Music Biz Headlines, Aug. 30, 2019
The differing perspectives of Ian & Sylvia Tyson, picks for Mattyfest, and the longevity of Said the Whale. Others in the headlines include Menno Versteeg, Walter Homburger, Out of Earshot, Azrieli Foundation, VMAs, BMG, Tencent, Pink Floyd, Hipgnosis, Hasbro, Spotify, Scooter Braun, Riot Grrrl, Taylor Swift, and Ken Burns.
By FYI Staff
Folk exes Ian & Sylvia see height of their career in very different lights
Ian & Sylvia: The Lost Tapes is a newly discovered collection of concert recordings. Ask Ian & Sylvia how they feel about their new album, and you'll get two starkly different opinions. While the singers in the long-separated folk couple still get along, they don't always see eye to eye when it comes to their music. – David Friend, CP
Mattyfest 2019: Who to see and what to eat
We picked five musicians to catch at chef Matty Matheson's TO festival and paired them each with a dish being served there. – Richard Trapunski, NOW
How this music boss is boosting his artists’ mental health
Last January, Royal Mountain Records head Menno Versteeg became an industry pioneer and created a first-of-its-kind mental-health fund for all artists on his label. – Jonathan Dekel, Globe and Mail
Out of Earshot music festival showcased Newfoundland and Canadian talent
“A community-based festival dedicated to showcasing DIY and emerging Canadian music and art,” Out of Earshot’s diverse line-up featured local and come-from-away talent, giving women-identifying people, Indigenous artists and people of colour a platform to showcase their art forms. – Wendy Rose, Telegram
Impresario became one of North America’s most powerful music executives
Walter Homburger, the shrewd former administrative head of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra who managed the early career of Glenn Gould, died in Toronto last month, age 95. – Arthur Kaptainis, Globe and Mail
Listen To This: Spirit of the Wildfire helps you turn up with "Funnel Vision"
The four best buds from Bedford share a party anthem for the ages, complete with a music video of tour antics. – Morgan Mullin, The Coast
Said the Whale is paying it forward
“Perseverance in the face of an industry that does not favor ‘experienced’ bands. Some incredible supporters who keep coming to our shows and buying our albums after all these years. Literally ZERO luck—but all of the above counteracts that somehow.” The group's Tyler Bancroft on its survival. –John Lucas Georgia Straight
Review: OBUXUM's debut album Re-Birth shows her story is just beginning
The Toronto electronic artist's restless and fluttering beats are like a pen scrawling across paper, telling numerous stories of Black women experience. – Laura Stanley, NOW
Azrieli Foundation celebrates Azrieli Music Prize winners with European debuts in Warsaw
Sinfonia Varsovia perform the European debuts of works by 2018 Azrieli Music Prize-winners Kelly-Marie Murphy and Avner Dorman on Sept. 15 at POLIN - The Museum of the History of Polish Jews. A work by prolific Canadian-Jewish composer Srul Irving Glick is also featured. – Broadway World
International
VMAs equal 2018 base in total viewers, but Jersey outing shows digital burst
MTV’s Video Music Awards on Monday came in flat with the all-time-low 2018 edition in terms of total viewers, according to Nielsen, but digital and social viewing showed marked improvement over last year. – Dade Hayes, Deadline
BMG revenues rise 11.4% to hit $305m in first half of 2019
The Bertelsmann-owned company saw its revenues rise 11.4% year-on-year in the six months to end of June, hitting €269m ($305m). That was up on the €241m posted in the prior year period, with the increase “driven primarily by organic growth”, according to Bertelsmann. Operating EBITDA, meanwhile, increased by 16.7% to €49m ($56m). – Tim Ingham, MBW
Tencent Music dives as watchdog probes its record label ties
Stocks fell the most in five months as China’s antitrust authority investigates exclusive licensing deals it forged with the world’s biggest record labels. – Bloomberg
Hyper-leveraged Hipgnosis raises another $63 Million
The ultra-aggressive shopping spree continues at Hipgnosis. The London-based fund has just received an additional £51.1 million (US $63 million), a signal that investors are doubling-down on the fund’s aggressive asset acquisition strategy. – Marsha Silva, Digital Music News
Who will own Spotify in five years?
Industry insiders suggest Spotify will eventually end up under the ownership of a larger corporation. Here are five that could make a play for the streaming giant. – Tim Ingham, Rolling Stone
The same company that owns Mr. Potato Head now owns Death Row Records
The same company that owns Monopoly, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Power Rangers, and thee Mr.Potato Head now owns the famous (and infamous) west coast record label Death Row Records. Hasbro Toy Company purchased Entertainment One multimedia company, which also reportedly has a music division. – Shenequa Golding, Vibe
Scooter Braun congratulates Taylor Swift
Scooter Braun has attempted to extend an olive branch to Taylor Swift as she celebrates the release of her new album Lover. The pair are locked in a bitter dispute after Taylor’s ex-label boss Scott Borchetta sold his Big Machine company — and with it the master recordings of Taylor’s first six albums — to Justin Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun. – WENN
A brief history of Riot Grrrl – the space-reclaiming 90s punk movement
When the beginnings of the Riot Grrrl movement first began to spring up, punk rock was loud, brash, and predominantly male. Up in Seattle, flannel-clad boys in grunge bands – most notably, Nirvana – were dominating the scene.. Meanwhile, in Olympia, Washington, many feminist activists began forming loud, abrasive bands and writing their own 'zines in response. – El Hunt, NME
Kellyanne Conway belittles Taylor Swift, fans over Equality Act support
The polarizing Trump official mocks the pop star with a rendition of “You Need to Calm Down. – Jon Blistein, RollingStone
Why Taylor Swift's collaboration with the Dixie Chicks is significant
It turns out, band member Martie Maguire, who co-wrote the song, was in the audience that night. – Emily Yahr, Washington Post
Ken Burns on 'Country Music' documentary: 'This is as good if not the best we've ever done'
The sky was still dark on a Sunday morning when renowned filmmaker Ken Burns climbed onto a bus in Nashville — the epicenter of an American art form in which he and his team had immersed themselves for the better part of a decade. – Cindy Watts, USA Today
Pink Floyd ready massive ‘The Later Years’ box set
Pink Floyd’s entire output following the departure of Roger Waters will be the focus of the massive new box set The Later Years, a 16-disc collection that boasts the David Gilmour-led band’s studio LP and live albums, concert films, unreleased rarities, live performances and more. – Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone
