Music Biz Headlines, Sept. 6, 2019
Shawn Mendes (pictured) is a star at Timmy's, local composers star at TIFF, and The Highwomen are making moves. Others in the headlines include Casey MQ, John Fogerty, Meek Mill, Avicii, Debbie Harry, AB5, and Billboard.
By FYI Staff
Shawn Mendes on giving back and his ‘insanely big moment’ coming Friday
As a gauge of pop stardom in Canada, having your face splashed across a nation’s worth of Tim Hortons coffee cups is probably the ultimate sign that you’ve made it to the top. – Ben Rayner, Toronto Star
800,000 installs later, FIX Music introduces in-app E-commerce
Toronto-based FIX is quietly amassing a serious crowd around music rewards. Now, the strategy is shifting towards in-app monetization. – Paul Resnikoff, Digital Music News
TIFF 2019: Six Toronto music composers to watch
Directors and actors tend to take the spotlight, but the festival is also an opportunity to shine a light behind the scenes. Here are the locals scoring this year's films. – Michael Rancic, NOW
Casey MQ scores three films at TIFF 2019
He's best known as an electronic artist and producer, but the in-demand multi-hyphenate is also a composer for film – and he’s been keeping busy. – Samantha Edwards, NOW
Former Jolts member Nickel pulls no punches with his new band Chain Whip
“In Vancouver there aren't a lot of bands doing what we do,” Frontman Josh Nickel acknowledges—specifically, “throwback '80s golden-age stuff. – Allan MacInnis, Georgia Straight
International
Country music is a man’s world. The Highwomen want to change that
The Highwomen’s first-ever public performance went off so well at the Newport Folk Festival in July that Nashville, Tenn.’s newest supergroup repeated its laid-back, harmony-rich lead single, Redesigning Women, as an encore. A standing ovation was inevitable: The audience had been on its feet before the quartet stepped onstage. – Natalie Weiner, The New York Times
Concert ticket prices are through the roof - Who actually gets the money?
Where does the money for that $275 ticket go? Fans may assume it goes right to the band – but it doesn't. There are a lot of mouths to feed along the way. There isn't any one figure that the whole music industry adheres to. It depends on the band, the promoter, the venue, the market budget, local taxes and so on. – Amy Lamare, Celeb Net Worth
John Fogerty still doesn’t own his old Creedence songs
For years, John Fogerty refused to record to new music, even refused to perform his old songs. He blamed a bad deal with Fantasy Records' head Saul Zaentz, and legal action followed. – Jim Sullivan, UCR
What happens to Meek Mill’s career now that his legal drama has come to an end?
Without any legal trouble to worry about, will Meek Mill still be Meek Mill? Last week, he pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office dropped all other charges against the Philadelphia rapper on the gun and drugs charges stemming from an incident that kept the hip-hop star either in jail or on probation for 12 years. – Dan Deluca, Philadelphia Inquirer
Avicii tribute concert, featuring David Guetta, Adam Lambert, Kygo, set for Dec. 5
A tribute concert for the late DJ/artist Avicii, who died last year in an apparent suicide, will take place in his hometown of Stockholm and feature 19 of the original singers on his biggest songs as well as opening sets from his friends David Guetta, Kygo, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Laidback Luke and Nicky Romero. – Jem Aswad, Variety
Five things to know about Ginger, by Brockhampton
The San Marcos, Tex., rap collective Brockhampton cuts loose on its new album Ginger. – Stuart Derdeyn, Vancouver Sun
Motown founder Berry Gordy donates $4M to museum expansion
The gift will help expand a museum housed in the Detroit building where he built his music empire, officials announced Wednesday. – Jeff Karoub, AP
Killer set: The strange history of performers dying onstage
The authors of The Show Won’t Go On: The Most Shocking, Bizarre, and Historic Deaths of Performers Onstage on their absorbing new book: “We made sure to be respectful to the subjects…. Death is not always a dignified act, especially when it’s done in front of a crowd of people.” – Donald Leibenson, Vanity Fair
No Debutante
In her memoir, Debbie Harry argues that Blondie were punker than punk. but it seems appropriate at this time in my life to get it over with and remember,” she says about the book. – Lauren Oyler, Bookforum
AB5 could crush independent music in California (guest column)
Assembly Bill 5, scheduled to become law on Sept. 13, could have an adverse effect on the music industry, as this guest column — co-written by RIAA Chairman/CEO Mitch Glazier, A2IM President/CEO Richard James Burgess, and for the Music Artists’ Coalition, Azoff Company Co-President Susan Genco and attorney Jordan Bromley — explains. – Variety
The story of country music’s great songwriting duo
Before they released Wichita Lineman, the greatest unfinished song of all time, Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb lived surprisingly parallel lives.– Longreads
Is Billboard planning to buy Soundscan?
Rights holders are said to be concerned about the lack of transparency and checks and balances that could result from Billboard’s impending deal to acquire SoundScan from Nielsen. How will this move affect the myriad credibility problems swirling about the Billboard charts, notably regarding ticket and merch bundles and unverified YouTube data? – Hitsdailydouble
