London-based virtual reality concerts company MelodyVR is buying Napster for the price tag of $70 million, TechCrunch reports. MelodyVR specializes in live virtual reality music experiences, and it plans on combining with Napster to create the "first ever music entertainment platform which combines immersive visual content and music streaming".
UK venues have put forward a plan to reopen, which includes dancing in face masks, temperature checks at the door and bouncers patrolling the dancefloor to enforce social distancing, the Guardian reports. Nightclub owners say that 750,000 jobs are at risk because of the lockdown, unless the government provides them with support or greater certainty about when they can reopen. The clubbing industry pointed out that some of its venues are larger than pubs, restaurants and other venues that have been allowed to open, while they often recycle air more frequently with powerful mechanical ventilation systems.
Lauryn Hill provided the musical accompaniment for Louis Vuitton's spring-summer 2021 menswear show in Shanghai, which was captured on video for an accompanying video presentation. The black-and-white video finds Hill and her full band perform her contribution to the 'Queen & Slim' soundtrack, 'Guarding the Gates, as well as 'Everything Is Everything', 'Lost Ones', 'Ex-Factor', 'Black Rage', and the classic 'Doo Wop (That Thing)'.
Warner Bros. released the first trailer for Matt Reeves’ 'The Batman' set to Nirvana's 'Something in the Way'. Strings added to the Nirvana original, and the grandiose undertone in general make for an impressive trailer. Forthcoming re-imagining of the Batman stars Robert Pattinson as The Dark Knight, set in grey and realistic Gotham City. Zoe Kravitz is seen in the trailer as Catwoman.
Scientists from Leipzig have held three pop concerts last Saturday to investigate the risks posed by mass indoor events during the pandemic, CNN reports. About 1,500 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 50 - only a third of the expected number - took part, but the head of the study from Halle University said he was "very satisfied" with how the event unfolded. The first of Saturday's three concerts aimed to simulate an event before the pandemic, with no safety measures in place. The second involved greater hygiene and some social distancing, while the third involved half the numbers and each person standing 1.5m apart. Singer-songwriter Tim Bendzko performed at all three successive gigs.
Korean boy band BTS has set a YouTube record with their new video 'Dynamite' with 101,1 million views in 24 hours after its releases last Friday, Variety reports. This marks the first video to achieve 100 million views in one day. More than three million fans also tuned in to watch the clip's live premiere - almost double the previous record, held by Blackpink's 'How You Like That'.
"Adidas has allowed the production of a shoe that is named after an archangel in Islam. This is highly offensive to the Muslim community" - a petition, started on Change.org, reads, pushing for new Kanye West shoes be taken off the market, All Hip Hop reports. West has recently dropped sneakers that bear the name of two Islamic angels of judgment and death. The Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Israfil is a shoe Adidas already has on its way to market, and the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Asriel that should be released in September/October. The new petition demands cease of all sales and an apology.
Taylor Swift's eighth studio album, 'Folklore', spent a fourth consecutive week topping the Billboard 200 Albums Chart, marking the first time a woman's album had spent its first four weeks at No. 1 in nearly five years since Adele's third studio album '25', Billboard reports. 'Folklore' earned 101,000 equivalent album units in its fourth week. Rapper Young Dolph drops in Top 5 as 'Rich' Slave starts at No. 4 with 65,000 equivalent album units earned.
Justin Townes Earle, the award-winning singer-songwriter and son of Steve Earle, has died aged 38, Tennessean reports. The Nashville fixture, who was named after his father's friend and beloved songwriter Townes Van Zandt, won the Americana Music Honors & Awards new and emerging artist of the year in 2009. He released his first EP, 'Yuma', in 2007, and went on to deliver eight full-length LPs throughout his career. His last album, 'The Saint of Lost Causes', was released in 2019.
A new U.K. study has found there was not a substantial difference in the spread of aerosols (tiny particles that are exhaled from the body and then float in the air) between talking and singing when done at a similar noise level, which is good news, of course. What did make a difference, though, was the volume of the voice, where singing or shouting at the loudest level possible could generate 30 times more aerosol, which is bad news for metal bands. BBC reports on the study.
