By Kerry Doole
Alexandra Stréliski: From ad agency to award-winning musician with a hand from Jean-Marc Vallée
Stréliski, who has a new album out, “Neo-Romance,” says the late director gave her a push to make music her career. – Nick Krewen, The Star
Everyseeker 2023 announces first names for festival lineup
Sun Ra Arkestra makes its pandemic-belated visit to Halifax during the fest's June event. – Morgan Mullin, The Coast
Why a Grammy award-winning producer is opening a music venue in rural Newfoundland
Greg Wells is turning old church in Winterton into the province's latest music hub. – Melissa Tobin, CBC News
Copyright loophole for education should be plugged
Why is it taking so long to make the obvious fix and force the provincial education ministries and the universities to stop downloading their budget-trimming exercises onto small Canadian publishers and their writers?– Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail
Vivek Shraya is still in love with music: “How liberating it is to be an artist in my 40s”
The long-form music video for “He Loves Me Until He Hates Me,” off Vivek Shraya’s Mint Records debut, Baby, You’re Projecting, is both a love letter and an act of resistance. – Yasmine Shemesh, Georgia Straight
Kaytranada joins forces with Aminé for a pristine party album, plus the return of Anohni and the Johnsons
Start your weekend with a curated playlist of new music, with fresh cuts from Toronto rapper DijahSB, ANOHNI and the Johnsons and desert blues collective Tinariwen. – Richie Assaly, Toronto Star
Grimes is very happy with the first AI use of her voice
A couple of weeks back, Grimes gave permission for AI musicians to use her voice in the creation of new music in a licensing arrangement (proceeds will be split 50-50). The first of those musicians/programmers to take her up on that offer seems have done a great job.– Alan Cross, Journal of Musical Things
Celebrating the Life of Brian
Annual tribute to guitar great Brian Griffith May 27 at the Corktown Pub, Graham Rockingham writes. – Hamilton Spectator
All the movies, theatre, music and museums to look forward to in summer 2023
The Globe’s Arts staff have rounded up the summer’s most promising cultural highlights. – Globe and Mail
Making music a possibility for every child — $2.3 million in free lessons and counting
Hamilton Music Collective holds 15th anniversary celebration June 8 to support An Instrument for Every Child, Graham Rockingham writes. – Hamilton Spectator
On Our Radar: Tawahum’s debut album, Bottled Lightning, is a powerful act of resistance
Tawahum Bige has transformed their advocacy against the Trans Mountain Pipeline into a powerful album—one that has been in the works for years. The Łutselkʼe Dene, Plains Cree, and Métis poet and hip-hop artist’s debut album, Bottled Lightning, was released on May 5. – Bridget Stringer-Holden, Georgia Straight
Dream of owning a record shop? This owner is looking for his successor
Robert Charles-Dunne has sourced and sold the coolest, the newest and the most prized vinyl to countless Ontario music lovers for the last 23 years. Now, the owner of the Village Idiot in London, Ont., wants to find a successor who loves the business and the music as much as he does. – CBC News
How a Bob Dylan song unlocked Honey Novick’s artistic life and inspired a new collection of poetry
Honey Novick was 16 or 17 years old the first time someone asked her how she felt. It was asked by Bob Dylan. His song “Like a Rolling Stone” was blaring over the loudspeakers in a crowded place. Dylan’s unusual, alluring voice was addressing everyone who was present, but Novick felt singled out. The moment was inspirational. – Alex Rose, CJN
International
In Germany, Roger Waters dons SS garb, projects ‘Anne Frank’ on screen to bash Israel
Former Pink Floyd frontman, known for antisemitic antics, draws comparison between teen killed in Holocaust and death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh last year. – Toby Axelrod, Times of Israel
Thomas Coesfeld to become CEO of BMG effective July 1, 2023
Bertelsmann is bringing forward the long-planned leadership change at BMG. Thomas Coesfeld, the current CFO, will now become the music company’s new CEO with effect from July 1. He succeeds the founding CEO Hartwig Masuch, who is leaving BMG and Bertelsmann "at his own request and on the best of mutual terms". – Murray Stassen, MBW
SoundCloud is reducing its current global staff headcount by 8%
The move will see around 40 people laid off at the company. It’s understood that the majority of layoffs at the firm will take place in the US. The news was confirmed today (May 23) in an internal memo to staff from SoundCloud CEO, Eliah Seton. – MBW
The retail turnaround whizz bringing HMV back from the brink
Doug Putman's team has turned around the fortunes of the the music retailer - and brought it back to its old home on Oxford Street in central London. What is his secret sauce? – Clara Murray, Raconteur
Stringer delivers good news to investors
Sony Music Group Chairman Rob Stringer spoke about recent successes, next-generation platforms, the pros and cons of AI and the continued global growth of Sony Music’s creative footprint in Sony Group’s 2023 Business Segment Briefing for investors. – Hits Daily Double
Why a copyright judgment against Andy Warhol has implications for the music industry and AI
The US Supreme Court ruled last week that Andy Warhol infringed copyright by painting a portrait of Prince based on a photo taken by Lynn Goldsmith for Vanity Fair. Warhol’s estate argued that the painting was “transformative enough” to be something new and fresh and thus not guilty of infringement. They lost. – Alan Cross, Journal of Musical Things
Warhol Foundation loses Supreme Court appeal in Prince appropriation case
This final decision ends the dispute over whether the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts (AWF) infringed the copyright held by the well-known photographer Lynn Goldsmith. The image which had been treated in Warhol’s style was commissioned by Vanity Fair magazine. – Artlyst
US lawmakers propose 'Taylor Swift ticketing bill'
The new legislation, modelled on a similar law in New York, would require ticketing platforms to disclose the full price of tickets upfront. – James Hanley, IQMag
Why Taylor Swift’s rebound fling with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy is giving her fans pause
She’s single and ready to mingle. He’s pretty and problematic. Their increasingly public dalliance is sending fans into a tailspin. – Rani Sheen, Toronto Star
Turbocharge philanthropy, ditch the ukuleles: 10 ways to save classical music
After cuts by Arts Council England and the BBC, Simon Rattle says UK opera houses and orchestras have never faced greater peril. How can they fight back? Top musicians outline their battle plans. – The Guardian
Dave Matthews Band has new album ‘Walk Around the Moon’ and perspective: ‘Everything is kind of new’
Ten studio albums done, the Dave Matthews Band finds itself in a good place, maybe even at a new beginning. – Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
Paul Simonon and Galen Ayers savour songwriting on their sparkling collaborative debut
The duo began exchanging and developing ideas. The result is Can We Do Tomorrow Another Day?, their debut album as Galen & Paul, which is now out today. With longtime David Bowie producer Tony Visconti at the helm, and a stacked lineup of backing players, the music feels like dreamy vignettes of European life. – Yasmine Shemesh, Georgia Straight
‘It’s an opportunity to pull back the curtain’: the rock’n’roll novel is back – from a female perspective
Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles’ tale of a one-hit wonder is the latest in a new wave of music novels written by women. – David Barnett, The Observer
Janelle Monáe is back from the future and ready to play
Ahead of her most sumptuous album yet, the superstar goes deep on the evolution that’s made her more nude, more present, and less anxious. – Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone
