Music Biz Headlines, March 9, 2018

By Kerry Doole

Shakespeare who? Justin Bieber is the big draw in Stratford these days

Since the Steps to Stardom exhibit opened Feb. 18 at the Stratford Perth Museum, carloads of young women have been arriving to spend quality time checking out an assortment of Bieber’s Teen Choice Awards surfboards, running shoes, star-studded photographs and personal letters  –Toronto Star

Record Store Day 2018: the exclusive releases in full

From Abba to Zero 7, the 500 singles, EPs, LPs and cassettes released for the annual celebration of independent record shops –  The Guardian

Recording Academy appoints Tina Tchen, Michelle Obama's former Chief of Staff, to chair task force

The newly-created independent task force will address female advancement in the music industry  – Gail Mitchell, Billboard

Farewell to NME: a rock'n'roll riot that petered into silence

This week marks the final print copy of NME, once the engine of the hype and heat around the music industry. But its narrow musical focus in its later years doomed it to irrelevance – Alexis Petridis, The Guardian

'It may be four instead of five'

 Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller confirms a tour IS in the pipeline... but hints Victoria Beckham will not be involved – Kayleigh Giles, Daily Mail

Rhye sounded sensual at Massey Hall, but their music lacked climax

The sold-out hometown return for Mike Milosh’s R&B outfit felt like all lead-up and no payoff, but Hannah Georgas impressed in her opening set –  Michael Rancic, NOW

Photographer Pat Rainer's images of Memphis music legends collected in first-time exhibit at Stax Museum

The faces in Pat Rainer’s photos are familiar. They are among the heroes and icons of Memphis music: Al Green, Willie Mitchell, Alex Chilton, Sam Phillips, and many others –  Bob Mehr, USA Today Network

Canada’s entertainment industry drafts collective code of conduct

More than 25 groups have signed on to the code, including the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, the Directors Guild of Canada, and the Writers Guild of Canada  – Victoria Ahearn, CP

Nickelodeon is expanding into live events

The network will bring the Nickelodeon SlimeFest music festival to Chicago on June 9 and 10  –  adweek.com

Standup comedians take a crack at government funding

Telling jokes is not considered a performing art by several arts-funding organizations, according to the parliamentary petition, and a Toronto comedian is spearheading an effort to change that –  Raju Mudhar, Toronto Star

Review: Dwight Yoakam turns it on, up and loose at the Jube

Twenty-five hundred hungry country music fans came for a little twang and got a headbanging cowpunk show in Edmonton. Yep, Dwight Yoakam’s still got it. – Fish Griwkowsky, Edmonton Journal

UK advertising watchdog cracks down on ticket resale websites

ASA bans misleading pricing practices by StubHub UK, Viagogo, Seatwave and GetMeIn!  – Laura Snapes, The Guardian

Frigs is ready to move on from Toronto’s ‘Seattle moment’

2012 was a year that percolated a crop of scrappy Toronto bands. Among the best of them was a slithery, budding quartet who'd go on to be known as Frigs – Carly Lewis, The Globe and Mail

Jane Bunnett and Maqueque to perform at Birdland March 13

Lately, Cuban music has been popping up on the jazz radar like crazy, but the Canadian soprano saxophonist and flautist Bunnett was on the Caribbean tip long before others began feeling the benefits of the current thaw – New Yorker

Van Morrison preps new LP 'You're Driving Me Crazy'

Soul singer reworks solo material, jazz and blues standards on 39th album, featuring Hammond organ/trumpet player Joey DeFrancesco – Ryan Reed, Rolling Stone

5 Things to Know about Jimi Hendrix's Both Sides of the Sky

Almost half of the album’s 13 tracks are straight up blues standards and do little more than reminding listeners that underneath all the volume, Hendrix was a skilled guitarist in the genre –  Stuart Derdeyn, Calgary Herald

Anger is energy for Alice Bag

After four decades on the LA punk scene, she’s still bursting with optimism, still overwhelmingly cheerful, and of course still determined –  Brett Callwood, LA Weekly

Burlington's Skaface celebrates band's 30th anniversary with new music

The veteran ska-faced group has tunes included on four compilation albums –  Kathryn Dunmore, Burlington Post

Mo Kenney refuses to sweat the details

The Nova Scotian singer-songwriter finds her voice with new record, her third full-length. In this interview, she confesses a love of King Crimson – Ken Kelley, nor'easter online