Awich was born on Okinawa in the shadow of American military bases, where her starved grandfather stole food from. On the other hand, as Awich told Consequence of Sound, she loves the idea of America, which made for a "love-hate" relationship. She studied in the USA where she met her husband, who has shot and killed, and Awich was left with a child - and rap future in Japan. Awich - it stands for “Asia Wish Child" - raps in both English and Japanese - "it is easier for me to express aggressiveness and all of that stuff in English, it’s way, way easier. Japanese is very subtle. [For] depictions of scenery and stuff like that, the Japanese language is more sensitive".
There is one song that keeps being heard in the crowds at the protests in Belarus - 'Khochu Peremen' ('Want to Change') by the 1980s USSR rock band Kino (Cinema). Previously, it was sung in Moscow by protestors opposing Vladimir Putin in 2011, although its author Viktor Tsoi had no intention for it to become a political anthem, or for him to be a revolutionary figure, according to the BBC. He said it was a song about inner change.
Jack Sherman, the guitarist who appeared on the debut album of Red Hot Chili Peppers, has died at the age of 64, Louder reports. Sherman, who joined the band on their first US tour in 1984, also worked on future RHCP albums 'The Abbey Road EP' and 'Mother's Milk'. Sherman also worked with other prominent artists including Bob Dylan and George Clinton. "He was a unique dude and we thank him for all times good, bad and in between. Peace on the boogie platform" - a tweet on the RHCP's official account reads.
God is in the TV presents two viable and fairer alternative platforms to Spotify - Sonstream and Resonate. Sonstream is streaming start-up offering an alternative user-centric and musician focused model with a basic set up and a pretty simple site. Resonate is a streaming service cooperative owned by the people that use it – musicians, indie labels, fans and developers.
Pine Barons released a catchy indie rock 'Sputter'; RZA and Ghostface Killah are in classic Wu-Tang mood with 'Fighting for Equality'; some big careers started off with covers - new hardcore strength Gulch might be on that same path with 'Sin in my Heart'; Open Mike Eagle went groovy-jazzy in 'Bucciarati'; Thou and Emma Ruth Rundle released melodic doom goth 'Ancestral Recall'; Mina Tindle, Kate Stables, Emma Broughton, Melissa Laveaux re-sang Nina Simone's '22nd Century'; Carcass are back with a metal banger 'The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue', their first new song in 7 years.
Dallas Observer reports on how venue-owners are coming up with ideas to be able to reopen. Billy Bob’s Texas, the "world’s largest honky-tonk", was closed since March and reopened last weekend, after reclassifying as a restaurant. It normally has a maximum occupancy of 6,000 people, but for now, they’re limiting admissions to 1,200. Temperatures were checked at the door, guests sat at tables spaced 6 feet apart, and masks were worn. Lava Cantina also reopened as a restaurant, it now hosts concerts and movies twice a day, up to six days a week. Space at Lava Cantina is limited to 250 guests compared with their normal 1,800 capacity. Table for four to see Nelly is $400.
Independent record label and distribution company AWAL says that “hundreds” of its artists now earn more than $100k a year from streaming, and that the number of artists who reached the 6-figure mark has grown by more than 40% in the last year, Music Ally reports. The company also said that “dozens” of its artists earn more than $1m from streaming every year. In march 2018 AWAL’s parent company Kobalt said that hundreds of artists were then earning more than $50k a year. AWAL has 40,000 artist and writer clients.
Hip-hop producer DJ Shay, a close collaborator of Griselda Records and the Black Soprano Family, has died aged 48, after being diagnosed with Covid-19 this summer, Complex reports. In addition to Westside Gunn, DJ Shay frequently collaborated with Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, and others. He also founded the label Buff City Records.
Björk is to star as the Slav Witch in the new film from 'The Lighthouse' director Robert Eggers, a Viking epic titled 'The Northman', the Film Stage reports. Slav Witch is her first role since starring in Lars Von Trier’s 'Dancer in the Dark' in 2000. Björk will be starring alongside Willem Dafoe, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang and Bill Skarsgård, as well as Alexander Skarsgård, who will be taking on the lead role as a Viking named Amleth. Björk and Matthew Barney’s daughter Ísadóra Bjarkardóttir Barney will also be part of the ensemble.
