'Parallel World' by Cadence Weapon was selected by an 11-member jury of the 2021 Polaris Music Prize as the Canadian album of the year, based solely on artistic merit, The FADER reports. Across its 10 songs and 26 minutes, 'Parallel World' makes distinct references to Black experiences and history in Canada and draws inspiration from a wide range of music, literature and art by Black creators to reflect our "dystopian present".

Global Citizen Live concert that featured performances from Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Lopez, BTS and Elton John and dozens of other stars, raised more than $1.1 billion in commitments and pledges over the weekend to fight extreme poverty, Billboard reports. It secured pledges from France for 60 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for developing countries, corporate pledges for planting 157 million trees around the world, and the U.S. government pledged $295 million for humanitarian needs around the world caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Major philanthropic commitments came from the Lego Foundation, who pledged $150 million to support UNICEF and other partners working with children, and Rotary International, which pledged $98 million in grant funding in 2022.

A jury in federal court in Brooklyn found R. Kelly guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking in his federal criminal trial, CNN reports. Prosecutors had accused Kelly of directing his employees to procure women for sex and sexually abused numerous women over the span of nearly 25 years. The 54-year-old singer now faces up to 20 years in prison.

TikTok revealed today that it has over 1 billion global Monthly Active Users (MAUs), TechCrunch reports. As of October 2020 the TikTok app was reaching 732 million monthly active users (MAUs) around the world. One of TikTok’s main competitors Instagram, first hit a billion unique monthly users in June 2018. This July, TikTok became the first non-Facebook app to reach 3 billion global downloads.

The outrageous story about Britney Spears' conservatorship just got added another new layer, thanks to a new documentary 'Controlling Britney Spears'. Rolling Stone picks out 10 new facts from it:

1. When Britney asked for an iPhone, her father Jamie Spears, her head of security Edan Yemini, and member of her management team Robin Greenhill used it for added surveillance.

2. Black Box Security set up a recording device in Britney’s bedroom.

3. Britney, who has a net worth of $60 million, was routinely denied minor indulgences for budgetary reasons.

4. Britney’s security was in charge of administering her medications.

5. Jamie Spears allegedly threatened to block access to Britney’s sons if she challenged her conservators.

6. Britney was forced onstage amid an apparent panic attack over the possibility of losing her kids.

7. Britney allegedly tried to sneak a new lawyer into rehab disguised as plumber.

8. The conservators were threatened by the #FreeBritney movement — and sent security to infiltrate it.

9. Jamie Britney was fixated on any men who were interested in Britney, and spied on them,

10. Britney’s ex-assistant was told the singer fired her, but allegedly it was a lie.

In the latest episode of Song Exploder, singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus tells the story of her song 'Thumbs' from the her new album 'Home Video'. It's about her making company to a friend meeting an away-father. It's really an emotive story, and intriguing insight into the making-process of a song.

Warner Music Group boss Steve Cooper revealed a stunning stat about this second, less talked-about area of the business – a stat that, according to MBW’s calculations, suggests this is a sector already worth a billion dollars in annual revenue for the global music rights industry. Cooper confirmed that Warner Music Group’s recorded music operation has a present run-rate of $235 million per year in revenue from Facebook, TikTok, Peloton and Roblox.

The pattern of music downloads after their release appears to closely resemble epidemic curves for infectious disease - mathematicians from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada have found. The team followed the pattern of 1,000 songs downloaded in the UK between 2007 and 2014, measuring how well a standard model of epidemic disease, called the SIR model, fitted trends in song downloads over time. The research found the model performed just as well when describing song download trends as it did when describing the spread of a disease through the population. In their research, electronic music turned out to be the most infectious genre of all. Guardian reports about the interesting study.

Steve Strange, widely respected live agent and co-founder of X-ray Touring, has died aged 53 after a short illness, Music Business Worldwide reports. A statement from X-ray reads: “His overwhelming love of music lead to a 30 year plus career guiding the touring of an eclectic mix of artists from all genres of music that he adored". Strange’s artist roster down the years has included Eminem, Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Queens of the Stone Age, The Charlatans, Jimmy Eat World and many more. Emma Banks of CAA wrote on social media: “Steve Strange – a truly good and loving person without a bad bone in his body. The life and soul of every occasion, a music man to the core and dedicated to his clients, friends and family".

Charles Blow and Terence Blanchard's 'Fire Shut Up in My Bones' opera opens the Metropolitan Opera season on Sept. 27. It will be the first operatic performance in the house since the pandemic shutdown 18 months ago, and the first opera by a Black musician presented at the Met in its 138 years. "I'm not the only one that was qualified throughout that history" - Blanchard told Bloomberg.

