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Warren Zevon’s daughter Ariel says that “tears came to my eyes” when she learned that her father was finally nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But she and her brother Jordan were all smiles as they discussed the nod with Billboard via Zoom on Wednesday (Feb. 1).
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The consideration has been a long time coming. Zevon — who died in 2003 at the age of 56 from mesothelioma, a type of cancer — has been eligible since the mid-90s, and his exclusion from the ballot has been among the most controversial through the years. Social media groups were started to protest and also promote a nomination — echoing good friend and early producer Jackson Browne, who once told Billboard, “Why the fuck isn’t he in there? Come-on!”
Most recently it was revealed that Billy Joel wrote a letter to the Rock Hall in praise and support of Zevon.
And there were huzzahs from many corners of the music world when the nomination was formally announced on Wednesday morning.
Zevon’s legacy certainly merits the celebration. He left 15 studio albums — including The Wind, recorded after his terminal diagnosis. It won Grammy Awards — Zevon’s first — for best contemporary folk album and best rock performance from the track “Disorder in the House,” featuring Bruce Springsteen. Linda Ronstadt, Bob Dylan and Browne are just a couple of the artists who have covered Zevon’s songs over the years. And former manager/producer Andrew Slater is moving forward with a family-approved documentary.
Both of Zevon’s children have followed in their father’s footsteps and released music of their own. Jordan, who resides in Los Angeles, contributed tracks to the tribute albums Enjoy Every Sandwich and Hurry Home Early, and Ariel, who’s in Vermont, also has acting credits in Silence & Darkness, My Little Assassin and TV’s ER. And while they’re not getting ahead of themselves, both are happy that their father’s finally getting this long-awaited opportunity…
Billboard: How are you feeling about the nomination?
Jordan: I’m excited. I had to wake up at 4.50 in the morning to get the news firsthand, so I’m very caffeinated and possibly a little dizzy, but I’m excited.
Ariel: When I first saw it, tears came to my eyes first and then sort of the shock of it being 20 years later since he passed away. It feels definitely, like, significant. I don’t pay much attention to any of this type of stuff; I’ve removed myself from the whole business aspect of it. But it feels like a significant moment for the Zevon family.
How would he have felt about it?
Jordan: There’s this misconception that dad wouldn’t have cared. I think maybe, to be blunt, the later records didn’t sell a million copies; that didn’t mean he hated the industry. It just meant he was on the fringes because he wasn’t Britney Spears. But he wouldn’t have been, like, “Who cares about that?” It’d be like, “Hey Johnny, hey Ariel, guess what?!” It would have been, “It’s a big deal.” It was his business. He wanted to be good at it. You want to win, you know, best plumber of the year. (laughs)
He’s been on so many lists over the years of someone who’s nomination was overdue. Did you feel that way as well?
Jordan: I’ve respected the choices that they’ve made. It’s been such a broad range of people that I kind of didn’t think it would happen. I thought he was worthy of it, but it seemed like there were so many boxes they were trying to check that getting around to dad might not have happened. It was such a grassroots thing, people rooting for it, that I was excited for them. There’s been Facebook groups and stuff like that for years.
Ariel: I have been asked — and Jordan might have had this similar experience where some of the fans ask me in this, like accusatory way, like I’ve stood in the way somehow, allowing (the exclusion) to happen. And It’s like, “No, I would love it. It’d be great!” So, yeah, I’m especially thrilled for all of those fans who have been pounding their fists saying, “Why hasn’t this happened yet?!” It’s great for them.
Do you have any sense about why it finally happened this year?
Jordan: I don’t know exactly what’s happening right now. I get notifications form the Facebook groups, just so I can post things once in awhile. They’re hosted by other people. But the people asking to join his group and the amount of people that have gone to his website over the past few months has just skyrocketed. So I don’t know.
I think there is a feeling from awhile back, like strike while the iron is hot. But I’ve seen this resurgence lately that I can’t really account for. It’s been amazing to watch. But before any of this…I just kept wondering, “Where is everybody coming from?” It’s pretty exciting. It’s just something in the air, I guess.
What’s today been like? Have you been hearing from a lot of people?
Jordan: Yeah, I have. It’s just some of the people like Roger Bell and Duncan Aldrich, and some of the crew that he’s worked with. I haven’t heard from, like Jackson (Browne) or Waddy (Wachtel) or anybody like that. But it’s bene nice.
