International
Bruce Springsteen Remembers Michael Gudinski: ‘Never Met a Better Promoter’
Indeed, Springsteen would tour many times with Gudinski, including two separate treks within a 12-month span in 2013 and 2014. On learning the sad new of Gudinski’s passing, Springsteen was effusive in his praise of Gudinski. From one Boss to another. “My friend Michael Gudinski was first, last, and always a music man. I’ve toured the world for the last fifty years and never met a better promoter,” Springsteen wrote on social media. Gudinski always had his back, and always kept Bruce entertained. “He was loud, always in motion, intentionally (and unintentionally hilarious), and deeply soulful,” Springsteen recounts. “He will be remembered by artists, including this one, from all over the world every time they step foot on Australian soil.” Read Springsteen’s tribute in full below. My frien...
After Selling Spinnin’ Records for $100M, Eelko van Kooten’s New Focus Is Influencers
It wasn’t long, however, before the Dutch exec started plotting his return to the music business. “I didn’t want to start a label or a publishing company, for me that was not special enough,” he says. “So I looked around at what was going on on the horizon of the music industry.” What he saw was a fast-evolving digital market where independent artists struggle to get their songs heard amid all the noise — and where social media stars have the power to break an unknown track or artist worldwide, often overnight. The solution van Kooten came up with was Ledo, a global digital distribution platform that partners artists, producers and songwriters with social media influencers to enable both parties to reach new audiences through creative collaborations. The Amsterdam-based platform laun...
20 Questions With Ateez: K-Pop Group Reflects on Lessons Learned From Genre Leaders
Check out the Q&A below. 1. What’s the first piece of music that you bought for yourself, and what was the medium? Wooyoung: The first album I bought was by BTS! I’ve been a huge fan, so I remember purchasing it online. Seonghwa: I can’t remember the first album I bought, but I often visited the album store in my neighborhood. I really liked to buy and collect albums so I bought albums of senior artists who were, and are still, very active. Of course, right now, I have our albums on display. 2. What was the first concert you saw? Hongjoong: I remember going to a concert where many K-pop artists including Girls’ Generation performed, when I was in elementary school. At that time, dancing and singing on the stage itself looked amazing and they looked like people living i...
Mogwai, Olivia Rodrigo Rule U.K. Charts
Released independently through the act’s label Rock Action, Every Country’s Sun ends the chart week some 2,900 combined sales ahead of the second-placed effort, Ghetts’ new arrival Conflict of Interest (Warner Records), the OCC reports. “It is 25 years this week since the release of our first single ‘Tuner/Lower,’ the first release on our own label Rock Action Records,” reads a statement from Mogwai. “We didn’t start the band or the label to get into the charts. None of us ever envisaged either the band or the label being in a position where having a No. 1 record would be a possibility.” Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia (Warner Records) continues to climb following the release of its “Moonlight Edition.” It’s up 4-3, while The Weeknd’s The Highlights (Republi...
Tash Sultana Lands First Australian No. 1 With ‘Terra Firma’
“I’ve had the most incredible, emotional and overwhelming week after releasing Terra Firma and I’m just really lost for words that it’s No. 1. Like I really am lost for words.” comments Sultana, the Melbourne-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. “I was really unsatisfied with the work I’ve done in the past prior to Terra Firma and my mission for this record was to try to be better than I was the day before, the month before, the year before,” they continue. “I produced, arranged, composed, co-engineered and played everything on this record and did it all in my own studio. This was my mission, my entire soul, the air in my lungs and to have it received this way is so much more than I ever expected.” Further down the national albums chart, Ariana Grande’s Positions...
Amnesty International condemns Salihu Yakasai’s arrest
Global rights group, Amnesty International, has condemned the arrest of Salihu Tanko Yakasai, who was arrested hours after criticising President Muhammadu Buhari, over the rise in school kidnappings. Yakasai, who was until Saturday afternoon, a media aide to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, was arrested by the Department of State Services on Friday. Amnesty said in a tweet, “Amnesty International condemns the arrest of Salihu Tanko Yakasai for exercising his freedom of expression through a tweet. We call on the Nigerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him. #FreeDawisuNow “Nigerian authorities must respect the right of citizens to express critical opinions. #FreeDawisuNow.” Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are look...
