Female artists and female-fronted bands - like Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, and Porridge Radio - have outnumbered men on the shortlist for this year's Mercury Prize, for the first time in its 29-year history, Sky reports. A total of seven female or female-fronted acts (of 12 nominees) made the 2020 shortlist; the previous highest total was five. In general, this year pop dominated the shortlist, with none left of the field albums.

The nominees:

Anna Meredith - ‘FIBS‘
Charli XCX - ‘how i’m feeling now‘
Dua Lipa - ‘Future Nostalgia‘
Georgia - ‘Seeking Thrills‘
Kano - ‘Hoodies All Summer‘
Lanterns on the Lake - ‘Spook the Herd‘
Laura Marling - ‘Song for Our Daughter‘
Michael Kiwanuka - ‘KIWANUKA‘
Moses Boyd - ‘Dark Matter‘
Porridge Radio - ‘Every Bad‘
Sports Team - ‘Deep Down Happy‘
Stormzy - ‘Heavy is the Head‘

Normal live gigs won't be back any time soon, but there's potential in live-streaming shows, as the New York Times points out. Management company 11E1even Group began organizing Live from Out There, a recurring virtual festival. Using multiple paid ticketing and subscription options, the festival, which ran across 10 weekends between mid-March and early June, grossed more than $700,000, with some musicians making more money than they might’ve on tour. One artist made close to $25,000 on Topeka, a company that charges fans for bespoke mini-concerts, putting in about 10 hours a week for six weeks in April and May. Digital ticketing company DICE (worked on Laura Marling's successful online show) is working on software that will enable friends to buy tickets to a live-stream together and have their own private chat room at the show...

UK electronic-jazz drummer Moses Boyd and drill rapper Digga D are the most nominated artists for this year’s AIM Independent Music Awards, with three nominations each. Electronic music trailblazers Flying Lotus and Floating Points, as well as Polish pianist Hania Rani and psychedelic R'n'B singer Greentea Peng are vying for two awards each. The most attractive category, Best Independent Album, is filled with interesting releases: Brooke Bentham 'Everyday Nothing', Everything Is Recorded 'Friday Forever', Kidjo Ojua 'The Mixtape', Kim Gordon 'No Home Record', Laura Marling 'Song For Our Daughter', Moses Boyd 'Dark Matter', Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 'Ghosteen', The Ninth Wave 'Infancy', Phoenix Da Icefire & Husky Brown 'Panacea' and Sarathy Korwar 'More Arriving'.

Laura Marling hosted "the most authentic and exclusive live music event we’ve seen so far in the age of coronavirus. Held in an empty Union Chapel in London, the gig is ticketed, geo-locked to fans in the UK and Europe, and brings with it the delicious buzz of exclusivity and climax that makes live music so special" - NME wrote in a review of singer-songwriter's exclusive live stream. "The production values are simply exquisite, with 360 degree cameras intimately swirling around Marling... her cut-glass vocals spine-tingling throughout (turns out beautiful old chapels have better acoustics than bedrooms or living rooms) and transmitted wonderfully by the pop-up mixing desk set up in a truck outside the venue... More important than anything, though, the gig feels like an event".

On Saturday, June 6th, singer-songwriter Laura Marling will play two live shows at London’s Union Chapel to a limited audience online, who have each paid $12 (for US audience) or £12 (for UK and EU audience). Tickets sold at $12/£12 apiece are enough for an “economically viable” show, and they will generate tens of thousands of dollars for the artist and her team. There's also creative possibilities for filmmakers when they don’t have a crowd to navigate while capturing a live concert, while a beautifully shot and performed concert could potentially become monetized long into the future. Rolling Stone envisages that paid-for livestreamed concerts like Marling’s will prove popular even after the traditional concert industry is back up and running - creating an enduring and meaningful new revenue stream for performers.

British singer-songwriter Laura Marling has sold out the first major geo-blocked concert of this year - a live, multi-camera, ticketed event taking place at 7 p.m. ET on June 6 at London’s Union Chapel, limited to North American fans, Variety reports. She has announced a similar show on the same day, taking place at 8 p.m. GMT / 9 p.m. Berlin time (three hours before the first-announced show) geo-blocked for U.K. and European Union fans. Tickets, priced at 12, will also be capped to a limited number.

"Gentle and intelligent, humble and wholly kind-hearted" - NME writes in a review of English folk singer's new album, written to her imaginary daughter. Alexis Petridis chose it for his Album of the week describing it as "alternately intimate, sneering and sad, and lavished with gorgeous melodies". It's Stereogum's Album of the week as well, they love the atmosphere of it - "sounds like she’s sitting just a few feet away from you in a room, playing her guitar and seeing where her mind will wander next. It sounds like a giant exhalation".