Ariel: Some, although again I’m pretty removed from everything. But yes, I have gotten calls and messages saying congratulations. There is definitely a buzz about it, and it’s exciting. It’s an exciting thing to share with my kids. My kids are actually almost 20, so for them it’s like, “Look what’s going on!” They’re pretty psyched about it. They’re passing around the voting thing to all their buddies at college. That’s great.
Jordan: I’m the older one but Ariel is the smarter one, and she’s distanced herself from social media and stuff, which I should really be doing at my age. (laughs) But I’ve been more kind of tuned into all the Facebook hits and sharing and everything else and, yeah, that part has been a little out of control. My 14-year-old is excited, but her biggest question is, “If he does get in, will Billie Eilish be at the ceremony?” (laughs)
Were the two of you aware of the Billy Joel letter that had been sent?
Jordan: No.
Ariel: No, I didn’t know. He’d be cool to see play a song.
Jordan: OK, we’ll put that one out there.
Ariel: That’s one I hadn’t even thought about but that’d be really cool. (laughs)
It is just a nomination at this point, but are you allowing yourselves to think about what the induction night might be like?
Jordan: I do. It’s been a while since I’ve attended or done one of those things, and you know it may be a little geeky, but that’s kind of like a like a sports game, or something like that. I know the energy and the way they’re put together. So I can just kind of picture it almost on the technical aspect and basically the adrenaline of the entire evening, and I kind of picture it that way.
It’s almost a rhetorical question, but what’s your stump speech to the voters? Why does your dad deserve to get in?
Ariel: For one thing, you know, great artists, great writers, great songwriters, write things that echo again and again throughout the ages, right? And I feel like probably some of that momentum happening right now is that his words are still resonating, maybe truer than ever, his view on his perspective on the world.
It resonates in a whole deeper, broader sense, I think, for a lot of people nowadays given where we’re at globally and everything else. So I would say that’s a good sign of somebody who probably deserves to be recognized, for a contribution to the arts, just generally speaking.
Jordan: You know, I’ve been just engulfed in music all my life, and listening to so many different genres. And I just think the quality of the music and the songwriting, it’s such a different level, and I think that he put so much care into it. He didn’t flippantly write songs. When he was writing songs there was a typewriter. There was a lot of little balled up pieces of paper. He even told me, “It’s really hard.”
And I think that when you put his education, musically and intellectually, along with his experiences, it just combined to make something that is really in, and of its own. You can have, like, the dangerous songs and the party songs, and then the more fore-thinking songs like “Don’t Let Us Get Sick” and “My Shit’s fucked up,” which means so much more even now than they did then. I just think his view and the way that he managed to keep writing for such a long time. And commercial put aside, quality-wise he still kept writing some songs that I think are just really, truly amazing, throughout his career. I just think he is pretty fucking good!
Billboard‘s Latin & Spanish Artists to Watch Class of 2023 has been unveiled.
The 23 artists that comprise the wide-ranging list include Mexican artist Bratty, who will be performing at the 2023 Coachella Festival; Victor Cibrian, whose raspy voice is bringing a fresh take to the corrido movement; and Grupo Frontera, who since going viral last year, has become the only Regional Mexican act to achieve three songs on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, to name a few.
Representing Brazil is powerhouse performer Ludmilla, who has been rising to the top with her baile funk versatility that spans pop, trap, R&B and more. “I think of funk as an agent of change, especially in the lives of so many peripheral people who don’t have opportunities,” she told Billboard Español.
From Spain, there’s acts such as Rels B who’s monthly listeners on Spotify rose from 15.6 million in November to 17.6 million today, and placed two songs on Spain’s Promusicae year-end charts: the more urban “Mi Luz” alongside RVFV at No. 21 and his urban/pop “Cómo dormiste” at No. 86.
Every year, Billboard’s Latin staff compiles a list of artists to watch in the coming months. In honor of 2023, we are spotlighting 23 Latin and Spanish acts that cover a broad variety of Latin music genres, from pop to reggaetón to R&B, música Mexicana and rock.
We want to know which of 2023’s Latin & Spanish Artist to Watch is your favorite. You can check out the list here, and vote in the poll below.
