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Bandcamp Acquired by Epic Games

Bandcamp has been acquired by Epic Games, the video game and software developer behind FortniteGears of War, and other titles. The digital retail site and editorial platform announced the news today (March 2) in a letter on its website. “Bandcamp will keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community, and I will continue to lead our team,” Bandcamp co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond wrote in the statement.

He continued: “The products and services you depend on aren’t going anywhere, we’ll continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model (where artists net an average of 82% of every sale), you’ll still have the same control over how you offer your music, Bandcamp Fridays will continue as planned, and the Daily will keep highlighting the diverse, amazing music on the site. However, behind the scenes we’re working with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp, from basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, payment system, and search and discovery features, to newer initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services.”

On Twitter, Bandcamp Daily editor Edward J. Keyes clarified that the company’s editorial staff is expected to carry on, writing: “Hi everyone. I just want to reassure you: Bandcamp Daily is not going anywhere. Bandcamp Daily’s editorial staff isn’t going anywhere. Bandcamp Daily’s writing staff isn’t going anywhere. We’re going to keep doing what we do, and we’re looking forward to doing it.”

Steve Allison, Vice President and General Manager, Store at Epic Games, said in a statement: “We couldn’t be more excited to welcome the Bandcamp team to Epic Games. Bandcamp has built an incredible community and business where up and coming artists can succeed thanks to the direct support of their fans, with one of the best revenue models and terms in music. This aligns closely with Epic’s approach to supporting creators across all media and enabling them to connect directly with their fans.”

Top Trending Golf Bag Accessories To Get This Year

You’ve made a tee time at your favorite course. You’ve pulled together a group of buddies to join you. Your golf clubs are cleaned and ready to go.

The only detail left is your golf bag. Have you stocked it with the best golf bag accessories on the market? 

We love golf bag accessories for several reasons. They’re inexpensive and can make your golf course experience so much better. Golf bag accessories can help you shoot lower scores, protect you from the weather, and make you the envy of the rest of your foursome. 

Not sure which golf bag accessories you should buy? We can help. Below are some of the hottest products that you need this year.

Top Trending Golf Bag Accessories

1. Golf Hat

Don’t leave home without a golf hat on your head or in your golf bag. Not only will you look like a pro, but this golf bag accessory will also protect your face from the sun’s harmful rays. The greatest hazard on the golf course isn’t a lake or river, but a bad sunburn. Look good and stay safe.

Rope Golf hats by Sunday Golf are fashionable, durable, and functional. Designed to keep you cool on a hot day, these golf hats are one size fits all. Choose from 9 different colors for $29.99.

2. Golf Gloves

The second golf bag accessory to make our list is golf gloves by Mizuno. You can’t hit great golf shots if your hands are slipping off the club. Play more consistently with the help of a golf glove. 

Pro Tip: make sure you buy the correct hand. Right-handed golfers should wear a glove on their left hand!

The Mizuno Tour golf glove is made from super thin premium Cabretta leather. It’s offered in sizes from small to XX-large. If you have shorter fingers, you may want to try a “cadet” size. A golf glove should not be loose – it should fit snugly. This golf bag accessory costs $25.

3. Golf Alignment Stick

Your golf shots can be ruined before you even start your swing if you don’t know how to aim at your target. Golf alignment sticks are used on the driving range to help you perfect your setup. 

These Carbon Fiber alignment sticks by Vessel are simple, yet beautiful. They’re extremely lightweight and designed to stay in your golf bag all of the time. They’re sold in sets of two and you can choose from black, silver, or red. This is a $65 investment in improving your game. 

4. Ball Retriever

The ball retriever is a golf bag accessory that’ll pay for itself after a few rounds on the course. Golf balls are expensive – some cost as much as $60 per dozen. Do you hit every fairway or do you occasionally lose a ball in a lake, creek, or ravine? This is where the right ball retriever can save you some cash. If you can see the ball, you can retrieve it!

The IGOTCHA Jawz Compact Retriever can add up to 18’ to your reach. It collapses down to less than 2’ for easy storage in your golf bag and is lightweight. The co-molded rubberized surface to grip and hold the ball in place makes it easy to snatch your ball from any condition. This $29.95 golf bag accessory seems like a no-brainer.

