Andrew Mall 2/4/24 Andrew Mall 2/4/24

CBC talks with Andrew Mall about Universal Music vs. TikTok

CBC (television broadcast, 2024). On the night of the Grammys, CBC's Deana Sumanac of CBC Newsroom talks with Andrew Mall about Universal Music vs. TikTok.

Andrew Mall 2/1/24 Andrew Mall 2/1/24

Songs by Taylor Swift, Drake and more are starting to disappear from TikTok. Here’s why

Associated Press (2024). TikTok may look (or sound) a little different when you scroll through the app going forward. Earlier this week, Universal Music Group — which represents big-name artists like Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Drake — said that it would no longer allow its music on TikTok following the Wednesday expiration of a licensing deal between the two companies. Avid TikTokers are already seeing the effects. Here’s a rundown of where things stand.

Andrew Mall 12/11/23 Andrew Mall 12/11/23

From Kate Bush to Glass Animals, how TikTok and TV help give music a new life

Northeastern Global News Magazine (2023). Whether it be reviving a decades-old holiday classic or breathing new life into an older release, TikTok, television and movies hold great sway. Where DJs and dance clubs once influenced people’s musical tastes, social media and entertainment are the new tastemakers as they introduce or resurrect music. This leads to songs released years ago hitting charts in a way they didn’t upon release.

Andrew Mall 12/5/23 Andrew Mall 12/5/23

How this class is preparing students for the world of music festivals

Northeastern Global News Magazine (2023). Want to try your hand at a designing a music festival or learn about the history of these events? These Northeastern experiential learning courses help create the next generation of festival organizers.

Andrew Mall 12/1/23 Andrew Mall 12/1/23

Is Beyoncé’s Renaissance concert film a sign of things to come for movie theaters and the concert experience?

Northeastern Global News (2023). Part concert film and part behind-the-scenes tour documentary, “Renaissance” promises to give fans a glimpse into the famously private superstar’s life during her recent Renaissance tour. It also promises to be a bright spot for movie theaters in the post-Thanksgiving box office doldrums. But could “Renaissance” be something more: a sign of things to come for the movie theater business and the theatrical experience?

Andrew Mall 11/16/23 Andrew Mall 11/16/23

Rock That Doesn’t roll, “Bookstore Guys”

Rock That Doesn’t Roll podcast (2023). Who could a 1990s Christian rock aficionado turn to in order to find the latest and greatest releases? For mainstream music fans, tastemakers included record store clerks of 1990s indie music stores, or retail juggernauts like Tower Records and Wherehouse - the kind of superfans depicted by Jack Black in High Fidelity. But for many evangelical teens of the 1990s, record stores were not the place to find kid-tested, parent-approved music. For that, Christian teens usually had to go to Christian bookstores.

Andrew Mall 10/12/23 Andrew Mall 10/12/23

Taylor-made: A Swiftie’s guide to the best ‘Eras’ movie experience

The Washington Post (2023). Deciding which movie theater to watch the upcoming “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” in might be as difficult as choosing which Swift era you want to represent. The concert film, which will start showing Thursday night, will bring Swifties, concert fans and the general public right into the middle of a Swift concert. And 3,850 theaters across North America are planning to show the film in myriad formats, giving Swifties an array of choices for how they want to experience the concert film.

Andrew Mall 10/4/23 Andrew Mall 10/4/23

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie is a lesson for other artists and the music industry

Northeastern Global News (2023). Taylor Swift will soon extend her pop culture dominating reach to the big screen, with the release of a concert film of her record-shattering Eras tour set to hit theaters on Oct. 13. It is Taylor Swift’s world –– we’re all just living in it.

Andrew Mall 8/9/23 Andrew Mall 8/9/23

The Voice at 60: On Whitney Houston’s immortal instrument

Entertainment Weekly (2023). Houston would have been 60 years old today, Aug. 9. Of course, she's no longer with us and while I, and many others, feel her absence everyday, her voice — that magnificent voice — still elicits joy.

Andrew Mall 4/21/23 Andrew Mall 4/21/23

Is K-Pop Finally Mainstream?

Nylon (2023). Look at the biggest songs in the U.S. right now and you'll find a bit of everything: Miley Cyrus’s anthemic pop comeback; SZA’s revenge ruminations; Selena Gomez’s cross-cultural collab with Nigerian singer Rema; and controversial country star Morgan Wallen’s unvanquishable return. At the forefront of the list sits Park Jimin’s “Like Crazy,” the glittery solo debut from BTS’s graceful tenor.