Ozzy Osbourne is calling time on touring due to crippling injuries which, despite several surgeries, have rendered the rocker “physically weak.”
The legendary Black Sabbath frontman, now 74, can no longer do the miles, though his singing voice is “fine.”
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“This is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to share with my loyal fans,” he writes on social media. “As you may all know, four years ago, this month, I had a major accident, where I damaged my spine.”
After three operations, stem cell surgeries, cutting-edge procedures and grueling therapy sessions, Ozzy admits he’s “not physically capable” of completing his upcoming European/U.K. tour dates, “as I know I couldn’t deal with the travel required.”
He continues: “Never would I have imagined that my touring days would have ended this way. My team is currently coming up with ideas for where I will be able to perform without having to travel from city to city and country to country.”
With his concession, Ozzy calls time on his No More Tours 2 final tour of the U.K. and Europe, which had been pushed back due to his health issues and COVID.
Though it’s the end of the road for the legendary British rocker, he hasn’t ruled out performing, so long as travel isn’t required.
“My team is currently coming up with ideas for where I will be able to perform without having to travel from city to city and country to country.”
Ozzy has soldiered on for years. His injury dates back to 2019, when the singer, who is also battling Parkinson’s disease, had surgery to repair an older injury he sustained during a 2003 ATV accident. A fall at home in 2019 complicated matters by dislodging metal rods surgically implanted in Ozzy’s body after the ATV accident, resulting in 15 screws being placed in his back.
Last year, he went under the knife for a vitally important procedure that wife/manager Sharon Osbourne said could determine his future.
The heavy metal icon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 as a member of Black Sabbath and into the U.K. Music Hall of Fame as a solo artist and as a member of the band.
Read the statement in full below.
Australian audiences will get a taste of BlackPink’s record-busting antics when the K-pop superstars drop by mid-year for an east-coast run.
The BlackPink [Born Pink] World Tour will set down at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena for a brace of dates (June 10 and 11), followed by a pair of shows at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena (June 16 and 17).
However, the ”originally announced Auckland show will no longer be feasible” due to “unforeseen logistical challenges,” reads a statement from promoters Frontier Touring.
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The Australian dates should sell like hotcakes – if recent chart performance is a good indicator.
Lisa, Jennie, Rosé, and Jisoo smashed chart records in these parts with Born Pink. Its lead single “Pink Venom” flew to No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart last August, making BlackPink the first K-pop group to do so, beating the No. 2 start for BTS’ 2020 hit “Dynamite.”
Born Pink went on to debut at No. 2 on the national albums survey.
BlackPink has a special connection with this country. Rosè (aka Roseanne Park) was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and raised in Melbourne. At age 15, the world of K-pop came calling when, at her father’s suggestion, she auditioned for South Korean music company YG Entertainment.
The rest is history – and a growing list of shattered records.
Just last week, Lisa nabbed a hattrick of Guinness World Records and, earlier in the month, they were announced as headliners for Coachella 2023 — a booking that would make the quartet the first Asian act to do so.
BlackPink is currently on an extensive tour through Asia.
General public tickets for the four Australia shows go on sale next Thursday (Feb. 9).
BlackPink Australia Tour June 2023:
June 10 — Rod Laver Arena, MelbourneJune 11 — Rod Laver Arena, MelbourneJune 16 — Qudos Bank Arena, SydneyJune 17 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
Charles “Chip” Rachlin, the trailblazing agent for Billy Joel and the Beach Boys, died last Wednesday (Jan. 25) following a short illness. He was 73.
A rock pioneer, Rachlin, like so many others of his generation, had a life-changing experience when the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show back in February 1964. He started a band, the Gremlins. But it was in presenting and showcasing talent that he found his calling.
Born in Summit, New Jersey, Rachlin — a lifelong Yankees fan — learned the ropes as an agent working for Bill Graham at the Fillmore East, and later, as a junior agent with the Millard Agency.
Rachlin and his Fillmore friend Michael Klenfner showed their entrepreneurial chops when, in February 1971, they booked the Beach Boys to headline Carnegie Hall. It was a turning point for everyone involved, as Rachlin soon found himself representing the group, and its lead singer, the late Carl Wilson during his solo career.
