A BLOG OF SORTS FROM CHRIS COOKE
December 2024 Updates
Best YouTube vids #05
YouTube favourites of the year – number five. A bunch of super-talented musical YouTubers make videos like this, but Frank Tedesco is among the most prolific I think. Glad the artform survived the death of Omegle! Here’s one of Frank’s videos from this year.
Best YouTube vids #04
My five favourite YouTube videos of the year – number four. The historian Richard Carrier doesn’t have a YouTube channel, but regularly pops up on other people’s channels, usually discussing the history of science or religion. Though I thought the most interesting Carrier conversation this year occurred when he guested on a Bitcoin podcast, of all things, talking philosophy, democracy and politics from the ancient world through to today. Here it is.
Best YouTube vids #03
My five favourite YouTube videos of the year – number three. As you know, I have just below zero interest in sport. But, it turns out, the business of sport is quite interesting. Yes, even the business of cricket! This video was actually posted in late 2023, but I started following Search Party in the spring and went back through the archive.
Best YouTube vids #02
I’m currently posting about my five favourite YouTube videos of the year. Number two, the mighty Map Men. Jay Foreman’s not exactly the most prolific YouTube creator, but every video he creates is magnificent. Plus he’s the only YouTuber I know who makes you look forward to yet another VPN promo. In August the Map Men put the spotlight on good old gerrymandering
Best YouTube vids #01
As most of the media I consume these days is on YouTube, I thought I’d post about five of my favourite YouTube videos of the year, in no particular order. Here’s number one. If I’ve ever shared a half remembered fact I learned on YouTube with you, it was probably from one of JJ McCullough’s videos. I really enjoy his ‘cultural canon’ series, though my personal pick for best JJ video of the year is this one: “No, ‘many conspiracy theories’ did NOT ‘turn out to be true'”.
Air memories
The soundtrack to the ‘Gone Fishing’ Christmas special in France – with its two Air tracks – reminded me of that period, around about 2002, when I was usually first to arrive at the office where I was based and I’d always put ‘Moon Safari’ on the office HiFi first thing. The CD skipped back a bit in the middle of the final track, meaning if no one noticed and changed the disc, it could still be playing at the end of the day. Great album. And a pretty decent ‘Gone Fishing’ soundtrack.
Christmas bells
Bells have been rung, so it’s officially Christmas. First time bell ringing in a year. Quick review of my personal performance: Bob Doubles – pretty good; call changes – decent; ringing down – middling; ringing up – bit of a disaster. tw rating 3/5.
Christmas Eve pancakes
We have a weird family tradition where we always have pancakes on Christmas Eve. No one can remember why, but tradition is tradition (with thanks to my sister and her trusty frying pan). So, Happy Christmas Eve everybody, enjoy the pancakes.
Pathways Belfast
It was great to launch our Pathways Into Music professional development weekend for music educators in 2024 – and we have two more editions planned for early 2025, with the first in Belfast at the end of January. If you are involved in music education and talent development in Northern Ireland, you can still apply for a place through to 10 Jan – info here.
Christmas reading
I finally started sorting out my storage unit this week and found this book from 1995 in one of the boxes. I must admit, I don’t think I ever read it. But maybe this Christmas I’ll find the time to check out a few chapters and properly get to grips with WS_FTP and Fetch.
Leyton to HC
Leyton Station to Holmes Chapel Station in three hours is pretty decent I reckon, especially as that included time to pick up some porridge from Pret at Euston. All enabled by Northern Rail diligently ensuring that the local train to Holmes Chapel was the same six minutes behind schedule as the Avanti train from Euston to Crewe, allowing me to successfully make my six minute connection.
Christmas in London
Caro has done her annual round up of all the TW recommended shows happening in London over the Christmas break and into the new year. You can read it here.
Checking the river
I somehow managed to arrive for a meeting fifteen minutes early today, so – as I don’t go into Central London as much these days – I thought I’d check the river was still there. It was: boat, bridge and everything.
UMG’s Downtown deal (again)
UMG’s Downtown deal
Presumably if you run an independent music distributor these days, and you’re told Universal Music is on the phone, you don’t know if you’re getting a mega-bucks acquisition or a mega-bucks lawsuit. For Downtown/FUGA, it was an acquisition. Another big news story from yesterday’s CMU Daily.
