Music

Duffy may not be working on the new James Bond film, but at this rate she may still have an assassin after her. And that assassin will have been hired by her record company. The 24-year-old singer has come out as a defender of illegal downloading, celebrating it as a way of "making music a part of everyone's lives". Alhough Duffy is No 2 on the charts at illegal download site MP3 Fiesta, the Welsh belter doesn't seem much bothered. "[Illegal downloading] can go two ways," she explained to ShortList. " Some people think it creates illegal access, but I think the big wheel is round, y'know?" "Somebody asked me the other day what I thought of illegal downloading, and I thought, 'You know what? I don't care,' because I think the majority [of downloaders] are kids and as they get old and get more income they'll probably buy records." Take young Duffy, for instance. Two or three years ago, the singer started downloading music. She was just a poor kid living in North Wales, "two hours on a … [Read more...] about Duffy: downloading music illegally is ‘amazing’

The music of Huey Lewis and the News will anchor a new stage musical, Heart of Rock and Roll. Lewis announced the musical on Thursday in a short video that also features Jimmy Kimmel, who announced that he would be quitting his job to star as Lewis in Heart of Rock and Roll. While Lewis tried to explain that the show was not about himself, but rather an original story based on his music, Kimmel remained committed to the role, even taking out a harmonica to prove he was ready for the gig. As Kimmel finally began to realize that his Broadway dreams would not be coming true, the late-night host cracked, “The power of love is a curious thing, Huey. Makes one man weep – and that man’s gonna be me right now.” Heart of Rock and Roll will feature some of Lewis’ best known songs, including “The Power of Love,” “Hip to Be Square” and “If This is It.” Gordon Greenberg will direct the show, while Jonathan Abrams wrote the book … [Read more...] about Huey Lewis and the News Musical in the Works

The sight of a of 20ft-tall bare bum farting out iPhone messages is about the last thing anyone with jetlag would want to experience, yet Anna Meredith is revelling in it. She is fresh off a flight from the US, where she was teaching Utah’s Mormon Youth Orchestra her piece Hands Free, a body percussion composition that resembles a giant, noisy Mexican wave. But now we’re at the Whitechapel Gallery’s gaudy art show Electronic Superhighway looking at digital derrieres. It’s a fitting setting for the Scottish composer, whose latest musical excursion has taken her away from orchestral works and into uncharted territory. Swiftly moving on, we watch Hennessy Youngman’s film Grad School, in which the irreverent video critic advises against studying art. “He’s right, isn’t he?” says Meredith approvingly. When she started studying composition, she worried that she would never succeed in the classical field. But now that she has, the … [Read more...] about Anna Meredith: the proms composer ditching classical music for club bangers

GULF SHORES, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama town is reconsidering whether to allow a beachfront music festival that has become a staple on the northern Gulf Coast. WPMI-TV reported The weekend festival draws tens of thousands of people to the municipal beach each spring, but city spokesman Grant Brown said officials have gotten multiple complaints about the event. Those include festival-goers roaming the streets, parking and sleeping on private property, he said. The four-day event is under contract in Gulf Shores through 2025, but city officials said the owner needs to make changes. “We, as the city, have to react to those problems that occur. So we’re requiring the festival to mitigate as many of those problems as they can,” said Brown. Next year’s festival is set for mid-May with acts including Billie Eilish, Post Malone and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. City officials said Hangout owner Shaul Zislin is working on a solution, and a meeting is set for Thursday … [Read more...] about Alabama beach town reconsidering Hangout music festival

Here’s music to everybody’s ears: The U.S. record industry – which is only just beginning to recover from a dismal two-decade slide – continues to be on the upswing. In the first half of 2018, total consumption in both streams and sales grew 18 percent, according to Nielsen’s mid-year report released Friday morning. The business is, as described by Nielsen Music general manager Erin Crawford, “still in the thick of an exciting growth spurt.” In 2016, thanks mostly to the explosion of music streaming, the U.S. music industry saw double-digit growth for the first time in nearly two decades despite the decline of traditional album sales; the year after, the business continued to grow and major label groups saw revenues climb to 15-year highs. Music streaming is now more popular than ever, with on-demand music and video streams totaling a record 403.4 billion in just the first half of 2018, representing a market growth of 41.6 … [Read more...] about Rap Is Leading the Music Industry’s Resurgence