Black Marble share an amusing song ‘Preocupation’ with a funny video; LA rapper Blu samples Beatles for a trippy song ‘Because the Sky Is Blu(e)’; The Ophelias share ‘Crocus’, a baroque-folk track with great strings; Generationals deliver some good indie-pop with ‘Mercy’; some great guitar work by folk-blues singer Buffalo Nichols on ‘How To Love’.

An interesting article in The Conversation about an amazing phenomenon from Ethiopia and Papua New Guinea where people, next to their names, also bear "name-tunes". These names aren't words, they're rather a wordless melody, given to children and recognised throughout the community to refer to one person alone. In Ethiopia, it's exclusive to 45,000 Oyda people from the southwest of the country. This “name tune”, or moyzé is most often whistled, but it can also be sung to a series of non-meaningful sounds different for each name tune. In one small region of Madang Province in northeastern Papua New Guinea, about 15,000 people across three language areas (Nankina, Domung and Yopno) also employ name tunes, which they call konggap. Yopno konggap differ in performance style from the Oyda moyzé, since they are either simply whistled with no use of the hands, or sung on a series of open vowels (like “a-o-a-o-e-e-a”). However, konggap and moyzé are strikingly similar. Both moyzé and konggap are unique to every individual, and generally bear no relation to a person’s given name, which is often shared with other community members. The tunes in both traditions use similar pitch ranges and last 1-4 seconds.

Abba star Björn Ulvaeus has launched the Credits Due campaign, which aims to ensure all songwriters and musicians are correctly identified when a song is recorded, BBC reports. At present, missing and incomplete data means that about £500m is unallocated or misallocated globally - every year. The scheme will also ensure fans see the correct credits for songs - from the writers and producers to the session musicians and engineers - and every person who is involved in the creation of a song will be "clickable in the digital liner notes", allowing listeners to look up every other record they have worked on. BMG has pledged its support for Credits Due, as the first international music company to commit to the campaign, MBW reports.

Sarah Dash of the powerhouse R&B trio Labelle died on September 20th at age 76, just three days after her last performance. As a founding member of Labelle, Dash appeared on their ubiquitous 1975 dance floor classic 'Lady Marmalade', adding sensuality to the trio’s sound - heard especially in Dash’s parts on the deep cut '(Can I Speak to You Before You Go to) Hollywood'. Dash’s last performance was September 18, when she joined LaBelle onstage in Atlantic City for an impromptu reunion. “She was healthy and fine and sang her face off” - her bandmate Patti LaBelle says - “The crowd went crazy. She had the best send-off. If that’s the way you’re going to leave, she left like a queen”, Rolling Stone reports.

Dave and Fraser T Smith were awarded best contemporary song for 'Children of the Internet' at this year’s Ivor Novello awards, which celebrate Britain’s best songwriters and composers. The song is performed by Future Utopia, and explores the impact of social media and hyper-connectivity, particularly on younger generations. Brit Award winner Celeste was named songwriter of the year alongside her writing partner Jamie Hardman. Lianne La Havas picked up best album for her self-titled second record, written with Matthew Hales. Sky News reported from the event.

The seminal hip-hop group of Ms. Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras Michel have announced a 12-city international tour to celebrate the silver anniversary of their landmark album, 1996’s 'The Score', Rolling Stone reports. The first concert takes place tomorrow night (!) - September 22nd - at an undisclosed location in New York City.

Richard H. Kirk, founding member and the sole full-time member of industrial icons Cabaret Voltaire, has died at age 65, Treble reports. Formed in Sheffield, England in 1973 by Kirk, Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson, Cabaret Voltaire used reel-to-reel tape loops and early synthesizers to create a sound as bleak as the crumbling factory buildings in their hometown. Along with their Dada-influenced live performances, Cabaret Voltaire helped create what would become known as industrial music and were and remain hugely influential with classic records like 'Nag Nag Nag', 'Red Mecca', and 'The Crackdown' on bands such as New Order, Depeche Mode, Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, and many others.

Universal Music Group's opening price on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange today was over a third bigger than the reference price that Vivendi confirmed previously of €18.50 ($21.7) which would have valued UMG at €33.5 billion (approx. $39bn), Music Business Worldwide. It means that as of this week, UMG has a €25.25 ($29.63) share price, which translates to a colossal valuation of €46.3 billion or $54.3 billion for the world’s biggest music rightsholder. UMG largely bids au revoir to former Paris-based parent Vivendi, which now owns just 10% of UMG, while a Tencent-led Consortium owns 20%. Pershing Square Holdings Ltd also owns 10%, and French businessman ex-Vivendi Chairman Vincent Bolloré’s ‘Bolloré Entities’ owns 18.0%.

