By David Farrell
Following the July announcement of a global deal with BMG, Bryan Adams has released the title track single from his next album, entitled So Happy It Hurts. It’s likely the first of a series of teaser songs since the album isn’t scheduled for release before March 11 in various configurations, included a boxed set with a hardbound book, autographed photo and the vinyl album. According to his website, the singer returns to the stage with 5 shows in Las Vegas starting Nov. 10.
– Justin Bieber has released a live version of his title-track album song Justice that leaves no doubt that the 27-year-old Canadian pop star, who launched his career with his debut studio album, My World, is everything and more that his mentor and manager Scooter Braun spotted in him eleven years ago. Now a young man, he has proven himself to be both durable, talented and a seemingly decent sod.
– Adele’s Easy On Me racked up 24M global streams on Spotify on its opening day of release. There are no metrics for the single in Canada yet available, although first MRC reports will be available to subscribers within the next 48 hours. With strong activity on her catalogue, the appetite for the singer’s new album is evident, even as the first sing-from the Nov. 19 release of 30- lacks both a hook and a memorable chorus.
– SOCAN presented five No. 1 Song Awards at the Oct. 1-3 Osheaga Festival in Montréal with one award each to Ruby Waters, JJ Wilde, and bülow, and two to Charlotte Cardin.
– Gordon Lightfoot’s trio of Allan Slaight Auditorium shows at Massey Hall, Nov. 25-27, are mostly gone with tickets scaled between $77+ and $104+. A six-city western tour has been postponed, with new dates set for Oct. 2022. For those wondering, B.C Fiedler Management is co-ordinating all shows. Unconfirmed whispers suggest the Massey dates could in fact be the octogenarian’s final public performances, although the 2022 western show dates suggest otherwise.
– Pop writer Mark Doble has teamed up with Frank Troiano on a new biography of one of Toronto’s originators of the Toronto Sound that blended R&B with R&R, entitled Domenic Troiano – His Life and Music. The book, available in soft and hardback, has its starting point in the ‘60s Toronto club scene with Robbie Lane & the Disciples and “Rompin’” Ronnie Hawkins, following his ascent on the rockpile in the Five Rogues, Mandala, Bush, the James Gang, and the Guess Who, as well as a prolific solo career. The authors host a book launch on Oct. 21 (5-8 pm) at Friars Music Museum in Toronto.
– The Canadian Music Centre has launched Picanto, a video streaming portal with 213 videos featuring contemporary music composers and ensembles. The Star’s William Littler reports Canada Council provided a $459K grant to get things going and other agencies are being approached to make possible an eight to $10M budget covering the next five years.
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Outside Music and Next Door Records have named new hired Peggy Hogan as Label and Marketing Manager for both labels. She performs under her Chinese name of Hua Li 化力, and was one of the first artists signed to Next Door Records. Her debut album Dynasty came out in 2019, resulting in a North America tour with Cadence Weapon and Fat Tony. Over the last two years, Hogan has been programming the Symposium at Pop Montreal.
– A new all-female firm has sprung up in Manitoba calling itself Misfit Music MGMT. Founded by Elise Roller, the boutique agency’s first signing was Polaris-nominated hip hop group Super Duty Tough Work in January 2021, then shortly after, singer-songwriter and producer Sierra Noble. The multi-genre roster now also includes WCMA-nominated grunge-pop/garage-rock duo Mise en Scene.
– The El Mocambo has partnered with nomadic Hugh’s Room to stage monthly concerts at the Spadina Ave venue. Dione Taylor is the first up on Oct. 27, followed by Paul James on Nov. 6.
– Frozen food heiress Eleanor McCain has repackaged her affectionate, big ticket True North: Canadian Songbook, a sesquicentennial gift to her country first released in 2017 as a coffee table book and 32-track album featuring 10 regional orchestras, 28 guest artists and 14 separate arrangers. It is now available as a sort of ‘best of’ featuring 14 tracks under the header of I Can See Hope. The scion of a family noted for philanthropy, she has promised $25K from sales will benefit The Unison Fund. Below, the choreographed title track video filmed in Hacketts Cove, NS.
– CIMA holds a virtual Amazon Music for Artists primer for its members on Nov. 4 with 3 key members from the music streaming service available to answer questions. Details here.
– NB-born Patsy Gallant, now 73, returns to the province (from her residence in Montreal) for a concert at the Dieppe Culture Centre on Oct. 23. Tickets scaled between $20 and $30 at the 200+ soft seat venue. She’s had a storied career but is best known for her 1976 hit From New York to LA (Attic Records, now available through Unidisc Music in Montreal).
