completemusicupdate.com - 3 510 Showbiz News and Updates

APPOINTMENTSSony Music UK has announced the promotion of Negla Abdela to the role of Managing Director at its Ministry Of Sound label. She first joined the label in 2015 as Social Media Manager, becoming Head Of Digital in 2018 and General Manager in 2021.

Having released several solo albums under his own name, Here We Go Magic frontman Luke Temple took on the moniker Art Feynman in 2017, initially as a means of avoiding expectations when it came to the new music he was creating. Previously a purely solo project, for new album ‘Be Good The Crazy Boys’ he worked with a seven piece band, recording songs live in the studio.“Sonically, I was inspired by records that were recorded at the late Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas”, he explains, “such as Grace Jones’ ‘Private Life’, Lizzy Mercier Descloux’s ‘Mambo Nassau’, and Talking Heads’ ‘Remain In Light’”.Of new single ‘Desperately Free’, he adds: “I was thinking about the obsession with spiritual growth or with ‘curing’ death and the compensatory consequences that ensue as a result.

Tony Bennett’s son and long-time manager D’Andrea ‘Danny’ Bennett has spoken to People magazine following his father’s death last week.“Tony, my father, imbued the essence of the American dream”, the younger Bennett said in a People article that was published yesterday. “He taught us all that remarkable opportunities will reveal themselves and that anything is possible when you stick by your passion, believe in yourself and dedicate your life to quality”.“He was an artist, a humanitarian and an inspiration to anyone who experienced his elegance and grace”, Danny went on.

A drive-in movie theatre in the US has announced a week of events celebrating Taylor Swift, in an effort to finally convince her to acknowledge that it is its screen that appears in the lyric video to her 2020 single ‘This Is Me Trying’.Drive-in 32 in Greenville, New York inadvertently ended up in the lyric video thanks to a short piece of stock footage that the venue had seemingly been unaware of until it was used by Swift’s team.“Somewhere during the winter of either 2018 or 2019, an overseas-based freelance photographer entered our property without permission and began filming”, the cinema’s management explain in a new Instagram post. “He then placed that footage with Shutterstock advertising [it] as ‘abandoned upstate NY drive-in theatre’”.“Someone in Taylor’s creative team purchased a $75 license from the stock agency for the footage, enlarged it, slowed it down, stitched together fourteen loops of the original eleven second clip and then added the lyrics on our screen”, they go on.

S Club are releasing their first new single in 20 years as a tribute to late bandmate Paul Cattermole. The track has been written by the group’s original songwriting team – Cathy Dennis, Simon Ellis and Johanne Ellis – and producer John Nathaniel.According to The Sun, although they already had a reunion tour scheduled for later this year, the pop group had not originally planned to record any new music alongside those shows.

Young Thug was again denied bail last week as he continues to fight charges in the US state of Georgia over his alleged involvement in a criminal gang.According to ABC News, the judge overseeing the case, Ural Glanville, said that he believes the rapper’s release would pose a threat to the community, adding that he remains concerned about possible witness intimidation.Young Thug, real name Jeffery Williams, was charged in May last year – alongside fellow rapper Gunna and 26 others – with numerous counts of racketeering. Prosecutors allege that the rapper co-founded a gang that went on to commit murders, shootings and carjackings, which he then bragged about in his music videos.The latter part of the prosecution’s case against Williams has proven particularly controversial, as it’s part of a trend in criminal cases in the US where a rapper’s creative output is used as evidence against them.

The 1975 have cancelled shows in Indonesia and Taiwan after being banned from Malaysia following a performance there on Friday.While headlining the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur, frontman Matty Healy criticised the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws and kissed bassist Ross MacDonald. As a result, not only was the band’s set cut short but the Malaysian government also cancelled the remainder of the festival.The event’s promoters said in a statement on Saturday: “We deeply regret to announce that the remaining schedule of Good Vibes Festival 2023, planned for today and tomorrow, has been cancelled following the controversial conduct and remarks made by UK artist Matty Healy from the band The 1975”.“This decision adheres to the immediate cancellation directive issued at 1:20pm, 22 Jul 2023, by the Ministry Of Communications And Digital”, it went on.

US punk band Anti-Flag have abruptly split up without explanation, deleting their social media accounts and website in the process.The split was announced via the band’s Patreon page, with a statement saying: “Anti-Flag has disbanded. The Patreon has been switched into a mode where it will no longer charge the monthly fee.

DEALSWarp has signed Slauson Malone 1 – the musical project of artist Jasper Marsalis. “We’re elated to be working with Slauson Malone 1 at Warp”, says the label. “We support and believe in Jasper’s vision wholeheartedly and can’t wait for what’s to come”.————————————————–DIGITAL & D2F SERVICESYouTube Music has increased the price of a monthly subscription in the US from $9.99 to $10.99, with the wider YouTube Premium service also increasing its pricing, it going up two dollars a month to $13.99.

