Industrial Strength: August 7
CHRIS WILSON BLITZES FUNDRAISING TARGET
Melbourne blues performer Chris Wilson was certainly showed the love when news broke of his battle against cancer.
The original $50,000 target for a GoFundMe crowd-funding campaign organised by Suzanne Espie, was quickly extended to $100,000 when that ticked over in the first day.
Within eight days the second figure was exceeded, at which point Wilson asked that the campaign end. Final tally: $116,000, raised by 1,317 people.
The Wilson family said, “Not having to worry about money is a gift beyond estimation and we are so grateful for your help, and the loving messages and stories.
“We would like to thank every single person who donated to and shared this campaign with all our hearts.
“All four of us are focused on making sure Chris has the most peaceful and happy time for the longest time and you have made it possible for us to buy him a lovely new mattress and corner the market on Bundaberg sarsaparilla stubbies, amongst other things.”
In addition, the benefit concert on Friday, August 24 from 8.30 pm at the Corner Hotel has sold out.
REPORT: SWEDE STREAMS ARE MADE OF THIS
Universal and Sony are now turning over more than $500k from streaming every hour, says Music Business Worldwide.
It trawled through the recent financials of both majors for the first half of 2018.
In this period, Universal turned over $1.44 billion from streaming, and Sony did $943.7 million.
Combined, that was $2.38 billion in six months. Or about $92 million a week, $13 million a day and $550,000 an hour for the two combined companies.
SUPERJESUS SLAM ‘SUMO’ FAKE TICKETS
The Superjesus have slammed Viagogo, claiming it is selling fake tickets to their Sumo tour.
Singer Sarah McLeod posted, “Please do not buy from these charlatons (sic). I repeat DO NOT BUY FROM THESE CHARLATONS!”
KADENCE GROUP ADDS ARTIST MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Kristy Gostelow, northern Queensland-based manager of Busby Marou and Tia Gostelow, has added artist management to her Kadence Group.
The company was set up in 2015 by the award-winning entrepreneur and community developer to help musicians get their businesses off the ground, grant application writing and event management and teen players with the benefit of MusoAcademy.
The artist management service offers grant writing and crowdfunding, finance systems, festival and award submissions, travel logistics, music action planning and mentoring, and building the team.
More info here.
NYE ON THE HILL, UNIFY GATHERING, UNVEIL HEADLINERS
Just ahead of dropping their first artist lineups, much in demand Victorian festivals have teased (or hosed down) loudly yapping patrons by announcing their headliners.
Topping the bill for NYE On the Hill in Gippsland (December 30—January 1) are folk-punkies The Smith Street Band. The other acts are unveiled tomorrow (Wednesday).
Meantime, early bird tickets sold out in a minute last Friday, with general public tickets on the market on Thursday. The festival is capped at 2,700 tickets.
UNIFY Gathering announced its headliner will be Newcastle’s Trophy Eyes, with the full list of toe-tappers on Thursday.
IHEARTMEDIA REPORTS $853M IN Q2
America’s largest radio company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, had a 3.5% dip in revenue to 853.3 million in the quarter ending June 30, compared to the same period in 2017.’
iHeartMedia president and COO/CFO Rich Bressler said the “Chapter 11 process is moving along as anticipated” but added that during the process would not make any comment about the company’s broadcast media, digital services syndication and concert events.
KEITH URBAN TALKS NAMES ON “INTERVIEW”
The problem with appearing on Andrew Denton’s “Interview” is that the past catches up with you.
During Keith Urban’s chinwag last week, “Dento” dug up footage of a 13-year old Urban playing at Tamworth under the name Keith Umber.
The country warbler said that one of his fave names is Pete Thurman, which is how it sounded when a Nashville MC with a strong southern drawl introduced him on stage.
The episode drew 440,000 overnight metro viewers.
STRANGE TENANTS: TOUR, SINGLE, BOOK, DOCO
‘80s Melbourne ska band Strange Tenants are a hive of activity this year.
An eight-piece line-up is set to hit Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne between November 10 and December 1.
A new single Love Is Blind precedes their eighth album, Militant Style, produced by Grammy winning engineer Roger Lomas from the UK.
The shows will also promote Strange Tenants: The Godfathers of Australian Ska a new book by Lorann Downer.
That is followed by a documentary about their music, sense of social justice and a legion of fans known fondly as the Tenants Army.
STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER
The one-time Liverpool children’s home site which inspired The Beatles’ classic Strawberry Fields Forever is to be opened as a tourist attraction.
The home, in Wootton, where John Lennon played as a child, closed in 2005
Aside from being a draw for Beatles fans from around the world, the Salvation Army is also turning it into a training and work placement hub for young people with learning disabilities.
DEEZER NOW WORTH $1.16B
Paris-based streaming service Deezer is now valued at around US$1.16 billion after its latest round of funding.
The latest, of $185 million, includes Saudi investment company Kingdom Holding Company, Saudi entertainment complex Rotana Group, industrialist and Warner Music owner Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, French telecommunications company Orange and private equity company LBO France.
Rotana also struck a partnership to have its audio and visual content distribution in the Middle East and North Africa.
NEW UNDER-AGE EDM/ HIP HOP FESTIVAL FOR PERTH
Perth gets a new under-age EDM and hip hop festival called Sound On in spring.
Staged at Perth Arena on Friday, September 28 and presented by Murdoch University, it is for 14— 18-year-olds only.
Among those on the bill are Alison Wonderland, Cosmo’s Midnight and Tkay Maidza.
There’ll be some panel discussions as well, which a number of the acts will take part in.
MUSICAL CHAIRS
* With live production company Jands’ growth of late and change in its production portfolio, the company hired Phil Muffet as national sales manager.
