Industrial Strength: Four more LPs added to AMP Longlist; Live Nation takes over NZ stadium management; John Steel Singers set up own label; Echo expanding Star brand?

Four more albums added to AMP Longlist

As Australian Music Prize (AMP) judges continue to listen to hundreds of albums released in the relevant time period, four more albums have been added to the Longlist. They are Royal Headache’s High, Peter Bibb’s Butcher/Hairstylist/Beautician, Oh Mercy’s When We Talk About Love and Melanie Horsnell’s Quatre Chemins. The four join the previously longlisted entries from Courtney Barnett, Grenadiers, Oisima, Hermitude, High Tension, Marlon Williams and Methyl Ethel.

Live Nation takes over NZ stadium management

Already part of pitches to operate Perth Stadium and Melbourne’s Palais Theatre, Live Nation has acquired majority management rights to Auckland’s Vector Arena, along with Australian company MHC Investments which is run by Live Nation Australasia President Michael Coppel.. Live Nation told authorities that it could stage shows in New Zealand that were previously “ marginal/ uneconomic.”

New show for Foxtel Arts

Foxtel Arts is this Sunday at 5 pm AEST launching new show Event, covering music, theatre, visual arts and books and in-studio performances. Deborah Hutton is host, conducting interviews. ABC Radio National presenter and arts commentator Cassie McCullough provides news and each month hosts The Critics’ Corner with two guest scribes critiquing latest releases and happenings.

Fund raiser for David Day’s family

The South Australian music community is repaying the late Adelaide radio broadcaster David Day’s enduring support, by stepping up to the plate when his family needs help. Day died in April aged 63, leaving behind a legacy including the SA Hall of Fame, Support Act SA and the radio school. His widow Annette has breast cancer. Curated by guitarist Rob Pippan, The Angels, Glenn Shorrock, Russell Morris, Brian Cadd, John Schumann, Swanee, Vince Contarino of the Zep Boys, Bev Harrell, Becky Blake and the mid-1960s versions of The Twilights and The Masters Apprentices are among those playing The Rock of Ages show on Tuesday October 13, at Thebarton Theatre to raise funds for Annette and sons Mitchel and Lachlan.

John Steel Singers set up own label

Brisbane indie-rock band John Steel Singers have set up their own label, Plutonium Records, in collaboration with Create/Control. The name is an extension of their studio in Brisbane’s Kelvin Grove called The Plutonium (acts that cut tracks there include Cloud Control and Blank Realm) and where they recorded their upcoming third album Midnight At The Plutonium.

MTV, Vivid Ideas, repped at CURVY Conference

MTV Brand and Commercial Creative Director Vanessa Zuppicich and Jess Scully, Founding Director and Curator of Vivid Ideas, are among speakers at this week’s Creative Women’s Conference in Sydney. It brings together 16 progressive women in art & design, fashion, film, media, photography, advertising, publicity and publishing to discuss topics as the future of creativity and content and the art of making it.

Echo expanding Star brand?

Echo Entertainment, which operates The Star entertainment complex in Sydney, is planning to expand the brand, its Chairman John O'Neill revealed. The redeveloped Jupiter’s Casino and Resort on the Gold Coast could be named The Star Gold Coast and the $2 billion Queen’s Wharf project to open in 2022 The Star Brisbane. Echo Entertainment is moving its headquarters to Brisbane and will, at is AGM in November, ask shareholders to consider a name change from Echo Entertainment to Star Entertainment Group.

Dolphin Awards set to splash

NSW’s musician-run North Coast Entertainment Industry Association is gearing up for its Dolphin awards on Tuesday September 8 at the Ballina RSL club. The 18 categories cover styles as adult contemporary, hip hop, indie, rock, country, folk and world. The Male Vocal award is in memory of the late Mi-Sex singer Steve Gilpin.

Multi-nominees include Casey Barnes, Deidi Vine, The Mid-North, Lionheir, The Swamp Stompers, Fiona Dell, Anna Free and Kelly Knight & The Daze. Up for Album of the Year are Honey & Knives’ You Don’t Make The Rules, Anna Free’s The Unsolved Crimes and The Mid North’s Tales From A Mountain.

Performing on the night are Kellie Knight & the Daze, Nick & Sam, Gracie Hughes, Hoo 8 Hoo, Jodie Martin, SIV, Two Lions, Walrus & the Carpenter, Swamp Stompers and Blue Skillet Rovers.