5. Golf Umbrella

You may be shocked to hear this, but occasionally weather forecasts are wrong. You never know when a surprise shower will pop up on the back 9. A little rain doesn’t have to ruin your round if you’ve added a golf umbrella to your collection of golf bag accessories. Golf umbrellas are designed for the course and the elements you’ll encounter while playing.

The G4Free golf umbrella is worth your consideration. Do you like options? You can choose from 3 different canopy sizes (54, 62, 68) and 20+ color combinations. The double-canopy design means this golf umbrella is virtually windproof. Keep your clubs dry and finish your round strong for only $30.

6. Divot Tool

Make sure you leave the golf course in better shape than you found it. Make the greenskeeper happy and repair your divots. Every golfer should carry a divot tool in their bag. Make sure the groups behind you get a chance to putt on a smooth surface.

Callaway is one of the most well-known golf brands and their 4-In-1 Divot Tool is the perfect golf bag accessory. Yes, it helps you fix divots on the green, but it also includes a ball marker, a club brush, and a groove cleaner. You can’t spin the ball like Tiger if you have dirt and sand on your irons. This divot tool will only cost you $14.99.

7. Groove Sharpener

The grooves are the most important part of your irons and wedges, but what options do you have when they start to wear down? You can buy new ones for hundreds (or thousands) of dollars or you can use a groove sharpener. This golf bag accessory can extend the life of your clubs.

The GrooveMaster Golf Club Groove Sharpener is inexpensive and will put “the juice” back in your iron shots. It’s been designed to work on most irons (Adams, Callaway, Cobra, Cleveland, Nike, Ping, TaylorMade, Titleist, Wilson, etc.) and is easy to use. You don’t need to buy new clubs, simply bring your current clubs back to life with this $28 golf bag accessory.

What Golf Bag Accessories Do You Use?

You don’t have to rush out and buy all of them at once. Pay attention the next time you play and think about which golf bag accessory would add to your experience. Watch other golfers in your group. What do they use on the golf course? Golf is a great game, but it can always be better. Make sure you have the right equipment to get the most out of your time on the course. 

Do you have a golf bag accessory that we didn’t mention? Tell us about it. Why do you recommend it to other golfers and how does it help you? 

Good luck. Play well. Enjoy your day on the golf course!

How to Successfully Plan for Your Company’s Future

The corporate world has seen dramatic changes in recent decades, and the pace of change has hastened even further in the last couple of years. Change is often a positive thing as it means progress is being made, but many recent changes in the economic climate have been more disruptive than productive. As a result of this, the pressures of current events and the fast-paced rate of change have severely impacted many organizations. An unprecedented number of companies were unable to survive the pandemic, and many more are still struggling to deal with all the fallout. All of these factors demonstrate that preparing for the future and planning as effectively as possible is the best way to ensure ongoing business success. But, knowing there is a need to plan for the future and understanding how to do this effectively are two separate things. If you are looking for new ways to ensure that your business continues to move forward and achieve greater success, you should find plenty of inspiration right here. Moreover, to enhance your company’s future planning and safety measures, consider implementing effective safety management software.

Assess Your Current Position and Recent Progress

Understanding your company’s current position and how it has evolved over the past few years can tell you a lot about its resilience and how it adapts to change. Reflecting on these changes and how your company responded to them will help you to identify some of your organization’s main strengths and build on these further. In contrast, you may also be able to look back and spot some things that could have been done differently. Learning from both the positive and negative decisions you have made in the past should help you move forward with a greater understanding of your business and how to increase its success in the future.

Reconnect with Your Company’s Purpose

A strong corporate culture and brand values are at the heart of every business that has achieved long-term success. When a company has its own rules to live by, and everyone within the organization understands what the business represents, every action is based on these values and embodies what the company stands for. But, during times of significant change, it is easy for these values to ebb away and for an organization’s purpose to become diluted. 

Your business’s brand values and corporate culture are its superpowers and are what differentiates your business from the competition. Reconnecting with these will help to reignite your company’s purpose and allow you to move it forward in a meaningful way.

Rethink Your Objectives

When you first started your company, you likely had some definite objectives that you wanted to reach to show yourself that your business is a success. But, after passing these first significant milestones, you may find that you have lost sight of some of the objectives that were the original focus of your business. 