* Screenrights, which manages rights payments to the film, television and radio sectors, has lost CEO Simon Lake, who resigned “to address a serious health issue”, according to chair Jill Bryant.
SLEEPYHEADS AWAKE FOR ONE NIGHT STAND
Launceston punky types The Sleepyheads have joined triple j’s One Night Stand in St. Helens, Tasmania, after winning the station’s Unearthed competition.
MACKAY/HAS AN USHER CONNECTION
Mackay’s Daily Mercury noted that the Far North Queensland city has a link with Usher.
The instrumentals used in the US R&B star’s live show intros and Instagram themes were created by local creative Tristan Barton.
“I had a 48-hour turnaround for the Usher project, working with his music director,” he told the newspaper.
Barton, a drummer and CQUniversity Bachelor of Music jazz and pop graduate, has also had his work used in ad campaigns by brands as Audi, Tiffany and Co and shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo.
LOLLAPALOOZA UNDER TIGHT SECURITY
US festivals aren’t as safe as they used to be. Patrons for Lollapalooza in Chicago coming to see Bruno Mars, Jack White and the Arctic Monkeys faced tougher security.
Last year Stephen Paddock who killed 58 people at Las Vegas’ Route 91 Harvest festival from a 32-floor hotel room, had also booked rooms overlooking Lollapalooza but hadn’t shown.
This year, more roads were closed near the Grant Park site, backpacks were banned, there were more barricades, airport-type security was introduced and cops also monitored rooftops and checked out hotel rooms.
In the meantime, Las Vegas cops closed their 10 month Route 91 investigation, saying there was no terrorism conspiracy and no second gunman was involved.
They described Paddock as “an unremarkable man” who showed signs of a troubled mind – with some media reports suggesting he had recently lost $2 million.
STAN WALKER BACK ON THE ROAD
R&B singer Stan Walker, who filmed his stomach cancer surgery for a doco that screened in Australia and New Zealand, has announced his first NZ tour in five years.
A portion of the money from every ticket sold will be donated to the Otago University Department of Biochemistry, which researches the rare cancer-causing gene mutation that has killed more than 25 members of Walker’s family.
Walker says the medical experience made him sing differently and find new dreams to chase.
KOBALT TO DISTRIBUTE MERLIN SHARES
Kobalt‘s recorded-music division AWAL will be distributing its proceeds from Merlin’s sale of Spotify shares to its clients on a pro-rata basis in mid-August.
Merlin already split its proceeds from the sale on a pro-rata basis with its member base of over 800 indie labels.
VALE
* Ted LeGarde was one half of country music act The LeGarde Twins with his identical twin Tom. Born March 15, 1931, at 15 they left the family sugar cane farm in Mackay, Queensland, and joined the rodeo circuit, As their singing career took off as The Yodelling Stockmen, they headed to North America where they toured and had hits The LeGarde Twins. Ted died in Nashville aged 87 after a brief illness.
* Hedley Charles was an integral part of the Australian country music scene for over 20 years, as a long-time record reviewer and Golden Guitars judge and inducted into the Australian Country Music Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2002 for his additional role of country music coordinator at Coastal FM. He died at his home in Burnie, Tasmania.
AND A FEW OTHER THINGS …
Which controversial Gold Coast personality is being sounded out to return to manage a major nightclub to revive its glory days?
Which Townsville radio identity was almost carjacked on her way to work?
Former drummer with Sydney band Everything I Own Is Broken, Evie Amati, will be sentenced next month after being found guilty by a District Court jury of attacking two customers at a 7-Eleven store in Enmore with an axe while playing Flatline by US prog-metal band Periphery. She said her body had carried out the attacks but not her mind, arguing she was affected by a cocktail of drugs, alcohol and prescription medication and “mental derangement” at the time of the attack.
When Katy Perry heard that an 8-year old Adelaide fan who had been given tickets to her show last year as a birthday party but couldn’t attend because she was battling brain cancer, she dropped around to the family’s home in Banksia Park and performed three songs.
MC Remi has started a campaign to bring back the original Tim Tam genie. It is a travesty that he has been replaced. “THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE GENIE.” By last weekend, 492 people had signed up.
Silvermine, the artist hub on Blyth St in Adelaide’s Glen Ormond is up for sales. Through the years the one time Woodley Winery has been used as a music video location shoot and parties where up to 1500 musicians and actors would attend. Its last owner was Ben Folds who wrote and recorded his debut solo album Rockin The Suburbs there.
A 19-year-old Gold Coast man laughed after being described by a judge as a “thug” for assaulting a busker, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported.
Soul singer Casey Donovan made her acting debut on new TV comedy Street Smart.
Sexual assault allegations against Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter are currently under review by the District Attorney.
Adelaide’s Football Park, which once hosted music concerts, is being demolished. Acts that played the sporting field included Dire Straits, U2, The Rolling Stones, Abba, Robbie Williams, Andre Rieu and Bon Jovi.
The Kylie Minogue costumes exhibition On Stage, which drew 250,000 to Arts Centre Melbourne, begins its run in Fremantle in February.
KOFM Newcastle and Townsville’s 4TOFM will now be rebranded Triple M.
Among those speaking at the Mumbrella Entertainment Marketing Summit in Sydney in November are Laneway festival’s head of marketing Chris Zajko, Macquarie Media CEO Adam Lang and Commercial Radio Australia CEO Joan Warner.
Netflix and Stan will have a TV screaming rival this year, with Ten Network’s new boss CBS extending its service here.
NZ rapper Scribe has to spend two months in a drug rehabilitation centre, the Nelson District Court told him yesterday because he broke bail conditions. He did this when he travelled to Motueka to perform at a concert last Saturday night. Probation offices noticed an ad for the show on Facebook and arrested him before the gig.
John Legend and Chrissy Teigen were among those caught in the deadly Lombok quake
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