Music Biz Headlines, Sept. 20, 2021

By Kerry Doole

Director Barry Avrich on the making of his Oscar Peterson documentary

The documentary had its world premiere at TIFF and it’ll hit theatres in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver before finding a home on Crave on Oct. 22. Billed as a “docu-concert,” the film features rare concert footage as well as interviews with family members and musicians who performed with Peterson. Avrich told us more about the making of the documentary. –  Brad Barker, JazzFM

The Weeknd's After Hours breaks another Billboard record

40 weeks atop the R&B Album Charts is impressive but numbers aren't everything in music. Does Abel deserve the praise he has gotten for this project or are you leaning towards the side of The Grammys? – HotNewHipHop

A noticeably quieter TIFF offered different vibe, new opportunities: moviegoers

Holding an in-person TIFF during the pandemic was never going to feel like business as usual, but moviegoers say it was impossible to imagine just how different this year’s festival would be until the proceedings got underway. Blame it on a combination of virtual screenings at home, strict Covid guidelines and little promise of A-list talent showing up. All of those factors made the 2021 edition a decidedly muted event. – David Friend, CP

Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Belfast’ wins TIFF People’s Choice Award

The Platform Jury prize went to “Yuni,” directed by Kamila Andini, while the People’s Choice Documentary Award winner went to “The Rescue,” directed by E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. The People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award went to “Titane,” directed by Julia Ducournau. – Ellise Shafer, Variety

Drake’s latest ‘CLB’ has a false certification

Fans of Drake hoped that on “Certified Lover Boy,” the Canadian rapper would reveal a new persona, but the album does little to differentiate itself from Drake’s previous albums. – Anush Singhal, Technique

Newfoundland and Labrador artists cover songs from ‘Come from Away’ in new folk album

Newfoundland and Labrador musicians are bringing the folk tradition of “the Rock” to “Come From Away.” Alan Doyle, the Navigators, the Dardanelles and Rosemary Lawton are among the homegrown artists adding their twist to songs from the hit musical in “Covers from Away.” – CP

Road Apples 30th anniversary box set features previously unreleased Hip demos, outtakes, and alternate versions

Universal Music Canada has announced that the Tragically Hip would be releasing 30th anniversary deluxe editions of its Road Apples album on October 15. That's the Hip album that's almost as good as Fully Completely. The one that opens with Little Bones. There'll be plenty of tasty extras included. – Steve Newton, Georgia Straight

A first look inside the rebuilt Silver Dollar Room

It's not open yet, but the historic Toronto music venue has been rebuilt to exact specifications at its original location. Here's what it looks like. – Richard Trapunski, NOW

With new album, Gordie MacKeeman reminds us what it is to be a kid

Here comes Gordie MacKeeman and his Rhythm Boys; fingers flying and legs flailing with the answer to your parental prayers. “Folk for Little Folk” is a clever little record. – Steve MacIntyre, The East

The El Mocambo returned with its first in-person concerts last Friday

Andre Pettipas and the Giants, Harm & Ease and The Box are featured on the iconic venue's first open-to-the-public shows since 2014. – Richard Trapunski, NOW

Maestre is a maestro in the making

His name seems crafted for stardom, because of the smoothness with which it rolls off the tongue; Miguel Maestre. Say it; you’ll see. The young Canada-born Trini-2-de-bone is a singer/songwriter/musician and quite a versatile one at that. – Sunday Express

Fall music preview: Feist, ABBA and, finally, the Beatles documentary Get Back

Music fans still have much to look forward to in the waning months of 2021, beginning with an annual fall festival in benefit of the tractor class, continuing next week with the awarding of this country’s prestigious Polaris Music Prize, and including new albums released by everyone from Lana Del Rey to Shad to the greatest Swedish greats. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail 

International

David Bowie's entire catalogue is moving to Warner Music

Warner Music has announced that, from 2023, it will be representing the entire post-1968 recordings catalog of David Bowie worldwide. This means that Bowie’s more recent recordings (2000-2016), which have been released by Columbia/Sony Music, will become part of Warner’s repertoire. These albums will join Bowie’s 1968 to 1999 recordings, which Warner Music already represents. –Tim Ingham, MBW

Alabama sells recorded music catalog to Reservoir Media

In Alabama, Reservoir gets classic country music that streams well: its tracks have amassed 300 million on-demand audio streams in the U.S. in the last 52 weeks — making it the 487th most-streamed artist over that period, according to MRC Data. Since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1992, the group has 1.3 billion streams and sold 21.9 million album sales. – Glenn Peoples, Billboard

Live Nation raises $449.6 million for OCESA deal through stock offering

Live Nation revealed it plans to finance its purchase of Mexican concert promoter OCESA through a stock offering that seeks to raise $449.6 million, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. The previously announced stock offering, which settled on Sept. 17th, saw Live Nation offer 5.24K shares of common stock, at a public offering price of $86.90 per share. – Celebrity Access

Portishead says SoundCloud’s ‘fan-powered’ royalty system has boosted their payments by 500%

Back in March, SoundCloud introduced “fan-powered royalties,” or direct-to-artist payments based upon actual user engagement. Now, a track that Bristol’s Portishead released exclusively on SoundCloud in July has reportedly generated over six times the royalties that it would have made on streaming services with a pro-rata model in place. – Dylan Smith, Digital Music News

YouTube exec says 25% of all viewer hours are spent on music 

A full 25 percent of YouTube’s viewer hours are spent enjoying music, the Google-owned video-sharing platform’s chief business officer has revealed – for over 250M hours of music consumption per day.  YouTube chief business officer (and former Netflix VP of content) Robert Kyncl disclosed the noteworthy percentage during the Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention. – Dylan Smith, Digital Music News

The Detail: Lorde’s waiata

Is Lorde's new EP in Māori a case of cultural appropriation, or are we looking at a generation comfortable with expressing themselves in te reo?  Not many people were ‘in the know’ before NZ's international songstress Lorde dropped a new five-track EP – in te reo Māori. The surprise launch drew a wide range of reactions, from joy, awe, and wonder at the world-wide exposure of the language; to cynicism and accusations of cultural appropriation. – Newsroom

On his new self-titled album, Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham chooses the light over the fight

After a heart attack and (another) feud with Stevie Nicks, former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham returns with a new solo album. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

Nick Cave announces memoir of years after son's death

In Faith, Hope and Carnage, Cave reflects on grief and art in the wake of his son Arthur’s sudden death in 2015. – Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork

Q&A: Jeff Ament feels alive again with Pearl Jam’s return

Pearl Jam played Saturday in front of a crowd for the first time since a Sept. 4, 2018, date at Fenway Park when it headlines the Sea Hear Now festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The Smashing Pumpkins headlined Sunday’s set. Pearl Jam got together about two weeks ago to start rehearsals for their upcoming slate of festival dates. – Dan Gelston, AP

John Lydon says he is in “financial ruin” after losing court case against fellow Sex Pistols

The former Sex Pistols frontman has slammed his bandmates as "evil". – Alex Gallagher, NME

BTS, Lil Nas X move in, Led Zeppelin move down: Rolling Stone’s top-song list is as weird as it is desperate

If you’ve recently had plastic surgery on your face, you are strongly advised to not read Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” All that money will be wasted. I haven’t furrowed my brow this much since the series finale of “Lost.” I’m sprouting crow’s feet from squinting at the Top 100 while wondering why it includes M.I.A. and no CCR.  – Vinay Menon, Toronto Star