"We aim to build a sisterhood of young people by providing an inclusive, non-judgemental, safe space for musical and creative expression... We’re much more than a charity, or a music project: we’re a supportive community" - Young Women's Music Project presents itself. It helps young women learn about and perform music and all the issues around it, via gigs, workshops, talks, training and more. Via Music Journalism Insider.

Metallica’s landmark 1991 self-titled fifth LP has returned to the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart for the first time in 29 years, Consequence reports. The album reached position 9 with 37,000 units earned for the week. The album’s increased sales were fueled by various reissues marking its 30th anniversary. 'Metallica' remains the top-selling album in the U.S. since MRC Data began electronically tracking music sales in 1991, with 17.3 million copies sold. Drake extends his No1 stay on the chart as the set earns 236,000 equivalent album units, Billboard reports

Nick Cave will publish a memoir 'Faith, Hope and Carnage' on life in the wake of his son Arthur’s sudden death in 2015, Pitchfork reports. The book, based on 40 hours of interviews with the journalist Sean O’Hagan, a longtime friend of Cave, is “a meditation on big ideas including, faith, art, music, grief and much more”.

Portishead's cover of Abba's 'SOS' has earned 500 percent more through new Spotify "fan-powered” royalty model, when compared with other streaming platforms, Pitchfork claims. The new model, unveiled by the company back in March, directs royalties due from each subscriber only to the artists they are currently streaming – a system backed by independent artists, as well as advocates for a fairer streaming model. This is in contrast to the pro-rata model utilised by streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, where royalty payments from users’ subscriptions are distributed in accordance with which artists have the most plays.

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit from a former girlfriend who accused Marilyn Manson of raping and threatening to kill her, TMZ reports. The judge argued that the allegations outlined in the lawsuit “are not sufficient to invoke the delayed discovery rule”. The woman said she began dating Manson in 2011 and is identified only as Jane Doe. Manson is facing three other sexual assault lawsuits.

The new documentary 'Look Away' shines a light on how the music industry fostered a culture where relationships with underage girls - statutory rape - were normalised, and how many behind the scenes turned a blind eye to aggressive sexual behaviour, Sky reports. 'Look Away' features interviews with women who make allegations against Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, Guns 'N' Roses frontman Axl Rose, and the late music producer and songwriter Kim Fowley.

Music impresario George Wein, who spawned the modern music festival when he helped launch the Newport Jazz and Newport Folk Festivals, has died at the age of 95, Variety reports. Wein co-founded the Newport Jazz Festival in 1954 and the Newport Folk Festival in 1959. Newport was the first and largest event of its kind in the U.S., setting the standard for outdoor music festivals to come.

Lil Nas X and his jaw dropping video for 'Montero: Call Me By Your Name' won Video of the Year at MTV Video Music Awards. Olivia Rodrigo won the award for Best New Artist, as well as Song of the Year for 'Drivers Licence'. Billie Eilish won the Video For Good award for her single 'Your Power'. Pitchfork picks out the best and worst bits of the awards. Check out all the winners at MTV.

Drake’s new album 'Certified Lover Boy' starts with 613,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 9, the biggest week for an album since August last year when Taylor Swift’s 'Folklore' launched at No. 1 with 846,000 units, Billboard reports.

The legendary British guitarist and songwriter, Michael Chapman, an influence on Ryley Walker, William Tyler, Steve Gunn, Meg Baird and Thurston Moore, has died at the age of 80, Guardian reports. His career started in the late 1960s - "on a rainy night in 1966 I went into a pub in Cornwall but I couldn’t afford to pay to go in,” he once recalled. “I said, tell you what, I don’t want to stay outside in the rain, I’ll play guitar for half an hour. I’ve been at it ever since”.

London-based singer Toni Sancho shares her first single, sophisticated pop record ‘Survive!’; Radiohead take out dreamy ‘If You Say The Word’ from their archives; just totally English-sounding Yard Act share ‘The Overload’; Baby Keem gets a little help from Kendrick Lamar on ‘Range Brothers’.

Arlo Parks is the winner of the 2021 Hyundai Mercury Prize for the best British album of the year. Her 'Collapsed in Sunbeams' won the award over shortlisted albums by Ghetts, Black Country, New Road, Wolf Alice, Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders, Mogwai, and more. Alexis Petridis says Arlo Parks’ "warm voice and diaristic lyrics rightly earn her the Mercury prize".