Once Graham closed the Filllmore, “Millard went ‘uptown,’’” remembers Rachlin in a timeline on the Rachlin Entertainment website.
“We built an All Star Team with Danny Weiner, Tom Ross, Budd Carr and Shelly Schultz,” with a roster that swelled to include Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, America, Seals & Crofts, Loggins & Messina, James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, Linda Ronstadt, CSN, and Eagles.
By the mid-‘70s, Rachlin was a major figure in ICM’s music department, where he repped the future Rock And Roll Hall of Famers the Beach Boys and a young Billy Joel.
“By the end of my run with ICM we were the top concert department among the major agencies,” he recounts. “It was an amazing eight years and the best training ground in the music business.”
He toured with the Rolling Stones, and rode the “fantastic rocket ship ride” that was the launch of MTV.
As styles and formats changed, Rachlin went out on his own. In the early 1990s, he launched Rachlin Entertainment, an enterprise that would become a “unique talent resource” for elite buyers such as Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas and Cunard Cruise Lines.
Among the success stories for Atlantis Paradise Island are the late David Bowie, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry. It was Rachlin who produced the All Star Tribute To Brian Wilson at Radio City Music Hall in March of 2001, headlined by Elton John, Billy Joel, Paul Simon and many more.
Tributes are pouring in for the legendary talent booker. “Thanks to Chip being my agent in the early days,” writes Billy Joel on social media, “the band and I were able to make a living as performing musicians before I became more widely known as a recording artist. I will always be grateful for his efforts on my behalf back in the day.”
Chip Rachlin has died.Chip was responsible for booking us into most of our U.S. concerts during the early and mid 1970s.Thanks to Chip being my agent in the early days, the band and I were able to make a living as performing musicians before I became more widely known as (1/2) pic.twitter.com/7D92tdUERY— Billy Joel (@billyjoel) January 29, 2023
Eagles manager Irving Azoff recounts Chip as “not only a pioneer in how the business operates today,” but, for over 40 years, “he remained somebody who I always wanted to hear from.” The veteran music executive adds: “He was an innovator. More importantly, on a one-to-one level, he displayed all the personal qualities that make this business great. He was not just passionate about the music and any artist he worked with but a great person. This one hurts very badly.”
We’re so saddened to learn of Chip Rachlin’s passing. Chip, seen here with Bill in 1982 on the Rolling Stones tour, went on to produce an amazing array of events. Along the way, he made many friends who now mourn his loss. Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/jlMlICdCw1— Bill Graham Found. (@BillGrahamFound) January 26, 2023
“We’re so saddened to learn of Chip Rachlin’s passing,” reads a post from the Bill Graham Foundation. Chip “went on to produce an amazing array of events. Along the way, he made many friends who now mourn his loss. Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Rachlin is survived by his wife Wendy, his sons Josh and Alex, and their extended family.
With three nominations, Vance Joy is the leader of the pack heading into the 2023 Rolling Stone Australia Awards.
The Melbourne singer and songwriter lands nominations for best record (his third studio album, In Our Own Sweet Time, which peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Chart), best single (“Clarity”), and the coveted Rolling Stone Global Award, details for which were announced Tuesday (Feb. 1).
Also snagging multiple nominations is ARIA Award-winning star-on-the-rise Budjerah, veteran kid’s entertainers the Wiggles, indie-rock faves Spacey Jane, rock act Gang of Youths, and country star Keith Urban.
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Urban will have his work cut out in the Global Award category. It’s a starry list, in which he’s named along with Alison Wonderland, Gang of Youths, Iggy Azalea, Kylie Minogue, Rüfüs Du Sol, Tash Sultana, The Wiggles, Tones And I, Troye Sivan and Vance Joy.
Each year, Rolling Stone Australia invites international writers, including editors from the U.S. and U.K. brands, to vote in the Rolling Stone Global Award category.
“We take great pride in the fact that, by hosting our third annual Rolling Stone Australia Awards, we get to play a part in recognizing Australian music’s growth,” comments Poppy Reid, editor-in-chief at Rolling Stone Australia publisher the Brag Media.
The Rolling Stone Australia Awards return to Sydney on April 4. Sponsors this year include headline partner Shure alongside Australis, Canna, Panhead, JMC Academy and Jim Beam.