When you run a busy organization, it is only natural that your mind is so occupied that your energy and time are devoted to the company’s day-to-day running. While this may be keeping your business running smoothly and operating at a steady pace, it does not enable you to take a strategic approach and look towards the future. Setting aside some time to think strategically about the direction your business is taking is vital. Taking a proactive approach to your company’s future will ensure that you are constantly looking for innovative ways to build your brand, stand out from your competitors, and attract new customers to your products. 

While no one can predict the future, giving yourself the time to keep a close eye on industry news and following trends and technological developments will help you to set objectives that are designed with sustainable success in mind. 

Reassess Your Technology Needs

In the past few decades, business technology has been transformed from a handy extra that helps speed up a few processes to become the central infrastructure of organizations. The majority of companies are now entirely dependent on technology to operate, and any system downtime can have significant implications.

As technology plays such a crucial role in the success of a business, it is essential to continually innovate and adapt your technology to match your company’s changing needs. Your business IT systems should be designed to eliminate pain points so that your company can operate productively and barriers to efficiency are removed. Productivity tools like leave management software and accounting software can be a great help. Technology does not stand still, so to stay ahead of the competition, and you also need a clear IT strategy that will keep your business systems at the forefront of your industry and respond swiftly to your client’s changing needs. But, when you are used to the way your business works and do not have the spare time or expertise to redesign your IT infrastructure, it can be hard to make these changes happen. Gaining a third-party opinion is useful to get an objective opinion on your IT systems and how they can be improved. Calling in the help of the experts and deciding to bring in an IT consultancy firm is an excellent way to gain a professional opinion of your business technology. The consultancy firm will be able to pinpoint precisely how you can develop a business IT infrastructure that ensures your company is equipped for the future.

Strengthen Your Team

While technology is at the heart of any organization, it cannot operate a successful business alone; this job falls to your employees. Many companies overlook the value that their employees add to their company and the fact that they are the lifeblood of the organization. When employees feel underappreciated and their work seems undervalued, staff turnover rates are likely to be high. 

High staff turnover often signals an unhappy workforce, and your team is likely to follow fellow former employees and leave if a better offer comes along. Working on boosting your employee retention is crucial to avoid losing valuable team members. These experienced employees are the people you need by your side as you plan your company’s future and continue to drive it forward together towards success.

The Weather Station Shares Video for New Single ‘To Talk About’

The Weather Station has shared ‘To Talk About’, the latest offering from their new LP How Is It That I Should Look at the Stars. Check it out via the accompanying visual below.

The Weather Station’s new album, a companion to last year’s Ignorancearrives this Friday (March 4) via Fat Possum. It features the previously released single ‘Endless Time’, which made our Best New Songs list.

Maia Friedman Releases New Song ‘Sunny Room’

Maia Friedman has unveiled ‘Sunny Room’, the final single from her upcoming debut LP Under the New Light. Check it out below, alongside a live video for the track.

“The search for my sunny room – my internal place of peace, comfort and calm – is a daily endeavor, and sometimes feels like a tug-of-war,” Friedman said in a press statement. “This song is a wish that the comforting space within one’s self is bright enough to outshine moments of darkness. As someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety, I know that these sunny rooms can often be difficult to find, and yet I do my best to renew the search time and time again.”

She continued: “For ‘Sunny Room’, I wanted to create a video that was intimate, raw and still. We drove up to Marlboro, NY the day after an ice storm in early February, and the hills and trees were completely sparkling. You could hear a crystalline sound coming from the icy branches moving with the wind. My dear friend Stephen Spaccarelli was kind enough to let us set up in his studio and his son Mateo helped Philip capture the audio. It was a special and lucky day – very grateful to have been amongst friends in such a beautiful place.”

Under the New Light will be out on March 11 via Last Gang Records. It includes the previously unveiled singles ‘Where the Rocks Are’ and ‘First to Love’.

Watch Pinegrove Perform ‘Cyclone’ on ‘Corden’

Pinegrove made their late-night television debut last night, performing their song ‘Cyclone’ on The Late Late Show With James Corden. Check out their performance below.

