Music Biz Headlines, July 15, 2019

By Kerry Doole

Closure of Toronto’s Cadillac Lounge part of industry-wide challenges, expert says

A west-end Toronto music lounge is closing down after nearly two decades in business. As Albert Delitala explains, the closure is believed to be only part of big changes in the industry. – Global News

The fallout from cancelled music festivals Roxodus, Hair in the Fair: frustrated fans and festival organizers across the industry

The Canadian summer fest landscape was rocked recently by the cancellation of Roxodus Music Fest, a four-day rock-music colossus set to be headlined by Aerosmith, Kid Rock, Blondie, Nickelback, Alice Cooper and Billy Idol. – Brad Wheeler,Globe and Mail

Punk band PUP is getting bigger and none of them are taking it for granted

To call PUP a “relevant distraction” is, admittedly, selling the boisterous Toronto punk quartet a bit short, but it’s a nice turn of phrase nonetheless. PUP played the biggest hometown show of its career at the 5,000-capacity Echo Beach on July 2. – Ben Rayner, Toronto Star

Musicians who give up drinking should be supported by the industry

There are some cool-ass sober musicians. I know this because I’ve Googled that exact phrase 100 times since last August. That really helps – knowing you’re not alone is an incredible gift, so I’m adding my voice, and passing it on. – Damhnait Doyle, SOCAN blog

New Vaughan bylaw butts out cannabis music festival

Journey Cannabis & Music Festival, which was set to take place this August, has been abruptly cancelled. – Kieran Delamont, NOW

Kelis explains her journey from making tunes to making savoury sauces

Since you really liked her “Milkshake,” Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Kelis is banking that you’ll really like her new line of sauces. Kelis Rogers has expanded her musical career to embrace a culinary one. – Nick Krewen, Toronto Star

Adam Lambert makes an impression on Rhapsody Tour with Queen

Lambert did not give us a Malek-esque Freddie Mercury imitation. He brought his own thing, his A-game stage presence, his fine voice, his infectious swagger. He did not attempt any sort of impersonation.  – Marsha Lederman, Globe and Mail

Meet Toronto’s Frank Dukes, the go-to producer for superstars like Rihanna and Drake

He’s the go-to guy when you’re a pop music superstar looking for a hit — and he’s from Toronto. Frank Dukes may not be a household name to the general populace, but the 35-year-old songwriter and producer is on the speed dial of everyone who is anyone in pop music these days. – Nick Krewen

Alt-country singer Orville Peck is challenging the genre’s traditional masculinity

Rising Canadian country music maverick Orville Peck is a masked interloper onto the scene. Imagine Roy Orbison having a David Lynch dream or an operatic peyote meltdown.  – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

Brazil’s queer music scene is a source of hope in a conservative political climate

Pabllo Vittar, Bruno Capinan and DJ Jess Lucas are making music and throwing parties as a form of resistance. – Denio Lourenco, NOW

International

Nico in Manchester: 'She loved the architecture – and the heroin'

She had been a top model, then sang with the Velvet Underground, and in 1981 Nico moved to Manchester. Her friends there share their touching, alarming memories of ‘a true bohemian.’  – Dave Simpson, Guardian

How A British punk album revolutionized rock ’n’ roll: 40 years of ‘London Calling’

In August 1979, the four members of the London-based band The Clash stepped into Wessex Sound Studios to record their third album. Four decades later the double album London Calling remains one of the most influential and essential rock albums of all-time. The album celebrates its 40^th anniversary this December. – Jim Amos, Forbes

What every songwriter and publisher needs to know about the Music Modernization Act

David Israelite, president of the National Music Publishers’ Association, breaks it down for songwriters and publishers of all stripes. – Jordan Darville, Fader

All hail Céline Dion – the joyous new queen of fashion

From perfectly sculpted to jaw-droppingly daring, the singer has reinvented herself as an avant-garde couture-star – and the fashion world can’t get enough of her.  – Jess Cartner-Morle, The Guardian

Cheap Trick: Why aren’t they one of the biggest bands ever?

