Innholdsfortegnelse for 9/24/2016 i Billboard Magazine

Clubland is by nature ephemeral, but the dancemusic community took a crushing blow on Sept. 7 when Fabric, one of Britain’s bestknown and most popular nightclubs, had its license revoked by London’s Islington Council in the wake of the drug-related deaths of two 18-yearolds earlier in 2016. The club, which opened in 1999, helped spawn the careers of Disclosure, Skrillex, Calvin Harris and many others. “For a country like the U.K. that has had such a big impact on dance music around the world, it’s going to destroy the scene,” says Three Six Zero’s Maren Brombeiss, who manages DJ Sasha. That sentiment was echoed throughout the dancemusic community with Fatboy Slim, Chemical Brothers and Pete Tong all expressing dismay at the decision. “Fabric changed my life,” Skrillex tweeted. “There are…

FROM THE DESK OF EXECUT I V E V P/HEAD O F W E S T COAS T A&R , UNIVE R SAL MUS I C PUB LI S H I N G G ROUP IT’S ACTUALLY AN ADVANTAGE that David Gray (not to be confused with the British singer-songwriter of the same name) played in a powerpop band from the early 1990s called Idle Wilds (not to be confused with the Scottish indie band Idlewild). “If an artist is having a tough time, I can outdo them with even worse stories,” says Gray, 53, a married-with-two-kids upstate New York native who is now executive vp and head of West Coast A&R for Universal Music Publishing Group. “Those experiences have given me great empathy for artists and writers.” After abandoning…

Julian Lennon’s “Saltwater” Tears Bono got a bear hug from singer-turnedphotographer Julian Lennon when the U2 frontman attended the Sept. 8 opening of Lennon’s “Cycle” exhibit at the Leica Gallery in Los Angeles. John Lennon’s eldest son then walked the Irish rocker through the exhibit. After releasing six albums, Lennon turned to photography but told Overheard he’s rerecording his 1991 single “Saltwater” — which laments poverty and environmental devastation — for a Christmas release. He said the new version has been stripped down to evoke “raw, guttural pain,” adding: “What the f— are we doing with this world?” When Azoff Played Azoff Agent-turned-manager Jeffrey Azoff has followed in his father’s footsteps in more ways than one. At a Sept. 13 panel moderated by The Hollywood Reporter president/chief creative officer…

“I appreciate all the years that y’all put up with me learning in front of you.” —KANYE WEST The star speaking to the crowd at the Harper’s Bazaar Icon Party following unflattering reviews of his Yeezy Season 4 fashion show. “If she says sorry, sure!” —KATY PERRY The pop singer responding on Twitter to a fan who asked if she would collaborate with Taylor Swift. “She took just a sketch of a lyrical outline and turned it into the most bodacious, vicious, incredible song.” —JACK WHITE The former White Stripes leader talking about collaborating with Beyoncé on Lemonade’s “Don’t Hurt Yourself” on NPR’s All Songs Considered. “This is why many black people are uncomfortable being in predominantly white spaces.” —SOLANGE The singer responding in an essay on her website, Saint…

WHEN THE AMERICANA MUSIC Association launched in 1999, says executive director Jed Hilly, “it was a reaction to the commercial country music business not supporting artists like Dwight Yoakam, Rosanne Cash and others who were making music from the heart, not just to get a radio hit.” As the Americana genre has evolved, says Hilly, “we accept those with a country influence — like Chris Stapleton — or the folk influence of The Lumineers or the R&B influence of Nathaniel Rateliff. These are young and inspired artists who are interpreting traditions of the past and making them original.” Hilly notes that The Grateful Dead is an act considered by many as an inspiration for the Americana style. And like The Dead, he says, many Americana acts today challenge standard music…

