Music News Digest, Dec. 11, 2017
In the column today: Drake and the Weeknd named in Forbes wealthiest musicians' list, YouTube 2017 Canada faves, plus a whole lot more news and videos.
By FYI Staff
Four black artists sit atop Forbes’ annual Highest-Paid Musicians of 2017 list, with Diddy leading the pack again.
Beyoncé, Drake and The Weeknd round out the uber-rich top four – a far cry from 2016’s top four: Taylor Swift ($170M), One Direction ($110M), Adele ($88M) and Madonna ($76.5M).
Forbes compiled the latest data over a year’s time, based on pretax earnings between June 1, 2016, to June 1, 2017.
Diddy earned a leading $130M during that time, stemming from his hotly-anticipated Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour as well as his business endeavors including his liquor brand Ciroc and selling a stake of his brand Sean John.
Beyoncé raked in $105M, mostly from the top-grossing Formation World tour.
Next up is Drake, who pocketed $95M thanks to his Boy Meets World tour combined with his endorsement deals from Nike, Apple Music, Sprite.
Fellow Canadian The Weeknd clocks in at No. 4 with $92M, while Coldplay closes out the top five at $88M.
View Forbes’ top 10 highest-paid musicians of 2017 below (all totals in US dollars) – via Lee Bailey’s Euro-Web.com
1. Diddy ($130M)
2. Beyoncé ($105M)
3. Drake ($94M)
4. The Weeknd ($92M)
5. Coldplay ($88M)
6. Guns N’ Roses ($84M)
7. Justin Bieber ($83.5M)
8. Bruce Springsteen ($75M)
9. Adele ($69M)
10. Metallica ($66.5M)
– It's that time again, to jump into the way back machine for #YouTube Rewind - YouTube's annual look back at the year that was.
This year Canadians headed to YouTube to gasp as a sea lion got a bit too frisky, to giggle as a toddler stole popcorn from Prince Harry, and to fall in love with falling in love. We gathered to watch as April the Giraffe gave birth to her baby, Tajiri, live in front of an audience of 1.2 million, setting a new record for the most popular livestream on YouTube. And we held our breath as a moose and a wolf squared off in a Northern Ontario lake.
From Eminem's blistering political cypher at the BET Awards to some perfectly executed ping pong trick shots, these were the moments that had us watching, clicking and sharing.
Canada's Top Trending Videos of 2017
2017 also saw some major new records broken in music, most notably by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's massive global hit. “Despacito” sits at the top of 2017's top music video list -- not just as the most-viewed music video for year, but as the most viewed YouTube video of all timewith 4.4 billion views.
Justin Bieber set new records this year - his remix of “Despacito”, along with his appearance on DJ Khaled's “I'm The One” mean that the Biebs can now lay claim to 4 videos that have broken the one billion view threshold. Taylor Swift's “Look What You Made Me Do” set the all-time record for most views in the first 24 hours, earning 43.2 million views in its first day. Among the top ten debuts in YouTube history, seven were released in 2017.
Canada's Top Music Videos of 2017
When it came to movies, we saw studios get even more creative with their pre-marketing campaigns, with both Thor: Ragnarok and Deadpool 2 releasing a series of short films on YouTube that played up their comedic main characters. But as we wait for the release of the next instalment of Star Wars on December 15, the teaser trailer for this highly anticipated film claims the top spot in this year's ranking.
Canada's Top Movie Trailers of 2017
YouTube has also changed the game when it comes to ads - in the past five years, ads have gone from something you fast forward to something you choose to watch. The YouTube Canada Ads Leaderboard showcases the most creative ads that Canadians chose to watch during the year. The Top Ads are selected based on an algorithm that factors in metrics including views, watch time and shares.
For more details, visit the YouTube Rewind channel.
– Frontline releases dominated in the era of sales, making up around half of a label’s annual turnover. Yet in streaming, consumers will often consume older content that they will have purchased in an earlier format. Streaming produces a monetary windfall for catalogue that transactions never did, helping catalogue make up the majority of a label’s revenues.
This poses the question: should we change the rules of what defines ‘catalogue’ for streaming as opposed to sales? MBW explores the question.
