Music Biz Headlines, Dec. 1, 2022

By Kerry Doole

Five Indigenous artists who are changing our sonic landscape

Snotty Nose Rez Kids are part of a larger movement of Indigenous artists celebrating their cultures and shining a light on issues facing their communities that had long been ignored in the mainstream. The artists featured here are breaking boundaries, bringing fresh voices, ideas and techniques to our sonic landscape. – Samantha Edwards, Globe

Scene stars debut two ways to help the next generation of Halifax musicians

Wintersleep’s Paul Murphy announces new music label, Cape Records, while Aquakultre’s Lance Sampson is building a community jam space. – Morgan Mullin, The Coast 

A blue Christmas with Steve Strongman

Juno-winning blues performer kicks off a month-long menu of seasonal shows, Graham Rockingham writes. – Hamilton Spectator

First Nations, Inuit, and Métis CAMH patients to compose new symphony with TSO

The partnership with the Shkaabe Makwa care centre integrates music into health care and will be led by Métis composer Ian Cusson. – Joshua Chong, Toronto Star

Burlington Sound of Music Festival planning significant changes amid financial struggles

Revenue down but attendance was way up in 2022. – The Post

P.E.I.’s long-running ‘Anne of Green Gables — The Musical’ no longer an annual event

The world’s longest running annual musical theatre production, “Anne of Green Gables – The Musical,” will not be staged next year during the Charlottetown Festival. The Confederation Centre of the Arts announced today that from now on the production will be staged every two years. – CP

Neil Young’s Harvest turns 50: Should we care?

It is a celebration to be sure, but what exactly is being applauded? Harvest is both beloved and beleaguered – even Young’s own relationship with the album is complicated. Heart of Gold in particular put him uncomfortably in the middle of the road musically. – Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail 

The Rural Alberta Advantage talks about how their music-making process evolved in the pandemic

Folk-rock threesome The Rural Alberta Advantage tinkered with their usual formula on their latest album “The Rise” because they weren’t able to road test songs. – Ben Rayner, Toronto Star

Bill Dillon: Guided by fate

Bill Dillon, who has played guitar with some of the biggest names around, knows first hand that music can save your life. You probably don’t know his name but you know the sound of his guitar. – Jamie Tennant, Hamilton City Magazine

Buffy Sainte-Marie talks about being blacklisted by the FBI

The singer-songwriter spoke about her life and career, her groundbreaking scene on “Sesame Street” and what people still need to understand about Indigenous people. – Jevon Phillips, Toronto Star

Alexander Mair, who co-founded Canada’s Attic Records, dies at 82

This summer, Canadian music business titan Alexander Mair was appointed to the Order of Canada. On Friday, Mair died of cancer. He was 82. The Toronto-born entrepreneur and music industry mentor was an influential figure in the growth of independent record companies in this country. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

'Music inspired him and that never left': Cape Breton's Ralph Dillon remembered for love of music

Tributes continued to pour in Wednesday for a Cape Breton musician, arranger, producer and website designer who was described simply by many as a great friend. Ralph Dillon passed away at the age of 72. Saltwire

Neon Dreams talk about their origins and festival plans

Neon Dreams are a Canadian pop duo who are getting a fair amount of airplay here in New Zealand and they’ve arrived in the country ahead of a couple of festival dates.  Neon Dreams, consisting of Frank Kadillac and Adrian Morris, talked about the music they make, their South African following, and their upcoming album. – Newstalk ZB

Biography mostly captures the magic of punk rocker Art Bergmann

What a perfect title that would have been for the tight new biography on him – Lost Art Bergmann. There was always something off-course about the musician. And missed opportunities. The book’s actual title is The Longest Suicide. Plot spoiler: Bergmann, 69, is quite alive. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

Tom Jackson’s Stories, Songs & Santa Causes tour promises feel-good holiday hopefulness

“Our show is designed not to bring you Christmas, but possibly help you be Christmas." – V. S. Wells, Georgia Straight

Taylor Swift dance parties are the benevolent alternative to clubbing you never knew you needed

The T-Swift dance parties have amassed a massive following in its year of infancy, with thousands attending events around the country. Picture this: hundreds of Canadians, putting aside their typical hesitations, belting out Taylor Swift song lyrics at the top of their lungs and dancing like nobody is filming it for Instagram. – Emerald Bensadoun, Globe and Mail

International

Utopia Music downsizing its workforce

Utopia Music became the latest company to significantly cut the size of its global workforce. The acquisitive Switzerland-headquartered company confirmed to MBW that it has made a number of layoffs. – MBW

UK music streaming services not making excessive profits, says watchdog

CMA’s findings will disappoint many artists who have struggled to make a meaningful income from streaming. – Mark Sweney, The Guardian

Bad Bunny is the most streamed artist on Spotify for third consecutive year

Puerto Rican artist tops the platform’s global list, and album lists in U.S. and worldwide. – Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone

Jann Wenner’s Like A Rolling Stone looks back at how the magazine became a ‘clarion voice’ for a generation

The title of Jann Wenner’s book is Like a Rolling Stone, the name of Bob Dylan’s first rock ‘n’ roll record. It’s a song about the loss of status, something that applies today to rock music. “People’s ears are different now,” Wenner says “They’re accustomed to different kinds of things.” – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

Documentary opens up Spike Milligan’s ‘treasure trove’ of scripts and footage 

A musical and a children’s play written by Spike Milligan are among unmade scripts within a vast archive to which film-makers have been given unprecedented access for a forthcoming documentary on the comic genius. The Guardian

‘The job is going to die': Songwriters say more change is needed if they're to survive

While a recent ruling from a little-known copyright judge panel has songwriters cautiously optimistic, many are still deeply worried about their future livelihood. – Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone

Nick Cave: “I don’t think art should be in the hands of the virtuous”

The musician on why Morrissey matters, his deepening faith and grieving for his sons. – Kate Mossman, New Statesman

Monsters of doc: Mark Kermode’s top 20 music documentaries

Reviewing Summer of Soul in the Observer New Review last year, I suggested that it might be “the best concert film ever made”. Since then, I’ve rewatched the movie umpteen times and come to the conclusion that it’s actually my favourite pop music documentary of all time. – Mark Kermode, Observer 

Elton John delivers ‘final North American concert’ at Dodger Stadium as a Disney+ Livestream event

Elton John has officially delivered “his final North American concert,” and in keeping with the growing trend of streaming in-person shows, Disney+ broadcasted the high-profile performance live. The five-time Grammy winner concluded the North American leg of his years-running Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour at Dodger Stadium. – Dylan Smith, Digital Music News

Bob Dylan apologizes for book controversy in rare public statement

The legendary musician says he used an autopen to sign special-edition copies of his new book. – Travis M. Andrews, Washington Post

 'The Last Waltz': Where are they now? 

The Band certainly went out with a bang. Scorsese's film, which premiered a couple of years later, emphasized the excitement of this farewell show, which included guest appearances from Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Ronnie Wood and many more. Here's a look back at how each of the Last Waltz guests have fared since that fateful evening in San Francisco. – Ultimate Classic Rock

Through The Lens:  Jason Ringenberg says goodbye to Nashville’s legendary Exit/In

 Nashville’s fabled Exit/In music club hosts its last show this week. By Dec. 1, only memories will remain of a venue that gave rise to legends when they were unknowns and hosted the famous (e.g., Billy Joel, R.E.M., Neil Young) because they just had to play there. We are fortunate to have Jason Ringenberg share with us his thoughts and memories of the venue. – Amos Perrine, No Depression