionally, our geographical scope is mainly limited to Europe and North America. But even if you triple or ten-fold the number of songs on our radar, it would be nowhere near the 100,000 songs per day.

What do we do with this information anyway? For prominent label executives, the situation is clear: this whole self-releasing thing is a fluke, and labels are needed more than ever. “The complexity of being able to separate one’s music from the other 99,999 tracks uploaded that day is incredibly complex [and] incredibly difficult,” says Steve Cooper, the outgoing CEO of Warner Music Group.

Well, we knew that before that headline-provoking number. Nobody expects to drop a song on Spotify, Apple Music, and Co, and listeners would just find it. People don’t browse through 100,000, 1000, or even 10 new songs daily to find something they like. Instead, they expect new music to come to them through their communication channels. And since labels no longer control these channels as they did with radio, their power is limited these days.

But even if only a handful of people listen to your music on the DSPs, it is better than an unheard demo tape that lands in a label’s trash can. Becoming a global superstar has always been incredibly hard. Making music that touches and connects with others is more attainable. And that is where good art starts anyway.

Song Pick of the Day

Listen to all our daily song picks on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.

Winter – sunday

LA-based singer/songwriter Samira Winter aka Winter, releases her fourth album “What Kind of Blue Are You?” this Friday via Bar/None. The latest single, “sunday,” is a dreamy, almost gentle take on the negative influences of social media, something she says is “always on my mind and generates a lot of fear and anxiety for me.”

Listen to “sunday,” our Song Pick of the Day, on your favorite streaming service or watch the video directed by Samira together with Lorena Alvarado below:

Shirley Hurt – Problem Child

While only in a tiny supporting role, a music video with the cameo of a downy woodpecker (2:48) is already a winner. Shirley Hurt‘s new song and video, “Problem Child,” mainly portrays the artist and another woman, who might or might not be her mother or grandmother. Regardless of their relationship, both women seem to have a lovely time together. They are about to create a peach pie that looks as delicious as it tells its own story like good things take time and don’t come without putting a little effort into it. Shirley Hurt is the moniker of Toronto-based musician Sophie Katz who announces her self-titled debut album Shirley Hurt with “Problem Child.” The album will be out on December 2, 2022, via Telephone Explosion Records. It showcases Katz’ different styles and influences and promises to be excellent.

Listen to “Problem Child,” our Song Pick of the Day, and enjoy watching the video directed and edited by Eli Spiegel:

Connect with Shirley Hurt here.

O. Wake – Odysseus

“You had to be eighteen to enter, but I pressed the button anyway.” Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter O. Wake opens his new song, and you know which internet rabbit hole he is going down. But pleasure and pain are often close together, so his odyssey leaves him with more desires than it satisfies,

Listen to “Odysseus,” our Song Pick of the Day, below:

The Horn – Do It Now

London’s five-piece The Horn released today the last single and title track of their EP Do It Now. The upbeat “Do It Now” is the most energetic song of the album and a glorious piece of eclectic indie-rock. I’m always drawn to motivational anthems especially when they come with a fun and inspired band video like it is the case here.

Nick True (Friends of Gavin) founded The Horn and can look back at touring with REM or headlining The Smiths’ first London show. With The Horn, Nick is able to relive his 20s alongside four fantastic musicians: multi-instrumentalist Danny Monk, keyboardist Ed Cox, drummer Alex Moorse, and singer/guitarist Jonny Taylor.

“Do It Now” was initially written by Nick True on an acoustic guitar alone in his living room, musing about his attitude to living life to the fullest. It struck him that we often lose focus of what’s important particularly since we have only one shot at life. Isn’t that one of the biggest truths?! When Nick brought the song to the studio, they worked together as a band on it, and Johnny Taylor adds his own perspective when he says:

Without you always wanting it to, this song gets under the skin like a knife and stays with you for days. But really I think it expresses the frustration, which is perhaps that of not being allowed to do something, waiting in line, or just the sheer impatience of what it is to be a human being on this planet.

Listen to “Do It Now,” our Song Pick of the Day, and watch the compelling video that always puts a smile on my face:

Connect with The Horn here.

JFDR – The Orchid

There is always an element of otherworldly beauty in everything Jófríður Ákadóttir aka JFDR does. With her new song, “The Orchid,” the Icelandic musician goes to the core of her art and devotes the song to a flower close to her heart. She says:

“​​I call all my songs orchids. I am obsessed with the flower. It’s a very cunning flower, its beauty has led it to become the most popular plant or flower in the world. It symbolizes (among other things) fertility, and I was thinking a lot about rebirth and a new beginning. Fertility, creativity, beauty and mystery are all embodied by the orchid.”

Musically, “The Orchid” shows her ethereal, electronic side, making her a good match for her new label Houndstooth. Watch the magical video directed by Joseph Burgess:

Pastis – Waiting on My Girl

“Waiting on My Girl” is an instantly catchy tune that brims with longing and wistfulness. It is the new song by Finnish five-piece Pastis and marks the third single from their upcoming album produced by Lauri Eloranta. Studying the song’s lyrics, I am not sure if the singer really is waiting on someone (doing a service) or is hanging out somewhere, waiting for his girl to show up. In the end, it also doesn’t really matter because the track is beautifully hazy and floats by like a wonderful dream you wish would never end. Asked about “Waiting on My Girl” the band says:

It’s a slow-motion car crash, a musical photograph of a sandstorm in a water glass.

Listen to “Waiting on My Girl,” our Song Pick of the Day:

Connect with here.

Black Belt Eagle Scout - Don’t Give Up

“Don’t Give Up” is a simple but beautiful encouragement for all those who struggle to keep their mental health. For Katherine Paul, aka Black Belt Eagle Scout, this means connecting with things bigger than the daily mess: to “the land, the water, the sky” of her home, but also to those who came before us and in the end prevailed.

Katherine says about the song:

“Spending time with the land and on the water are ways that strengthen my connection to my ancestors and to my culture. It helps heal my spirit and is the form of self-care that helps me the most. The lyrics ‘I don’t give up’ mean staying alive. I wrote this song for me but also for my community and anyone who deals with challenging mental health issues to remind us just how much of a role our connection to the environment plays within our healing process. At the end of the song when I sing ‘the land, the water, the sky,’ I wanted to sing it like my late grandfather Alexander Paul Sr. sang in our family’s big drum group – from the heart.”

Listen to our Song Pick of the Day, “Don’t Give Up,” on your favorite streaming service or below on YouTube:

On Our Turntable

• The Horn - Do It Now
• Eliza Edens - We’ll Become the Flowers
• GIFT - Momentary Presence
• PVA - Blush
• It Was All A Dream - Never Forget You Are Free
• The Stargazer Lilies - Cosmic Tidal Wave
• Winter - What Kind of Blue Are You?

Albums That Stick: Fever Ray - Fever Ray

Seven, the fourth track of Fever Ray’s self-titled debut in 2009, is one of my all times favorite songs. I heard it first on the NPR All Songs Considered podcast and since then countless more times.  Then there is also that spectacular, mysterious video for When I Grow Up that Elke and I probably watch a hundred times.

But the album goes much weirder than that: Karin Dreijer, the artist behind Fever Ray, experiments with electronically pitched vocals in a way that was mostly unheard back then. As a result, the album is not an easy listen but very much worth your time. Listen here.