German Radio Station Issues Statement After Host Compares BTS to COVID-19
Matuschik then suggested BTS “will be vacationing in North Korea for the next 20 years” for their “Fix You” cover. In a response obtained by the AP, the radio station said Matuschik was “presenting his opinion in an ironic, exaggerated way and with exaggerated excitement, his words went too far and hurt the feelings of BTS fans. But he — and he has assured us of this — in no way intended this. He just wanted to express his displeasure over the aforementioned cover version.” “That does not change the fact that many of you found his statements to be hurtful or racist,” said Bayern 3. “We apologize for this in every way possible. We will work on the matter with Matthias and the team in detail again in the next few days.” Besides outraging ...
Coldplay Were Full Of Love After BTS Covered of ‘Fix You’
Coldplay sent all the love to BTS after the K-pop superstars played a surprise cover of 2005’s “Fix You” during Tuesday night’s (Feb. 23) MTV Unplugged. The British group included a link to the special, writing “beautiful” in Korean and “Love” in English, along with the bandmembers’ individual initials. The half-hour performance was filmed on five different sets, each one matching the mood of each song, from an arcade to an indoor field and a retro living room. Along with acoustic versions of songs from Be, RM, Jimin, Jin, Suga, Jungkook, V and J-Hope slipped in the surprise Coldplay cover as a treat for their American viewers. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be...
Breaking Down BTS Label Big Hit’s 2020 Earnings
A new BTS album, Map of the Soul: 7, and four mini album releases by the group Seventeen from Big Hit’s investment in K-pop label Pledis in May, helped Big Hit sell 13.2 million albums. That’s up 54% from 2019, with $288.5 million of revenue — a 196% improvement. Eight tracks from Map of the Soul: 7, released last February, spent time on the Billboard Global 200 Chart in 2020, with BTS’ later singles “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On” both reaching No. 1. In the U.S., Map of the Soul: 7 sold 674,000 units in 2020 while its tracks were streamed 715 million times, according to MRC Data. Normally, Big Hit’s holistic business model is well suited to the modern music business. But the pandemic killed touring, traditionally Big Hit’s largest revenue stream, and favored record companies that can...
Facebook to Lift Its Australian News Ban
Facebook blocked Australian users from accessing and sharing news last week after the House of Representatives passed the draft law late Wednesday. Initially, the Facebook news blockade cut access — at least temporarily — to government pandemic, public health and emergency services, sparking public outrage. The Senate will debate amended legislation on Tuesday. Frydenberg described the agreed upon amendments as “clarifications” of the government’s intent. He said his negotiations with Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg were “difficult.” “There is no doubt that Australia has been a proxy battle for the world,” Frydenberg said. “Facebook and Google have not hidden the fact that they know that the eyes of the world are on Australia and that is why they have sought to get a code here tha...
Mogwai, Olivia Rodrigo Lead U.K.’s Midweek Charts
Mogwai are leading a tight race for the U.K. chart crown. At the halfway stage in the chart week, the Scottish instrumental rock veterans hold the edge with As The Love Continues (Rock Action), their tenth studio album. As The Love Continues rules the Official Chart Update, though just 1,800 chart sales currently separate a Top 3 that also features Foo Fighters’ Medicine At Midnight (up 3-2 via Columbia) and British grime MC Ghetts’ Conflict of Interest (new at No. 3 via Warner Records). You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair...
Sony Music Publishing Signs The Kid Laroi to Global Deal
Born Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard, the Kamilaroi musician made history in his homeland earlier this month when his mixtape F*ck Love (Savage) climbed to No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart. As a result, he’s now the youngest Australian solo artist to nab top spot on the survey, aged just 17 years, 5 months and 22 days. F*ck Love bowed at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 last year, and he scored three ARIA Award nominations, for best male artist, breakthrough artist, and best hip-hop release. More recently, the mixtape hit No. 3 on the Billboard chart. In Australia, the set hasn’t left the ARIA Top 40 since the original version was released last July, and it’s amassed more than 1 billion global streams. Were it not for the domination of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License,”...
