Cinephiles Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Matt Sweeney, who recently released a collaborative album 'Superwolves', made a selection of the best music films for Vice. The boys chose 'Gene Vincent: The Rock And Roll Singer' (1970) - "a tough watch, but a revealing study of a rare talent", 'Cisco Pike' (1972) - "music-infused crime film has earned a sizeable cult following", 'Oulaya’s Wedding' (2017)  - "astonishingly familiar feelings and ripping tunes", 'Payday' (1973) - "down and dirty character study of a country star indulging every vice under the sun as he hurtles towards annihilation", 'The Decline Of Western Civilization' (1981) - "a documentary about energy that's so loaded with power that it will never die", and other films.

YouTube generated $6.005 billion from advertising in the three months to end of March this year, which is up by nearly $2 billion, or by 49%, on the $4.038 billion YouTube generated in the same period of 2020, Music Business Worldwide reports on staggering numbers by the streaming platform. Compared to 2019 the numbers are even more impressive - in Q1 2019 YouTube had $3.025 billion in revenues. If YouTube can maintain that +49% growth across the course of 2021, it will turn over more than $29 billion this year. The number MBW isn't giving is how much of that $6 billion YouTube made during the three first months of the year is going to artists.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are selling the publishing rights of their catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Fund for upwards of $140 million, Variety reports. The transaction marks the latest catalog sale from a major legacy artist and one of the highest profile acquisitions to date for Merck Mercuriadis’ fund.

Spotify's former chief economist Will Page published a new study Twitch's Rockonomics which claims that artists make roughly 10 times more on Twitch than streaming providers. However, Twitch is very specific, and very different from Spotify - artists use Twitch to livestream content to their fans, charging monthly subscriptions (for $5, $10, or $25), earn digital tokens called Bits, or generate ad revenue. In general, Twitch aims super-fans willing to pay more for artists they like...

Nine-year-old DJ Michelle from The United Arab Emirates has become the youngest ever entrant to the DMC World Portablist DJ Championships, the DJ Mag reports. The annual DJ competition began in 1985, and it showcases the world’s DJ Scratch skills on portable turntables and vinyl records. Competitions are taking place from April through December.

American bands are on a tour-announcement spree, including the almost-forgotten The Monkees. The band's two surviving members, Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz have announced a Farewell Tour with dates across the US this fall, Brooklyn Vegan reports. The shows will featuring a "magical night of music: all the hits, deep cuts and fan favorites".

Indie pop bands Blossoms and The Lathums played Liverpool's Sefton Park in Liverpool Sunday evening in what was the UK's first live music gig in more than a year, NME reports. The 5,000 fans were required to take a supervised COVID test before arrival, with entry only permitted once a negative test had been received. Once inside, fans did not need to wear masks, socially distance, or stick to the rule of six, and could also enjoy bars and food stalls. Fans will need to take another lateral flow test in five days time to see the event’s impact on spreading the virus.

Moneybagg Yo’s album 'A Gangsta’s Pain' has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with 110,000 equivalent album units, Billboard reports. They mostly derived from streaming - 106,000 were earned from SEA units, while 4,000 came from album sales, and less than 1,000 from TEA units. 'A Gangsta’s Pain' marks Moneybagg’s 11th time charting, with this album being his fifth top 10 charting set.

“I think having hope for the future is a default setting that we have. We choose to be in that energy that wants to succeed" - French prog-metal quartet Gojira say to Guardian about their newest album 'Fortitude', which explores the climate crisis. "We were confronted by nature hurting all the time, and nature hurting hurts you” - says vocalist and guitarist Joe Duplantier, who grew up in a French coastal town with his brother Mario, the drummer in Gojira. They deal with recent issues on their new album, such as deforestation on their single 'Amazonia' - “The greatest miracle is burning to the ground”, as they sing.

