Music Biz Headlines, April 10, 2019
PUP (pictured) is on a roll, Gordon Lightfoot gets profiled, and the global value of music copyright rises. Also in the headlines: Dirty Radio, Earl Sweatshirt, King Crimson, Buckman Coe, R, Kelly, David Gilmour, Justin Bieber, Jane Siberry, Tanya Tagaq, Lang Lang, and Google Play Music.
By Kerry Doole
For Dirty Radio, it all starts with a beat
Dirty Radio has largely focused on releasing singles, a strategy that has worked out incredibly well, with the act having racked up more than 40 million streams on Spotify to date. A new album is coming April 12. – John Lucas, Georgia Straight
Punk band PUP rolling in the right direction
For the scrappy Torontonians, success is measured in how they do in a major city in Ohio that is home to a famous baseball team and a fictional radio station. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail
'The cat's meow,' says Gordon Lightfoot of the idea of a feature film about his life
Gordon Lightfoot’s notable life is appearing in all forms currently. There was Nicholas Jennings’ 2017 bestselling biography, and a new 2019 documentary, Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind, directed by Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni, soon to have its world premiere at Toronto’s Hot Docs on April 27. So the next thing could be a feature film right? – Jane Stevenson, Toronto Sun
The energy of Jean-Michel Blais
The acclaimed Montreal pianist never wants to play the same show twice. Stylistically, he cites influences across the history of instrumental music, from Schoenberg to John Cage. – Brennan McCracken, The Coast
It's Ok* wants to unite Toronto's thriving grassroots music scenes
Despite venue closures, the city's DIY communities are thriving – and with their genre-spanning, venue-moving series, Said Yassin and Alicia Bee aim to show it. – Max Mertens, NOW
On Our Radar: Buckman Coe captures the heaven and hell of relationships in video for "Price You Pay"
The song is set to a smooth-blues-soul jam that makes one wonder why Buckman Coe isn't cashing Clapton-sized royalty cheques and headlining the Orpheum every second Sunday. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight
DJ Ricochet talks Made In Toronto, Flow 93.5, advice for new artists & more
With the emergence of 93.5 The Flow’s segment Made In Toronto, hip-hop has found a solid outlet to rely on for support. “Made In Toronto” has taken the airwaves by storm and introduced listeners to a large arsenal of local, budding talent. – Remi Louis Harris, Hip-Hop Canada
Concert review: Earl Sweatshirt's show at Rebel was anything but a mope-fest
The 25-year-old rapper's introspective lyrics and mellow flows don't always translate live, but they worked on this night. – Nick Flanagan, NOW
International
Shots fired: Justin Bieber contests Shawn Mendes' Prince Of Pop title
The Biebs took exception to Mendes being given the tag, later explaining that "I’m just competitive as is he so it was just a little playful jargon." – Paris Close, iHeartRadio
The global value of music copyright topped $28B in 2017
This represents growth of 7.6%. It was the record labels, with 9.0% growth, that for the first time outpaced other rightsholders (publishers and songwriter Collective Management Organisations (CMOs). – MBW
King Crimson to begin streaming entire studio catalog
All 13 of band’s studio albums will hit Spotify and other services in time for the upcoming 50th-anniversary tour. – Hank Shteamer, Rolling Stone
