Music Biz Headlines, July 29, 2019

By FYI Staff

Kitchener’s doom rockers Hawkeyes enjoy international success without leaving Canada

Here’s an interesting fact about Hawkeyes. This heavy-psyche-space-doom rock band has a sizable following in the US, UK, and Europe, yet the group has never played outside of Canada. That’s thanks to the enthusiastic support of UK indie label Cardinal Fuzz, and U.S. boutique label Helmet Lady Records. – Coral Andrews, Waterloo Record

These are the Canadian celebrities with the most followers on Instagram

In our day and age, being Instagram famous is pretty much the equivalent of being rich. The more followers you have, the more opportunities you have to earn money via social media, and you won't believe how much some of the most popular accounts make. Who is the most followed Canadian on Instagram? You might be surprised. – Hayley Hynes, Narcity

Oshawa produces some of Canada’s top musicians — but it’s running out of venues for them to play

Lack of places to play is hurting the scene in Canada's 'Motor City' and the Durham region of Ontario. – Ben Rayner, Toronto Star

Analysis: Have music festivals hit a sour note?

You can’t blame rock fans for feeling a little bit less than festive these days. Welland's Hair in the Fair, and the Roxodus Music Festival that was set to take place earlier this month in Clearview Township near Barrie, Ont. were both cancelled. So, the question that needs to be answered is: Why did this happen? – Richard Hutton,  NiagaraThisWeek

Osheaga 2019: Seven shows to see at the Montreal music festival

From Childish Gambino to Sofi Tukker, here are just a few highlights from the fest's 14th edition, taking place from Aug. 2 to 4. –  T'Cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette

Every little thing it does is magic: A revered sound board and its Toronto fate

After 40 exceptional years of making ‘warm, rich and fat’ music, the original AIR Montserrat Neve recording console is still fully operational, in Toronto’s Subterranean Sound Studios. –  Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

Toronto record store owner is celebrating 50 years in the industry

Mike Waite, the owner of  Mike's Music, is celebrating 50 years in music. For the first half of Waite's career, he recorded his own music, produced albums for other bands, and worked at one of the first Sam the Record Man franchises (as well as many other locations). Then, 26 years ago, he opened Mike's Music near the corner of Broadview and Danforth. – BlogTO

Sexual revolution left music great Leonard Cohen bitter

Especially as he grew older, Cohen also seemed to grow disillusioned with the sexual revolution and the broken hearts and emotional rubble it left behind. Cohen, like so many of the literary elites who came of age in the 1960s, gorged himself on the forbidden fruit with gusto, and so he knew of what he wrote. – Jonathan Van Moren, LifeSiteNews

Burnt Black, on fire again 

One of Halifax’s most influential bands, formed in the fog of Yarmouth, reunites after 20 years apart.   Chuck Teed, The Coast

Without love, it ain't much: Sheila E. on a divided America, Prince and the party at Interstellar Rodeo

To say Sheila E. is a legend is an understatement — as a teenage drummer she toured with Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie and this cat you may have heard of by the name of Prince, who also wrote her most famous solo song, The Glamorous Life. – Fish Griwkowsky, Edmonton Journal

Toronto couple revives neglected opera at Palace of Versailles

Jeannette Lajeunesse-Zingg and Marshall Pynkoski, co-artistic directors of Toronto’s Opera Atelier, received a letter last year from Versailles Spectacles, cultural programmers at the grand palace built by King Louis XIV on the outskirts of Paris. The pair is now at the heart of the first opera to be produced at the Palace of Versailles in Paris since 1789. – John Terauds, Toronto Star

Metallica's Kirk Hammett reveals plans to write more horror-inspired classical music

At Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum last week, Metallica's Kirk Hammett told the sold-out audience that he's written his second classical piece with his wife, Lani, and plans to do more. – Karen Bliss, Billboard

International

TV tonight: the birth of punk rock, according to Iggy Pop

The founding father of punk narrates a history of the movement, starting, naturally, with his own starring role. In the second part of a double bill, the Ramones visit London and find a city full of scruffy, furious kindred spirits.  –The Guardian

Why Celine Dion's sense of style will go on

At 51, the Canadian singer has reinvented herself as the consummate fashion maestro. – The National AE

This week In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Chris Macmeikan, Music Director, Continental Drifts.

Anyone seeking Chris Macmeikan in coming weeks is advised to start checking music festival listings throughout the UK, and Europe. He will likely be rampaging full-throttle with kid-like enthusiasm through a four hour set as renowned DJ Chris Tofu with an audience in front being a sea of churning, flailing bodies. – Celeb Access

A pan-European working group of collecting societies, music publishers and rights agencies (TOWGE ) involved in the processing of song royalties – especially from streaming services – has agreed some best practice standards which it hopes will improve royalty administration systems. – Chris Cooke, CMU

Rusty Gaston tapped to head Sony/ATV Nashville Music Publishing

Sony/ATV Music Publishing is expected to name Rusty Gaston the new head of Sony/ATV Nashville. He replaces former president and CEO Troy Tomlinson, who left the company in June to become chairman and CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville. Gaston comes from THIS Music. – Melinda Newman, Billboard

How to deliver new music to fans after a lengthy hiatus

It's impractical to assume any artist can constantly churn out new material, and a reprieve from creating music can often be a healthy thing. That said, getting back in the game can be challenging, not just for you, but also for your fans when it comes to introducing them to your new material. – Patrick McGuire, ReverbNation Blog

Brian McKnight’s Bedtime Story is ‘60 minutes of love-making music’

Don’t ask Brian McKnight where he’s been. That question is really telling, he says, because his true fans know where to find him. “That question tells me you don’t really follow me on Instagram and you’re not really in tune with where R&B is today,” McKnight said. –  Chevel Johnson, AP

Music review: k.d. lang, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Glasgow was in, from the moment the band struck up a sultry rhythm behind a velvet curtain, which duly parted to reveal lang in meditative pose at the microphone, ready to deliver the deliciously ambivalent plea of Save Me and the self-soothing inquiry of The Mind of Love, aching yet rapturous over blushing bossa nova tones. – The Scotsman

PledgeMusic pulls its site down as artists remain unpaid

PledgeMusic is now orchestrating the digital equivalent of disappearing in the middle of the night.  After freezing its website several months ago and urging artists to back up their assets, the site has now been completely taken down. – Paul Resnikoff, DMN

Cameron Crowe and David Crosby get real about the music legend’s life in Remember My Name

As rock & roll biopics and retro-minded music documentaries enjoy a moment in the spotlight again, Crowe returns to a more journalistic mode as producer and interviewer in the new documentary, David Crosby: Remember My Name. – Lina Lecaro, LA Weekly

Birdman and Aspire Music Group drop lawsuit over Drake royalties

Aspire Music Group first filed a lawsuit against both Cash Money and Young Money, alleging owed royalties relating to Drake's 2008 contract. Cash Money and Young Money filed counterclaims against Aspire and Cortez  Bryant in response. Drake's signing has been a contentious subject for many years, with multiple parties taking responsibility for giving him his big break. – Complex

Woodstock 50 releases all artists from contracts after Maryland announcement

Organizers of the Woodstock 50 festival have formally released all artists scheduled to play from their contracts. John Fogerty and Jay-Z had already reportedly pulled out of the Aug. 16-18 festival and reps for the festival and organizer Michael Lang emailed agents with bands on the bill to say they would not try to enforce performance contracts for the event.  – Dave Brooks, Billboard