– The first of four anniversary tributes marking the 45th anniversary of Canada’s longstanding music mag The Music Express, penned by Roman Mitz, has been published and is viewable here. Oft overlooked, Keith Sharp’s resolute determination to provide a living history of Canada’s pop music now represents a valuable archive and is deserving of recognition. From Mitz’s feature, recalling the first year of the publication, Sharp recalls that “through the months of July through September I literally interviewed everyone that came through Alberta. This included The Bay City Rollers, Randy Bachman, Al Martino, Olivia Newton-John and Trooper. I just threw it all together in order to get the stories published.”
– US music publishers are pushing for a new streaming rate of 20%, or 40% of whatever is paid to the record labels for the recording rights if that is higher. Pushing back, Amazon, Spotify, Apple, Pandora and Google have all filed documents with the US Copyright Royalty Board proposing a roll back of current rates.
– The SEC has green-lit the sale of shares in a hit song–and fans can buy them for US$16.
– As further evidence that the world has truly gone mad, a work by British street artist Banksy that sensationally self-shredded just after it sold at auction three years ago fetched almost US$25.4 million last week — a record for the artist, and close to 20 times its pre-shredded price.
–The pre-hype on the Peter Jackson-directed Beatles’ Get Back doc, culled from the footage from the 1970 Let It Be film, has been hard to miss, just as Macca’s recent revisionist history and gonging the Rolling Stones has grandly helped marshal maximum exposure for the upcoming 3-part Disney+ premiere, Nov. 25-27. Ahead of the documentary’s Disney Plus debut, Apple Corps Ltd./Callaway Arts & Entertainment will release The Beatles: Get Back book on October 12, and a 6-disc edition of the original single album release is one of 5 formats now on offer. For those that haven't already, here's the less than exciting 3+ minute trailer for the Get Back look-back.
– Is it possible to retire off the royalties from one hit song? Celebrity Net Worth has the answer, with a list of some of the high earners that have generated staggering wealth for the song’s owners.
– Once pushed aside from the limelight and a handful of so-so solo albums, Mick Jagger’s younger brother Chris is coming clean about his past, in a memoir, and a new album, Mixing Up the Medicine.
Below, a recent duet with his brother, included on Mixing Up the Medicine.
– Was it the name of the act that derailed the opening? The official opening of History, Toronto’s new 2,500-capacity Toronto concert venue backed by Live Nation and Drake, has been postponed. The showroom was to officially open Oct. 22nd with a concert by American pop-punk band All Time Low but prior to has announced on social media that the show is cancelled over capacity restrictions. It now looks as if Passenger will do the opening honour on Nov. 1.
- Neill Dixon confirms there is to be a big hurrah for CMW’s 40th anniversary in 2022. Expect lots of balloons, blower whistles, ribbons and coloured Jell-O.
Back then, in 1983, Quality Records, a division of Selkirk Communications, was vying for a call for a new music TV channel that would be awarded to Moses Znaimer’s MuchMusic, Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart was a No. 1 song, Rough Trade opened for David Bowie, Ross Reynolds became VP at MCA Canada, Current Records was pitching new albums from Martha and the Muffins and The Parachute Club, Anne Murray was back on the N/A charts with A Little Good News, and Dallcorte Records had just released its first country single–by veteran hat star B.W. Pawley.
– Quebec has published its list of places and activities requiring a vax passport and the list is extensive, but it contains a caveat that leaves itself open to massive abuse by exempting homeless people who have no obligation to present a vaccination passport to access dining rooms, restaurant terraces, food courts in shopping centres and food outlets.
– MBW profiles Wassim ‘Sal’ Slaiby, the manager whose roster is led by The Weeknd, and now lead partner Universal Arabic Music (UAM) with Universal Republic Records.
– Same publication hosts an informative feature dealing with legal issues connected to NFTs and music royalty streams.
– iPhone in Canada reports that YouTube is claiming to have paid out $4B to the music biz in the past 12 months.
– Hypebot explains ‘The TikTok Algorithm: How it Works’.
– ADISQ-winning 18-year-old Montreal pop artist Eli Rose has released her new single, Évidemment Ft. Imposs via Maison Barclay Canada/UMC. It’s produced by multi-platinum beatmakers' Nk.F and Joa. In 2017, she released her first single, Soleil, that became a top 10 BDS charts in her home province.
– Retail baron Doug Putman (HMV, FYE, Toys R Us) tells Retail Insider: “We look at our brick-and-mortar stores as a competitive advantage. A lot of people laugh when I say no one’s ever going to be only e-comm, and they say, 'have you ever heard of Amazon?' Well, if you start reading the articles, what’s Amazon doing? They’re going to start looking at opening department stores. They bought Whole Foods.”