AUG. 20 – 21 NIKON AT JONES BEACH THEATER, NEW YORK Billboard’s official partners at the second annual Hot 100 Music Festival interacted with 25,000-plus millennial music lovers during two days of music, activations and fun in the sun. Thank you to 1800 Tequila, Café Bustelo, Hornblower Cruises, L’Oréal Paris Féria, MasterCard, SOUR PATCH KIDS and W Hotels Worldwide.…

IN politics, it’s called “the October surprise.” But for Grammy watchers, those surprises traditionally come in September, thanks to an eligibility cutoff at the end of the month that typically leaves a torrent of last-minute superstar releases jockeying for attention before the ballots go out on Oct. 14. In the past, that meant marquee artists putting out albums right under the wire in the final release week of September. But these days, more acts seem content to hold their albums for the fourth quarter while getting singles out just in time to qualify for the next show (the 2017 awards take place in Los Angeles on Feb. 12). The list of likely award-contender albums released in September has been a short one, with Usher being the only major Grammy-bait act…

The music industry has always had its power hubs, be it the Brill Building in 1960s’ New York or Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip in the ’80s. Today, many of the important decisions concerning streaming, creators’ rights and other aspects of the digital music business are being made in a square-mile area of Washington, D.C., neighboring the White House and the Capitol. Call it “Washington’s Music Row,” as several executives from the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) at 975 F St. already do. How music will live online in the future — and how it will work for and with labels, publishers and artists — may very well be determined in these few blocks.…

2004 Diplo A meet-cute in a London club led to numerous collaborations during the next dozen years. 2007 The Clash M.I.A. and Diplo sampled the London punks’ “Straight to Hell” on “Paper Planes.” 2007 Spike Jonze Long a cheerleader, the director launched his series, Spike, with an M.I.A. interview. 2009 T.I., Kanye West, Jay Z A hugely pregnant M.I.A. teamed with the three MCs on “Swagga Like Us” at the Grammys. 2013 Donatella Versace The designer approached M.I.A. to team on a limited collection for Versus by Versace. 2016 Zayn For new track “Freedun,” M.I.A. and the ex-boy bander collaborated through WhatsApp.…

WOODY GUTHRIE In songs like the classic “This Land Is Your Land,” the late Guthrie brought social realism and political activism to his music in a career that began during the Great Depression. His work inspired numerous singersongwriters to follow, from Pete Seeger to Bob Dylan. WILLIAM BELL An artist for the Southern soul powerhouse Stax Records, Bell, 77, co-wrote “Born Under a Bad Sign,” which became a signature hit for Albert King in 1967 and was later covered by rock groups like Cream. Bell reprised the song on his recent album, This Is Where I Live. BILLY BRAGG Bragg, 58, emerged in the 1980s with potent political folk-rock and released the acclaimed Mermaid Avenue album in 1998, setting the lyrics of Woody Guthrie to original music,…

With all the attention paid to Apple Music, Spotify and the streaming wars of 2016, industry insiders point to two more fastapproaching entries: Amazon and Pandora. The retail giant and the Internet radio leader are both prepping launches of their own “full-featured” music-streaming services. Pandora will likely launch the first of two expected tiers imminently, once it locks up agreements with the three major-label groups, Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group (on Sept. 13 it announced that it had signed all except WMG). Amazon’s $9.99-per-month service — which costs half of that for owners of its Echo smart speaker — won’t be far behind, and could launch by the end of 2016. Sources told Billboard in June that a deal between Amazon and the labels wasn’t imminent,…

For the past couple of centuries, the concept of a music conservatory has not changed drastically: Young virtuosos feverishly studying the nuances of Beethoven and chromatic techniques in the cramped practice rooms of Dickensian buildings. But the 800 students at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee — the newly minted merger between two venerated institutions, the Berklee College of Music and the Boston Conservatory — found a very different curriculum when classes began Sept. 6. “The time when a student could reproduce the music of Northern European composers of the last 200 years and get a job is over,” says Conservatory president Richard Ortner. “The digital revolution has utterly changed how the arts are being created, distributed and consumed. We’re still going to operate like the Boston Conservancy,” he adds, “but…