MTV to shutter web-experiment Iggy

MTV World is expected this week to shutter is web-experiment MTV Iggy after three years. It launched as an online global music and trends platform, and as an "entry point for emerging [international] brands." But analysts say it lacked vision and cohesion.

It is the latest in a tough year for MTV US, with the departures of key execs, the retrenchment of 200 staffers and the closure of blogs as Hive. It’s suffered a 40% drop in viewers in the 12-to-34 target demo over the past five years.

Festivals update: sell-outs, song comps, returns

* Tickets to the 25th Meredith Music in Victoria sold out in two hours. A few artists are still to be added, and playing times will be announced in coming weeks.

* CMC Rocks Queensland reports that demand for tickets have “(broken) every sales record in the nine years of CMC Rocks history.” Organisers for the March event said the rapid rate of camping tickets meant that “for the first time ever, we are set to sell out of all sizes of campsites.”

* After the sell-out of last year’s debut, Originals Music on the Queensland Coast is returning, Event Director Mark Pico confirmed. The all-ages will be held in Coolum on November 7 to showcase local talent.

* The third North West held at Port Hedland Turf Club proved to be another success, drawing an estimated 5000 and aided by great Pilbara weather. Town of Port Hedland Mayor Kelly Howlett called it “undoubtedly a key event for Port Hedland and is so much more than a music concert to our community.” Perth-based Sunset Events booked acts as Birds Of Tokyo, Angus & Julia Stone, Drapht and Peking Duk. Also held in conjunction during the three-day weekend were Fringe events the North West Economic Summit and Hedland Art Awards.

* South Australia’s Fleurieu Folk is offering $1000 for a folk or blues song about South Australia or Adelaide by a SA talent. The winner of the Judith Crossley Memorial Singer/Songwriter Award will be announced on stage at the festival on Sunday October 27. Deadline for applications was yesterday.

* The official report from Campaspe Economic Development and Tourism is that Echuca Moama Winter Blues in country Victoria injected $6.4 million into the Shire of Campaspe after15,000 attended over three-days in July to see 40 acts.

* The NZ music community is rallying around Vilagrad Winery which has for 16 years hosted numerous music events including the Summervines festival. The place was gutted by fire in June and owner Jacob Nooyen was under-insured. The Black Seeds and Tiki Taane are headlining a comeback show there on October 31 under the name Summervines Fire Festival. A bunch of 1980s Hamilton acts put together a compilation called Hamiltune to make more money.

WA conference announces venue

This year’s WA Music Conference (November Friday 6 and Saturday 7) is held at the State Theatre Centre, using the state of the art facilities in The Studio Underground, foyer and additional rooms. It is held as part of WAM Festival which drew 10,000 last year.

Metro Screen announces Digital Escalator program

Metro Screen has announced the new Digital Escalator program to run from September 2015 to May 2016. It will expand the digital capacity of cultural, community and arts organisations within the City of Sydney. They get access to fully subsidised Screen training, equipment, facilities, and post-production support, up to the value of $1500 per organisation.

Number Crunching:

$16,000 raised by the inaugural Adelaide Reclink Community Cup made its debut last month, raising after drawing 1100 punters.

53rd album just gained in the US Top 40 by Elvis Presley.

2.5 cubic metres of sand hauled to Queensland’s Gympie Muster by the Muster Surf Club for its surf lifesaving clubhouse, which included a stage.

Collarts holds REPOST Entertainment Media Conference

Creative arts institute Collarts is holding the inaugural REPOST Entertainment Media Conference to provide budding media enthusiasts how to excel in areas as music, fashion, food, media and film. Speakers include Kris Furst of Furst Media which publishes Beat, the Herald Sun’s Mikey Cahill, Julia Brugliera of Fashion Journal, Pedestrian TV’s Chris Wirasinha, Broadsheet Melbourne’s Tacey Rychter, Twitter Australia’s Manager of Music Entertainment and Events of Jennie Sager, Vice’s Josh Gardiner and freelancer Jake Cleland. It is Thursday September 17 at Collarts at 55 Swanston Street in the City.

Dogs In Space spotlighted at Adelaide film event

How is the creative life both a curse and a blessing? Six curated movies as part of this week’s Adelaide Cinémathèque presents This Creative Life include Lou Reed’s Berlin, Auto-Luminescent: Rowand S. Howard and Amadeus. Film director Richard Lowenstein will speak about the making of the Michael Hutchence-starring Dogs in Space.

