The MP3 is dead, long live the MP3. For everyone who read the excellent HOW MUSIC GOT FREE  (if you haven’t yet, seriously order it right now), this is the final nail in a coffin that a group of German engineers has been trying to close since the ‘90s. The research group that created the MP3 and fought for years for it to win the sound file wars has finally thrown in the towel, saying the AAC is better. Not coincidentally, the same group created the AAC. The technology behind the AAC, they say, involves a more holistic understanding of how the brain processes information. Or, as NPR's ANDREW FLANAGAN explains, "New audio formats and products, with richer information and that better address mobile music streaming, are arriving"… Let’s hear it for the boys: BILLBOARD reports that men are having their longest streak of Hot 100 No. 1s in 25 years, with seven in a row. It started with RAE SREMMURD’s “Black Beatles," way back in November. That was followed by tracks from THE WEEKND, MIGOS, ED SHEERAN, KENDRICK LAMAR, BRUNO MARS and now (my personal pick for song of the summer ’17) “I'M THE ONE” by DJ KHALED featuring JUSTIN BIEBER, CHANCE THE RAPPER, LIL’ WAYNE and QUAVO. Who’s going to unseat them? My money is on MILEY CYRUS, whose new “MALIBU” is already topping the Trending 140 chart... That said, HARRY STYLES hasn’t had his turn in the No. 1 spot yet. With a new album out today, he has to be gunning for it. Weigh his chances in our latest MusicSET: "Harry Styles’ Second Direction"... I couldn’t stop laughing while reading ANNE T. DONAHUE’s take on all the things RIVERDALE gets wrong about music. While I applaud the show for all its moments focusing on music, there is a lot happening that doesn’t make sense in our reality. Good thing this show is set in a TWIN PEAKS-esque alternate reality, right?... YOUTUBE has heard the grousing about its value to artists and the music industry, and its serious about changing your mind. So much so that it commissioned a study from RBB ECONOMICS and will publish a series of white papers debunking some of the biggest arguments against the streaming platform. The first aims to debunk the idea that YouTube streams are cannibalizing sales and streams from higher paying platforms. Not surprisingly, it suggests the alternative, if you take YouTube out of the mix, is piracy... It’s EUROVISION season and surprise, surprise: RUSSIA is not participating. Many post-Soviet nations are, however, and they’re using it to make their politics known… Finally, a shoutout to my old pal DAVID MOGENDORFF, who went from being the most beloved guy at MTV UK to helping the GORILLAZ create a virtual reality video for YouTube. Break the next VR video record with him!