International
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Bad Habits’ Holds at No. 1 on U.K. Chart
The week’s highest new entry belongs to The Weeknd, whose “Take My Breath” is new at No. 13 (Republic Records/XO) for the Canadian artist’s 18th Top 20 hit in the U.K. Also new to the chart is KSI and Lil Wayne’s “Lose” (BMG), arriving at No. 18, while Olivia Rodrigo snags her seventh Top 40 appearance with Sour track “Jealousy Jealousy” (Geffen), new at No. 36. Over on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, Dave returns to the summit with We’re All Alone In This Together (Dave Neighbourhood), up 2-1, and swapping places with Eilish’s sophomore album. The highest new entry in the current cycle is Will Young’s covers set Crying On The Bathroom Floor (Cooking Vinyl), new at No. 3. It’s the former Pop Idol’s eighth consecutive Top 3 studio album. Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour d...
Cardi B, Don Omar, Steven Van Zandt React to 7.2 Magnitude Earthquake Near Haiti
Omar also addressed the disaster, tweeting in Spanish, “In times of tragedy we have been a united people who have managed to move forward, now is the time to unite and help in this tragedy #Haiti.” Van Zandt, meanwhile, replied to a fan’s tweet about not discussing politics over the weekend. “NONE! Let’s send some positive energy to Haiti! Man that country is cursed,” the musician wrote. Haiti is still recovering from a 5.9 earthquake in 2018 that killed more than a dozen people, and a 7.1 magnitude quake in 2010 that damaged the impoverished country’s capital and killed an estimated 300,000 people, according to the Associated Press. Saturday’s devastating earthquake also arrives at a time when Haiti is experiencing a political crisis following the...
Tencent Music Value Plummeting Amid Regulatory Uncertainty in China
The Chinese government has unleashed 50 regulatory actions — mostly affecting tech companies in recent months, by The Economist’s count, that has created what Richard Kramer, managing partner of Arete Research, called “a tsunami of uncertainties.” Investors have reacted by pricing their uncertainty into Tencent Music’s stock price. Its shares currently trade at 27.1 times forward price-to-earnings compared to 44.2 on March 31, according to Refinitiv. At its all-time high price, Tencent’s market capitalization almost equal with that of Spotify. Now, at roughly $17 billion, Tencent Music is worth 41% of Spotify’s roughly $41 billion market capitalization. The problems began in July when China’s State Administration for Market Regulation aimed to reduce Tencent Music’s market dominance ...
Justin Bieber Jumping on a Remix of WizKid’s ‘Essence,’ His Personal ‘Song of the Summer’
The song could experience a leap on the chart following the Bieber-assisted remix, which happened with Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito.” The Latin pop anthem leapt to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 2017 and remained at the top for 16 weeks, tying the record for longest-running No. 1 song at the time. The watershed movement could translate for the Afrobeats genre with the new version of “Essence.” Wiz has famously worked with another Canada-born sensation — Drake — on the No. 1 smash “One Dance” in 2016, which also features British singer Kyla. The remix comes in the same week as Tunji Balogun, who was executive vp of A&R RCA Records for six years and signed WizKid in 2016, being announced as the new CEO/chairman of Def Jam Records...
Two Sony Music Execs Exit Amid Workplace Culture Probe
The pair leave some two months after the launch of an independent investigation into the Sydney-based company’s workplace culture, a development broken by The Sydney Morning Herald’s Nathanael Cooper. As previously reported, Sony Music veteran Denis Handlin left in June, after more than 51 years with the company, and 36 years the helm of the domestic business. “It is time for a change in leadership,” wrote Sony Music Entertainment CEO Rob Stringer in a memo to staff at the time. “And I will be making further announcements in terms of the new direction of our business in Australia and New Zealand in due course.” It remains unclear who is guiding the company at present, or how Sony Music is progressing with the recruitment process for a new leader. A spokesperson declined to comment further....
Will Young Leads Midweek U.K. Chart With ‘Crying On The Bathroom Floor’
Young shot to fame after winning the first edition of the U.K.’s Pop Idol in 2002. In the years since, he has bagged four U.K. No. 1 singles (including his first three releases) and 11 Top 10s. His albums have led the national albums chart on four occasions, with eight cracking the Top 10. Crying On The Bathroom Floor, a covers album, is the followup to 2019’s Lexicon, his first via indie label Cooking Vinyl, which peaked at No. 2. Earlier in his career, Young won two Brit Awards, for best British breakthrough act and best single, for “Your Game.” Close behind is George Harrison’s 1970 chart-topping solo album All Things Must Pass (Apple Corps), which surges following its 50th anniversary reissue. The late Beatles great blasts in at No. 2 on the Official Chart Update. Another British...