Venues update: new arrivals, sales, celebrations

* The Sydney Town Hall is launches a live music lounge on its rooftop, presenting top artists for free between September 18 to 27 as part of its Art & About Sydney program of “unusual” performance spaces.

* After exclusively predicted here, Melbourne’s Croxton Park Hotel is returning as a major live music venue in early October with a huge bandroom.

* The Adelaide Hills got a new 200-seat concert hall on the weekend. The Ngeringa Cultural Centre is the brainchild of arts philanthropist and former cosmetics entrepreneur Ulrike Klein who built it especially for chamber music.

* Sydney publicans Scott Leach (Rose of Erskineville) and Fraser Short (The Morrison) bought Imperial Hotel in Erskineville for the knock-down price of $6.5 million. Previous owner Shadd Danesi ran it as a LGBTI club for 13 years. This year he leased the basement to Spice Cellar ERSKNVL which underwent charges of alleged drug and alcohol infringements, and had the hotel closed for 72 hour periods twice in June and July. The Imperial has remained closed since.

* To celebrate what would have been Amy Winehouse’s 32nd birthday, Sydney’s Soda Factory is curating the sixth event in its quarterly Covers For A Cause series with a tribute to the British singer on September 16. Monies go to Headspace which provides support for those aged 12 to 25 with mental health.

Vale

Jeff Walker, born in Sydney, went to Nashville where he pioneered country and Christian music publicity and promotion. He ran a company called AristoMedia Group which helped to break Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks and The Dixie Chicks internationally. Walker was a long time board member for the Country Music Association. and trade group Country Radio Seminar. Ever upbeat, he was also instrumental in forging closer relationships between Nashville and Tamworth and building the profile of Australian country acts in North America. Last spring, the Australian Country Music Association honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. He suffered a heart attack at Nashville International Airport. He was 65.

Wayne Gear was GM, breakfast announcer and, for a time part owner, of 2BH Broken Hill. He left in November 2005 to join The Barrier Miner newspaper.

NSW-based Ken Powell made headlines when Foo Fighters discovered he was following them around Australia even though he was suffering from terminal melanoma for six years. Dave Grohl sent him a “Hi Ken” photo through social media and promised him tickets to a show in LA. But he succumbed to the disease before the trip this month. His family played the Foos’ My Hero as he slipped away.

Beryl Beardsley of Warrnambool, Victoria, was dedicated to the arts and music. In 1983 she pushed for the local Town Hall to become a performance space for musicians, and was a committee member of the Warrnambool Eisteddfod to find new talent. She passed at 88.

And a few other things …

Gin Wigmore reveals that when Universal Music Australia managing director Michael Taylor suggested she work with Brit-born songwriter Stuart Crichton (Sugababes, Delta Goodrem, Jessica Mauboy) on her new album. She wasn’t impressed and said so. Taylor bribed her with a case of beer to reconsider and at least give him a go. Crichton ended up playing a major role on Wigmore’s record.

Are two major TV channels bringing back late night variety shows, asked the Sunday Telegraph.

Is a casino and entertainment complex being planned for Broome to attract the Asian trade?

Youth publisher Junkee Media (InTheMix, FasterLouder, SameSame), is to launch a financial, health and career site aimed at its 18 to 35 target audience.

A fundraiser for Graham Wilson, former member of the Four Kinsmen who is indefinitely hospitalised in Wollongong with brain cancer, raised $75,000. The money, collected by Entertainment Assist, is for his ongoing medical expenses.

The $10,000 prize money for Perth’s The Big Splash band comp was won by alt-folk troubadour Jacob Diamond.

NZ On Screen’s list of the best 40 of TV local shows include two music programs — music video format Ready To Roll which ran from 1975 to the mid-90s, and mid-70s Radio With Pictures which mixed videos, interviews and live sets.

Jordie Lane’s first Darwin gig, at Darwin Festival, was not his first time at the event. 28 years ago, when it was the Bougainvillea Festival, he attended as a two-year old watching his father perform in his circus troupe. In a cycle change, the old man joined Lane at his Festival Lounge set at the festival. This month Lane heads off to tour the US.

Currently in the US are New Zealand quad-platinum band Six60 for strategy talks with their new record label Capitol on how to break North America.

Country music performer Brad Butcher raised $19,000 for beyondblue, cycling with three friends over a week the 952 kilometres from Mackay where he works in the mining sector to the Gympie Music Muster.