Music revenue rose 16.5 percent to $8.7 billion in the U.S. in 2017, and the majority of the increase is due to music streaming services. According to an annual report from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), via Wall Street Journal, it’s the second consecutive year of significant growth since 1999. As with 2016, last year’s music revenue rise can be attributed to streaming music platforms, which represented the majority of revenue. The category includes revenue from premium subscription services offered by companies such as Spotify, Amazon, Tidal, Pandora and Apple Music as well as ad-supported on-demand streaming services like YouTube and Vevo. In 2017, streaming music platforms contributed two-thirds of the total U.S music industry revenue. Paid subscriptions were the biggest driver, bringing in more than $4 billion in revenue for the first time. While streaming services have boosted music revenue to levels not seen in a decade, it remains 40 percent … [Read more...] about U.S. Music Revenue Rises, Boosted by Streaming Services

When is a stream not a stream? Billboard, which publishes the definitive album and song charts for the U.S. music industry, has had to ask itself that odd question in the last few months. After facing pressure and criticism from subscription music-streaming services, the trade publication announced last October that it would revamp its chart formulas, which it populates with data from stats firm Nielsen, to give paid streaming more weight than free streaming. Those new formulas are here. Billboard announced this week that beginning June 29th, the Billboard Hot 100 (which tracks songs via sales, radio play and streaming) will take on the following point system for streaming: one full point per play for paid subscription streams two-thirds of a point per play for ad-supported streams one-half of a point per play for programmed streams And the Billboard 200, which tracks albums, will have two tiers: paid subscription audio streams (equating 1,250 streams to one album unit) … [Read more...] about Music’s New Chart Rules Care – a Lot – About Whether You’re Paying to Listen

Spotify’s plan to go public, filed last week, could generate $23 billion and make the world’s biggest record labels hundreds of millions of dollars richer — but the Swedish streaming giant has yet to soothe grumbling and litigious artists and songwriters who say its royalty payments are unfairly low. “They rigged it so they don’t pay the artist,” David Crosby tells Rolling Stone. “I’ve lost half of my income because of these clever fellas. I used to make money off my records, but now I don’t make any.” Spotify’s response to these types of criticisms has been the same for years: The service has paid more than $10 billion in royalties to artists, labels and publishers, according to its modified initial public offering, and the company has helped save the record business from online piracy. “Spotify was founded on the belief that music is universal and that streaming is a more robust and seamless access model that … [Read more...] about As Spotify Prepares to Go Public, Music Industry Divided on Royalties

Spotify has revealed Spotify Wrapped 2019. Every year, Spotify reveals your listening habits for the year, and 2019 is no exception. However, with this being the last year of the decade, Spotify can also reveal your music tastes throughout the 2010s.How to Reveal Your Spotify Wrapped 2019When you open Spotify on your mobile you should see a banner advertising Spotify Wrapped 2019. If you aren’t interested in seeing your top artists and songs of 2019 or the decade as a whole, click “Dismiss”. Otherwise, click “Take a Look” to get started.You’ll then have a wealth of content to explore. The first thing to do is “See how you listened in 2019”. This will “reveal your top artists, songs and genres of the year and more”. All presented in a pleasing audio-visual slideshow.What to Look for in Spotify Wrapped 2019You’ll see how your music tastes changed with the seasons, your favorite artist, your favorite song of theirs, and how … [Read more...] about Spotify Wrapped 2019 Reveals Your Music Tastes

On World Music Day, TOI finds it���s time for listening sessions at sabhas Chennai has a passion for music that is unrivalled with concerts happening all the year round and in December reaching its fever pitch. But if you think Chennaiites only prefer listening to live concerts and performers think again. While webcasts of concerts have been gaining traction over the last couple of years, the city���s music enthusiasts are now organizing listening sessions in which recorded concerts of past masters are played to unanimous applause. Take the case of Mottai Madi Kutcheri, a monthly event organized by S L Narasimhan, a tech and marketing communication consultant, who refers to himself as a ���music archivist and professional listener���. He has been organizing listening sessions featuring the recorded concerts of Carnatic maestros since 2008. ���We organize it on the second Friday … [Read more...] about World Music Day: Music enthusiasts to pay tribute to music maestros