Britney Spears' dad Jamie Spears remains the sole conservator of her estate, despite the singer's request for him to step down, Entertainment Tonight reports. Jamie Spears was put in charge of his daughter's welfare and finances in 2008, following the superstar's infamous meltdown. Last year, Britney Spears' Jodi Montgomery, took over as temporary conservator, after Jamie Spears fell ill. However, following a hearing on Wednesday, court documents showed that the status of Britney Spears' conservatorship remains unchanged.
A group of kids from the O’Keefe Music Foundation have released a Christian metal cover of System of a Down’s 'Chop Suey!'. The music is the same, but the lyrics are new and faith-based, like "That day on the mountain side/helpless and crucified/Arms, wide, you took up your cross and died". Singer Taylor Campbell was 8 years old when this was recorded, while a quartet of teenage musicians back her up.
Rolling Stones are opening a flagship store on Carnaby Street in London, the spiritual center of London's fashion world in the swinging ‘60s. Opening Sept. 9, RS No. 9 Carnaby will have all the Stones merch, fashion and merchandise lines, exclusive product and music. The store will play non-stop Stones tunes, the glass floor will feature lyrics, while the fitting rooms are splashed with classic album artwork.
Fiona Apple has narrated a new short film about how to safely document and record U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests, Vulture reports. Apple said she "felt really lucky to be able to read it aloud and learn it. It’s such valuable information".
Lebanese musician, producer, engineer, and studio-owner Fadi Tabbal has launched the Beirut Musicians’ Fund to help local artists replace their gear damaged, lost, or destroyed in the explosion on August 4. The fund attempts to raise exactly $34,935, and all donations will be managed by Tunefork Recording Studios and divided evenly among those affected by the blast.
Queen and Metallica earned more from album sales than anyone else last year, according to a brand new The Highest Paid Musicians of 2019 report. Queen topped the list for album sales with $9.6 million, thanks in part to a massive boost from the Academy Award-winning biopic 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. Metallica arrived at No. 2 with an estimated $3.6M from album sales.
Henry Rollins has launched a new video podcast 'The Henry & Heidi $1.99 Show' with co-host Heidi May, his longtime manager. Each episode is $1.99, Rollins promises show & tell, footage of him from 20 years ago, and more. The first episode is on the Minutemen, the early days of SST, the '80s hardcore scene in general. Watch it here.
Britney Spears has asked LA court not to return her father Jamie Spears to the role of her legal conservator that gave him control over her life and career, LA Times reports. Jamie Spears has been his daughter's legal conservator for 12 years, due to concerns around her mental health. The conservatorship is up for extension again after 22 August. Britney Spears wants her manager Jodi Montgomery, who stepped in for her father last year during his absence due to health issues, to become his permanent replacement. The court document also revealed that Britney has no plans to perform again soon.
Iconic UK music brand NME has launched in Asia, with the aim of delivering a fresh approach to the South East Asian music scene - here's their choice of the best Southeast Asian albums of 2020 so far. Singapore-based website NME.com/Asia will initially focus on Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines and has plans to rapidly expand in the region. NME entered the Australian market at the end of last year. It also recently restarted physical publishing with a monthly magazine in Australia, its only current regular print edition. In 2019, the NME and Uncut magazine were sold to Singaporean music company BandLab Technologies.
Barack Obama shared his 2020 Summer Playlist, and it's, well, quite cool, especially for a former president. The playlist includes Billie Eilish, J. Cole, Little Simz, Haim, Rihanna, Megan Thee Stallion, Frank Ocean, Andy Shauf, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Nas and plenty more. Good stuff, Mr former POTUS!
Jam Master Jay's former associate Ronald "Tinard" Washington and Karl "Lil D" Jordan Jr. have been charged with the murder of Run-DMC's DJ, CNN reports. JMJ, born Jason Mizell, was murdered in his Jamaica, Queens recording studio on October 30, 2002. The Police say the murder happened over a drug deal gone bad. JMJ had apparently bought cocaine in kilogram-quantities to sell. Jay was supposedly shot and killed over the drug debt.