Loudwire reports about a slightly bizarre case of late drummer Brentnol McPherson who was placed behind a drum set at his own funeral. Guyana-born, Canada-based drummer spent his life drumming with Toots & the Maytals, Johnny Nash, Jimmy Reid, Brass Traxx with Deborah Cox and many more, and for his "last performance" he was posed behind a sapphire blue drum set, surrounded by elaborate floral arrangements...

Sir Tom Jones' new album 'Surrounded By Time' has debuted at the top of the UK album chart, making him the oldest man at the chart's top ever. Previously, the title has been held by Bob Dylan, who topped the chart last June aged 79 with 'Rough and Rowdy Ways'. The late Dame Vera Lynn holds the overall record after her 2009 greatest hits collection went to number one when she was 92. 'Surrounded By Time' finds Jones re-interpreting some old favourites, including Terry Callier's 'Lazarus Man'.

'Game of Thrones' actress Esmé Bianco has sued singer Marilyn Manson, claiming he coerced her with "drugs, force, and threats of force", CNN reports. The plaintiff alleges sexual assault and battery, also, the suit alleges Manson and his manager Tony Ciulla broke trafficking laws by luring her from London to the US with empty promises of work. Bianco is among a handful of women who spoke out against Manson, however, her court filing on Friday marks the first legal action over such allegations against Manson. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department started investigating allegations against Manson - real name Brain Warner - in February.

Will Mecum, founding guitarist of long-running stoner metal outfit Karma to Burn, has died, Metal Sucks reports. Will formed Karma to Burn with bassist Rich Mullins and drummer Nathan Limbaugh in 1994 in Morgantown WV, to release six albums with the band.

Most of the music festivals in the UK still due to take place this year could be scrapped without the safety net of government-backed cancellation insurance, the Association of Independent Festivals has warned. A quarter of UK festivals have already been called off, but 76% of the rest need "urgent intervention" from the government to save the season, BBC reports. Festivals contribute £1.76bn to the UK economy and support 85,000 jobs.

The organisers of the Grammy Awards have scrapped their secret and anonymous voting committees following allegations of rigging, favouritism and racism, according to the New York Times. The Recording Academy voting members - which run into thousands - would instead select next year's nominations and winners. The Grammys voting procedure had been notoriously complex, with committees made up of 15-30 "highly-skilled music peers" having the final say in 72 categories. This meant they could overrule the votes of rank-and-file members. The Academy said it was also reducing the number of categories in which voters may vote, and adding two new award categories - Best Global Music Performance and Best Música Urbana Album.

The UK is testing the relaxation of Covid rules with a trial festival this weekend in Liverpool, the Evening Standard reports. Fatboy Slim and Sven Väth will headline The First Dance at The Circus nightclub, which sold out its 6,000 tickets quickly - the first time any such event has been allowed for over a year. Clubbers will not be required to social distance or wear face coverings but will have to take a lateral flow test before entering the venue. The First Dance is part of the Events Research Programme (ERP), which will provide data on how events holding anywhere between hundreds and tens of thousands of people could safely reopen later this year.

"It’s like the Kyiv rave scene, taking over the Zone. I thought it was strange at first, when they asked me to play here. But then I thought, why not? Chernobyl is ours, it’s our history" - a DJ who played at Chillnobil, an illegal rave deep in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, told Literary Hub about bringing life back into the heart of the nuclear disaster. The organizers call themselves AVO, Anarkho-Vandalskyy Otryad, a “performance art theatre” whose aim is to "transform Pripyat - not destroy it as some are saying, but to use performance to bring attention to it".

A 27-year-old part-time model and translator Vladislav Ivanov from Vladivostok has been finally voted out of the Chinese reality TV show Produce Camp 2021, after he tried hard to give lousy performances, but the fans still voted for him, Guardian reports. He joined the show because he got bored on the island where it was filmed - he worked as a translator for two Japanese contestants - but soon changed his mind, only, he couldn't get out without paying a fine. Ivanov gave poor performances, but his clear reluctance was winning him fans, viral social media emoji and unwanted votes that have carried him into the final of the boy band competition. He was eventually voted out in the final episode.