1991 THE COUP “The Coup” (The Coup EP, Polemic) “We gives a f— if you’ve got money and the millions Cause motherf—er we’ve got a posse in the billions Break yourself Trump, it’s collection day... You stole the shit from my great granddaddy anyway” The political hip-hop group was an outlier when it came to knocking The Donald: In the ’90s, everyone from UGK to Raekwon used “Black Trump” as a compliment. 1993 YO YO “Girl’s Got a Gun” (You Better Ask Somebody, East West/Atlantic) “The devil don’t know who the man be Come and check it out, I got the fat artillery Harriet Tubman’s spirit instilled in me F— Bill Clinton and Hillary” Five months into Bill Clinton’s presidency, why was Yo Yo so mad? It might have been…

AN ANTIQUE SCHOOL BUS PAINTED Day-Glo orange cuts through the craggy landscape 10 miles west of Denver, blaring dubstep and the gleeful whoops of college-aged music lovers. They’re partying their way up the canyon that leads to the Red Rocks Amphitheatre to see The Chainsmokers, who currently have the No. 1 song in this country and a few others with “Closer,” a swoony EDM-tinged anthem featuring alt-pop heroine Halsey. As the bus climbs, a crumpled can hits the dirt. Cheap beer? Nope. It’s a cocktail in a can, and the sun’s still way up in the September sky. “We rage every night. My mom’s going to hate reading that,” says Drew Taggart, 26, “but she already knows.” He’s the baby-faced half of the duo — the producer, songwriter and, increasingly,…

TO WRITE ABOUT MUSIC IS A DIFFICULT thing,” says Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, 72, calling in from his Connecticut home. “It’s like writing about painting: ‘Well, I took the brush, then I mixed up a little green and blue.’ To actually put another art form into words is difficult.” Jonathan Lethem knows all about it. Music has been a constant theme for the award-winning novelist: life in a garage band in You Don’t Know Me Yet; the power of punk and soul in The Fortress of Solitude; Talking Heads Fear of Music for the 33 1/3 series; how the Stones song “Shattered” holds the secret code of the universe in Chronic City. Phoning from Maine, the 52-year-old Lethem — whose latest novel, The Gambler’s Anatomy (Doubleday), is out in…

‘A Hell Of A Ride’ For Arena Managers A ranking of the top 20 venue execs driving the $20 billion global concert industry — with safety the new top priority AN ARENA IN PARIS POSTPONED A U2 show after shootings swept the city. Mariah Carey canceled dates in Brussels, Belgium, after three transportation center bombings. From London to Los Angeles to Sydney, security commands new attention at the world’s top-grossing concert venues that drive the touring industry’s estimated $20 billion in annual revenue. Audience safety in an age of terrorism is the new top priority for the global elite among arena managers, who must exceed the expectations of artists, managers, promoters and, most importantly, fans. But they also face an ever-growing set of complex challenges, from tapping the latest technology…

KASEY CHAMBERS Sept. 23, 12 p.m., The Filming Station Sept. 23, 9 p.m., 3rd & Lindsley Sept. 24, 11:30 a.m., The 5 Spot Hailing from Australia, Chambers achieved a breakthrough in the United States when her 2011 album, Little Bird, went to No. 9 on the Americana/Folk Albums chart. Her 2015 Bittersweet Tour followed vocal cord surgery. She duets with Keith Urban on her latest release, Ain’t No Little Girl. RODNEY CROWELL Sept. 21, 6:30 p.m., Ryman Auditorium Sept. 22, 9 a.m., Sheraton Hotel Sept. 22, 10:30 p.m., Cannery Ballroom Sept. 23, 11 a.m., Southern Ground Studios Crowell got an early career break in the mid-’70s as a guitarist in The Hot Band accompanying Emmylou Harris, then gained acclaim as a leader of Nashville’s new traditionalist movement of…