Music Biz Headlines, Nov. 25, 2019

By FYI Staff

Leonard Cohen: Thanks for the Dance review – a sublime final statement

5 out of 5 stars.- This posthumous album finds the poet and singer on reflective, insightful, deadpan form, ‘settling accounts of the soul.’ – Dave Simpson, Guardian

Adam Cohen on Leonard: ‘It was daunting finishing my dad's last music'

Leonard Cohen’s final songs can now be heard on the album Thanks for the Dance. Here his son Adam talks about their emotionally complex relationship. – Sean O’Hagan, The Observer

Neil Young preps legendary unreleased 1975 LP ‘Homegrown’ for 2020 release

“A record full of love lost and explorations,” Young says. “A record that has been hidden for decades. The unheard bridge between ‘Harvest’ and ‘Comes a Time.'” – Andy Greene, Rolling Stone 

The new Billie Eilish or the next Nirvana? Meet Toronto’s new 17-year-old pop star who adds the ’90s to the mix

Ren, short for her less rock ’n’ roll birth name Lauren Isenberg, knew that her debut single “waves,” a haunting electro slow jam, was something special when she posted it in February.  – Ryan Porter, The Star

Grimes addresses backlash over her comments that live music is becoming "obsolete"

Zola Jesus, Devon Welsh and d'Eon have already weighed in on her latest comments. – Alex Hudson, Exclaim!

Graham Rockingham: Corin Raymond’s new album is a little bit Hamilton and a little bit Winnipeg

Hamilton-based musician launched his new CD/book on Grey Cup Sunday, and he is a fan of both competing cities. – Spectator

Neon Dreams on 

Halifax’s beloved EDM duo plots epic Cunard Centre set and world domination. – Steve Gow, The Coast

The Weeknd: A list of the Canadian singer's songs with over 1 billion views

The Weeknd has his own YouTube channel with more than 16.4 million subscribers and many official music videos crossing one billion views.  – Sahil Mirani, Republic World

Matthew Good debuts music video for his emotional new single ‘Sicily’

Matthew Good is laying out all his emotions in his brand new music video. The Canadian rocker debuted his “Sicily” music video on Thursday, showing off his hometown of Delta, BC. – Aynslee Darmon,  ET Canada

Meet the Canadian behind some of country music’s biggest hits

Deric Ruttan, the Ontario musician, who calls Nashville home, is behind such hit songs as Dierks Bentley’s career-changing ‘What Was I Thinking’, Blake Shelton’s smash hit ‘Mine Would Be You’ and dozens of other chart-toppers. – Lindsay Dunn, 660 News

Review: Tory Lanez's Chixtape 5 suffocates in 2000s nostalgia

The Canadian rapper reinvents 00s hip-hop and R&B hits, often with their original artists, but doesn't add much in the way of substance. – Claudia McNeilly, NOW

‘I’m just going to start from scratch’: Toronto pianist loses possessions in Queen Street West fire

Last week, Richard Herriott was woken up after a neighbour who banged on his door yelling about a fire. He was quick to escape, but soon after his home was up in flames. We speak with the pianist and composer about what life has been like in the days following the fire. A GoFundMe campaign has raised over $18K.–  Erica Vella, Global News 

Monstercat plans to become a major player in the Asian dance music market going purr-fectly

Vancouver-based music label Monstercat is clawing its way into the lucrative Asian dance music market. – Stuart Derdeyn, Vancouver Sun

Passion and the podcast: Series exploring the history of Canadian folk music has been a hit

The story of how Mike Tod discovered Alberta’s Romaniuk Family may not be quite as fascinating as the story of how the Romaniuk Family discovered the Carter Family eight decades earlier. But there is a common thread. – Eric Volmers,  Calgary Herald

Offering more than eye-catching packaging, Kaeli’s modern indie pop is no secret

Kaeli McArter’s music is nothing if not contemporary; imagine an indie-pop Lady Gaga or Kesha. Not the glitter-and-vomit Ke$ha of “Tik Tok”, mind you, but the empowered version as heard on “Raising Hell”.  – John Lucas, Georgia Straight

International

Scooter Braun gets death threats, Why?

Now, what exactly was Scooter Braun’s crime here? He made a business deal. Big Machine sold rights it held to Scooter, who had the money to pay for them. Done. Fair deal. On the other side, you have Taylor Swift, who made a bad deal. Based on emotion, she left Big Machine for Universal, delivered a stiff record, is now trying to resuscitate it and someone must pay. – Bob Lefsetz, Celebrity Access

Taylor Swift’s ugly feud with Scooter Braun has turned dangerous, and she should be ashamed

There are times when I’m convinced Ms. Swift, a global superstar with undeniable musical talent and a bizarre persecution complex, is sustained less by great art and more by the bad blood she casually injects into her social media channels. – Vinay Menon, The Star

Congress to investigate concert ticket companies

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers on Thursday launched a formal investigation into a half dozen live-event ticket sales companies citing years-long allegations of “unfair and deceptive practices” stemming from consumer complaints, among other sources. – Gizmodo

Which musical artists actually own their masters?

One of the first changes Jay-Z made when he became president of Def Jam was to change ownership of his masters to himself. – Spencer Bergen, Page Six

A rash of booing incidents at concerts shows fan culture is getting more toxic

Drake's rejection at Camp Flog Gnaw earlier this month shows that fans increasingly believe they have control of the aux cord, even when it harms artists. – Jaelani Turner-Williams, Noisey

E-mail app maker begs Apple CEO to get back on the App Store

The creators of BlueMail, who are suing Apple, take their case directly to Tim Cook in the name of “fairness and empathy.” –  Wired

The hottest trend in music award shows is … nostalgia?

The ABC telecast of the AMAs included performances from three acts that first hit the Billboard charts way back before the launch of Windows 95: Rockers Green Day, R&B diva Toni Braxton, and country crossover crooner Shania Twain.– Vulture

Coldplay say they won’t tour until they learn how to make it green

British alternative rock band Coldplay has paused plans to tour their new album until they determine how their concerts can be environmentally beneficial, joining a handful of other performers who have vowed to decrease their carbon emissions. – Marisa Iati, Washington Post

The Who honoured with first paving stone on London Music Walk of Fame

Music's biggest stars will now be immortalised in a Hollywood Boulevard-style Walk of Fame in London. – Rob Copsey, Official Charts

After once promising Public Enemy mixed with the Stooges, Oasis siblings Noel and Liam Gallagher continue to blow it

The Gallaghers once again made headlines for claiming they hate each other enough that Oasis will never get back together. Which is exactly what they’ve been doing ever since going to war after what was either a shoving match, fistfight, or epic deli-tray squabble at a 2009 Paris music festival. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight

Sheryl Crow laments Grammy snub in tweet to Recording Academy

Many longtime awards-show observers have expressed surprise that former Grammy queen Sheryl Crow didn’t get even a single nomination this year for what she’s said will be her final studio album release, “Threads.” Among them is Crow herself, who tweeted her dismay. – Chris Willman, Variety