A trial concert in Barcelona with 5,000 attendees resulted in only six new cases of Covid infections, Deutsche Welle reports. The indoor concert by pop-rock band Love of Lesbian was held in The Palau, with a capacity of 17,000 - attendees were not allowed into the stands and instead were restricted to the dance floor. Before the event, they were screened and tested for coronavirus using antigen tests. The crowd was also instructed to wear FFP2 masks, with the organizers limiting bathroom capacity. Social distance was not required. Only six people reported testing positive 15 days later, while transmission in four of these six cases didn't take place during the concert. The six infections are fewer than the average contagion spread for Barcelona at the time.

Spotify's monthly Premium subscriber ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) in the first quarter of 2021 stood at just €4.12, down 7% year-on-year. In Spotify’s prior quarter (Q4 2020), the firm’s ARPU stood at €4.26, while in the prior year quarter (Q1 2020), it was €4.42. Music Business Worldwide recalculated it in US dollars - Q1 2021’s €4.12 per month figure was the equivalent of USD 4.97 per month period based on current exchange rates. Spotify has announced it is set to raise prices in Europe and the US by 1 to 3 euros/pounds/dollars, depending on the plan.

Al Schmitt, one of the most revered engineers and producers in the annals of the music business, winner of record 20 Grammys, has died aged 91. In 2015, he also became the first to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Among his recordings are Henry Mancini's 'Moon River', Neil Young's 'On the Beach', Toto's 'Africa', Ray Charles' 'Genius Loves Company', and 150 other gold or platinum records by Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, Natalie Cole, Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Josh Groban, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.

Sons of Kemet share 'To Never Forget The Source', the "central (ideological) axis-point" of their new album 'Black To The Future'; Jhariah are genre-less, operatic, grandiose, and fun on 'Flight Of The Crows'; Kele shares a subtle piano ballad 'Nineveh'; The Felice Brothers go slightly bizarre yet sweet on 'Inferno'; Q-Unique of Arsonists combines rap and rock on grand soul-rap 'Verrazzano Villains' featuring the Wu-Tang Clan's Cappadonna and three members of Taking Back Sunday; duendita goes lightly to surprise with 'bio'; Black Midi display a change of direction with jazzy-rock 'Slow' (not that slow at all).

Foo Fighters, Radiohead art director Stanley Donwood, Phoebe Bridgers, Khruangbin, Dinosaur Jr, Enrique Iglesias, LCD Soundsystem, and Neko Case and more artists have contributed designs to a series of one-of-a-kind folding bicycles from British company Brompton, according to Cycling Weekly. The bikes will be auctioned to raise funds for Live Nation’s Crew Nation, a global relief fund for live music workers. The auction begins May 28 and will run until June 12.

Australian musician Anita Lane, a flower of Melbourne 1980s post-punk scene, and the former member of The Bad Seeds and The Birthday Party, has died aged 62, Louder Than War reports. Lane co-wrote early Birthday Party tracks ‘A Dead Song’, ‘Dead Joe’ and ‘Kiss Me Black’, as well as Bad Seeds songs ‘From Her To Eternity’ and ‘Stranger Than Kindness’ with her then-boyfriend Nick Cave. Lane went on to have a long and distinguished career, working with the likes of Kid Congo Powers, Gudrun Gut and Einstürzende Neubauten. Lane also released a number of solo albums.