Absolute Radio has confirmed it is airing a second series of ‘Tim’s Listening Party’, the online album playback series launched by Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess during COVID that was turned into a radio show earlier this year.After an initial six part series, a second eight part run kicks off on Sunday at 10pm. This series will include Sparks, The The, Lloyd Cole and Haim.Says Burgess: “The response to the first series of ‘The Listening Party’ has been brilliant and it’s exciting to be back on Absolute Radio with series two.

Yves Saint Laurent’s Rive Droit brand has come under fire for selling a range of Nirvana t-shirts with prices stretching into thousands of pounds.The reason for the high prices is that these t-shirts are all “vintage”, rather than being brand new creations. And some are seemingly rare, particularly one featuring the artwork from Nirvana’s ‘Incesticide’ compilation, which is selling for over £3000.Still, while old band t-shirts can fetch high prices, some have suggested that these ones have seen their price tags inflated considerably above their market value, simply for the privilege of buying them from a YSL store.Oh sure, you could buy a brand new t-shirt with the same design on it for fifteen quid, but does it have that lived in look and feel? No.

The Chemical Brothers have announced that they will release their tenth studio album ‘For That Beautiful Feeling’ later this year. Alongside the news comes the video for recent single ‘Live Again’.Recorded at the band’s own studio, a press statement explains: “Each track on ‘For That Beautiful Feeling’ was born out of a desire to find that point of vision in the studio, a point that could then be refracted back onto the dancefloor through the music”.“As a result, it’s a collection of music that’s vividly colourful and confident and deeply psychedelic; impossible beauty carved from noise and chaos and endless fluid rhythm”.The visuals for ‘Live Again’ were directed by Dom & Nic, who have previously worked on Chems videos for tracks including ‘Hey Boy Hey Girl’, ‘Block Rockin Beats’ and ‘Wide Open’.Of their latest collaboration, they say: “Working with The Chemical Brothers is a dream for any video director.

Live Nation has insisted that a planned show by Travis Scott in front the pyramids of Giza in Egypt will go ahead, despite reports that the performance had been pulled following the intervention of an organisation called the Egyptian Musicians Syndicate.The show at the pyramids is due to take place on 28 Jul alongside the release of Scott’s new album ‘Utopia’, with plans to livestream the performance.Reports that the Egyptian Musicians Syndicate was seeking to block the show began circulating earlier this week. Egypt Today published a statement from the organisation that said: “As the Musicians Syndicate is part of the fabric of our beloved country, it works towards its stability and security and rejects any tampering with the societal values, customs, and traditions of Egypt and the Arab world”.“After examining social media opinions and feedback”, it went on, “as well as the news circulating on search engines and social media platforms, which included authenticated images and information about peculiar rituals performed by the star during his performance, contradicting our authentic societal values and traditions, the Syndicate’s president and board of directors have decided to cancel the licence issued for hosting this type of concert, which goes against the cultural identity of the Egyptian people”.However, Live Nation – as promoter of the show – while not specifically commenting on the remarks made by the Syndicate, has insisted that the performance will go ahead as planned.Posting to the Twitter account of Live Nation Middle East, it said: “There have been no changes to Travis Scott’s show in Egypt; any reports to the contrary are false.

Still only 22, Lili Also has nonetheless been releasing music under various monikers for the last decade. Currently working under the name Knife Girl, she returns this week with her first new track since last year’s ‘Uniform’ album, a track called ‘Estrogen’.An aggressively positive piece of left-field dance-pop, she says of the track: “‘Estrogen’ is an expression of gender euphoria, and a celebration of my life and friends”.“When I wrote the lyrics, ‘I love my tits, I love my dick’, I had to stop for a moment to think if it was too provocative to say”, she adds.

Queen have become the latest act to receive a BRIT Billion Award for surpassing one billion streams in the UK. The band accepted the trophy just as they reached the 50th anniversary of their debut album, which was released in July 1973, the same year that BRIT Billion Award giver the BPI was formed. Which is all very convenient.“Thank you for presenting Queen with a BRIT Billion Award”, says guitarist Brian May.

Marilyn Manson is set to plead no contest to a charge of blowing his nose at a videographer during a live performance in New Hampshire in 2019. The plea means that the musician does not contest the charge, but also does not admit guilt.

Everyone’s got a podcast these days, haven’t they? Everyone. Even Paul McCartney now.

A search warrant as part of a new investigation into the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur was served earlier this week, police in the US state of Nevada have confirmed.The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department carried out a search of a home in Henderson, a suburb of the city where Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting on 7 Sep 1996. No arrests have ever been made in relation to the killing, with police claiming in the past that their investigations quickly stalled because no witnesses were willing to cooperate.In a new statement, the police said: “LVMPD can confirm a search warrant was served in Henderson, Nevada on 17 Jul 2023, as part of the ongoing Tupac Shakur homicide investigation.

The nominations for this year’s AIM Independent Music Awards are out. Leading the pack are Raye and Shygirl, who are both up for three prizes each – including going head-to-head in the Best Track and Best Album categories.