In the weeks ahead, RS Australia will reveal hosts, performers and the nominees in the Rolling Stone Readers’ Award.
“I am immensely proud to be part of the team pushing local acts worldwide through our awards judging process, and our editorial partnership with Rolling Stone parent company PMC,” adds Reid.
Winners at last year’s ceremony include Genesis Owusu, The Kid LAROI and King Stingray, with live performances from Amy Shark and Ruby Fields.
2023 Shure Rolling Stone Australia Awards Nominees:
Best SingleAmy Shark – “Only Wanna Be With You”Budjerah – “Ready for the Sky”Courtney Barnett – “Rae Street”Keith Urban – “Brown Eyes Baby”Ruel – “Growing up is _”Spacey Jane – “Hardlight”The Kid LAROI – “Thousand Miles”Vance Joy – “Clarity”
Best New ArtistBlake RoseBudjerahEliza & The DelusionalsForest ClaudetteJames JohnstonLara DMerci, MercyTeen Jesus and the Jean Teasers
Best Record5 Seconds of Summer – 5SOS5Gang of Youths – angel in realtimeJulia Jacklin – Pre PleasureParkway Drive – Darker StillSpacey Jane – Here Comes EverybodyThe Wiggles – ReWiggledThelma Plum – MeanjinVance Joy – In Our Own Sweet Time
Rolling Stone Global AwardAlison WonderlandGang Of YouthsIggy AzaleaKeith UrbanKylie MinogueRüfüs Du SolTash SultanaThe WigglesTones And ITroye SivanVance Joy
The Beatport Group has acquired a majority stake in the International Music Summit, the electronic music and culture platform known for its flagship industry conference, IMS Ibiza, Billboard can exclusively reveal.
This partnership is intended to secure the growth of IMS, which has happened annually in Ibiza since 2007 (minus the two years it rolled out online during the pandemic) and has over the years produced additional summits in Los Angeles, Shanghai, Singapore and Malta.
Via this partnership, IMS has plans to again expand its global footprint, with details forthcoming. IMS will continue to operate under the direction of its co-founders, with full support from The Beatport Group. (The Beatport Group currently encompasses digital electronic music store Beatport, open format DJ community Beatsource, Loopmasters, Loopcloud and other platforms.)
Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
IMS Ibiza was founded in 2007 by five partners including dance scene pioneer Pete Tong and industry exec and artist manager Ben Turner, with the intention to create a hub for conversation and progressive change within electronic dance music.
“We are very proud of what we’ve built at IMS over these past 16 years, driving the narrative and agenda of the culture forward from the genre’s spiritual home of Ibiza,” IMS’ founding partners say in a joint statement.
“Aligning with Beatport, who have been supporters of IMS from our inception,” the statement continues, “will enable us to action many of our ideas on how to continue to grow the platform all year round; to further educate and mentor the next generation; and to help focus the industry’s attention on the issues that matter. It will help increase our ability to have more impact for the genre.”
The next IMS Ibiza summit is set for April 26-28 at the island’s luxe Destino Pacha Ibiza resort. This three-day conference will again feature keynotes, seminars, performances, masterclasses, mentorship, health and wellness initiatives, parties and much more. A pillar of the conference is its annual presentation of the IMS Business Report, the annual valuation of the global electronic music industry presented in conjunction with data and analysis on myriad aspects of the business. IMS Ibiza 2023 will once again be hosted by Tong and fellow BBC Radio 1 presenter Jaguar.
“IMS has become one of the most impactful gatherings for the global DJ and dance music industries, and everyone at Beatport is excited to take this brand to the next level,” Beatport CEO Robb McDaniels says in a statement. “We look forward to partnering with Pete, Ben and the entire IMS team to broaden the IMS footprint as a major component of our plan to expand the Beatport brand around the world through community, education, and thought leadership initiatives.”
BRISBANE, Australia – It’s a new year, and one filled with fresh optimism in the Australian music industry after the federal government presented its national cultural policy — a five-year action plan that puts in place sorely-needed infrastructure, investment and ideas.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese and arts minister Tony Burke were on hand Monday (Jan. 30) for the launch of Revive, which, as its title suggests, establishes the groundwork for what government and industry hopes will facilitate a robust music space.