‘Cyclone’ appears on Pinegrove’s latest album 11:11which came out earlier this year. It’s the penultimate track on the LP, which follows 2020’s Marigold and also includes the advance singles ‘Orange’, ‘Alaska’, and ‘Respirate’.

Celebration’s Katrina Ford Releases New Song ‘Peace Out’

Katrina Ford, formerly the lead singer of Celebration and Mt. Royal, has released a new song called ‘Peace Out’. It’s the first offering from her forthcoming solo debut, which is due out later this year. Give it a listen below.

Talking about the single, Ford said in a press release: “Hangovers become blended into euphoric indulgent self-care. Using flint to communicate with crickets. Letting in, inviting the slow. Healing in isolation. The journey to sobriety. We mixed this with Tony Duggan in Glasgow, it rained a lot but the sky was filled with rainbows every day.”

Belle and Sebastian Announce First Album in 7 Years, Share Video for New Single

Belle and Sebastian have returned with news of their 9th album and first studio LP in seven years. A Bit of Previous, the follow-up to 2015’s Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, lands on May 6 via Matador. Today’s announcement comes with the release of the new single ‘Unnecessary Drama’, which arrives with an accompanying video. Check it out and find the album’s four variant covers and full tracklist below.

“The song is about a young person experimenting in being a human again after a forced hiatus,” frontman Stuart Murdoch said of ‘Unnecessary Drama’ in a statement. “The person is weighing up whether or not it’s worth the mess! Still, you dip your toe in and it becomes delicious, and you get too much of it. Between trouble and nothing, we still choose the trouble.”

The new album was recorded in Belle and Sebastian’s hometown of Glasgow after their plans to fly to Los Angeles in spring 2020 were scrapped due to COVID-19. “We did it together, us and the city,” Murdoch remarked. “This record was the first ‘full’ LP recording for B&S in Glasgow since Fold Your Hands Child, 1999. We clocked in every morning, we played our songs, we wrote together, we tried new things, we took the proverbial lump of clay, and we threw it every day.”

A Bit of Previous Cover Artwork (Composite):

A Bit of Previous Tracklist:

1. Young And Stupid
2. If They’re Shooting At You
3. Talk To Me Talk To Me
4. Reclaim The Night
5. Do It For Your Country
6. Prophets On Hold
7. Unnecessary Drama
8. Come On Home
9. A World Without You
10. Deathbed Of My Dreams
11. Sea Of Sorrow
12. Working Boy In New York City

First Hate Announce New Album ‘Cotton Candy’, Share New Songs

Danish alternative pop duo First Hate have announced their second album, Cotton Candy. The follow-up to 2017’s A Prayer for the Unemployed is out May 27 via Escho and Cascine. Today, First Hate have previewed the album with a self-directed video for the lead single ‘Commercial’, alongside the track ‘In My Head’. Check out both songs below, and scroll down for the record’s cover artwork and tracklist.

Describing ‘Commercial’ in a press release, First Hate’s Joakim Wei Bernild said: “Big white smiles and perfect photoshopped bodies with over-dimensioned features on everything from big billboards on the highway to our Instagram feed. This song is about the big wheels of capitalism turning around constantly and indulging in it.” Anton Falck added that the song encapsulates “everything the capitalist heart desires.”

Cotton Candy Cover Artwork:

Cotton Candy Tracklist:

1. Someone New
2. What’s The Matter Boy
3. Cotton Candy
4. What About Me
5. Hearts
6. Cowboys In The Tub
7. Fortune Teller
8. Commercial
9. In My Head
10. Vampire Boi
11. Solitary Sundays

Mall Girl Release New Single ‘Poolside Person’

Norwegian art-pop outfit Mall Girl have released ‘Poolside Person’, the latest single from their upcoming debut album Superstar. It follows the previously shared tracks ‘For Hannah’, ‘Bachtap’, and ‘Bubbly Cool Drink’. Give it a listen below.

In a press release, Mall Girl described the new song as “an image of living your best life as a rich celebrity, spending lazy afternoons drinking colourful drinks by the pool, contrasting with the conflicting feeling of craving something deep and meaningful, living with the fear that all people will see is the ‘person by the poolside’.”

Superstar is set to arrive April 29 via Jansen Records.