– The Vancouver-based charitable foundation Music Heals reports that, in its first five years of operation, it has donated over $1.1M to fund music-therapy hours in facilities across the country, including children's hospitals and seniors homes. Nearly a quarter million dollars in donations to music therapy programs across Canada is now in the mail to recipients.
“Our annual allocation of funds helps Canadian care centres increase access to actual music therapist hours,” says Chris Brandt, ED of Music Heals.
— The days of lavish music industry holiday parties are mostly over, but thankfully ole didn't get the memo. Robert Ott and his team threw a grand bash at Steam Whistle in Toronto on Friday night, and the biz turned out in force, even following the 'cocktail attire' request. Some of the ole roster performed short sets, and we caught The Reklaws, Josh Dorr (who flew up from Nashville), and Deanna (an Ivan Berry protege).
A wide range of industry notables showed, including label heads (Iain Taylor, Steve Kane, Chris Taylor), entertainment lawyers (Len Glickman, David Steinberg), music publishers (Jodie Ferneyhough, Frank Davies, Tony Tobias), artists (Julian Taylor, Dave Rave), publicists (Samantha Pickard, Yvonne Valnea), and Bruce Bradley (Slammin' Media) and Spencer Mussellam (Believe), both just back from a music conference in Havana.
— Rhye has announced Feb. 2 as the release date for its sophomore album, Blood, on Last Gang, five years after the internationally-acclaimed debut record, Woman. It will be supported by extensive international touring, beginning in Mexico City on Feb. 1, then proceeding to North America and Europe. Dates include Montreal's Corona Theatre (March 3) and Toronto's Massey Hall (March 5).
Please (Official Video) by Rhye on VEVO.
— The devastating wildfires in the LA area have now claimed a music industry victim. Sarm West Coast LA, the luxurious residential studio owned by star producer Trevor Horn, has reportedly been destroyed. Located in Bel Air, the studio has recently hosted the likes of Lana Del Rey, Dua Lipa, Travis Scott, One Direction, Kanye West, Charli XCX and Slash. A member of The Buggles, Yes and Art of Noise, Horn has helmed hit albums by the likes of ABC, Seal, Pet Shop Boys, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Tina Turner, Robbie Williams and many more. Source: Audio Media International
— BC roots duo The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer has announced 2018 tour dates in support of the recent album Apocalipstick with performances in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. Their previous album, A Real Fine Mess, was nominated for a Juno, and THATAM is up for three Maple Blues Awards next month. Tour dates here
— Last Thursday, cello superstar Yo-Yo Ma made time to meet with dozens of students at Keeler Elementary School, just before his sold-out performance in Calgary. As part of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra’s PhilKids program, designed to promote music education in under-served communities, students in grades 1 to 5 treated Ma to an inspiring rendition of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" at the private event in the school’s music room.
“It’s always wonderful to walk into a room where you see children are engaged and curious,” said Ma, a child prodigy who began performing at the age of four. Source: Calgary Herald
— Voted the UK’s best metropolitan festival and best festival emerging talent at the UK Festival Awards, Sound City in Liverpool is a two-day music fest accompanied by a one-day music and digital industry conference. It takes place May 4-6 and is accepting showcase applications from Canadian acts and DJs. The deadline is Jan. 19. More info here
— Sina Bathaie will launch his vinyl release Ray of Hope (on Windcatcher Records) with a Toronto concert on Dec. 16 at the Small World Music Centre. The music of this composer and santur player blends Persian melodies with western instrumentation and is quickly making a splash in world music circles. More info here
— Veteran Canadian singer and guitar slinger Sue Foley has signed with Stony Plain Records. Her Mike Flanigin-produced label debut, The Ice Queen, will be released March 2. Joining her as special guests is a trio of legendary Texas guitarists – Jimmie Vaughan, Z.Z. Top’s Billy Gibbons, and Charlie Sexton, along with other top Texan players Chris Layton, George Rains and Derek O'Brien.
A Juno Award winner, Foley made a real mark on the Austin scene when she lived there in the '90s and recorded for the Antone's label. She returns for two gigs, Dec. 26-27), as part of the Jungle Show featuring Gibbons, Vaughan, Layton and Flanigin.
— Fast-rising rapper and YouTube star Lil Peep died on Nov. 15, at age 21. A toxicology report from Pima County Medical recently confirmed the cause of death as an accidental overdose of Fentanyl and Xanax. Source: TMZ