In a live recording from 1980, when Cheap Trick kicks off, the energy is off the charts. A performance like that begs the question: “So why aren’t they HUGE?” – Michael Sarno, CultureSonar

"I feel exhausted": k.d. lang on being a lesbian icon

In 1992, she broke the mold with her album Ingénue. Taking it back on tour, she talks about her pride at its effect – and the regret that it made her life public property. – Hanna Hanra, The Guardian

Capturing the undersung blues people of the rural South

Timothy Duffy is on a mission to document America's vernacular music — specifically, the blues — and the everyday men and women who carry on the tradition. He's the co-founder of Music Maker Relief Foundation, a nonprofit that helps struggling and aging musicians. Duffy is also a photographer, and his new project is a collection of portraits of these musicians.– NPR

Inside Ed Sheeran’s ridiculously star-studded new album

Ed Sheeran’s new album grew out of the fact that he really didn’t need any more alone time. So when the 28-year-old English singer began work on his follow-up to 2017’s Grammy-winning Divide, he figured it might be nice to have someone to talk to for a change. – Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times

50 years on, Sandy Denny’s influence remains with Decemberists and others

Sandy Denny was just another relatively obscure folk singer in London when a song she wrote, “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” showed up on the American pop charts as the title track of a top-30 album in 1968 by singer Judy Collins. Collins, an astute interpreter who had brought the songs of artists such as Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen to a wider audience when they were still relative unknowns, heard genius in “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” and she wasn’t wrong. – Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune

Thom Yorke doesn’t like music algorithms because they tell him to listen to Muse

The Radiohead frontman, who released his third solo album ‘ANIMA’ last month, said that he doesn’t rely on suggestions from music platforms because they often lead him to Muse. – Charlotte Krol, NME

Trisha Yearwood: 'Country music has to change'

The star says the country music establishment is out of step with fans when it comes to female artists. Industry leaders are "following a set of rules that don't really exist any more", she told the BBC. Those rules were made public in 2015, when a prominent radio consultant admitted he cautioned stations against playing too many songs by women, or playing female artists back-to-back. – Cody Godwin, BBC News

Otis Williams: 'The Temptations didn't love themselves'

The only surviving original member of the hit R&B group talks about the darker side of a legacy and the musical it inspired. – Rob LeDonne, The Guardian

Carly Rae Jepsen talks about swords, and life after massive hit Call Me Maybe

When Jepsen won the Song of the Decade lottery with “Call Me Maybe” in 2012, the fame that came with it, oppressive at first, settled into something breathable and nice over the course of the next few albums: Emotion (2015), and the new Dedicated, a pristine, ‘80s-dwelling pop album. – Allison Stewart, Chicago Tribune

'A big tree has fallen': the sad demise of fRoots, bible of British folk

A champion of the local and the international underground for over 40 years, it announced its closure last week after advanced discussions with a new publishing company fell through. – Jude Rogers The Guardian

A music fest was charging white people double — but caved after the uproar

Tiny Jag, a.k.a. Jillian Graham, pulled out of a festival in Detroit last week.  Why? She found out it was asking white people to pay twice the amount it was charging people of color. –  Christie D'Zurilla, LA Times

Vinyl drives Kylie Minogue to a Number One Album debut in Australia

Kylie Minogue’s ‘Step Back In Time: The Definitive Collection’ debuted at number one on the ARIA chart this week because of Vinyl. Despite this being Kylie’s 13th compilation, this was the first time fans could buy all of her hits in one place on vinyl. – Paul Cashmere, Noise11

Drake fans were pissed at the ticket prices for his OVO Fest

Drake’s OVO Fest is back in August after taking a year hiatus. Tickets officially went on sale July 12. Fans were disappointed to see general admission floor tickets up to $1,000. – Carolyn Droke, Uproxx

Report: Vernon denies festival permit for Woodstock 50

Variety is reporting that after a meeting last week, Oneida County has denied a temporary event permit for the Woodstock 50 festival to take place at Vernon Downs Racetrack. – Celebrity Access

Bob Dylan, Neil Young together at Hyde Park

It’s not every day that two music heavyweights join forces for a co-headline of such relish, so it was no surprise that the festival crowd was plentiful at this sold-out event. Neil Young roams the stage like a lion in the Serengeti sun, surely the best co-headline Bob Dylan will ever see. – Marco Gandolfi, MusicNews.com

In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: TV host, promoter and author Sharon Osbourne

Hold onto your hat, Sharon Osbourne is in the house. A shrewd business maverick from British showbiz royalty who rarely, if ever, pulls her swing from the rafters punches, the rather demure Divine Mrs. O is a delightful interview subject.  –Celebrity Access

Nicki Minaj pulls out of Saudi Arabia concert

Nicki Minaj is withdrawing from Jeddah World Fest in Saudi Arabia because she says she wants to show support for women’s rights, gay rights and freedom of expression. – Mesfin Fekadu, AP