Music Biz Headlines, Jan. 8, 2018

By FYI Staff

France Gall: French singer who inspired My Way dies age 70

The French singer who inspired the original version of the song that became a worldwide hit for Frank Sinatra as “My Way”, has died in a Paris hospital aged 70, her spokeswoman announced. The French culture minister, Françoise Nyssen, described her as “a timeless icon of French song”. – The Guardian

NL’s Keely Hutton Broadway bound as Parrothead

St. John's native has been cast in the production Escape to Margaritaville, a musical comedy based on the music of Jimmy Buffett – CBC

Harris Institute ranked best for 6^th consecutive year

In its 10^th year, the report is the quintessential source of information on media arts education in Canada and states, "Harris Institute is the best school of its kind. Highly Recommended." Other schools in the top 10 include Ryerson University's School of Media, Seneca@York, OCAD University, Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology and Metalworks Institute – Canada News Wire

Paid streaming soars, far eclipses freebie users in US

The volume of paid on-demand subscription streams on the likes of Spotify and Apple Music outstripped ‘free’ ad-supported equivalents by four times in the US last year – MBW

Will 2018 be the year the download officially dies?

Compared to streaming, the downloads market is small and various rumours suggest the iTunes store is not long for this world – Tech Radar

Direct Winnipeg to LAX flight a 'game changer'

Manitoba Film and Music is hoping the recent film production boom in the province will finally convince airlines to provide a direct flight between Winnipeg and Los Angeles — the lack of which is holding back film production in the province – CBC

From Chinese communes to Durban taxis: how dance music went global

While western dancefloors are often full of jocks craving Instagram moments, the internet is helping techno, psytrance and more reach uncharted territory – The Guardian

BC clown band member charged with smuggling drugs into Japan

Members of a Vancouver Iron Maiden tribute band who dress as clowns onstage are hoping for the best for their “grease-painted pal” after he was arrested in Japan with a guitar case full of $7 million in stimulant drugs – CTV

Late cable family scion Jim Shaw built a media empire

When the Shaw and Rogers Canadian cable families expanded from television subscriptions into internet service in the early 2000s, then-CEOs Jim Shaw and Ted Rogers waged a friendly war over who could win the most new customers in their respective territories – Christine Dobby, The Globe & Mail

What does the future of radio look like?

It’s hard for me to see music-formats remaining strong in the future when the reality is that you can get music anywhere – Doug Irwin, Radio

A Toronto record shop selling mugs of coffee

Antikka is a vinyl shop that offers the rare opportunity of perusing through hundreds of records while sipping on some traditional Armenian coffee at the same time–  BlogTO

Country music stars who have guested on Nashville

The hit music-themed series has begun its sixth and final season, and many country greats have appeared in cameos. Canadian Lindi Ortega is one  –  The Boot

The massive effort of cataloguing EMI Music Canada's entire history

Robb Gilbert at the University of Calgary is archiving 63 years worth of Canadian music history— including more than 21,000 audio recordings –  Aaron Chatha, Metro           

Before Charles Dutoit, there was the case of Otto Klemperer

A look at classical music conductors behaving badly –  Arthur Kaptainis, Montreal Gazette

The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer bring their two-man band back to Toronto

Up for three awards at the Toronto Blues Society’s Maple Blues Awards, they’re also gracing the city with a show at the Great Hall on Saturday –  Ben Rayner, Toronto Star

The Misfits greet their tribe with the treasured mayhem of old-school horror-punk

“The Misfits are immortal,” says fan Carlos Toro. “It’s been a roller-coaster ride, but punks never die"  –  August Brown, LA Weekly    

Lorde’s artistic right to cancel her gig in Tel Aviv

More than a hundred well-known writers, actors, directors and musicians pledge their support for the New Zealand singer, who has decided not to perform in Israel –  The Guardian

Jerry Lee Lewis is, improbably, a generation’s last man standing

The 'mean redneck' who threatened anyone and everything is the last vestige of rock 'n' roll's first generation  –  Joel Rubinoff, Torstar News Service

The shape of Open Waters 

The Open Waters Festival in Halifax returns for another slate of singular performances that take risks from all sides  –  Tara Thorne, The Coast

Tony Visconti: ‘The thing with Phil Lynott was that he was visibly dying’

The veteran record producer discusses the Thin Lizzy star, Bowie, Morrissey and his problem with Steve Albini – Eamon Sweeney, Irish Times

Toronto company wants to be Canada’s custom guitar shop

The family-run Frank Brothers Guitar Company makes custom guitars from scratch  –  Julien Gignac, Toronto Star

Justin Timberlake: Filthy review – comeback single channels Prince into grownup funk masterpiece

 After the fluffy megahit Can’t Stop the Feeling!, Timberlake goes dark and dangerous – and shows that his instinct for subtle, futurist R&B hasn’t deserted him –  The Guardian

Calgary's Static Shift stay true to themselves on reality series, The Launch

In a short introductory interview on CTV’s promotional website for the new show, Calgary trio The Static Shift don’t seem to shy away from their retro image –   Eric Volmers, Postmedia

Vancouver music venue damaged by suspected arson

Art and Leisure suffered significant exterior and interior damage after a fire broke out last Thursday –  Kate Wilson, Georgia Straight

Producers call out major labels for calling albums 'mixtapes' to avoid paying

Those objecting include E. Dan, Rook from J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, Benny Cassette, DJ Burn One, and Sonny Digital –  ballerstatus.com

How Sue Foley is using the down time before her new album is released

The Ottawa blues star is studying, writing, and working a band into shape –  Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

Nude Dogs are a rowdy rock quartet with nothing to hide

The young Toronto women evoke sludgy bands from well before their time –  Ben Rayner, Toronto Star