A Conversation with... Meredith Shaw - The innovative twang singer, radio host and entrepreneur returns with a new single, and sits for our weekly feature
Love, War & MacArthur Park by Bill King - The Toronto Star has been running a series commemorating the hundredth anniversary of World War 1, a war so ghastly and unexplainable it may never be fully comprehended. Between flesh ripping barbed wire and spent artillery shells, millions were doomed to die in mud soaked ditches, far from the fields they tended as farmers and managed as countrymen. Before catastrophic interference there was more to life than holding a position and blindly charging ahead. There was music and there was the love of a woman or man - the essence of life.
Headliners
Friday, the CRTC released trending data that show smartphone and tablet usage by Canadians are accelerating, 90% are tethered to the Internet using one of 3 major Telco’s, and landlines are in decline. Telco service revenues increased by 2%, reaching $44.8B in 2013.
Nova Scotia favourite Jenn Grant has inked a new deal with Outside Music to release her 5th album, Compostela. Recorded at her home studio with husband/producer husband Daniel Ledwell, guests on the Oct. 21 release include Doug Paisley, Sarah Harmer, Buck 65, Ron Sexmsith, Rose Cousins, Justin Rutledge, and Jonathan Goldsmith. The album has been pre-released to media and a theatre tour runs late Oct. through Nov.
Patrizia, the dramatic coloratura soprano known for her raucous operatic rock, has the Brit music press warbling with delight over her latest, titled Rock the Throne. By example, Fireworks mag coos, "This album is amazing and totally unique....her voice is equally on par with the legendary Maria Callas.” Swansea-based Two Side Moon is pitching her perfection in the UK.
Omnia is the title of Winnipeg thrash band Laika's latest, released via Filth Regime Records. Decibel mag has the stream; Bandcamp has the album.
Montreal one-man-band Steve Young kicks off a string of national club shows in Sudbury on Oct. 16. Young simultaneously plays harp, drums and guitar —and employs a bass amp to emulate a bass sound on stage. He’s promoting his blues-rock set, Solo Recordings, Vol. 2.
Wanna make a quick $5K? Smut merchant Pornhub is launching a record division and needs an anthem with a video to match. Winning entry is promised exposure on affiliated Pornhub TV. Submissions HERE
Garvia Bailey is the new host of the JAZZ.FM91 weekday morning show Good Morning Toronto, effective today. Mark Wigmore jumps from CBC Radio to replace Bailey as Sr. Arts Editor and will host Arts Report weekday mornings and on Afternoon Drive with host Brad Barker. Heather Bambrick steps from mornings to host Jazzology, a feature program showcasing GTA’s talented jazz students on Thursdays at 9pm.
Thom Yorke’s new solo album, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, is being sold and distributed online as Bit Torrent bundles, the crucial difference being that users pay for it.
REMTV is the title of a Nov. 25 6-DVD retrospective about Athens, GA’s favourite band. The MTV doc includes performances, award show highlights, TV appearances, and much more. Available via Rhino/Warner Music.
Stevie Wonder is taking his 1976 album Songs In the Key of Life on the road for an 11-city N/A tour; the lone CDN date announced by Live Nation so far is Nov. 25 at ACC.
Boyd Pellow and Stewart Burrows have launched Canadian Hemp Guitars. Noisey has the dope on the firm.
Headphone manufacturer Sennheiser has launched a record division and plans to release as many as 10 albums in the coming year.
Sony has announced that the PlayStation TV will be released on Oct. 14. The set-top box allows users to play games, and access video and music streaming services similar to services offered by Apple and Amazon.
Today's Music Video
Ottawa power-pop band quintet The Riot Police recently self-released The Crossing. With three trained singers in the outfit, harmonies are key to the sound, as the new video single, “She Knows” makes clear. Zachary Spence and Benjamin Reyes directed and Capital Arts Prod’s edited. Alex Boyd is on keyboards and capital-city music retailer Ian Boyd is managing. View HERE
What Was Said
“We’re not trying to be flippant here, but regulatory hearings into the communications industry in 2014 called Let’s Talk TV are akin to highway regulation hearings in 1920 called ‘Let’s Talk Horses.’ Or hearings in 1996 on the music industry called ‘Let’s Talk Vinyl.’ The CRTC is one entire technology revolution behind the wheel of history. It needs to start thinking outside the idiot box if it wants to play a meaningful role in Canadians’ lives." – Globe & Mail editorial
“…Tech giants are cash rich and willing to offer labels high royalties in exchange for exclusive content. Licensing out their catalogs does not require additional spending, so any incremental revenue should flow to earnings.” - Moody’s senior analyst Gregory Fraser
"Eighty-eight percent of Pandora’s revenue is derived from advertising, not subscriptions. The future will tell whether or not the subscription model offered by Beats and Rhapsody has legs. Meanwhile, the time-tested business model most widely embraced by listeners is ad-supported radio." – Paul Goldstein
Worth Reading
CRTC is Doomed To Lose the Fight its Picked with Netflix – by Barrie McKenna
NHL regional TV rights explained – by Steve “Fagstein” Faguy
The Future of the Music Industry: Selling Audiences to Advertisers - by Paul Golstein
I Run an Independent EDM Label. And Here’s Why Streaming Isn’t Our Enemy… - by Budi Voogt
Can Graffiti Be Copyrighted? - by Gabe Friedman
