Music Biz Headlines: The Weeknd Sets Record for Top-Earning Tour By a Male Artist, Joni Mitchell Comes to the Junos in Hamilton
Also making headlines this week: Reggae great Jimmy Cliff remembered, Spotify acquires WhoSampled, Punjabi-Canadian artists shine at Rolling Loud India and a look inside TD Coliseum.
Shortly after his creative director La Mar Taylor accepted the Billboard Canada 40 Under 40 Visionary Award, The Weeknd has set another big record with his After Hours Til Dawn Tour. In other news, Joni Mitchell will receive a lifetime achievement award at the 2026 Junos, to be held at TD Coliseum, while American Taylor Swift fans score a victory over Ticketmaster in court and Spotify plans a price hike.
Read these stories and more in this week's roundup of the music biz headlines of the week from Canada and beyond.
Canadian Biz Headlines
The Weeknd’s Record-Breaking After Hours Til Dawn Tour Surpasses $1 Billion in Grosses
Abel's four-year global outing has is now the top-earning tour by a solo male artist in history. Gil Kaufman, Billboard
Inside TD Coliseum, Hamilton's Transformed $300 Million Downtown Arena
After 18 months of construction, the rejuvenation of Hamilton's arena is complete. The Oak View Group venue opened Nov. 21 with a concert by music legend Paul McCartney. – Kerry Doole, Billboard Canada
How This Ontario Pipe Band Joined Paul McCartney on Stage to Perform ‘Mull of Kintyre'
The Paris Port Dover Pipe Band performed the Wings track with McCartney at TD Coliseum on Nov. 21. It marks the band's fourth show with the living rock music legend since 2010. – Heather Taylor-Singh, Billboard Canada
Joni Mitchell, Nelly Furtado to be Honoured at the 2026 Juno Awards In Hamilton, Ontario
Iconic singer-songwriter Mitchell will travel to Hamilton's TD Coliseum to receive a lifetime achievement award, while Furtado will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. – Kerry Doole, Billboard Canada
Andy Kim Lands Sloan, Bif Naked, Kevin Drew and Pop Singer Reve for Christmas Show
Andy Kim has lined up many flavours of Canadian pop-rock for his annual Christmas charity concert next month. He says rockers Sloan, pop-punk star Bif Naked, rockers Junkhouse and Broken Social Scene leader Kevin Drew are among the performers set for the annual fundraiser. – David Friend, Canadian Press
The Vancouver native used to sneak around to score interviews. Now, A-listers seek him out. – Samantha Edwards, Globe & Mail
National Music Centre Opens Montreal Hub in Effort to Elevate Francophone Artists
The expansion elevates NMC’s efforts to build on relationships between Canada’s English and French-speaking music communities, including a new partnership with ADISQ. – Heather Taylor-Singh, Billboard Canada
Tired of their smartphones, looking for connection and spurred on by Gen X parents, youngsters across the country are getting the band back together. – Ben Caplan, Globe & Mail
Alex Lifeson on New Music With Rheostatics: ‘There Are No Rules or Expectations’
The all-star collective's new album, The Great Lakes Suite, also features Laurie Anderson and the late Gord Downie. – Gary Graff, Billboard Canada
Time Capsule: The Weakerthans, Left and Leaving
25 years on, the Weakerthans’ second album still understands what it means to stay, to go, and to grieve the space between. – Paste
International Biz Headlines
Taylor Swift Fans Score Win in Lawsuit Over Ticketmaster's Eras Tour 'Disaster'
A judge is allowing hundreds of Swifties to move forward with antitrust claims over the infamous 2022 ticket presale. – Rachel Scharf, Billboard
"We support artists' ability to set the terms of how their tickets are sold and resold," the company responded. – Michael Saponara, Billboard
Spotify Acquires Song Sample and Remix Database WhoSampled
The music streaming company quietly announced the acquisition in a blog post last week in which it unveiled a number of new song credit features, including an upcoming ‘SongDNA’ function for Premium users, "to be powered by WhoSampled, which is now part of Spotify.” – Music Business Worldwide
Karan Aujla and NAV Deliver One of This Year's Biggest Punjabi Hip-Hop Moments at Rolling Loud India
The two Punjabi-Canadian artists delivered the first live performance of their surprise new "Daytona" remix during Aujla’s headlining set at Rolling Loud India over the weekend. NAV also appeared with Gurinder Gill for a performance of "Brown Munde." – Peony Hirwani, Billboard Canada
Brian Eno, Celeste & More Launch Bid for UK Xmas No. 1 With Palestinian Charity Single
The track will reimagine "Yamma Mweel El Hawa," a traditional Palestinian lullaby. – Sophie Williams, Billboard U.K.
Spotify Plans to Raise its Premium prices in the U.S. as Soon as the First Quarter of 2026.
That’s according to the Financial Times, which reported Monday (November 24), citing three people familiar with the matter, that the move comes as Spotify works to demonstrate sustained profitability. – Mandy Dalugdug, Music Business Worldwide
The Beatles Anthology Review Shows Exactly Why the World Fell in Love With the Band
This update of the 1995 documentary series is utterly authoritative. And its tweak of the Fab Four’s songs is a thing of wonder – their music absolutely thumps! – Stuart Heritage, The Guardian
Jimmy Cliff’s Charisma and Fearless Creativity Expanded the Horizons of Reggae
Cliff, who has died aged 81, took every opportunity that he was presented with, and created plenty more himself. It resulted in a career path like no other. – Lloyd Bradley, The Guardian
Sean Paul, Yusuf/Cat Stevens & More Pay Tribute to Reggae Icon Jimmy Cliff
The Marley family also honoured him, noting Cliff's pivotal role in Bob Marley's early career. – Jessica Lynch, Billboard