Billie Eilish’s ‘Happier Than Ever’ Reigns Over U.K. Chart
According to the OCC, Eilish becomes the first international female artist to reach No. 1 with her first two albums since Lana Del Rey did it seven years ago, with Born To Die and Ultraviolence. Off the back of her new sophomore album release, the alternative pop star’s debut album from 2019, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, returns to the Top 40, lifting 47-36 on this week’s survey. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? has logged three weeks at No. 1 during its chart journey. Meanwhile, Dave’s We’re All Alone In This Together (Dave Neighbourhood) dips 1-2 but remains the most-streamed album of the week, while Prince’s posthumous release Welcome 2 America is new at No. 5. Previously recorded in 2010 and unlocked from the Prince vault for the first time, Welcome 2 Am...
DMA’s, Spacey Jane Win Big at 2021 AIR Awards
DMA’S and Spacey Jane were multiple winners Thursday night (Aug. 5) at the 2021 AIR Awards, which recognize, promote and celebrate the success of Australia’s independent music sector. With three awards, DMA’S were dominant. The buzzy, Britpop-esque trio of Johnny Took, Matt Mason and Tommy O’Dell won for independent album of the year, best independent rock album or EP with The Glow, and best independent dance, electronica or club single for The Avalanches remix of “Criminals.” Spacey Jane, the indie rock band from Perth, scooped breakthrough independent artist of the year and “Booster Seat,” lifted from 2020’s Sunlight, which peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart, was named independent song of the year. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we re...
Billie Eilish’s ‘Happier Than Ever’ Crowned on Australia’s Chart
Further down the albums tally, the latest Over You edition of The Kid Laroi’s F*ck Love (Columbia/Sony) sees the mixtape hold at No. 3, while Prince makes his first Top 10 appearance with a studio album in almost a quarter century, with the posthumous release Welcome 2 America (Legacy/Sony). Recorded in 2010, the album bows at No. 5. The last Prince studio effort to enter the Top 10 was 1996’s Emancipation, which peaked at No. 8. Since then, the Purple One landed two high-fliers with The Very Best Of (No. 2 in May 2016) and Ultimate (No. 6 in May 2016). Tasmanian outfit The Wolfe Brothers are based on the end of the world, though they’re living it up on the ARIA Albums Chart with Kids On Cassette (BMG/ADA), their fifth release. It’s new at No. 6 for the country rocker...
UK Live Industry Gets Long-Demanded Government-Backed COVID Insurance
The government says it is one of the only insurance schemes in the world to cover such a wide array of live events and not put a cap on costs claimed per event. Denis Desmond, chairman of Live Nation U.K. and Ireland, says the government-backed protection is a vital intervention that “offers certainty to artists, concert and festival promoters in the live entertainment market.” “While the new scheme won’t cover all our risk, this intervention will help protect the industry that we all know and love,” says Phil Bowdery, chairman of the Concert Promoters Association. The program follows the establishment of similar government-backed insurance schemes in a number of other European markets, including Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Denmark. They provide a much-needed safety net...
EXO Vocalist D.O. Releases Romantic Solo Album ‘Empathy’
D.O.’s vocals handle a range of tasks on Empathy, coming in as profoundly relaxing as they interweave with gentle guitar strums on the hypnotic “It’s Love,” while “I’m Fine” lets him effortlessly soar between his gorgeous falsetto and soulful low notes. Bolstered by the success of EXO’s latest album, Don’t Fight the Feeling, which has become one of 2021’s biggest K-pop releases with more than 1.2 million copies sold and a music video earning 80 million views on YouTube since its release in early June, D.O. finally released his solo album, which lets him flourish as a star vocalist but also showcases his songwriting and language skills. Notably, D.O. is credited with writing “Rose” and “I’m Fine” on the album while also offering a Spanish-language version of “It’s Love” as well as an ...
UK Artists Granted Visa-Free Touring in 19 EU Countries in Post-Brexit Agreements
The coronavirus pandemic and accompanying shutdown of the live music industry have masked many of the problems created by Brexit for the live-music sector. And fears have lingered about extra customs checks and performers and crews requiring visa and work permits for when European touring does resume. According to a survey conducted by the Musicians’ Union and Incorporated Society of Musicians in April and May, 77% of U.K. musicians expected their earnings in Europe to decrease when touring resumes due to additional Brexit-related red tape and touring costs. In January, over 100 acts, including Elton John, Ed Sheeran and Radiohead, signed an open letter to the British government saying it had “shamefully failed” them with the EU trade deal that was finalized on Dec. 24 by not s...
