City council approves $2M bridge funding for Calgary arts groups

Ten organizations — including Alberta Ballet, Calgary Opera, and the National Music Centre — say they can help diversify the economy, but that a loss of ticket revenue and corporate sponsorships are making it tough to stay afloat — CBC News

Is R. Kelly having his Bill Cosby moment?

Jim DeRogatis on 16 years of reporting on the singer’s alleged sex crimes—and why he hopes this time will be different — Josh Levin, Slate

Jacko’s estate extends Mijac admin deal with Sony/ATV

The Mijac Music catalogue includes MJ’s compositions as well as folios and songs by Sly and the Family Stone, the Philadelphia soul team of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, plus songs made famous by artists such as Ray Charles, Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin — Variety

Google’s amazingly simple plan to destroy piracy forever

The music industry has spent two decades smashing cockroaches with sledgehammers.  Now, Google has a simpler way to clean up the kitchen — Paul Resnikoff, Digital Music News

AEG has Pollstar in its crosshairs

Due to what it perceives as a conflict of interest, the concert promoter is considering pulling all of its advertising from the trade publication, and stopping its venues from reporting attendance and box-office figures that the mag needs to create its chart summaries — Jem Aswad, Variety

Google has a big Canadian problem, and it’s getting desperate

After losing up north, Google takes the battle over a worldwide injunction to an American court. But it's unlikely to be the tech giant's last stop — Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter

More Donald Trump inspired album titles from Canadian artists

Last year, Billboard correspondent Karen Bliss asked an assortment of Canadian artists what they thought of Trump's candidacy. She returned to the theme recently to ask everyone from Billy Talent to Sam Roberts, Buffy Sainte-Marie to Whitehorse what they would title an album if they had to name it after Trump.

Larry LeBlanc interviewed for NAMM

The staff at the National Association of Music Merchants recently interviewed him about his career, and in particular how he made his start in the music biz as a journalist. It’s a fascinating if short explanation he offers.

Meet the scientist who turns data into music

Mark Ballora, an expert on music technology at Penn State U uses sonification (the process of transforming flat data into mellow sound waves) to create symphonies — Giorgia Guglielmi, Science

Nashville musicians sue Spotify over song licensing agreements

Representing publishers like Nashville's Bluewater and Bob Gaudio (primary songwriter for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons), Richard Busch alleges Spotify did two things to his clients: not properly paying for licensed music and playing songs after licensing agreements ended — Fox News

Take a trip to LA’s new Internet celebrity summer camp

As viral fame becomes more attainable, summer camps may be the next classroom for kids — Megan Farokhmanesh, The Verge

UK recorded music expected to post $150M+ growth in 2017

According to data provided by the Entertainment Retailers Association, the increase in streaming, combined with major releases led by Ed Sheeran’s Divide, pushed the amount spent on recorded music by UK consumers in Jan-June up by 11% and the prospect of more headline releases suggests continued growth — Music Business Worldwide

Hippies, guns, and LSD: The San Francisco rock band that was too wild for the Sixties

The Charlatans embrace of Americana was years ahead of the Byrds, Grateful Dead, and Eagles, who also wove threads pillaged from those genres into their repertoires. That’s not to give the Charlatans credit for “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” and “Workingman’s Dead”—or blame for “Desperado”—but they got to the Americana party first — Ben Marks, Collectors Weekly

Hits Daily Double shows its love for Lyor, again

And the classic Streamhouse Rock song

'77 Montréal: an oral history of the local punk scene

The three guys who dreamed up this new festival event are a legendary trio who have been booking punk and other kinds of alt-rock shows in Montreal for over three decades  — Brendan Kelly, Montreal Gazette

How we made Prince's Purple Rain

‘We recorded it in a jam packed Minneapolis club. It was sweaty and smoky and vibey as hell’ —  Michael Dann, The Guardian

Should kids be allowed at music festivals?

The topic elicits strong reactions, and Jeffrey Remedios offers his thoughts —  Melissa Dunne, Toronto Star

The Rolling Stones announce plans to record first album of original material since '05

Keith Richards has revealed that the band is heading back into the studio to lay down new material —  Nick Reilly, NME

The legendary no-cover night you've never heard of

From The Strokes to Thom Yorke, 'Nu Music Nite' at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern became an epicentre of rock in Toronto —  Cam Lindsay, Noisey

Scott Walker Talks David Bowie, Early Career Stories in Rare Interview

Walker tells Jarvis Cocker he once did “the James Dean roll” out of a car that drove off a cliff — Pitchfork

The uncertain musical legacy of Merle Haggard

His torch is carried by roots rockers and old-school acts, but his place in mainstream country is less secure —  David Cantwell, New Yorker

How Home Sweet Home by Mordecai Richler inspired Dave Bidini to start a community newspaper

Rheostatics rocker turned author will launch his new venture soon — Jane van Koeverden,·cbc.ca

DJ Shub creates a powwow for our times

Fornerly with A Tribe Called Red, he blends traditional First Nations drumming and singing with electronic dance music — Holly McKenzie Sutter, Georgia Straight

Caravaggio in the attic? The ultra-valuable treasures stuck in storage

Alice Cooper has turned up a rare Andy Warhol silkscreen that he forgot he owned. He’s not the first to stumble on such mislaid riches — Gavin Haynes, The Guardian

Why Cole Swindell's 'Flatliner' should have died on the table

Top 10 country single is the epitome of bro country's indistinguishable sound and lyrics — Rolling Stone