Greenwich Village folk musician Eric Andersen was friends with Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Joni Mithcell, Janis Joplin, Andy Warhol, but never had a big career, which a new documentary 'The Songpoet' tries to find an answer to. Rolling Stone interviewed the songpoet about his past, and success that was within his grasp plenty of times but he never managed to get hold of it. Andersen says Warhol once gave him "a beautiful painting and signed it. I sold it dirt cheap to a German buyer. Fast forward, years later, I open The New York Times and there’s a full-page ad with my fucking painting for sale for something like $12.5 million". His album 'Stages' was lost for 20 years, and Andersen believes it was lost intentionally - "instantaneously and unwittingly, not through will or a life choice, you instantly become a Buddhist - because if you get attached to this, it will destroy you. Even though it’s your work". Just when Brian Epstein was about to take him and manage him, the Beatles manager had died. Plenty of his musician friends, however, are dead - "the music business isn’t especially conducive to good health" - Andersen is alive, living with his wife in the Netherlands.

The production team behind the 'Framing Britney Spears' documentary are reportedly at work on a new film about Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake’s infamous 2004 Super Bowl Halftime show and the "wardrobe malfunction" which had dire consequences for Jackson, Page Six reports. While Timberlake went on to release a smash album in 2006, 'FutureSex/LoveSounds', Jackson was essentially blacklisted from Viacom-owned networks like MTV and CBS and saw her career all but halted. Jackson was also tacitly banned from playing the Super Bowl again, while Timberlake headlined in 2018. The documentary is "going to be all about the fallout and the suits who fucked over Janet [at] Viacom”.

A pair of prototype Nikes worn by Kanye West during his performances of 'Hey Mama' and 'Stronger' at the Grammy Awards in 2008 has been sold for $1.8 million in a private sale, al Jazeera reports. The sale marks the highest publicly recorded price for a sneaker sale and the first pair of sneakers to top $1 million. The buyer was sneaker investing platform RARES, the leader in fractional ownership, allowing users to invest in sneakers by buying and trading shares in them.

Spotify is set to raise prices for its Premium Duo, Premium Family and Student plans in the UK and Europe from the end of this month for new users and starting from June 2021 for existing subscribers. In the US, Spotify will be raising only the monthly price of Premium Family, the Verge reports.

UK:

Student — £4.99 ➡️ £5.99 (+£1)
Duo — £12.99 ➡️ £13.99 (+£1)
Family — £14.99 ➡️ £16.99 (+£2)

EU:

Student — €4.99 ➡️ €5.99 (+€1)
Duo — €11.99 ➡️ €12.99 (+€1)
Family — €14.99 ➡️ €17.99 (+€3)

US:

Family — $14.99 ➡️ $15.99 (+$1)

Inspired by the 'Sound of Metal' movie, Guardian explores the problem of hearing loss among musicians, which, as it appears, is worryingly widespread. “For a musician, losing your hearing is like losing a hand” - says Steve Lukather of Toto, who developed tinnitus in 1986 and also suffers from hearing loss, but thanks to hearing aids he can continue his career. Alter Bridge's Myles Kennedy was diagnosed with tinnitus in 2002, when he left the music business for 18 months only to come back thanks to meditation and the advanced technology of in-ear monitors. It's not only musicians who get it. Eleanor Goodman, deputy editor of Metal Hammer magazine, also has tinnitus - “I used to worry that people would think I couldn’t do my job. But when I started talking about it, I found out that tinnitus is very common in the music industry".

Concord Music Publishing announced the purchase of Downtown Music Holdings’ entire portfolio of 145,000 owned and co-published music copyrights for an estimated $400 million, Music Business Worldwide reports. Numerous artists are included in the deal: Adele, Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, Blake Shelton, Bruno Mars, Carrie Underwood, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, the Grateful Dead, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Maroon 5, Marvin Gaye, Mary J. Blige, Mos Def, Mötley Crüe, New Order, Rage Against the Machine, Ray Charles, Santigold, Sam Smith, Stevie Wonder. Also in the songs rights news, financial giant Blackstone is about to acquire Entertainment One Music (eOne Music) $385 million in cash, according to MBW. The eOne music label features artists such as Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan, the Lumineers, Kaytranada, Cypress Hill, the Game, High on Fire, Tegan and Sara...