More than 100 Italian artists staged a silent protest L'Ultimo Concerto last Saturday to raise awareness for the struggling live music industry. Italian musicians came to the venues and prepared everything just like for a normal show - with their instruments and sound-checks and all - and then just stood still in silence.
Reggae pioneer Neville "Bunny Wailer" Livingston, has died at the age of 73 at a hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, the Jamaica Observer reports. Wailer, whose real name was Neville Livingston, was a founding member of the Wailers, which also included Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. Wailer eventually left The Wailers in 1973 to find success as a solo artist, also winning three Grammys.
Music producer 3LAU has sold a collection of 33 different non-fungible tokens for a total of $11.7m, Business Insider reports. The collection includes special edition physical vinyl, unreleased music and unique experiences such as a custom song with the winner’s creative direction, which was won by the top bidder for $3,666,666. NFTs are digital representations of art (visual, audio, etc.) where ownership is tracked and verified on the blockchain. Sales in music-related NFTs this weekend alone – which included Grimes selling her WarNymph digital art collection for $5.8m – amounted to $18.6m, which is 80% of all music NFT sales combined over the nine months.
SoundCloud is introducing what it calls “fan-powered royalties” – its own branding of the user-centric royalties model – which it says will mean each SoundCloud listener’s subscription or advertising revenue is distributed among the artists that they listen to, rather than their plays being pooled, MBW reports. “Fan-powered” royalties will launch on SoundCloud on April 1, the platform suggests the move will “benefit rising independent artists with loyal fans”, and cites two independent artists currently operating on SoundCloud – Chevy and Vincent. Chevy currently has 12,700 followers on SoundCloud, Vincent has 124,000. By switching these artists to a “fan powered” model and away from ‘pro rata’, based on their recent playcounts on SoundCloud, the service estimates that Chevy’s monthly royalties will grow 217%, while Vincent’s will multiply by five, up from $120 to $600. Fingers crossed!
Michael Gudinski, the globally respected Australian music entrepreneur and founder of Mushroom Group, has died aged 68, according to Hollywood Reporter. He worked with artists including Kylie Minogue, MacKenzie Theory, the Skyhooks, the Choirboys and many more. Today, Mushroom Group comprises a collective of independent record labels, such as Liberator Music, Liberation Records, and Bloodlines.
Los Angeles-based singer Lady Blackbird is releasing her debut album 'Black Acid Soul', a pop piano-jazz-sounding one. The New Cue says Lady Blackbird's "arresting voice breathes new life into old jazz moves. It’s powerful stuff".
Italian metal band Lacuna Coil joined a wide array of Italian acts in showing support to local venus - by standing silent, Loudwire reports. The group announced "L'Ultimo Concerto" at the Alcatraz-Milano stage, and while some fans may have expected a performance, Lacuna Coil have just stood still. It was a form of protest as part of an initiative pointing out the importance of these essential clubs for developing artists and contributing to the country's art and economy.
The prospect capacity re-opening in the largest U.S. markets with over 75% capacity was “within sight”, Live Cation's CEO Michael Rapino told Music Business Worldwide. He said that “a clear outline to a 75% to 100% capacity for outdoor U.S. events in 2021 was looking likely to be green-lit”. Good news from the UK as well - festival organisers are enjoying record ticket sales after the government’s announcement of its roadmap out of lockdown in England, Guardian reports.
A total of 11 women have come forward to accuse Atlanta scene staples T.I. and his wife, former Xscape member Tiny, of drugging and sexually assaulting them, according to the New York Times. None of the couple’s accusers know each other, but many describe sexual abuse, forced ingestion of illegal narcotics, kidnapping, terroristic threats and false imprisonment.
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste won best score - motion picture at 2021 Golden Globe Awards for their collaborative work on Pixar's 'Soul'. In other music-related Golden Globes news, 'Io Sì (Seen)' from 'The Life Ahead', written by Daine Warren and performed by Laura Pausini, won Best Song, Chadwick Boseman won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance in 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', and Andra Day won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture for 'The United States Vs. Billie Holiday'. The full list of winners and nominees - here.
