Music Biz Headlines, Aug. 23, 2019
Damhnait Doyle (pictured) plays HUFF, Drake's Raptors merch sells out, and Pandora investors are angered over the Sirius XM deal. Others in the headlines include Miranda Mulholland, Sonny Landreth, Lizzo, Dr. Dre, Spotify, Apple, Danny Goldberg, Portishead, chillwave, and Elton John.
By FYI Staff
Now Hear This: Damhnait Doyle’s new songs to flower at Halifax Urban Folk Festival
Doyle presents new songs off Liquor Store Flowers, her first solo album since 2008’s Lights Down Low, at the Halifax Urban Folk Festival next week. – Stephen Cooke, Chronicle-Herald
Confessions of a bad feminist
I assimilated. I condoned the behaviour I witnessed. Even worse, I engaged in it myself, because I wanted to fit in and to belong. I’m not pointing the finger at my male bandmates here, many of whom were, and are, individually great people. It’s just that in the music business, being male was normal and I was “other”. – Miranda Mulholland, SOCAN blog
Toronto is really mad that Drake's Raptors merch is sold out already
Sorry, Toronto fans hoping to get their hands on some of OVO-made Raptors gear: the collection is completely sold out. Real Sports Apparel took to social media to announce Drake's 'Best in the World' line, which includes a t-shirt and snapback, is no longer available, thanks to "overwhelming demand." – Blog TO
Artists displaced by raging Jarvis Avenue blaze offered new studio spaces
The July fire impacted many Winnipeg artists and musicians. – CBC News
Canadian musical wins big at New York Musical Festival
A new musical play by Hamilton native Jenny Waxman has carried away the top prize at the prestigious New York Musical Festival. The competition, which has served as the birthplace for many successful Broadway hits, rated the play Leaving Eden, written by Waxman and Sheridan College theatre student Ben Page, the best musical of the festival. – Steve Arnold, CJN
Squeezed out? Six musicians on why they left Toronto
With the housing crisis and decreased affordability of venues, some musicians have asked if it's worth staying. Here's why these ones moved to smaller cities. – Samantha Edwards, NOW
Sonny Landreth's bottleneck skills will transport Vancouver slide-guitar freaks to the Louisiana bayou
If you're a fan of slide guitar, make sure you get down to the Rio Theatre this Saturday. That's when Louisiana guitarist Sonny Landreth--Eric Clapton's favourite slide player--will be holding court on the bluesy beauty of the bottleneck. – Steve Newton, Georgia Straight
How Toronto's DIY party scene is surviving condos, cops and curfews
As rents go up and venues shut down, the underground is fighting for space. Seven promoters and musicians sound off on why parties matter and how we can make them thrive. – Richard Trapunski, NOW
International
Angry investors sue over Sirius XM’s “invalid” $3.5B Pandora acquisition
Former Pandora investors, angered and frustrated by the details surrounding Sirius XM’s purchase of Pandora, have filed a lawsuit, claiming the buy-out was “invalid and void.” – Marsha Silva, Digital Music News
Self-care has to be rooted in self-preservation, not just mimosas and spa days
I know how difficult it is to “just love yourself” in a society in which the media tells us that we don't have enough money for that. – Lizzo, NBC News
Somaliland's poets and singers fight to be heard
The arts scene is booming in the self-declared republic of Somaliland but the people who are pushing the cultural boundaries have come up against some opposition. – BBC News
Dr. Dre unloads longtime Woodland Hills home for $4.5 million
Dr. Dre is officially on to the next episode. The music producer and mogul has sold his longtime home in Woodland Hills for $4.5 million. The 16,200-square-foot house hit the market in mid-July and sold in about a month, records show. It had been listed for $5.25 million. – Neal J. Leitereg, LA Times
Spotify is being glorified in an upcoming TV drama — And not everyone is happy about it
The history books are already being written on the streaming music revolution — though not everyone likes the way Spotify is being portrayed. – Paul Resnikoff, Digital Music News
2019 Fall music book preview
From Patti Smith and Neil Young to Tegan and Sara, the fall brings a great new selection of music-themed books. – Paste
Roots-rocker Chuck Mead returns to the music of Memphis for his latest LP, 'Close to Home'
After a decade spent focusing on Sun Records, Sam Phillips and Memphis music, it’s no surprise that the leader of Nashville country-revivalists BR5-49 decided to make his new album, “Close to Home,” in the Bluff City. – Bob Mehr, Commercial Appeal
Apple finally leverages shazam tech for content discovery
Apple is finally using the start-up's technology for content discovery, a core competitive area where the tech titan lags rival Spotify. – The Motley Fool
An interview with super-manager Danny Goldberg
"The word manager is misleading. People think we're somehow the boss of the artist, but it is the opposite. They're the boss." – Dave Roberts, MBW
Portishead’s ‘Dummy’ is 25. The band asks that you play it loud.
The trip-hop classic was an unexpected success in 1994. Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley look back at its creation and explain how they think it should be heard. – CR Weingarten, NYT
Chillwave: a momentary microgenre that ushered in the age of nostalgia
In a summer riven by financial meltdown, a niche trend for lo-fi retro pop couldn’t have seemed more trivial. Yet it was the first sign of a generation fleeing to the past to escape a bleak future. – Emilie Friedlander, The Guardian
Elton John blasts the media over Duke & Duchess of Sussex's private jet getaway
Elton John has attacked reports about royal couple Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex’s private plane trip to his home in France. The rocker invited the pair and three-month-old Archie to stay at his private residence in the South of France last week and gave them access to his private plane for the getaway.– WENN
How artist imposters and fake songs sneak onto streaming services
When songs leak on Spotify and Apple Music, illegal uploads can generate substantial royalty payments—but for whom? – Noah Yoo, Pitchfork
Drake sued for stealing beats for In My Feelings and Nice For What
Samuel Nicholas III -- who goes by Sam Skully -- is suing Drake and Big Freedia, claiming they used his beat for their hit collab, In My Feelings. He also claims Drake stole another one of his beats for his wildly successful track, Nice For What. – TMZ
NASA names rock on Mars after The Rolling Stones
Actor (and sometime jazz musician) Robert Downey Jr joined the Stones in Pasadena to announce to 60,000 fans what was going on. – Paul Cashmere, Noise11
