Music Biz Headlines: Metric's Break with Bloc Party, Toronto's Dakota Tavern Remembered
Also in the news this week: Joel Plaskett is surprised with a tribute album, Green Day makes a statement at Coachella, AI copyright fears & more.
Metric
Trans artists Bells Larsen and T. Thomason are pulling out of U.S. tour dates because of border fears, and the issue is grabbing attention on both sides of the border. That story has grabbed headlines this week, as have Coachella performances, AI backlash and an HYBE crackdown on deepfakes in South Korea resulting in multiple arrests.
Read about those stories and more in our weekly roundup below:
Canadian Music Business Headlines
Metric Backs Out of Tour, Citing ‘Sudden Production Decisions' from Team of Co-Headliner Bloc Party
Canadian band Metric has announced on social media that it is backing out of an upcoming tour with English band Bloc Party, but will still play a hometown show with Sam Roberts Band in place. – Canadian Press
Trans Musicians Are Cancelling U.S. Tour Dates Due To Trump's Gender ID Rules
Canadian trans artists are cancelling because of Trump's crackdown on immigration at the border. – Manisha Krishnan, Wired
Jason Collett, Ed Robertson, Charlotte Cornfield and more on nearly 20 years at the Dakota: “The first Toronto venue where I felt the true magic of time and place.” – Richie Assaly, Toronto Star
45th Montreal International Jazz Festival boasts ‘a modern twist’
With the Montreal International Jazz Festival turning 45 this year, programming director Maurin Auxéméry likes to joke that the city’s emblematic summer event is having its mid-life crisis. The city’s flagship festival presents more than 350 shows — from June 26 to July 5. –T’Cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette
Canadian Folk and Rock Stars Surprise Joel Plaskett With Tribute Album 'Songs From The Gang'
Arkells, Alan Doyle, Sloan, City and Colour, Jenn Grant, Julian Taylor and many more are putting their spin on the east coast songwriter's vast body of work. – Rosie Long Decter, Billboard Canada
Opera Atelier Co-founders Celebrate 40 years, Onstage and Off
Opera Atelier’s upcoming presentation of baroque masterpiece David and Jonathan at Toronto’s Koerner Hall is cause enough for celebration. The 40th anniversary of the company, co-founded by married joint artistic directors Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg and Marshall Pynkoski is another. – Brad Wheeler, Globe & Mail
Released nearly eight years after mental illness derailed her career, “Light for the Midnight” is a stripped-back soul record that sublimates pain into breathtaking beauty. – Richie Assaly, Toronto Star
Liberal Leader Mark Carney Nails his Nardwuar the Human Serviette Interview
If Nardwuar the Human Serviette truly is, as a wise person once suggested, the “litmus test for humanity”, then Mark Carney just passed with a gold-standard showing. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight
Stratford Festival Gears Up for New Season Amid Succession Questions
As this year’s Stratford Festival inches closer, two crucial questions are circling: Who will take the top job in Canadian theatre when current artistic Antoni Cimolino steps down at the end of the 2026 season? And what sort of festival will they inherit when they start? – Aisling Murphy, Globe & Mail
Canadian Rock Veterans Headstones Sign To Dine Alone, Release New Single with City and Colour
With this signing, Headstones become labelmates with Dallas Green, who guests on the Hugh Dillon-fronted band's brand new single, "NAVIGATE." Kerry Doole, Billboard Canada
A Fresh(Up) Approach to R&B in Hamilton
Sonic Unyon’s showcases have expanded to include hip hop, soul, electronic and roots performers. The dream is to eventually blossom into a full-fledged summer festival. – Sarah Jessica Rintjema, Hamilton City Magazine
International Music Biz Headlines
Neil Young, Joan Baez & Maggie Rogers Perform at ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ Rally
The moment took place on Saturday (April 12) at the political rally hosted by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. –Jessica Lynch, Billboard
Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong used the band's Coachella debut to make a political statement that had the crowd cheering. – Entertainment Weekly
A coalition of creatives including the IFPI, which represents the recording industry worldwide, said the third draft is “completely unacceptable” as it “undermines the objectives of the AI Act, contravenes EU law and ignores the intention of the EU legislator". – Mandy Dalugdug, Music Business Worldwide
Warner Music Group is Readying Its Superfan App – With Help From Ed Sheeran
Warner Music Group‘s long-promised superfan app is moving closer to reality, with a more sophisticated version now being tested by a select group of users, according to a new Wall Street Journal report. The app recruited Ed Sheeran as its first featured artist. – MBW
Music Can Lift Mood, Foster Community and Even Rewire Brains – But Does It Need to Have a Purpose?
The therapeutic role music can play is the focus of a string of new books and even an entire BBC radio station. But why can’t we just listen to music for music’s sake? Emily MacGregor, The Guardian
HYBE Deepfake Crackdown Sees Eight Arrested in South Korea
Company's CEO pledges 'zero-tolerance and no-settlement policy' over alleged crimes against its artists .– Murray Stassen, MBW
