advertisement
FYI

Music Biz Headlines, Oct. 12, 2023

Music Biz Headlines, Oct. 12, 2023

By Kerry Doole

Visionary music executive Stan Klees fought to get Canadian songs onto the airwaves

“I’ll tell you a short story,” former music producer and label owner Stan Klees said to The Globe in 2004. “I’m in a radio station, and I’m promoting a record, and a guy opens the package, sees the name on the label, and says, ‘Oh, Canadian …’ and flings the record across the room. It hits the wall and shatters.” – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail


Alanis Morissette on her uncontainable live energy

Alanis Morissette knows her herky-jerky body movements in concert are unorthodox but says it's because she has so much pent-up energy in her body that she "can barely hold it." – David Friend, CP 

advertisement

Drake’s twice-delayed album For All the Dogs is worth the wait

“Things get kinky after 15 years of dominance,” Toronto’s Aubrey (Drake) Graham raps wearily on the soulful new single 8am in Charlotte. “That October sky is lookin’ ominous …” The track is off his eighth and latest album, the sprawling For All the Dogs, released on Friday. The LP has been long-promised and highly anticipated. Now it is judgment day – the ominous October. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

Drake spreads the wealth — and the warmth — in a generous Toronto show

The star showered his personal generosity on certain crowd members he spotted during a two-hour set that lasted past midnight. – Nick Krewen, Toronto Star

Drake claps back after Joe Budden calls his album trash

Drake trashed Budden as a ‘quitter’ and ‘loser’. – Terry Shropshire, Rolling Out

Drake called out by the Pet Shop Boys for using one of their hits on new song without permission

English band the Pet Shop Boys called the Canadian star out on the day he released a new album. –  Dan Heching, CNN
 

Billboard launches Canada Edition with AP Dhillon as cover star

Canadian artists are redefining the global music scene. Speaking of their respective experiences in the music industry are Dhillon, Ikky, Aujla. –  Rolling Stone, India

Toronto musicians discouraged by decline of local music scene

Erin Benjamin, the CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA), which represents Canadian concert halls, discusses the crisis. – CBC News

Fans upset after SZA cancels Toronto show due to illness shortly before doors were set to open

The pop star joins a slew of artists that have cancelled and postponed concerts in Toronto. – Andy Takagi, Toronto Star

New Joni Mitchell box set documents the foundations of one of music’s epochal streaks

Against all odds, Archives, Vol. 3 reveals even more depth to an already-profound legacy. – Saby Reyes-Kulkarni, Paste

Joni Mitchell releases 1972 song featuring Neil Young ahead of album release

Demo recording is a teaser for Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975). – CP

advertisement

Taylor Swift is the answer to Canada’s economic problems

So the PM, using words borrowed from Swift lyrics, urged her to pay attention to the wallflower Canucks. Talk about aiming low. In reaching out to the world’s biggest entertainment juggernaut, he should have been shooting for so much more. It’s an opportunity to reinvigorate the Canadian economy. And reinvent our industrial strategy. And boost Mr. Trudeau’s popularity. And transform his personal life. – Tony Keller,  Globe and Mail

Mother Tongues, purveyors of dream-pop, take a bite out of the big time with their terrific new album

“Love in a Vicious Way” represents a step up for Lukas Cheung and Charise Aragoza, who just played the Garrison in Toronto. – Ben Rayner, The Star

North Preston R&B artist JupiterReign embraces her star turn

The 27-year-old is nominated for four African Nova Scotian Music Association Awards, including Artist of the Year. – Martin Bauman, The Coast

Bruce Cockburn takes us on a leisurely walk to the gates of heaven

Bruce Cockburn performs a solo show on Oct. 11 at Hamilton’s FirstOntario Concert Hall. – Graham Rockingham, Hamilton Spectator

Vivek Shraya makes a case for ‘anti-success stories’ as ‘How to Fail as a Pop Star’ debuts on CBC Gem

“It’s more ‘A Star Isn’t Born,’” Shraya jokes about the series. She also shares her pop music influences. –  Briony Smith, Toronto Star 