It’s a document years in the making. And it’s stuffed with strategic and policy investment for contemporary music, many of them ideas put forward by a united front of music industry organizations, 18 in total.
Revive will provide a much-needed boost of strength, energy and funding into our Arts community:✔️Establishing Creative Australia✔️ The establishment of Music Australia✔️ $70 million injection into Music Australia✔️ Supporting the artist as a worker and a creator https://t.co/56aXgFrPt9— APRA AMCOS (@APRAAMCOS) January 30, 2023
Among the cornerstones of Revive is the creation of Music Australia, within Creative Australia. Government will find nearly $70 million for Music Australia, which will support and invest in the development of Australian contemporary music, and which Albanese is keen to see launch in 2023.
Speaking at the presentation at Melbourne’s Esplanade Hotel, Albanese gave the music community a well-deserved thank-you. He also mapped out a timeline for legislation which would enforce local content quotas on streaming platforms; a regional push for the Double J network, part of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation; and a 50% boost for Sounds Australia, which supports homegrown artists taking their music to the world.
“Today is a bright moment for (the music) sector but it’s also an overdue one. You have endured a decade in which opportunity wasn’t so much missed as thrown away. Capped by the years of the pandemic,“ he says.
Revive, he continues, “puts the arts back where they’re meant to be – at the heart of our national life.”
Revive is structured around five interconnected pillars, First Nations First; A Place For Every Story; Centrality of the Artist; Strong Institutions and Reaching the Audience. And with it, a commitment for new, additional investment totaling A$286 million over four years.
“This is about our soul, this is about our identity,” Albanese adds. “It is so important because it’s about who we are and being able to express ourselves. It is literally through the arts that we build our identity as a nation and a people.”
When the center-left Labor government was formed in 2022, ending the nine-year administration of the center-right Liberal Party, Burke made an early commitment to develop a cultural roadmap through consultation with the music industry.
ARIA welcomes the new National Cultural Policy announced today by the Hon. Tony Burke MP and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and Arts. https://t.co/w2hlbCkxju— ARIA (@ARIA_Official) January 30, 2023
This policy, and its instructions, “restores the place of art, of entertainment of culture, for all Australians,” Burke says.
Artists and the industry behind the music are “essential workers” he adds.
“You touch our hearts and you are a A$17 billion contributor to our economy. You create art and you create exports. You make works and you provide work. You are entertaining, you are essential, you are required.”
For video streaming platforms, a timeline is locked in. In the second half of this year, legislation will be introduced to the parliament and in July next year, Australian content obligations will apply to the streaming companies.
Revive pledges that, through binding rules on content, Australian music “remains visible, discoverable and easily accessible across platforms to all Australians, driven by a vibrant, agile, sustainable and globally facing local music industry.”
👏Today we welcome the National Cultural Policy, bold new chapter and a transformational moment for Council as we work to build Creative Australia, a new First Nations body, Music Australia, Writers Australia, and the Centre for Arts Workplaces.https://t.co/fRtBTMEwID— Australia Council (@AusCouncilArts) January 30, 2023
With the publication of Revive, the music industry is celebrating an ideal start to the week, and the year.
“The government has responded to our collective call, which I think is a real positive,” Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS tells Billboard. “For the first time ever, there’s a whole of government recognition of us as an industry. They’re actually referring to us as an industry for the first time in my living memory. Which I think is an enormous win.”
Though the industry remains largely unsure of what are the next steps, conversations with government in the days ahead should clear-up matters.
Regardless, the opportunities are laid out. “There’s an enormous opportunity in terms of how music Australia interfaces with industry and specific government portfolios,” says Ormston. “There’ll be an evolving opportunity to have a much stronger relationship with portfolios, like education. We’ve already called out, for instance, that Music Australia should have a policy and a strategy related to songwriting in schools. That would be the beginning of the foodchain and the pipeline to improving our export opportunities.”
Although the industry will need to wait for the presentation of the May budget to see full detail, the federal government “is listening and responding,” says Stephen Wade, chair of ALMBC, whose hundreds of members represent all areas of the live music sector.
ARIA and PPCA CEO Annabelle Herd welcomed the policy. “It is true that Australian music is facing a crisis in streaming and that it is harder than ever for Australian musicians to have a charting hit in Australia,” she comments.
