The BBC aired a documentary 'Music's Dirty Secret: Women Fight Back' about sexual misconduct in the music industry, focusing on artists Erick Morillo, Octavian, and Solo 45. DJ Kristen Knight says in the docu that Morillo raped her after a party in Miami where they played a gig together, and that a date rape drug had been found in her system after the alleged attack. Former girlfriend Hana accused the hotly-tipped rapper Octavian of domestic abuse, which resulted in scrapping his record by Black Butter. Hana also says he offered her $20,000 to keep silent. The investigation also details the pattern of sexual abuse by grime artist Solo 45, who is currently serving 30 years in prison after being convicted of 21 counts of rape and other offenses, including imprisonment and torture, against four women.

Valerie June has brought her interesting voice from a four-year break with an old-school vibe song 'Call Me a Fool'; we know everything about Japanese post-rockers Mono, but there's just still great in a concert with The Platinum Anniversary Orchestra on 'Meet Us Where the Night Ends'; a sweet story, a sweet song - Charley Hickey shares his Phoebe Bridgers collab 'Ten Feet Tall'; '68 share their punk blues 'The Knife, The Knife, The Knife'; bedroom folk artist Field Medic's 'Chamomile' title says it all; Clark shares ambient/haunting art-pop song 'Small'; Ohtis share 'Schatze', a call and response song and video: fka Twigs shares a pop-rap collab 'Don't Judge Me' with Headie One and Fred Again; Genghis Tron are back after 13 years and a new line-up on psychedelic sludge 'Dream Weapon'; Half Waif shares a rich and dramatic 'Orange Blossoms'.

Guardian really appreciates Two Minutes to Late Night, a comedy metal show hosted by comedian Jordan Olds’s corpse-painted alter ego Gwarsenio Hall (Gwar + Arsenio Hall). Its DIY, punk ethos and absurd, profanity-laced comedy made it a hit among metalheads, especially in lockdown, the G insists.

GQ started a lovely "Happiness Project" where 12 culture-shapers discuss what makes them happy, including songs. Director and musician David Lynch chose 'Song to the Siren' by This Mortal Coil (a Tim Buckley cover) - "Elizabeth Fraser drives me crazy. So many things. There are so many pieces of music, I just burst into tears it's so beautiful". Phoebe Bridgers says it's 'If It Makes You Happy' by Sheryl Crow - "it's like just enough of a guilty pleasure". Roddy Ricch chose Pharrell's 'Happy' - "the fact that Pharrell could make a song like that was crazy".

San Francisco-based start-up Audius has raised $8,6m from Silicon Valley investors for a blockchain-based digital streaming network that connects fans directly with artists and exclusive new releases, Music Business Worldwide reports. The platform aims to allow artists to set the rate for their own work and capitalise on data that shows them who their superfans are. Audius will keep 10% of revenue and the rightsholder will keep 90%. Audius launched in 2019, it has reached 1.3m users listening every month, over 50k people have uploaded content, and the platform hosts around 200k tracks.

LA-based collector Jonathan Ward released a new 100-track compilation, 'An Alternate History of the World’s Music', focused on music recorded across the non-Anglo world, and beyond popular music, between 1907-1967. There's Crimean Tartar Orchestra, as well as music from the Persian Gulf, the Okinawa islands, Afghanistan, Sudan, the former Yugoslavia, Uganda, Spain, Albania, Mongolia, Mexico, etc. Ward is a collector of old 78rpm records who started his website Excavated Shellac in 2007, posting up a recording every day, which means this is just a glimpse into his collection. Guardian's Garth Cartwright calls it "the best album of 2021" (it actually came out in December). Bandcamp sells digital copies for $35.

DJ Mag breaks down what the current rules post-Brexit mean for the UK-based artists touring in the EU, the EU-based artists touring in the UK, as well as for the roadies and tour-bus owners. There are also changes affecting event promoters.

New Zealand seems like Mars now with the rest of the world in some sort of lockdown due to the Covid pandemic, while the island-country in the southern Pacific holds big shows (it had 1,927 Covid-19 infections over the past year). Pop band Six60 held a concert in Hastings on Saturday night which was attended by - 20,000 fans. Hawke's Bay reports from the show.

A lovely article in the Bangla newspaper The Daily Star about a small music shop Rainbow Music Store which opened up in 1982 in the backstreet of its capital Dhaka only to leave a great influence on Bangladeshi hard rock. The owners of the store weren't just selling music, they were also educators in all things rock and metal – the bands, the albums, and the history. Several prominent bands rose from that foundation - prog metal band Artcell, RockStrata, and Warfaze.

South African anti-apartheid activist, composer, and jazz trombonist Jonas Gwangwa has died aged 83, NPR reports. “A giant of our revolutionary cultural movement and our democratic creative industries has been called to rest” - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said confirming the news. Gwangwa's death comes three years to the day after the passing of Hugh Masekela and exactly two after the death of Zimbabwean great Oliver Mtukudzi.