Culture shock

Tired Cossack takes listeners on a journey to Ukraine and beyond. Ben Waldman, Winnipeg Free Press

International

Hipgnosis Songs Fund shareholders reportedly ‘preparing to block’ $440M catalogs sale

Last month, Hipgnosis Songs Fund (LON: SONG) proposed a close to $500M selloff of multiple catalogs. Now, ahead of two high-stakes investor meetings later in October, major shareholders are reportedly preparing to block the transaction. –  Dylan Smith, Digital Music News

advertisement

Mavin Records set for potential sale with Universal Music Group and HYBE among bidders

Mavin Records, the Nigerian label owned by Michael Collins popularly known as Don Jazzy and home to music stars such as Rema, Ayra Starr, and Johnny Drille is seeking investment or eying a potential full sale with bidding coming from the Universal Music. – Business Day

Discogs’ vibrant vinyl community is shattering

A home for music diehards has been fractured by increased fees that are pushing sellers and shoppers to other platforms. – Natalie Weiner, The Verge

advertisement

Deadmau5 manager, other industry veterans launch The Circuit Group

Music industry veterans from artist management firms Seven20 and AYITA have teamed up to establish The Circuit Group to acquire a 50% stake in artists’ IP portfolios. – Mandy Dalugdug, MBW

Tony! Toni! Toné! say reuniting after 25 years 'Feels Good' - and they're working on something new

 D’Wayne Wiggins and Timothy Christian Riley didn’t realize that Raphael Saadiq was planting the seeds for a Tony! Toni! Toné! reunion when he arranged a photoshoot earlier this year.  – Gary Gerard Hamilton, AP 

On 'Come June,' Mitch Rowland, collaborator to Harry Styles, makes a pretty folk debut

He might not be immediately recognizable to the masses, but multi-instrumentalist Mitch Rowland is a household name to a certain cohort of music obsessives: Harry Styles fans. – Maria Sherman, AP 

Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings win big at Bluegrass Awards as the IBMAs seek new home

Tuttle and her band Golden Highway represent a new class of bluegrass, which comes as the awards plan to say goodbye to Raleigh after next year. – GK Woodward, Rolling Stone

Maxwell is readying an album with teenage-era songs but first ‘NIGHT’ must fall

While fans are awaiting the release of his upcoming studio album, “blacksummers’NIGHT,” Maxwell revealed he’s working on a follow-up project that will include songs from his teenage years. –  Gary Gerard Hamilton, AP 

Theaters look to Taylor Swift to save the box office

Cultural juggernaut Taylor Swift is poised to lift the movie box office still trying to recover from the health crisis and Hollywood strikes. – Reuters

The Greatest Debut Albums of the 1960s

Let's explore the gems by everyone from Nick Drake to Loretta Lynn to The Who. – Paste

On smashing new album Hackney Diamonds, the Rolling Stones shine, recycle and rock

Angry, the hard-hitting single released this summer is the opening track to the forthcoming Hackney Diamonds, an album that leans on history with no shame at all. Indeed, the promotional video for Angry employs archival images of the surviving Stones (Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood) from their most glorious past. – Brad Wheeler,  Globe and Mail

advertisement
Kesha
Brendan Walter

Kesha

Chart Beat

Kesha Brings 'Holiday Road' to The Billboard Canadian Hot 100

The newly independent pop singer's cover of Lindsay Buckingham's 1983 song from National Lampoon's Vacation was first released as a Spotify exclusive for the holidays. Michael Bublé's Christmas, meanwhile, remains at No. 1 on the Canadian Albums chart.

Kesha has brought an under-appreciated holiday gem back to the charts. Her version of "Holiday Road" debuts on this week's Billboard Canadian Hot 100 (dated Dec. 28, 2024) at No. 83.

"Holiday Road" was originally released in 1983 by Fleetwood Mac legend Lindsey Buckingham and serves as the propulsive opening theme to the Chevy Chase-starting classic comedy road trip film National Lampoon's Vacation.

keep readingShow less
advertisement