Can songwriting be taught? Bob Wiseman doesn’t think so.This may seem like a strange admission from someone who taught Popular Music Songwriting in the Don Wright Faculty of Music this term, but this kind of honesty is precisely what Wiseman bought to his students – that, and a lifetime of experience. – Stephen Ledgley, Western News
FYI
Music Biz Headlines, Dec. 11, 2019
The wordsmithery of Corin Raymond (pictured), the best T.O. albums of the decade, and Canada's greatest supergroups. Also in the headlines are The East Pointers, CPO, Bob Wiseman, Glass Tiger, top earners, Warner, RS Pro, Red Records, social media, Merlin Music, Soundgarden, AC/DC, and Juice WRLD.
Dec 11, 2019
By Kerry Doole
Singer-songwriter Corin Raymond on the true worth of music
Corin Raymond's a troubadour by trade, a raconteur by nature and a wordsmith by the grace of God and Leonard Cohen. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail
The 20 best Toronto albums of the 2010s decade
In the years that brought our artists to a world stage, gave our city a nickname and had some wondering if we were having our "Seattle moment," these albums defined the decade. – Staff, NOW
Canada's greatest supergroups
The Canadian music world is full of broken social scenes of famous friends and all-star collaborators. Here are some of the best — see if you can spot every appearance from Chris Murphy. – Alex Hudson, Exclaim
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Show review: The East Pointers guide you home
PEI's Celtic-folk kings continue to rule. While the band has toured worldwide, it’s clear that their hearts lie in their home province. – Elizabeth Foster The Coast
Handel's Messiah has a new look performance by CPO
The performance of Messiah offered by the CPO this season was a clear indication of the change in taste in how this masterpiece should be performed. It was also an indication of the present force of the early music performance movement today. – Kenneth DeLong, Calgary Herald
Yes, Toronto’s Ward was a slum; it was also a source of cultural riches
David Buchbinder has translated a compelling perspective on people starting a new life in a new land into music in ‘The Ward Cabaret.' – John Terauds The Star
Wiseman sets stage for aspiring songwriters
Glass Tiger gets Pembroke's Festival Hall rocking as art centre celebrates its 40th anniversary
Forty years of Festival Hall was celebrated recently with a sold-out performance by famed Canadian band Glass Tiger. Hosted by theatre director Rick Wharton, the 40th anniversary celebration began with an acknowledgment of the municipal consortium that leases and overseas the hall. – Pembroke Observer
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Gift idea: New headphones–that cost $80,000!
If I’m going to spend $500 on a pair of headphones, they gotta sound pretty good. But what do you get with a set of cans that sell for $80,000. No idea. But they gotta be pretty bloody good. These are the Sennheiser HE1s. Here are some stats. – Alan Cross, A Journal of Musical Things
International
The world’s top-earning musicians of 2019
Ever since Taylor Swift and Kanye West’s infamous run-in at the MTV Video Music Awards a decade ago, they’ve had a relationship that could be best described as star-crossed. Now they’re duking it out for the title of music’s highest-paid act. This year, Swift wins, with US $185 million, and West comes second. Drake is top Canuck at 8. – Zack O'Malley Greenburg, Forbes
Warner launches $650m fund to do battle with music's big spenders
Private equity firm Providence Equity Partners, which has over $45bn in aggregate capital commitments, is launching a new-music focused acquisitive fund... in tandem with Warner Music Group. – MBW
Rolling Stone to launch Billboard competitor ‘RS Pro’
Rolling Stone Magazine is readying the launch of a music industry news and analytics site that will be a direct competitor to Billboard. A source says most or all of the content on the new site will be behind a paywall and include charts and data from BuzzAngle Music, which Rolling Stone acquired in June of 2018. – Hypebot
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Tony Harlow named Chairman & CEO of Warner Music UK
Widely respected British exec Tony Harlow has been appointed Chairman & CEO of Warner Music UK (WMUK). He starts in February 2020. Harlow succeeds Max Lousada, Warner Music Group’s (WMG) CEO of Recorded Music, in the role. – Tim Ingham, MBW
Universal launches new label in Asia, Red Records
Universal Music Group has partnered with travel giant AirAsia Group to launch a new label called Red Records. Under the terms of the deal, UMG will handle artist development, distribution and marketing, as well as management and agency services, while AirAsia will handle regional and global marketing. – Celebrity Access
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More and more corporate brands are starting their own record labels (again). Will they last?
Are brand-led labels a threat or an opportunity for music's incumbent powers? – MBW
What's next in music? Everything.
In a world where genre distinctions matter less and less to artists and fans, an exciting transformation of the industry is underway. – Jacob Moore, Pigeons & Planes
The latest guide to social media posts
Posts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are evolving, and what worked last year won’t get you the same engagement now. A new social media content study of over 100 million posts discovered what really works today. If you want the highest engagement rate, choose Instagram. – Bobby Owsinski, music3point0
Rocking royalties group Merlin Music streams ahead to Dublin
Dutch company representing indie music labels moves base to Ireland. – The Times
UCLA jazz institute’s jam session lets musicians and audience members perform
The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA’s upcoming jam session allowed audience members to play alongside the musicians n an event yesterday. – AS Schneider, The Bruin
Chris Cornell’s widow Vicky sues Soundgarden over missing royalties
“I will do justice by my husband’s work and memory; for our children and for everything we stood for.” – Sam Sodomsky, Pitchfork
The 100 Best Songs of 2019
The tracks that defined the year, starring Billie Eilish, Thom Yorke, Normani, Bad Bunny, and more. – Pitchfork
From ‘Sabre Dance’ to ‘We're Gonna Win That Cup’, music elevates Sabres fans' experience
As the Buffalo Sabres celebrate their 50th year as an NHL franchise in a city and surrounding environs rightly revered collectively as a serious “hockey town,” let's ruminate on the marriage of music and sport.This phenomenon might not be unique to Buffalo, but there are clear inherent connections between sports and the arts in our local culture. – Jeff Miers, Buffalo News
Gahan Wilson, vividly macabre cartoonist, dies at 89
His work — seen in National Lampoon, Playboy, The New Yorker and other magazines — was full of visual surprises and black humor. – Neil Genzlinger, NY Times
AC/DC planning new album with Malcolm Young's final songs, Dee Snider says
AC/DC are working on a new album featuring tracks Malcolm Young recorded before his death in 2017, according to Twisted Sister star Dee Snider. – WENN
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Lil Nas X pays tribute to Juice WRLD with 'Lucid Dreams' cover
While the hip-hop world comes to grips with the untimely death of Juice WRLD, Lil Nas X has remembered the young artist with a music tribute. At the Jingle Ball in San Francisco on Sunday the “Old Town Road” rapper covered Juice WRLD’s signature song, “Lucid Dreams.” – Lars Brandle, Billboard
