Artist News Awards Business News Deals Digital Industry People Labels & Publishers One Liners Releases

One Liners: Spotify, Kanye West, Bleachers, more

By | Published on Thursday 29 July 2021

Spotify

DEALS

Concord Music PublishingCreative Nation and Pulse Music Group have all teamed up to sign singer-songwriter Lori McKenna. “I’m THRILLED and thankful to keep doing what I love most with my Creative Nation family in Nashville”, she says. “I’m so excited to add Pulse and Concord in this next chapter and I look forward to what’s to come”.

Primary Wave has acquired the catalogue of songwriter and producer Steve Kipner. “We are excited to acquire this incredible catalogue of music that Steve has spent a lifetime creating”, says Primary Wave President Justin Shukat. “Steve’s great catalogue has proven that hit songs will continue to be heard for generations to come. ‘Physical’ by Olivia-Newton John was the biggest song of the 80s and the evergreen copyright is a hit again this year, using that infectious melody in the worldwide smash ‘Kiss Me More’ by Doja Cat featuring SZA”.

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APPOINTMENTS

Music publisher Warner Chappell has opened a new office in Vietnam, appointing Vince Kobler as its General Manager. “I am very excited by the opportunity to steer Warner Chappell Music’s efforts in Vietnam. This is a historic moment for the local music industry which is just getting started here. Our expertise and reach will help propel Vietnamese artists, composers and songwriters to new heights and empower more of them to turn their passion into a profession”.

Universal-owned distribution and label services firm Ingrooves has named Anne Sofie Jeremiassen as its Country Manager for Denmark. “Anne Sofie has built a reputation within Denmark as one of the most forward-thinking and respected executives in music”, says Ingrooves UK MD Nick Roden. “Her expert knowledge of independent music in the region and her deeply rooted relationships within the industry make her the ideal person to lead our business in Denmark”.

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DIGITAL & D2F SERVICES

Spotify has published its Q2 stats especially for all you eager stat lovers out there (and its investors), announcing that premium subscribers were up 20% year-on-year, monthly active users were up 22%, and revenues were up 23%. “Q2 was a strong quarter for Spotify overall, with the majority of our major metrics performing better than expected”, says CEO Daniel Ek. “While MAU growth was softer than expected in the first half of the year, we are seeing that trendline reverse and all the leading indicators show that we are back on track. By accelerating our pace of innovation and investing for the long term, we continue to cement our standing as the preferred audio platform around the world”.

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RELEASES

Big news, everyone! Kanye West has a new album coming out. It’s called ‘Donda’ and it’ll be out next Friday, 6 Aug. For sure. No backsies.

Bleachers have released new single ‘Secret Life’, featuring Lana Del Rey. The band’s new album, ‘Sadness Out Of Saturday Night’, is out this Friday.

Jungle have released new single ‘Truth’. Their new album, ‘Loving In Stereo’, is out on 13 Aug.

Soft Cell have announced that they will release their first album for 20 years, ‘*Happiness Not Included’, in spring 2022 through BMG. “In this album I wanted to look at us as a society: a place where we have chosen to put profits before people, money before morality and decency, food before the rights of animals, fanaticism before fairness and our own trivial comforts before the unspeakable agonies of others”, says Marc Almond. “But in the album there is also a belief that there is a utopia if we can peel back the layers and understand what really matters”. Here’s a tiny taste.

The Lottery Winners have released new single ‘Sunshine’. “This song reminds me of the songs I grew up with”, says the band’s Katie Lloyd. “It’s got that nostalgic 2000s pop sensibility, it sounds like bright colours and bubbles. It’s also my debut Lottery Winners single on lead vocals, so I really need it to go down well to shut Thom up once and for all!”

Dream Theater have announced that they will release their fifteenth studio album, ‘A View From The Top Of The World’, on 22 Oct. “We just love to play our instruments”, says guitarist John Petrucci. “That never goes away. I love to be creative, write, and exercise that part of my mind. We’ve been able to do this for a long time, and we don’t take it for granted. Whenever we get together, we know we can’t disappoint ourselves or our fans, so we manage to try even harder”.

Sleigh Bells will release new album ‘Texis’ on 10 Sep through Lucky Number. Here’s new single, ‘Locust Laced’.

Ragz Originale has released new single ‘No Doubt’, featuring Knucks and Lady Donli.

Pepe Deluxé will release new album ‘Phantom Cabinet Vol 1’ on 22 Oct. Here’s new single ‘Big Fat Woodpecker’.

Zella Day has released ‘Golden’, a new track taken from her upcoming second album. “The genesis of ‘Golden’ happened as a tornado was tearing through Nashville and whispers of a global pandemic were evolving past a rumour”, she says. “In the stillness of the studio, ‘Golden’ was written communicating with powers beyond my control, expressing and coping with the magnitude of the situation by creating art; singing a melody into the moment to address its fragility and infinite beauty”.

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AWARDS

More nominations have been announced for this year’s AIM Independent Music Awards. Arlo Parks get two more nominations, in the Most Played New Independent Artist and Best Live [Streamed] Act categories, bringing her up to six in total. Meanwhile, Tricky and Adrian Sherwood have been named winners of the Pioneer and Innovator awards.

Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.



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