Andrew Mall 4/19/23 Andrew Mall 4/19/23

Our Worship Is Turning Praise into Secular Profit

Christianity Today (2023). Author Kelsey Kramer McGinnis quotes from God Rock, Inc. in her article on the the corporate consolidation of worship music.

Andrew Mall 12/23/22 Andrew Mall 12/23/22

Why the Most Riveting Scene in Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody Is a Medley from 1994

TIME (2022). Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, the new biopic from filmmaker Kasi Lemmons, is filled with recreations of the singer’s iconic performances—like her 1991 rendition of the national anthem at the Super Bowl. But the film closes with a scene that pays tribute to one of Houston’s lesser-known appearances: a 1994 performance at the American Music Awards that showcased not only her phenomenal talent, but her range, versatility, and stamina as a live artist.

Andrew Mall 10/18/22 Andrew Mall 10/18/22

How Do You Get to the Dove Awards?

Christianity Today (2022). Author Kelsey Kramer McGinnis quotes from God Rock, Inc. in her article on the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards (the Christian music industry’s answer to the Grammy Awards).

Andrew Mall 10/9/22 Andrew Mall 10/9/22

Is the Future of Christian Music on TikTok?

Christianity Today (2022). Author Rachel Seo quotes from God Rock, Inc. in her article on TikTok and Christian recording artist Montell Fish.

Andrew Mall 10/4/21 Andrew Mall 10/4/21

‘The Jesus Music’ Is a Love Letter to Fans

Christianity Today (2021). Author Kelsey Kramer McGinnis quotes from God Rock, Inc. in her review of the just release feature-length documentary about CCM, The Jesus Music.

Andrew Mall 3/16/21 Andrew Mall 3/16/21

“God Is My Girlfriend”: Christian Rock and Niche Genres with Andrew Mall

Money 4 Nothing podcast (2021). Christian music and especially Christian rock is a world of its own, a self-contained universe that mirrors the trends and styles of the mainstream. But how does it work? And what can it tell us about the interactions between audiences and industries that structure popular music? We talk to Andrew Mall, the author of God Rock, Inc.: The Business of Niche Music, to explore everything from the Jesus People to Christian metalcore, while discussing how the complex relationship between sacred and secular pop can help us understand the ethics, aesthetics, and boundaries that define musical genre.

Andrew Mall 2/3/21 Andrew Mall 2/3/21

Professor Andrew Mall’s Recent Work in Popular Music Studies

Northeastern’s College of Arts, Media + Design (2021). Recently, Prof. Mall’s work engaging other scholars in popular music studies in an open conversation to address several challenges that they have encountered in their teaching, researching, and writing has resulted in three separate but related initiatives, including a symposium, a co-authored report in the Journal of Popular Music Studies, and a co-edited forum in the journal Twentieth-Century Music.

Andrew Mall 10/16/20 Andrew Mall 10/16/20

Catching Up with CAMD’s Andrew Mall: Creativity During the Pandemic, the Importance of Being Nimble, and What He’s Working on Next

Northeastern’s College of Arts, Media + Design (2020). We recently caught up with Professor Mall to talk about how the creative industries have shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic, how Northeastern teaches students to embrace the flexibility that is necessary to thrive in these changing conditions, and what he is currently working on. Read more below.

Andrew Mall 2/14/20 Andrew Mall 2/14/20

Going Viral Helped Catapult Roddy Ricch and 'The Box' to No. 1 — But There's More to the Story

TIME (2020). It’s barely two months into 2020, but it’s already been a big year for rapper Roddy Ricch. The 21-year-old Compton artist has claimed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top 100 for the past five weeks with his viral earworm of a rap song, “The Box,” from his debut album Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial, which is the longest-running No. 1 debut rap album to be on the Billboard 200 in nearly two decades since 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in 2003.

Andrew Mall 11/19/19 Andrew Mall 11/19/19

'A Low-Key Bop.' How Dancing to the Home Depot Theme Song Became the Internet's Unlikely Obsession

TIME (2019). An unlikely yet catchy melody took the Internet by storm in recent weeks, bolstered by the looping, highly meme-able nature of TikTok, the social media platform that brokers in 15 second clips. The song? The humble Home Depot theme song, which, up until now was only prominently featured in commercials for home improvement, like installing tile or building a patio.