Music Biz Headlines, March 11, 2019

By Kerry Doole

Deciding whether to drop King of Pop's music a 'delicate situation' for radio network

One of Canada’s largest radio station networks has yet to tell Michael Jackson to Beat It in the fallout after the disturbing documentary Leaving Neverland aired on HBO. But Steve Jones, Stingray’s Senior VP of Brands & Content for the company’s 103 radio stations across Canada, said it’s “a wait and see” situation whether to drop the King of Pop. – Jane Stevenson, Toronto Sun

PUP: scrappy Toronto punk band kick a hole in rock star mythology  

For its whole history, rock has been fetishizing tortured artists. With their third album, Morbid Stuff, that’s exactly what PUP want to avoid. – Richard Trapunski, NOW

Corey Hart is back: A heart to heart about his new EP, tour, Juno's gig and Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction

Hart, the blue-eyed Montrealer who had international hits in the 1980s and who challenged conventional practices when it came to wearing sunglasses, will be on hand at this year’s Juno Awards on March 17. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

Meet the woman changing the face of Canadian music

Tao-Ming Lau previously worked at Universal Music Canada and Billions, and sits on the Polaris Music Prize board and the TD Toronto Jazz Artistic Advisory Committee. She has now started Blue Crane Creative Agency. –  Andrea Warner, CBC Music

Toronto-based Harris Institute celebrates 30th anniversary with Canadian music industry at the top of its game

When John Harris founded the Harris Institute 30 years ago, he had two straightforward goals. He wanted to strengthen the Canadian music industry and give students the tools, knowledge, and skills to have lifelong careers in this sector. – Charlie Smith, Georgia Straight

Review: Yves Jarvis: The Same but by Different Means

The Quebec home-recording savant stitches together micro-epics into a sprawling expanse that feels both intimate and grand. – Stuart Berman, Pitchfork

London's Tommy Hunter applauds how far Junos have come

Dozens of Canadian music stars, venues big and small, lights, cameras, are coming for events across the city. – Joe Belanger, London Free Press

Review: Ella Mai took us back to the 90s at Danforth Music Hall

The rising R&B artist sings in a mode made popular around the time she was born, but her confidence and style make her seem like one in a million. – Michelle Da Silva, NOW

The secret musical history of London, Ont.

From Céline hit-writer Stephan Moccio to Michelle Wright, 9 musicians who launched their careers in the city that hosts the Junos this week. – CBC

The etiquette of whether to say ‘YAS QUEEN’

For Vancouver musician Tonye Aganaba, hearing white people say ‘yas queen’ is equally jarring as being called the N-word. – Tessa Vikander, The Star Vancouver

international

Apple not fighting royalty increase for songwriters that Spotify, Pandora, Google and Amazon have appealed

Apple is not joining the other streaming music services and will not appeal the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board decision. Songwriter organizations have been heavily praising Apple while condemning the other streaming services. – Juli Clover Macrumors

Is this the greatest photo in jazz history?

A quiet Sunday night in 1953. The Dodgers had just won the pennant. J.F.K. and Jacqueline Bouvier had just married. And four titans of bebop came together in a dive bar for a rare jam session. – NY Times

Wait: Spotify is suing songwriters now?

The songwriter community is up in arms right now… and understandably so. Here, in an exclusive MBW Podcast, David Israelite, President and CEO of the NMPA, explains exactly why. –  Tim Ingham, MBW

What “Babylon” captured about racism and reggae

When Franco Rosso’s “Babylon” premièred at Cannes, in 1980, it was hailed for its soulful depictions of a community largely invisible in British media. – Hua Hsu, New Yorker

The women of 1970s London punk: Debbie Harry, Siouxsie Sioux and more

Derek Ridgers, a photographer in the right place at the right time, managed to capture the women at the heart of 1970s punk culture. He has collected his images into his book Punk London 1977. – Far Out

It’s too late to cancel Michael Jackson

Nor would that be going far enough. – Carl Wilson, Slate

Could Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland spell financial ruin for his £1.6billion empire?

Oh f*** off, it’s just a rock album’

What John Lennon said when he was told people would be listening to Imagine '10 years later' is revealed in a new behind-the-scenes documentary. – Dusica Malesevic, Daily Mail

The 11 buzziest movies at SXSW

South by Southwest is that rare thing, a film festival that caters to both the art-house crowd and the masses. This year's highlight list includes a doco on notorious boy band svengali Lou Pearlman. –  Ramin Setoodeh, Variety 

Festival co-founder: Lineup for Woodstock 50 coming soon

Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang says the wait is almost over regarding performers for Woodstock 50, despite media reports claiming Jay-Z, Black Keys and others will perform at the event in August. –  AP

Simpsons producers withdraw 1991 Michael Jackson episode

Child abuse allegations in Leaving Neverland prompt cartoon’s makers to act. – Sarah Marsh, The Guardian

Linda Ronstadt leads kids to an intersection of arts and understanding across the border

Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne take a four-day visit to Banámichi, near where her grandfather was born.  – Randy Lewis, LA Times

How George Michael became the world’s biggest art collector — and best friends with Tracey Emin

Waldemar Januszczak gets a sneak preview of the pop star’s art collection before it goes under the hammer. – Sunday Times

Jennifer Hudson and Celine Dion led star-studded Grammy concert tribute to Aretha Franklin