“We thank the government for acknowledging the need for greater support of Australian commercial music as a business that is facing key issues surrounding discoverability and export. It is our hope that the introduction of Music Australia will make important strides toward providing solutions to these issues, including a reassessment of commercial radio quotas and streaming policy.”
Today we launched our National Cultural Policy ‘REVIVE’. One of it’s main policy components is the establishment of Creative Australia. pic.twitter.com/nlc8judwUD— Tony Burke (@Tony_Burke) January 30, 2023
Read the document here in full.
It’s shaping to be a glorious week for Sam Smith, as their fourth studio album Gloria (Capitol) leads the race for the U.K. chart crown.
Gloria is projected to debut at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, following the Brit’s previous leaders In The Lonely Hour (from 2014) and The Thrill Of It All (2017).
Featuring the No. 1 hit single “Unholy,” a collaboration with Kim Petras, Gloria leads the Official Chart Update. It’s the followup to 2020’s Love Goes, which peaked at No. 2 in Smith’s homeland.
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Smith isn’t the only artist eyeing a splashing debut. Bob Dylan is on track for a No. 2 start with Fragments – Time Out Of Mind Sessions Volume 17 (Sony Music CG), the latest instalment in the songsmith’s Bootlegs series, which collates new mixes, outtakes and rarities from sessions from 1997’s Time Out Of Mind, an album that peaked at No. 10 in the U.K. Fragments is set to become Dylan’s 42nd appearance in the U.K. top 10.
Further down the list, Albanian-American pop artist Ava Max is heading for a No. 5 debut with Diamonds & Dancefloors (Atlantic), her sophomore album. It’s the followup to 2020’s Heaven & Hell, which peaked at No. 2.
Meanwhile, new recordings from English prog-rocker veterans Uriah Heep (Chaos & Colour at No. 19 via Silver Lining Music) and U.S. rapper Lil Yachty (Let’s Start Here at No. 32 via EMI) are heading for the top 40.
Finally, just days after Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic landed a string of Academy Award nominations, the King of Rock & Roll is making a move on the U.K. chart. Elvis Presley’s Elv1s – 30 Number 1 Hits (RCA) lifts 23-20 on the chart blast, and Elvis On Tour (Sony Music CG), a six-CD, one-Blu-ray box set capturing performances from Elvis’ 1972 North America tour, is set to bow at No. 43. Elvis is nominated for eight Oscars, including best picture; it also earned a best actor nomination for Austin Butler, who portrayed Presley.
The Official U.K. Albums Chart is presented late Friday.
Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” (via Columbia) is digging in for a third consecutive week at No. 1 in the U.K.
The U.S. pop star’s latest hit powers to the lead on the midweek chart, and is currently outselling its nearest rival, Raye’s “Escapism” (Human Re Sources) featuring 070 Shake, by more than two-to-one, the Official Charts Company reports.
“Flowers” is already Miley’s longest-reigning No. 1 in the U.K., beating the single-week runs for her previous leaders “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball,” both from 2013.
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Based on midweek data captured by the OCC, the highest new entry on the chart proper could belong to KSI and Oliver Tree with “Voices” (Atlantic). It’s on track for a No. 11 debut, for what would be KSI’s 18th and Tree’s third top 40 appearance.
Sydney-raised, Los Angeles-based singer and rapper The Kid LAROI is also targeting a top tier debut with his new track, “Love Again” (Columbia). It’s new at No. 22 on the Official Chart Update, for what should be the artist’s fifth top 40 appearance. “Love Again” is the second cut from the Kid’s forthcoming debut album, The First Time, which is set for release later this year.
Meanwhile, Miguel’s 2010 single “Sure Thing” (Jive) continues to enjoy a renaissance after going viral on TikTok. It’s up 13-7 on the Chart Update. The track entered the top 10 for the very first time last week, nearly 13 years after it originally dropped.
Further down the chart blast, singles by Tiësto and Tate McRae (“10:35” up 14-13 via Atlantic/Ministry of Sound), Cian Ducrot (“I’ll Be Waiting” up 19-18 via Polydor), Mimi Webb (“Red Flags” up 22-19 via Epic) and Coi Leray (“Players” up 37-20 via Uptown/Republic Records) are on the climb.
All will be revealed when the Official Charts are published late Friday.