Music Biz Headlines, Dec. 7, 2023: The Return of Iskwē, Charlotte Cardin On A Roll & More
A weekly compendium of interesting headlines from Canada and around the globe.
Charlotte Cardin
Canadian
After A Few Rough Years, Iskwē Recharged Her Creative Batteries
Pandemic isolation, a divorce and a bad break-up — those are in the rearview as the Cree Métis artist prepares for a majestic return. - Ben Rayner, Toronto Star
Mandatory Cancon Contribution Could Prompt Cuts: Spotify
Audio streaming platform Spotify says that requiring it to make a contribution aimed at supporting Canadian content could force the company to cut its existing investments in order to maintain its financial viability. - Sammy Hudes, CP
L’Rain on The Transformative Power of Repetition
L'Rain's third full-length album, I Killed Your Dog, is more playful than its dark title might suggest. A Vancouver date is planned.- V.S. Wells, Georgia Straight
Charlotte Cardin’s Pop Tour de Force Comes To Halifax
The 99 Nights singer-songwriter has sold out back-to-back December shows at the Light House Arts Centre. And in March, she’ll return to perform at the 2024 Juno Awards. - Martin Bauman, The Coast
Neil Young's 'Before and After' Offers One Continuous Stream of Rarities
Leave it to Neil Young to give streaming songs a whole new meaning with a new album, Before and After, out Friday. - Scott Bauer, AP
International
Taylor Swift is Spotify’s Most-Streamed Artist of 2023, Ending Bad Bunny’s 3-year reign
According to Spotify Wrapped, Swift was 2023’s most-streamed artist globally, raking in more than 26.1 billion streams since January 1. - Maria Sherman, AP
Spotify Wrapped, In Review: Indie Fixations, A First Dance, and Taylor Swift
Let’s temporarily forget all those big debates about whether society is moving into a monoculture, or how much meaning is lost when data dictates music trends, or how little most working artists get paid from streaming services: It’s Spotify Wrapped time! - Staff, Globe and Mail
Spotify Slashes Global Workforce By 17% in Latest Cost-Cutting Effort
Co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek said the "Spotify of tomorrow must be defined by being relentlessly resourceful in the ways we operate, innovate, and tackle problems." - Marc Schneider, Billboard
Major Labels Have the Fight of Their Lives Against AI Tech Giants
Digital Music News has tallied the tens of billions of dollars that AI giants have already amassed in funding. But that’s not the biggest threat facing major labels as they lock horns with AI behemoths like Google, Meta, Amazon, OpenAI, and Microsoft — time is. - Paul Resnikoff, Digital Music News
Hall & Oates Lawsuit Ruling: Judge Blocks Oates From Selling to Primary Wave (For Now)
The judge granted a restraining order preventing John Oates from selling his share of the duo's joint venture until an arbitrator has heard Daryl Hall's objections. - Bill Donahue, Billboard
Daryl Hall Is Suing John Oates After 50 Years Together
14 million albums sold. Now a legal battle jeopardizes pop's most successful duo. - Lyndsey Parker, Yahoo Music
Kiana Ledé is Taking Back Control of Her Music and Her Life
She's one of R&B’s brightest rising stars but that doesn’t mean she always embraces the compliment. - Gary Gerard Hamilton, AP
Rob Reiner also teased other musical appearances in the upcoming film, including Garth Brooks. - Jen Juneau, People
TikTok Last Week Launched Artist Accounts
These accounts can be activated by any musician and come with tools to help artists reach new fans and increase engagement with existing ones. One of the new features, the Music tab, curates catalogs for artists and automatically adds new music so fans can more easily discover their work.” - The Verge
Fifty years ago, four young New Yorkers dragged their guitars, amps and drums to a loft on 23rd Street in New York, dreaming of becoming the biggest band in the world. - Wayne Parry, AP
The Anti-Defamation League and American Jewish Committee have Kanye West for what they've called a "particularly pathetic and sad" resurfacing of anti-Jewish rhetoric after the "unrepentant antisemite" was seen performing his new song “Vultures” at a party in Dubai. - Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes
In Shane MacGowan, Pop Music Has Lost One of Its Greatest Capital-C Characters
Consummate gutter poet, meteorically brilliant songwriter, singularly slurry punk-rock frontman and heroic waste case, Shane MacGowan was also a proper character. - Ben Rayner, Toronto Star
Beyonce’s ‘Renaissance’ Kicks Off December Box Office With $21 Million Opening
AMC is hoping for long legs for its latest concert film while “Godzilla Minus One” also arrives to $11 million launch. - The Wrap
Music Review: Violent Femmes Debut, a Cult Favorite, Turns 40 With An Expanded New Edition
In 1983, Milwaukee trio Violent Femmes released their self-titled debut, an album that would quickly enter the college-rock pantheon for its spirited acoustic punk. - Jim Pollock, AP
