Music Biz Headlines, March 18, 2019
Jann Arden (pictured) shines in her new show, the attractions of house concerts, and plenty of Juno-related stories. Also in the headlines are Bry Webb, Robyn, Jesse Parent, Madison Olds, Sook-Yin Lee, The Greatest Showman, Ed Sheeran, Sandstorm, Spotify, Avril Lavigne, Special Olympics, The Sadies, Hal Blaine, K-pop, The Mekons, the 45 RPM single, and The Pixies.
By Kerry Doole
The best place to catch a concert in London ON might be a stranger's living room
Eight or nine times a year, Londoner Tim Turner rolls up his rugs, hides his valuables and invites around 40 strangers into his living room for an intimate evening of music. – Paula Duhatschek, CBC News
Jann Arden’s narcissistic alter ego shines in CTV’s Jann
The singer is happy to play a less-successful version of herself in Jann, even when the scenes hit a little too close to home. – Tony Wong, Toronto Star
How Canada's biggest names in music are supporting the next generation of talent
Jessie Reyez, Chromeo and The Weeknd are helping emerging talent find their voices by providing recording possibilities. – Tashauna Reid, CBC
How excited were these first-time Juno nominees? They tell the Star all about it
Ahead of the awards, we e-mailed these novice nominees to gauge their reaction. – Ben Rayner, Toronto Star
We all owe a bow to Canadian music industry for life's soundtrack
It is an entirely quaint notion these days that the Canadian government, or any of its agencies, boards or commissions, would have any say at all about the music to which we listen. – Larry Cornies, London Free Press
Sarah McLachlan’s too busy for much showbiz but ‘how can I not’ host the Junos?
Prior to last night's show, the Vancouver-based star reflected on her role as host. – Ben Rayner, Toronto Star
Bry Webb fights Doug Ford's Student Choice Initiative, supports campus radio in open letter
"Constantines would not exist had I not gotten involved with this strange, counter-cultural community outlet." – Sarah Murphy, Exclaim
Meet the Cambridge director up for a Juno for Scott Helman's Hang Ups video
A Cambridge director is up for a big prize this weekend — a Juno for Music Video of the Year. Ben Knechtel was nominated for directing Scott Helman's music video for the song Hang Ups. He lost out to Ali Eisner's Bahamas clip, but says the video is special in part because of his long-time creative collaboration with Helman. – Teghan Beaudette, CBC News ·
Why aren't female music engineers nominated for Junos?
This past weekend's Juno Awards could have made history but it won’t happen. Over the Junos’ 48-year history, not once has a woman been nominated for the ‘recording engineer of the year’ award. – Lindsay Dunn, 680 News
Review: Robyn was triumphant in her return to Toronto
The Swedish pop star sounded better than ever during her Honey tour closer at Rebel. – Kevin Ritchie, NOW
Jesse Parent discovers his inner folksinger-storyteller
Live album is to be recorded at The Rich Uncle Tavern in downtown Kitchener. – Coral Andrews, Waterloo Region Record
B.C.’s Madison Olds selected to advance to the next stage of Jim Beam’s Canadian Music Week contest
For the third year in a row, Jim Beam has partnered with the CMW Indies to give a leg up to an act that’s ready for a bigger stage. Last week Olds won the BC leg of the contest. – Kate Wilson, Georgia Straight
Parts & Labour is closed, but The Shop will live on
The Toronto basement party venue is reopening this weekend, with many of the same parties that already called it home – plus a bunch of new DJs and new ideas. – Richard Trapunski, NOW
Sook-Yin Lee’s Unsafe is overlong and overburdened
The former VJ's new production in Toronto "skims the surface of urgent material rather than offering new insights." – Karen Fricker, Toronto Star
Sandstorm's Time to Strike is a reminder that '80s metal hasn't vanished
The new albumdoes an inarguably credible job of re-creating an era that came to a sudden end when grunge detonated in 1991—right down to the decidedly analogue-sounding approach to recording. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight
international
These were the 10 Bestselling Albums in the world in 2018
The list of the bestselling titles of 2018 has just been released, and it’s a healthy mix of typical chart-toppers, a surprising number of soundtracks and even a few internationally-adored acts that are new to these types of rankings. – Hugh McIntyre, Forbes
How The Greatest Showman became the world's favourite album of 2018
The soundtrack to movie phenomenon The Greatest Showman, whose brassy, colourful anthems are mostly fronted by Hugh Jackman, has officially been anointed as 2018’s largest global album bu IFPI stats. – Tim Ingham, MBW
The ordinary boys: how Ed Sheeran-inspired troubadours swept the charts
They’re soulful, tattooed, wear hats and, from Tom Walker to Lewis Capaldi, they’re absolutely everywhere. So what does their dominance say about 2019? – Laura Snapes, The Guardian
Spotify vs songwriters: Sony/ATV's Martin Bandier and Warner/Chappell's Carianne Marshall urge composers to fight royalty rate challenge
Outgoing Sony/ATV boss Martin Bandier believes Spotify isn’t sharing enough of its revenue with songwriters. – Tim Ingham, MBW
The making of an anthem: How the Special Olympics' official song was made, just in time
The official theme song of the Special Olympics may sound smooth and unhurried, but its creation is a thrilling globe-trotting tale. It debuted on Thursday with a killer musical cast including Avril Lavigne, Puerto Rican reggaeton star Luis Fonsi, Emirati pop king Hussain Al Jassmi, Egyptian crooner Tamer Hosny and Syrian songstress Assala Nasri. –The National
After 25-year wait, the Sadies burn bright in Orlando debut alongside Kurt Vile
The Sadies are one of the most evocative and dimensional bands in the indie roots scene. Though their primary masts of country & western and early rock & roll make an undeniably defining framework, their music rides with remarkable depth. – Bao Le-Huu, Orlando Register
Al Jardine remembers Hal Blaine’s work with the Beach Boys: ‘We got lucky’
Legendary Wrecking Crew session drummer played on “Help Me Rhonda,” “California Girls,” “Good Vibrations,” “I Get Around” and many more. – David Browne, Rolling Stone
South Korean police questioning two K-pop stars in sex scandals
The allegations prompted both men, Seungri and Jung Joon-young, to announce they are retiring from the entertainment industry. – Hyung-Jin Kim, AP
Mekons: Deserted — a fusion of psychogeography and politics
In a new album, the band’s eclectic style takes its inspiration from deserts and the world of artistic figures related to them, from Percy Bysshe Shelley to Jim Morrison. – David Honigmann, FT
LoudQUIETloud: can the Pixies break into the podcasting world?
The band is set to become the My Dad Wrote a Porno of the alt-rock world. – Leonie Cooper, The Guardian
Real Life Rock Top 10: Mekons, Jewel, Russian Dada
Trump gets stomped (twice!), a rock ‘n’ roll fable is reborn and distant voices come alive. – Greil Marcus, Rolling Stone
Africa's Boomplay announces licensing deal with Warner Music
Boomplay, the largest music streaming and download service in Africa, has signed a direct licensing agreement with Warner Music to bring the record company's diverse global roster of music to the region. – Top40 Charts
How the 45 RPM single changed music forever
Charting the rise, fall, resurrection and legacy of the beloved vinyl format, which helped bring rock & roll to the masses and now turns 70. – David Browne, Rolling Stone
Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes review – pristine doc of tonal clarity
Sophie Huber’s film, though sanctioned by the jazz record label, is no hagiography, interviewing key players and adding fantastic rostrum pictures of the era. – Leslie Felperin, The Guardian
