Music Biz Headlines: Ozzy Osbourne Posthumous Projects In The Works, Canadian Woman Dies at Tomorrowland Festival
Also in the news this week: MuchMusic launches a retro YouTube channel, Daniel Caesar hints at a new album, The Weeknd hits a milestone on Spotify.
Topping the international music headlines this week was news of the passing of heavy metal pioneer Ozzy Osbourne, just shortly after the final Black Sabbath concert. That show was a star-studded triumph and one of the most successful fundraisers of all time.
In other news, The Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Live Nation and Ticketmaster gains steam and Massive Attack help form an alliance of musicians outraged by the situation in Gaza.
Read these stories and more in this week's collection of music biz headlines.
Canadian Music Biz Headlines
Canadian Woman Dies at Belgium’s Tomorrowland Music Festival
The Antwerp public prosecutor's office is investigating the cause of death. – Heather Taylor-Singh, Billboard Canada
The two documentaries are a part of TIFF's 50th anniversary celebrations in the Gala and Special Presentations sections. – Heather Taylor-Singh, Billboard Canada
Kaytranada Replaces Playboi Carti as the Opener for The Weeknd's Canadian Shows
The Montreal artist-producer will serve as the opening act for the singer's upcoming Montreal and Toronto concerts on his After Hours Til Dawn Tour after Playboi Carti was forced to pull out due to border issues. – Stefano Rebuli, Billboard Canada
Honey Jam Celebrates 30th Anniversary
Fresh from being named to the Order of Canada, founder Ebonnie Rowe talks about the past, present and future of Canada’s first artist development program for female musicians. Honey Jam will celebrate with a special concert at Massey Hall in Toronto on July 30, 2025. – Rosie Long Decter, Billboard Canada
Simple Plan Didn't Want to Wait Until They Were 'Really Old' to Make a Documentary
The problem with so many rock documentaries is they too often come out as the artist winds down their career — at least that’s how Simple Plan sees it. – David Friend, Canadian Press
Tickets to Paul McCartney’s Nov. 21 concert at TD Coliseum on York Boulevard were sold out by 10:15 a.m. on Friday. – Hamilton Spectator
MuchMusic Launches Much Rewind YouTube Channel Featuring Classic Interviews From the Vaults
The new channel has launched with archival interviews with Oasis, Aaliyah, Eminem and Christina Aguilera. – Heather Taylor-Singh, Billboard Canada
Cairo Snow FTPO hyped up the crowd at Scotiabank Arena at what could be Wu-Tang Clan’s last-ever Toronto show. – Toronto Star
Steve Miller cancelled his band's tour, citing everything from forest fires to extreme heat. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail
Vancouver's la lune Breaks Up, with Three Band Members Issuing a Statement
Group members Olivia Wells, Nima Walker and Taylor Pawsey announced that the decision was made to sever ties with singer and frontman Ethan Rebalkin after the latter was accused of sexual misdeeds. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight
Daniel Caesar Teases Possible New Album, ‘Son of Spergy’
The Canadian R&B singer posted a cryptic video to his Instagram, while also linking to a website with a new song snippet. – Heather Taylor-Singh, Billboard Canada
The Weeknd Reclaims No. 1 Spot With Top Monthly Listeners in the World on Spotify
The Scarborough native dethrones Bruno Mars, who falls to the No. 2 spot. – Heather Taylor-Singh, Billboard Canada
International Music Biz Headlines
Ozzy Osbourne Dead at 76, Just Weeks After Black Sabbath’s Final Concert
The metal icon fronted the quintessential heavy metal band and had a successful solo career. – Jim Farber, Billboard
Guitarist Tony Iommi paid tribute to Ozzy's chaotic, fun-loving persona on stage and reflected on their recent farewell concert. – Thomas Smith, Billboard
Ozzy Osbourne Films, Memoir, Early Album Among Posthumous Projects in the Works
The Prince of Darkness will be in our lives for a long time to come thanks to the handful of legacy ventures he was working on before his death at 76 on Tuesday (July 22). – Gil Kaufman, Billboard
Massive Attack Announce Alliance of Musicians Speaking Out Over Gaza
Brian Eno, Fontaines DC and Kneecap say group will support those subject to ‘aggressive, vexatious campaigns’ by pro-Israel advocates. – The Guardian
Shakira & The Weeknd to Headline 2025 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park
Tyla, Ayra Starr and Mariah the Scientist will join them at the September show hosted by Global Citizen ambassador Hugh Jackman. – Gil Kaufman, Billboard
Astronomer CEO Andy Byron Steps Down Following Coldplay Concert Incident
"Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met," the IT company wrote. – Mitchell Peters, Billboard
EU Opens In-Depth Investigation Into UMG's $775 Million Downtown Deal
The EC said in a press release on July 22 that it "has preliminary concerns that the transaction may allow UMG to reduce competition in the wholesale market for the distribution of recorded music in the European Economic Area (EEA) by acquiring commercially sensitive data of its rival record labels." – MBW
Universal Music Group Takes Step Closer to U.S. Listing, Filing Draft Registration with SEC
The world's largest music rights company confirmed in a press release on Monday evening (July 21) that it has "confidentially" submitted a Form F-1 to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, "relating to a proposed public offering in the United States of the company’s ordinary shares held by certain shareholders". – MBW
Facebook Deletes Millions of Accounts in ‘Heartbreaking’ Purge
Facebook has deleted more than 10 million accounts as part of an ongoing purge of the world’s most popular social network. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, said the move was aimed at “cracking down on spammy content” and promoting authentic accounts, however some users have complained about being wrongly caught up in the action. – Anthony Cuthbertson, The Independent
It started out as promo for an insurance company and ended up powering an entire industry. As the Opry strikes out for London, can it stay relevant for another century? – Jewly Hight, The Guardian
Nick Cave Fans Swarm Charity Bookshop in U.K. after Musician Donates Thousands of Books
‘It’s an incredibly varied donation. He clearly held on to his books, some of them are quite old,’ says bookshop worker. –The Guardian
