“We sought a mutually beneficial agreement that would have allowed performers to continue working and perform across the continent without the need for work permits" - the UK culture secretary Oliver Dowden told NME about Brexit negotiations with the EU regarding work permits for musicians. However, Dowden claims "musicians, artists, entertainers and support staff would have been captured through the list of permitted activities for short-term business visitors. This was a straightforward solution for our creative industries which would have benefited all sides. But the EU turned it down, repeatedly. It did not propose and wouldn’t accept a tailored deal for musicians and artists". The Independent got unofficial information from the EU side that it was the UK who didn't agree to a special agreement for musicians.

Shakira has sold 100 percent of the publishing rights to her entire catalog of 145 songs - including hits such as 'Hips Don’t Lie', 'Whenever, Wherever', 'She Wolf', and 'Waka Waka' - to Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Shakira is the bestselling female Latin artist of all time, and she currently has over 32 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Music Music Worldwide reports. Hipgnosis, the company that invests in music catalogs this year alone has bought catalogs from Jimmy Iovine, Lindsey Buckingham, and Neil Young.

Jimi Hendrix’s brother Leon Hendrix and niece Tina Hendrix have been ordered by a court to recall and destroy all apparel and merchandise bearing any Jimi Hendrix name, and to change the name of their tuition-free Hendrix Music Academy school, Billboard reports. Tina Hendrix said - “I am astonished that the courts have ... stripped us from our rights to use our own family surname after a lifetime of doing so". Experience Hendrix and Authentic Hendrix, created by Jimi Hendrix's father Al and cousin Bob, own all the rights to the guitarist's image and music. However, it is Tina Hendrix's attitude that they "gained the Hendrix name by virtue of adoption and has used it ever since, only to exploit millions of dollars off of Jimi Hendrix’s music, while using the proceeds to eliminate Jimi’s biological family members one by one, starting with Jimi’s own son, then Jimi’s brother and now his niece. I have never made one dollar off of my uncle while running a free music school for kids". The courts have sided with Experience and Authentic so far.

Queen guitarist Brian May has launched perfume Save Me that smells like "the British countryside", as Queen's guitarist points out on his Instagram. The Sun took a smell and says there's "surprisingly refreshing" emphasis on "deliberately earthy overtones - a hint of clean badger fur, some sandalwood and something a bit limey". A 50ml bottle of perfume goes for €235, while a signed bottle goes for €500. Those proceeds will benefit the animal welfare organization Save Me, co-founded by May in 2010.

SOCAN Foundation announced winners of the first-ever Black Canadian Music Awards, which aims to "recognize and celebrate the artistic merit demonstrated by Black music creators (songwriters, composers, producers, etc.) in all genres". The winners are: rapper and singer TOBi; rapper Naya Ali started music as a 2-year old, now she's known for her flamboyant flow; RAAHiiM is a new Canadian R'n'B singer; Hunnah started singing in her church at age 4, now she writes and produces her own music; Dylan Sinclair brought his R'n'B to LA. All the winners each receive a $5,000 prize.

YouTube has launched a global grant program for Black creators on the platform, using capital from its $100 million #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund, Billboard reports. The inaugural class of 132 grant recipients includes 21 music artists from around the world - Brent Faiyaz, BRS Kash, Fireboy DML, Jean Dawson, Jensen McRae, Jerome Farah, Joy Oladokun, KennyHoopla, Mariah the Scientist, MC Carol, Miiesha, Myke Towers, Péricles, Rael, Rexx Life Raj, Sauti Sol, serpentwithfeet, Sho Madjozi, Tkay Maidza, Urias and Yung Baby Tate.

'Trainspotting' director Danny Boyle is to make a six-part TV series about Sex Pistols, based on guitarist Steve Jones's memoir, IndieWire reports. It will star Anson Boon as John Lydon and Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious. Jones's memoir 'Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol' goes beyond his time with the band, beginning with his life in West London. It deals also with the band's struggle with criticism and living up to their image, as well as addiction.

The EU offered the UK visa-free tours by British musicians to EU countries, but the UK government refused it, the liberal London paper Independent reports. A “standard” proposal to exempt performers from the huge cost and bureaucracy for 90 days was turned down, because the government is insisting on denying that to EU artists visiting this country.

For the venues to be reopened, the society needs to reach an effective level of herd immunity, which means vaccinating from 70 percent to 85 percent of the population, dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the top infectious disease expert said, the New York Times reports. In the case of the US, "this will occur some time in the fall of 2021, so that by the time we get to the early to mid-fall, you can have people feeling safe performing onstage as well as people in the audience”. Once that happens, theaters with good ventilation and proper air filters might not need to place many restrictions for performances by the fall, including venues capacity, except asking their audience members to wear masks, which he suggested could continue to be a norm for some time.

Nandi Bushell has shared a cover of Led Zeppelin‘s ‘Immigrant Song’ to mark Jimmy Page‘s 77th birthday. The 10-year-old drumming sensation played the solo song by looping her drum, bass and guitar parts, to finish before she would have to start singing; seams Robert Plant's vocals are too much for her, for now...