TikTok ban latest
I was asked at the Runda Digital Day last week if I thought the US TikTok ban will actually go into effect next month. Until recently, I thought it would at least get delayed, but now I’m not so sure. I guess it depends on what happens when TikTok plays its Trump card. Here’s my CMU story on the latest developments.
ThisWeek Culture
Over on our ThisWeek Culture website, we publish London show recommendations, interviews with our favourite performers and creators, and new TW Backstage resources, every Monday – all of which appear in the free TW Weekly bulletin. Plus later this week there’ll be a bonus bulletin covering culture in London over the Christmas break. Sign up to the bulletin here.
Croatian telly
Here’s me on Croatian TV as part of a feature about this week’s Runda Digital Day event in Zagreb. Can’t remember what I said, but it sounds good when translated into Croatian! Here’s the full feature.
Pathways planning
On my way back to London after a quick trip to Brighton to do some Pathways Into Music planning with Phil. Don’t forget, if you’re in Northern Ireland, our next ‘Understanding The Pathways Into Music’ weekend for music educators is in Belfast on 25 and 26 Jan – info here.
Facebook memories
Given Zagreb was my final trip of the year, I’m not sure why Facebook thought I’d like to be reminded that this was my view five years ago today. Still, who wants to look at sunset over the Gulf Of Thailand when you can have gloomy skies over Leyton?
Final Confetti day
It’s my final day at Confetti in Whitechapel where I’ve delivered six sessions on recorded music for the MA students, covering rights + revenues, partners + deals, streaming models + debates, distribution + metadata, release campaigns + fan data, and neighbouring rights + sync. Somehow only found the cafe across the road selling very fine soups earlier today!
Runda thanks
Back in London after a great day in Zagreb talking TikTok tensions (presentation) and streaming trends (panel). Thanks to Runda for inviting me, to Kees for moderating the panel, and to my brilliant fellow panellists.
Balcony news
This is the biggest hotel room balcony I’ve had in quite a while. A December day in Zagreb with an average temperature of 3° isn’t really the best time to be enjoying it, but I did do five minutes of proofreading out here in the cold, you know, just to get some benefit from it.
I’m in Zagreb
No more B cities, instead I’ve gone to the other end of the alphabet. Last time I was in Zagreb pandemic rules were still in force – so, when I opened up the Uber app on arrival today, the suggested destination was the hospital where, in 2021, I got the COVID test I needed to return to the UK. Hopefully no hospital visits required this time!
Spotify Wrapped
I know Spotify Wrapped gets more tedious every year, but I also think it’s noteworthy that my most listened to track this year wasn’t by Chilly Gonzales. I did listen to quite a lot of UTO after seeing them play MENT in February. But don’t worry, Gonzo is still my most listened to artist overall.
CMM Xmas Party
One of my music industry roles is as an advisor to the Council Of Music Makers, which brings together the MU, FAC, MPG, Ivors and MMF. CMM mainly works behind the scenes, but pops up each December for the CMM Christmas Party, which took place this Wednesday and was a very fine evening indeed, with lots of catching up with great people. Thanks to Mike Banks for this photo of Naomi Pohl from the MU welcoming everyone.
Consumption Trends
We published our latest IMPALA One Step Ahead report earlier this week, reviewing key developments and trends in streaming over the last year. The accompanying webinar is later today. If you’re at an indie label in Europe, check with your national trade association for more details.
Next week Zagreb
Next Tuesday I’ll be in Zagreb for the latest Runda Digital Day, delivering a presentation called ‘Friend Or Foe? Social Networks vs Streaming Platforms’ and joining a discussion on adapting to changes and challenges in digital music distribution. Hope to see some of you there!
Unhelpful signs
I think the machines were as confused as the humans yesterday about GWR’s constantly changing ‘your guess is as good as mine’ Sunday schedule. When the London train finally arrived, the destination screens on the carriages said ‘Cardiff’, making this, somewhat surprisingly, only the second least helpful destination screen at Bristol Temple Meads station this weekend. Still, I made it home, that’s all that matters I guess.
Room with a view
When I got to my hotel in Bristol they offered me the choice of “a room on the quiet side” or “a room with a view”. I always take a room with a view when offered and I have to say, as views of multi-storey car parks go, it was pretty damn good.