Shea Stadium Officially Closes

All we’ll have left of 20 Meadow Street is fond memories, and the new nightclub that the landlord wants to open to replace the beloved DIY venue. Shea Stadium was going to have a few more closing events, but yesterday posted on Facebook that "It now seems impossible to have any more events no matter how small." The owners raised quite a bit of money on Kickstarter, and hopefully they'll find a new space to hold Shea Stadium soon.
Get Ready For Sponsored Songs On Spotify

Sponsored content: it's on your Instagram feed, in your television shows, and in the articles you read (buy Sprite! Just kidding, drink water). Now Spotify treads tricky payola territory by announcing that it will let labels and other entities pay money to have certain songs featured in their wildly popular curated playlists without mentioning that the content is sponsored. TechCrunch reports that the streaming service has already been testing it out on users who don't pay the monthly subscription fee, though there's an option to turn off that feature; meanwhile, Liz Pelly's in-depth, must-read report on The Secret Lives of Playlists ruminates on what the pay-to-play model means for indie labels, among other issues.
SXSW Supports Austin’s immigrants

After the previous controversy over the immigration language used in SXSW contracts, the festival organizers have expressed their support for the lawsuit Austin is filing against the state of Texas. The lawsuit is in protest of Senate Bill 4, which forbids sanctuary cities like Austin. Though they were asked to move the festival to a different city until it was resolved, SXSW CEO Roland Swenson stated that they would "continue to make our event inclusive while fighting for the rights of all." San Antonio and Dallas are pursuing similar lawsuits.
Other Highlights

RIP Prodigy, listen to the new Sleater-Kinney/R.E.M. supergroup, a cassette tape caused a New Zealand bomb scare, get ready for a new Foo Fighters album, this article is kind of blaming Taylor Swift for the death of electric guitars for some reason, Gene Simmons is abandoning his quest to trademark the "rock" gesture, and once again, WTF, Spotify?

NEWS ROUNDUPGoodbye Shea, Spotify Sponsorship and More