Music Biz Headlines, Nov. 20, 2019
Lil Berete (pictured) is making moves, rumours about the Silver Dollar Room, and the storm around Taylor Swift. Others in the headlines include Moonwake, the TSO, Emily Triggs, FKA Twigs, Spotify, Boomplay, Sony, Shutterstock, Kanye, Paul McCartney, Joe Henry, and Ariana Grande.
By Kerry Doole
Lil Berete makes “Money Moves” across the pond with Headie One
Lil Berete’s recent string of singles are sure signs that he’s one of the most exciting new rappers emerging from Toronto. – Aron A. Urbanology
Downsized Toronto Symphony upsizes musical pleasure with Vivaldi and more
Say what you will about how overexposed Antonio Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” are, it was a treat to hear the quartet of violin concertos performed by members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall on Saturday night. – John Terauds, The Star
Moonwake’s shifting tide
The synth-pop band celebrates a new direction at a trio of Halifax Music Co-op shows. – Andrew Bethune, The Coast
Emily Triggs offers resilience and hope on sophomore album, Middletown
An initial spin of the Calgary-based artist’s 10-song sophomore record does suggest there is more than a little darkness lurking beneath the explorations of love, loss and heartbreak. – Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald
Will there be two Silver Dollar Rooms? Notice spied in Parkdale window suggests it’s possible
There’s a tale of two Silver Dollars brewing in this town. More than a year after Toronto lost one of its most cherished live venues to the developer’s wrecking ball — albeit with a city-mandated promise from that same developer to build an exact replica in its place — there appears to be a second Silver Dollar Room on the rise in Parkdale. – Ben Rayner, the Star
Concert review: FKA Twigs completely owned the stage at Rebel
From her gut-wrenching emotion to her gravity-defying pole dancing, the British artist showed why she's a true performer, willing to leave everything onstage. – Kelsey Adams, NOW
International
Concerts are new arenas’ main attraction, rather than sports
An arena can generate twice as much net income from hosting a concert than a National Basketball Association or National Hockey League game, according to Oak View. Live music is expected to balloon to a $38 billion industry by 2030, from about $28 billion currently, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. — Anne Steele, WSJ
Sony inks major licensing deal in Africa with Boomplay (and its 60m users)
TikTok isn’t the only Chinese-owned app making waves in the music business right now. Streaming and download music app Boomplay, which covers multiple regions in Africa, is jointly owned by two large-scale Chinese companies, as part of their Transnet Music Limited JV. – Tim Ingham, MBW
How live streaming is altering the music business for artists and fans alike
As technological innovation continues to sweep the music industry, live streaming has become an increasingly important component of bands and artists’ promotional arsenal. Here we look at why you need to livestream and what you need to do so effectively. – Ian Courtney, Hypebot
Spotify needs to make a decision about its future
Out of all the buzz that Spotify continues to amass as a leading music-streaming service, one problem that virtually no one in the music business has discussed yet is the gaping hole between Spotify’s oft-trumpeted mission statement and its actual business model. – Cherie Hu, MBW
How Sony is protecting rights of digital creators using Blockchain on AWS
Traditional approaches to managing music rights are struggling to keep pace with this ever-accelerating world. Protecting the rights of creators takes on new urgency. It also requires innovation. Solutions that simplify royalty tracking and collection ensure fair compensation and free musicians to focus on the artistic rather than the administrative. – Forbes
In escalating dispute with Scooter Braun, Taylor Swift uses social media to ask fans, investment firm to help
The singer-songwriter tweeted an impassioned plea asking U.S. asset management firm Carlyle Group and fans to help her in efforts to secure ownership of six albums she previously recorded under Big Machine Label Group. – Lucas Shaw and Melissa Cheok, Bloomberg
Taylor Swift, Elizabeth Warren and the private equity debate, explained
Taylor Swift’s ongoing dispute with her record company, the Big Machine Label Group, its founder Scott Borchetta and new owner Scooter Braun has caught the attention and elicited responses from at least two high-profile politicians: Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren and freshman New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. – Randy Lewis. LA Times
Shutterstock’s new music subscription offers affordable music licensing for content creators
The $149 US per month plan includes standard licensing to more than 11,000 music tracks, with hundreds of tracks added monthly. – Amy Gesenhues, Marketingland
Paul McCartney: a safe but satisfying Glastonbury headliner
Having long since embraced a Beatles-heavy set list, McCartney still has what it takes to send a crowd into rapturous singalongs. He has just been named as the headliner for next year's fest. – Alexis Petridis, The Guardian
NYC Playboy Club bunnies to hang up tails and ears after just one year
After just one year in business, the owners of the new Playboy Club at the Cachet Hotel on West 42 Street are packing up their Hugh Hefner memorabilia and rebranding the space as a steak house and entertainment venue sponsored by events promoter Live Nation, sources say. – Lois Weiss, NY Post
Kanye West talks about serving God during visit with Osteen
Rapper Kanye West told parishioners at Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch on Sunday that his recent spiritual awakening has made him realize he’s no longer in the service to fame and money but “in service to God.” – Juan Lozano, AP
Joe Henry and the art of disappearing into a song
In 2018, he was told he had Stage 4 prostate cancer and months to live. This week, he released his 15th album and is more dedicated than ever to finding humanity in music. – NYT
The 25 Best Music Videos of the 2010s
Music videos can often serve as fun, even necessary, additions to a song—almost like a happy bonus. Videos from the 2010s spanned short stories and frivolities, mini docs and visual masterpieces, dance parties and comedic satires. – Soleil Collins, Paste
Ariana Grande tells fans she’s struggling with an illness
Singer Ariana Grande is telling her fans that she has a bad sinus condition that has made her “very sick” and might force her to cancel upcoming shows on her world tour. – AP
The Doobie Brothers are reuniting with Michael McDonald for a 50th anniversary tour next year
It marks the first time in nearly 25 years that McDonald, Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons and John McFee will hit the road together, on a 30-date tour. – UCR
