Sean Oshima jumps above his brother Jamie. Photo by Robyn Nicole Film and Photo
With daylight savings in full effect, allow me to brighten things up a bit by shining a spotlight on a couple of notable things in the world of Maine music.
First is a streaming milestone for acoustic folk-pop sibling duo Sean and Jamie Oshima, who have been playing music together since childhood and as Oshima Brothers since 2015. They released their debut album the following year, and their most recent release is the five-song EP “Under The Same Stars.” The songs are vibrant, tender and vocally prodigious, especially when the brothers harmonize. The Oshimas have also logged countless miles out on the road and are currently on a tour that will take them through several New England states, as well as New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.
The opening track on “Under The Same Stars” is the song “These Cold Nights,” and a few days ago, it reached a million streams on Spotify. The song likely got a boost by being featured on the Spotify-created playlist “Wild + Free” with songs from artists including Brandi Carlile, The Lumineers, The Head and the Heart and Maggie Rogers. Sean Oshima told me that he and his brother are quite psyched about this. “It’s so crazy to be a musician at a time when digital streaming matters but every listen counts and we’re so excited for these streams to keep growing and become rivers.” He added that he and his brother are very humbled and are grateful to everyone in Maine and around the world who have listened to their songs.
So how much money does an artist get for a million streams? Simply put: It’s complicated. There’s a video on the Spotify website that explains how the platform pays musicians and how the checks to artists get calculated. It depends on the type of agreement you have with Spotify, whether you’re the writer of the song and if you’re signed to a label or are an independent artist (like Oshima Brothers). But the video doesn’t actually tell you what the artist makes per stream. A recent story from Digital Music News reported that the per-stream payout is $0.00397, which would translate to about $4,000 for a million streams. Oshima Brothers won’t know for a few weeks what they’ll actually get and said that they try not to focus too much on that aspect of it. Instead, they are focused on making new music. Their latest tune, called “Lost at Sea,” with an accompanying video drops on Nov. 22.
Congrats to Oshima Brothers for reaching that million stream mark, joining Maine artists Spose and The Ghost of Paul Revere, both of which have songs with more than a million streams. The Mallett Brothers Band is closing in on half a million streams for “Walk Down the River,” and Paranoid Social Club’s “Wasted” is just below 400,000.
Because streaming is likely here to stay and artists, especially local ones, make significantly less money as a result of it, let me nudge you with a friendly reminder that the best way to support the bands you love is to go to their shows, buy their CDs, vinyl and other merchandise and do everything you can to turn other people onto them.
My other piece of positive Maine music news takes us to Biddeford, which is in the midst of trying to achieve something extraordinary and all of us can help. Heart of Biddeford, in partnership with the city, the business community, property owners and residents, are all about fostering economic development and improving the downtown and quality of life within its boundaries, primarily by putting on fantastic events.
At this very moment, they’re in the running to bring a 10-week free, live music series to the city next summer by way of a $25,000 Leavitt Foundation AMP (Amplify, Music, Place) grant. If they win one of the 15 grants being awarded, the shows will happen in Mechanics Park. The first step is for Heart of Biddeford to become of the 25 finalists from around the country. That’s where we come in. Online voting started Friday and runs through 2 p.m. Nov. 20. To cast your vote, go to grant.levittamp.org/voter-registration-page. The 25 proposals (out of 33 total) that receive the most votes will be reviewed by the Leavitt Foundation, which will select the 15 winners, to be announced on Dec. 20.
Heart of Biddeford Executive Director Delilah Poupore said in a press release that the grant would help enhance the quality and diversity of its Music in the Park series and annual River Jam festival, both of which would become part of the LevittAMP series proposed. Poupore also said in an email that, in hiring bands, Heart of Biddeford would try to select acts that reflect the diversity of Maine’s historical and modern heritage and styles, in recognition of the state’s bicentennial next year. Hey there, Delilah, I’ve got a few good suggestions when the time comes!
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