Music Biz Headlines, March 9, 2020
Juno-nominated rapper bbno$ (pictured) boosted by TikTok, a Vancouver rock 'n roll mystery, and changes for the El Mocambo and Hugh’s Room Live. Others in the headlines include Julie Payette, the Junos, James Rhodes, Spotify, Rawlins Cross, Villages, SXSW, Gibson, Dubset, Charles Manson, Nick Cave, Ravel, Steve Earle, and Nathaniel Rateliff.
By FYI Staff
A rock 'n' roll mystery: What happened to the Zeffertt tapes?
Kelly Deyong Sound quietly made reel-to-reel recordings of the shows he did in the '70s and '80s. – John Mackie, Vancouver Sun
Should there be an Indigenous Juno Awards category?
In his acceptance speech for the Indigenous album award at last year’s Junos in London, Ont., Jeremy Dutcher brought up the complexities of the award he had just won. – Brad Wheeler, TheGlobe and Mail
Juno-nominated rapper bbno$ on how TikTok boosted his breakout hit ‘Lalala’
Canadian rapper bbno$ (pronounced “baby no money”) can tell you exactly how 15 seconds on TikTok turns somebody into a social media superstar. – David Friend, CP
An inside look at the brand-new El Mocambo in photos
The historic venue, which opened in 1948 but has been closed since 2014, is tentatively set to reopen on April 1. Here's what it looks like inside. – NOW
5 people argue which decade of the Junos produced the best music
Five Saskatchewan music buffs advocate for their favourite decade. – CBC
The Weeknd and Oneohtrix Point Never debut new song on SNL
The Toronto star premiered an Elton John-interpolating song, appeared on a sketch, and performed Blinding Lights on the Daniel Craig-hosted episode. – Madison Bloom, Pitchfork
James Rhodes paves a path toward the sacred and the profane at Koerner Hall
There was some indignant huffing from the man seated next to me when James Rhodes dropped the first F-bomb in his opening patter at Koerner Hall last night, but by the time the next one came, my seatmate laughed too, as charmed as the rest of us. – Christine Guy, The Globe and Mail
Yeasayer’s Black Panther copyright infringement lawsuit against The Weeknd starts soon
The experimental rock band insists that The Weeknd’s “Pray for Me” song was ripped off from their “Sunrise” track, which they released in 2007. – Dylan Smith, Digital Music News
Did you know that Canada's Governor General is nominated for a Juno Award?
Julie Payette sings in the soprano section of the Ottawa Bach Choir whose album Handel: Dixit Dominus, Bach and Schütz: Motets has been nominated for classical album of the year: vocal or choral. – Robert Rowat, CBC Music
Dan MacDonald: New CD from Rawlins Cross is a dandy
“Flying Colours” is the latest recording from Rawlins Cross. This is vintage Rawlins Cross, in a new sort of way. – Dan MacDonald, Chronicle-Herald
Hugh’s Room Live forced out at month’s end due to rent hike
While Hugh’s Room Live is being forced to shutter its doors at the end of the month, the venue’s board of directors has vowed to find it a new home and continue operations. – Nick Krewen, Toronto Star
Ten Questions with Villages
"A buddy of ours once described us as sounding like the Rankin Family if they were produced by Brian Eno," the Cape Breton four-piece shares. – Morgan Mullin, The Coast
Fans at the Rugby Sevens burst into the national anthem
40,000 rugby fans at BC Place from belted out our anthem in impromptu fashion on the first day of the 2020 Canada Sevens. – Daily Hive
Juno Awards show a creative collaboration
When Alessia Cara hosts this year’s Juno Awards on March 15, the 23-year-old will be one of the youngest hosts ever. The Moffats, made up of four brothers including triplets, were 17 and 18 when they hosted in 2000. – National Post
A former Morden Mayor is in the running for a Juno award. Doug Wilson has earned a Juno nomination for his contributions to Fresh IE's 'ILL Street Blues' in the Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year category. – Pembina Valley Online
International
In a disaster for SXSW, the fest admits it has no insurance for coronavirus cancellation
An unfortunate event cancellation has snowballed into a potential business disaster, with ramifications far beyond SXSW itself. – MBW
Spotify's newest pitch to labels and musicians: Now you pay us
Spotify Technology revived the music business. Now it wants the industry to return the favour. – Lucas Shaw Bloomberg
Gibson tells Nashville musicians they'll replace any guitars lost or damaged in the tornadoes
The 126-year-old company will give musicians demo models, prototypes, or shop worn replacement electric and acoustic guitars across Gibson's family of guitar brands. It joins many of country music's biggest artists, including Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Chris Young and other musicians who've stepped in to help recovery efforts. – Francisco Guzman and Brian Ries, CNN
Pex buys music rights platform Dubset in $25M deal
You may not have heard of these companies, or maybe neither, but this is potentially a big deal in the world of music rights clearance, not to mention artist and songwriter royalties. – Tim Ingham, MBW
'Conga line around the car park!' A week in the life of a British venue
Independent UK music venues are under threat, with 35% lost in the last decade, but Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club is thriving. Between Bosnian tango and Laurence Fox, we find out why. – DaveSimpson,The Guardian
How many Spotify streams are necessary to live above the poverty line?
The royalties earned off of Spotify streams are notoriously low but do provide some income to artists. So just how many plays does it take for a musician to live above the poverty line? – James Shotwell, Celebrity Access
Which Beatle sang the most songs?
Looking at who sang lead on each Beatles song gives credibility to an oft-told narrative about the power dynamic within the group. –Ultimate Classic Rock
Adele, Mabel and Rita Ora feature on list of 100 women ‘changing music’
Members of the Spice Girls were also included on the Performing Rights Society for Music list after the girl group’s stadium tour grossed more than £60 million, according to the organisation. – Express and Star
The missing millions of Maurice Ravel
For many, the answer would be Maurice Ravel's Boléro. – George Hamilton, The Independent
Nathaniel Rateliff on divorce, sobriety and going solo: ‘I needed to do something for myself’
While he expressed a lot of uncertainty about his tour kickoff in Minneapolis last week, Nathaniel Rateliff was very firm on at least one point. – Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune
Music and Murder: How Charles Manson inspired a generation of musicians
It's the 50th anniversary of the serial killer's debut album 'Lie: The Love and Terror Cult'. – Holly Mosley, ContactMusic
The resurrection of Steve Earle
When Steve Earle's 'Guitar Town burst onto the charts in 1986, he was thrust into stardom and a fight over what direction his restless muse should take. – Gene Santoro, Music Aficionado
Nick Cave addresses whether he'll change problematic old lyrics
Some of Nick Cave’s old lyrics haven’t aged particularly well. And in the latest issue of his Red Hand Files newsletter, which he’s been using to answer questions from his fans for a while now, he addresses the question of what to do with problematic old lyrics. Don’t expect self-censorship. – Peter Helman, Stereogum
