Music Biz Headlines, Feb. 10, 2020

By Kerry Doole

Miranda Mulholland’s Juno-nominated By Appointment or by Chance came to her in Twyford

The story of a record made in the picture-postcard Hampshire town of Twyford involves badgers, bunker-dwelling pub people and cat-sitting holidays with a green-eyed scratcher named Poppy. — Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

The rhinestone and resin surrealism of Paul Hyde

The former Payola$ frontman and local music hero launches a new career as an artist. — John Mackie, Vancouver Sun

A look back at Buffy Sainte-Marie’sIlluminations

Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today, we revisit Buffy Sainte-Marie’s cosmic, groundbreaking 1969 album, an ecstatic invocation of pain, pleasure, and divinity. — Lindsay Zoladz, Pitchfork

Appeals court backs Drake in copyright case over Jimmy Smith sample

A U.S. federal appeals court has sided with Drake in a legal beef with jazz musician Jimmy Smith's estate. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a copyright infringement claim against the Toronto-raised rapper last week.— CP

Is the El Mocambo reopening this spring? This musician may have spilled the beans by announcing a show there

Is the El Mocambo reopening in a couple of months? Country artist Corb Lund seems to have confirmed it on Friday by revealing a May concert date at the long-shuttered Toronto venue.  — Garnet Fraser,Toronto Star

Three Toronto couples on what it's like to make music with your partner

When your bandmate is also your bedmate – TRP.P, LAL and Rapport talk boundaries, collaboration and how to handle fights. — NOW

Troubadour William Prince on Johnny Cash, Winnipeg and owning your talent

The first words on William Prince’s new album Reliever could speak to his status as a folk-country troubadour on the cusp. “So am I dreaming, or is this just how we’re living now?” the ascendant Manitoban croons, soft and low. — Brad Wheeler,  Globe & Mail

Five things to know about U kin B the Sun, by Frazey Ford

Vocalist Ford packs her latest with collection of soul-tinged groove pop. — Stuart Derdeyn, Vancouver Sun

Freedom Singer tells complex story of musician's ancestor and her escape on the Underground Railroad

Vancouver singer Khari Wendell McClelland has drawn on the history of the Underground Railroad to create his documentary musical Freedom Singer. — Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald

Local musicians set sail anew after abandoning Boats

After eight years and three albums, Winnipeg indie pop-rock group Boats played its last show in March 2016. Most of the members of Boats re-emerged as a new band, Hut Hut, which released its first full-length album, Hut Hut Hut, at the end of January. — Erin Lebar, Winnipeg Free Press

Blending genres, The Confusionaires claim to 'make a believer out of anyone' once they start playing

The new album is a tight, jet-fuelled gallop of cheeky, post-Sun Session rockabilly frayed at the edges by blues-punk propulsion and general genre-leakage. — Tom Murray, Edmonton Journal

Review: Roddy Ricch continued his ascent with a sold-out Toronto show

The chart-topping Compton rapper's Phoenix concert proved his viral success is not a mirage – but what will it take to maintain his momentum? — Sumiko Wilson, NOW

FVDED in the Park announces Flume, G-Eazy, and Illenium as 2020 headliners

Live Nation has announced the 2020 lineup for its two-day music festival, which runs July 10 and 11 at Surrey's Holland Park. — Georgia Straight

International

TIDAL saw global revenues rise to $148M in 2018, but US revenues fell

TIDAL was still a functioning business in 2018 – one co-owned by US telco Sprint and, it transpires, one which employed 238 people. That latter stat is just one nugget disclosed by newly-published documents, obtained by MBW,  which reveal the financial performance of TIDAL parent Project Panther Bidco (PPB) in calendar 2018. — Tim Ingham MBW

CD Baby to receive Independent Spirit Award at the Music Biz 2020 conference

The Music Business Association (Music Biz) will honour the independent distributor CD Baby during its forthcoming Music Biz 2020 Annual Conference, May 11-14 at the JW Marriott hotel in Nashville. — Chris Eggertsen, Billboard

Spotify now has 124m Premium subscribers, growing by over 3m per month

Spotify has confirmed that it ended December 2019 with 124m Premium subscribers and 271m total Monthly Active Users (MAUs) worldwide. That subscriber figure was up by 11m on the 113m Premium subs base the platform hit at the end of September 2019 – representing an average per-month subscriber growth rate in Q4 of 3.66m. — Tim Ingham, MBW

How to choose the best music distribution site 

What should you look for in a music distribution company? There are so many sites that will send your music to Spotify, Apple, and elsewhere, and the number is continuing to grow. — Caleb J. Murphy, Sonicbids

CD Baby, Tunecore, Distrokid, Awal, Ditto… Who is the best digital distribution company for music distribution?

Here is the most  comprehensive and accurate digital distribution review comparison piece on the web. — Ari’s Take

Kesha’s claims about Dr. Luke to Lady Gaga were defamatory, judge rules

According to court documents we viewed, the judge ruled that Kesha “made a false statement to Lady Gaga about Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald  and that was defamatory.” — Madison Bloom Pitchfork

This week In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Cousin Brucie Morrow, host, SiriusXM 60s on 6.

“People are still people. I don’t care if they live in the hills of North Dakota or in the hills here in Brooklyn, they still want one thing. They want comfort. They want to listen to somebody that they feel that they know.” — Larry LeBlanc, Celebrity Access

Green Day: 'Rock'n'roll helps you dance through the apocalypse'

Can the world’s biggest punk band capture the zeitgeist on their new album like American Idiot once did? They talk about staying positive in the age of Trump – and how people have forgotten to love each other. — James McMahon, The Guardian

Management of Aretha Franklin's estate still unsettled

A lawyer for a son of Aretha Franklin asked a judge last week to keep an eye on professional fees paid by the late singer's estate, the latest jab in a dispute over assets left by the Queen of Soul. — Ed White, AP