BTS singer V has – no, not joined the South Korean army – he’s been announced as the latest brand ambassador for luxury jewellery brand Cartier. He’ll be tasked with letting the world – and specifically K-pop fans – know about the merits of wearing expensive bracelets and shit.V has “distinctive characteristics as a dancer, musician and art enthusiast” and “makes choices driven by his own creativity and shows his unique style and elegance”, says Cartier, explaining exactly why he’s the perfect person for this job.This latest deal makes it even more expensive for BTS fans who want to embrace the jewellery and fashion brands that their favourite pop stars profess to prefer (when paid to do so).Earlier this year, V was also announced as a brand ambassador for the luxury brand Celine.

APPOINTMENTSUniversal Music has appointed Sally Davies as Managing Director of Abbey Road Studios. “It’s truly an honour and privilege to be taking on the role of Managing Director of Abbey Road Studios, a place of great music and ground-breaking sound”, she says.

SoundCloud has announced that it is partnering with Sony Corp on its First On SoundCloud artist accelerator programme this year, offering more opportunities to selected artists to develop their careers. It’s specifically the bit of Sony that makes audio devices and technologies that is getting involved.The artists chosen to participate this year are Wolfacejoeyy, DJ_Dave, Nitepunk, Sojabrat, and Sim0ne, all of whom – we’re told – are “creating new musical landscapes in a unique way that can only be done on SoundCloud”.They will be given access to one-to-one mentoring, early access to SoundCloud beta tools and new Sony audio creation technologies, marketing support, opportunities to perform at SoundCloud and Sony-hosted events, and more.“First On SoundCloud has always been about empowering emerging artists and fostering music discovery for our listeners”, says Emmy Lovell, Global Head Of Music at SoundCloud.“Partnering with Sony’s audio team is a great step in this mission”, she continues.

Celestial North has released her debut album ‘Otherworld’, which – as its title suggests – is a wash of ethereal tunes that transport the listener into a fully realised sonic environment. In order to achieve this, she fuses elements of dream pop, folktronica, techno and more.“I imagined that I was time-travelling through different and exciting worlds”, she says of writing the record.

APPOINTMENTSModest! Management has appointed Sarah Gallagher as Managing Director. She originally joined the company in 2009.

Doja Cat has been teasing a change to her sound for some time now, and in a new interview has elaborated on her declaration earlier this year that there will be “no more pop” in her output.“I do not consider myself a rock star”, she tells V Magazine, when asked if she was becoming more rock n roll based on the outfit worn for the article’s photoshoot. “I have made pop music.

Sentric Music has signed LA-based songwriter and producer Sean Silverman to one of those exclusive administration agreements.Silverman is a member of the pop-rock band Beach Weather, but has also written and produced music for the likes of Burna Boy, Lil Nas X, Tropkillaz, The Maine, Chloe Lilac, Windser, BEL and The Technicolors.Says Sentric’s President and Head Of A&R for North America, Simon Perry: “This is a dream signing for us in the USA. Sean is a creative juggernaut and we’re excited to bring Sentric’s best in class capabilities to support his stellar trajectory”.Silverman, meanwhile, is “THRILLED” about the deal.

Vogue Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour seemingly makes a cameo appearance – albeit in digital form – during the show Drake and 21 Savage recently started touring around the US. And given the recent legal battle between the musicians and the fashion magazine, it’s perhaps unsurprising to know that Wintour’s digital representation is not particularly flattering.Drake and 21 Savage were sued by publisher Condé Nast after they distributed and promoted a fake edition of Vogue – with the musicians as cover stars – as part of the marketing for their joint album ‘Her Loss’.

British singer and actor Jane Birkin, best known for her work with Serge Gainsbourg, has died at her home in France. She was 76.Born in London in 1946, Birkin originally began her career as an actor in the UK, appearing in films such as Michelangelo Antonioni’s ‘Blowup’ in 1966.

The Power Up initiative – launched by the PRS Foundation and Ben Wynter back in 2021 – has announced the music-makers and industry professionals that will take part in the third year of its Power Up Participant Programme.That programme, Power Up explains, “elevates pioneering black talent and is a key feature of the long-term initiative launched to address anti-black racism and racial disparities in the music sector”.Participants get access to financial support as well as masterclasses and mentoring, in a bid to support “the development of their careers and practice, to break through glass ceilings and accelerate change across the industry”.The year before the launch of Power Up, many in the music industry made commitments to address ongoing discrimination in the sector following the Black Out Tuesday protest. Staged in response to the murder by US police officers of George Floyd, that protest saw many in the music industry pause their operations for 24 hours, most posting a black square to social media.In the wake of the protest, a number of practical initiatives were launched and supported within the music business, including in the UK, Power Up among them.

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the stepping up for the Featured Artists Coalition’s 100% Venues campaign, which encourages music venues to allow artists to sell merchandise at their shows without being charged any commission on sales, and the new legal challenge to the UK government’s festival drug testing policy. Apologies for the sound issues in this episode.