Music Biz Headlines: Drake & PartyNextDoor Set a Streaming Record, Jonas Brothers Film a Movie at Massey Hall

Drizzy is back dominating the headlines this week, breaking an Apple Music record for his new album with PartyNextDoor and announcing three fest headline shows in London. Meanwhile, Jonas Brothers played a surprise last-minute show at Toronto's Massey Hall, which turned out to double as a shoot for their upcoming Christmas movie.

Read on for those stories, and others on AI, TikTok, the L.A. fires, Buffy Sainte-Marie and more.

Canadian Music Headlines

Drake & PartyNextDoor’s ‘$ome $exy $ongs 4 U’ Breaks Apple Music Record

The highly-anticipated joint album dropped on Valentine's Day. – Mitchell Peters, Billboard

Drake to Headline Wireless Festival 2025 on All Three Nights With Different Setlists

The three-day event will take place at London's Finsbury Park from July 11-13. – Mitchell Peters, Billboard

Drake Throws DeMar DeRozan Jersey Off Stage During Australian Concert

The beef is still alive. – Michael Saponara, Billboard

Christmas Comes Early at Jonas Brothers' Surprise Toronto Concert

The sibling trio performed at Toronto's historic Massey Hall on Saturday, February 15, turning the concert into a film shoot for their upcoming Christmas movie. – Rosie Long Decter, Billboard Canada

‘SNL’ at 50: Barenaked Ladies’ Ed Robertson Recalls Meeting Superfans Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

As “Saturday Night Live” marks its 50th anniversary, The Canadian Press looks back on some of the sketch comedy show’s most notable Canadian musical performances. – David Friend, CP

‘SNL’ at 50: The Tragically Hip’s Potent Mix of Weed and Improvisation on Live TV

As “Saturday Night Live” marks its 50th anniversary, The Canadian Press looks back on some of the sketch comedy show’s most notable Canadian musical performances. The Hip rocked out in 1995. – David Friend, Canadian Press

Junos Head Says Org Faces ‘Complicated’ Questions Around Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Awards

The head of the Juno Awards says he’s not rushing to decide the fate of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s many honours with the music organization, even after it was confirmed last week that she was stripped of her Order of Canada. – David Friend, Canadian Press

Hamilton Tourism Corporation to Spend $300,000 in Bid For Juno Awards

Music event last came to Hamilton in 2015. – Sebastian Bron, Hamilton Spectator

Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley Apologizes to Australian Fans For Missing Final Shows

The pop punks were forced to miss their last shows Down Under due to the singer's battle with pneumonia. – Gil Kaufman, Billboard

After Losing his Home in L.A. Wildfires, a Canadian Trumpet Virtuoso Finds Comfort in Music

Standing on the rubble of his home, the Edmonton native Jens Lindemann performed an instrumental version of Charlie Chaplin’s melancholy Smile, from the director’s 1936 film Modern Times. His wife, Jennifer Snow, captured it on video. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

Our Lady Peace's Raine Maida Talks L.A. Fires, A.I., and 30-plus Years Fronting a Canadian Rock Band

Grunge-emergent, reliably heavy yet ever thoughtful, Our Lady Peace is easily one of the all-time great Canadian rock bands — and certainly one of our top acts still rolling. – Fish Griwkowsky, Edmonton Journal

Black Mountain's Stephen McBean Stays Positive in an America That Seems Increasingly Unhinged

Raised in Victoria, and best known as the frontman for mighty Vancouver-spawned legends Black Mountain, Stephen McBean is well positioned to speak to the mess that is America from a Canadian perspective. Fourteen years ago he packed up and moved from the rain-soaked West Coast of Canada.– Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight

International Music Headlines

TikTok Is Back in U.S. App Stores

The move reportedly comes after US attorney general Pam Bondi reassured Apple and Google they would not be fined for hosting TikTok. – Wired

AI, Music and Licensing: ‘Opt-out is an Illusion. It Doesn’t Work…’

“We want to monetize. We want to license all of these AI platforms for the inputs,” said Oron. “But at the moment, none of our members – none of the authors’ societies – have licensed any of the music AI services. So it’s a major issue for us, and at the moment it’s extremely difficult.” – Stuart Dredge, Music :) Ally

TikTok’s Owners Have Soft Launched A New Music Licensing Platform Called ‘EasyOde’

Despite its quiet launch, the music licensing platform has already launched its official website, sharing some details of what the program entails. – Garbiel Saulog, Billboard Philippines

Sony's Global Recorded Music and Publishing Operation Generated $2.70bn in Calendar Q4

That's according to MBW's calculations based on Sony Group Corp's calendar Q4 2024 (fiscal Q3) results, as announced by the Japanese firm today (February 13).The $2.70 billion figure was up 7.1% year-on-year (on the figure Sony reported in calendar Q4 2023) at US dollar-converted constant currency. – MBW

Taylor Swift Surpasses Madonna as Female Artist with Most U.K. No 1 albums

Singer scores 13th chart-topper with Valentine’s Day edition of her live album Lover (Live from Paris). – The Guardian

Why Isn’t There More Live Music At Malls?

Randy Jackson & Paula Moore kick off ‘Scouting for Stars’ Tour In the US. This is an immersive experience that provides a venue for aspiring talent to connect with musicians, gain new songwriting skills and insight, and learn from music industry executives. – Ashley King, Digital Music News