Table of contents for No. 1381 in Music Week

Pop-ular discourse Such is the speed of recent developments with artificial intelligence, I understand why the music industry is locked in a staring contest with the future right now. Perhaps that's why I've been seeking refuge in the safety of the known past in my reading habits of late. And there's no better example of this than journalist Michael Cragg's excellent new tome Reach For The Stars, a thrilling, often hilarious oral history of pop music between 1996 and 2006. Less a book and more a time machine, it transports you back to an era when pop was, bar a few notable exceptions, shorthand for boy bands and girl groups. Across 522 pages, it joyously dissects how the UK music industry created and, often, failed, its superstars. Alongside first-hand reflections…

THE BIG RETURN HMV is returning to London's Oxford Street after a four-year absence. The store at 363 Oxford Street played host to the very first HMV in 1921. HMV currently has 120 shops across the UK, including a West London location in Westfield. Owner Doug Putman (pictured) said: “The expansion of our fan-focused pop culture offer is really working for us and the reopening of our flagship represents the culmination of a good few years of hard work.” THE BIG RESULTS PRS For Music collected a record £964 million in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 22.9%. It represents an increase of 18.9% on the previous high of £810m achieved in 2019. Last year, PRS For Music paid out a record £836.2m of royalties, a 23.5% increase on 2021. CEO…

@_abisola Usher is really my favourite artist and that's it tbh (Abisola Oke, August) Friday, April 21 @katolivia94 Are Fred Again/ Skrillex/Four Tet just Boygenius for men? (Kat Bassett, Water & Music) Friday, April 21 @TedKessler1 One thing that has remained resistant to inflation over the last 20, maybe 30 years: word rates for music journalism. Rock solid. (Ted Kessler, journalist) Wednesday, April 26 @Blessed_Madonna You couldn't write a better season finale for Twitter than Dril being the final boss against the world's most divorced man. I love it here. (The Blessed Madonna, artist/DJ) Sunday, April 23 @jada3_p Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody. (Jada Pollock, Starboy Entertainment) Wednesday, April 12 @lucytallant17 It's only 8:23am but QOTD: ‘Sometimes I wish I was a sheep’ - Mae Muller (Lucy…

RELEASES: J'adore (out now) LABEL: Relentless Records MANAGEMENT: Jai Garcha WHAT THE TEAM SAY: (Ben Coates, MD, Relentless): “Strandz is a distinctive talent with laser focus and drive, all of which really appealed to us. He's been carving out his own lane sonically for the last couple of years, but it was evident that Us Against The World took things to the next level and felt like the natural entry point for us to join forces. Strandz now has a highly engaged platform to start teasing new music, building the live plot, collaborating with other artists and to continue meticulously defining his brand. Credit to Strandz, his manager Jai Garcha and team Relentless for the consistent vision.”…

“We dispose of the songs that feel like treading water very quickly” Ron Mael The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte will be your 26th studio album. How have you made sure each record is a step forward? Russell Mael: “Well, you can't do what you've done previously, but then you also want to retain the essentials of what you are. Our goal is if someone just discovered us they would say, ‘Wow, this band is doing something striking.’ That gets harder when you already have 25 albums behind you, but it's our responsibility to find fresh ways and not fall into the trap that happens to a lot of bands with long careers where they just coast.” Ron Mael: “With each new song, we know if it's pushing things…

New York City's CBGB left a lasting impression on Andreea Gleeson. The famed Manhattan club was a live music melting pot, lit up through the decades by rock and punk icons like Television, the Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, Talking Heads and The Strokes. Gleeson became a regular at the East Village institution not long after moving to the Big Apple in 1999, just as the NYC indie revolution was catching fire. “When you walked down the subways of New York City the time, there were all these artists trying to sell you their CDs,” she remembers. “They'd have flyers saying, ‘If you like what I'm doing, I'm playing a battle of the bands,’ so I spent a lot of time at CBGB. That's what I would do on Saturday nights…

Amid all the big money publishing deals announced by major music groups and investment funds targeting the streaming economy, it might be easy to overlook the independent sector. But when it comes to developing talent, building partnerships and striking deals, indies are often the innovators. Their market power is impressive too. Global trade body IMPF last month reported that independents are collectively worth €2.08 billion annually – more than the biggest major. That combination of economic and creative strength is underlined by the acceleration of Reservoir, which is led by CEO and founder Golnar Khosrowshahi. In 2021, it became the first female-founded music company to go public in the US. But even as it's grown rapidly, the publisher based in New York City – and with offices in LA, Nashville,…

DYNAMIC DUO CALVIN HARRIS & ELLIE GOULDING 01 Miracle (Columbia) SALES: 185,942 Miracle rose to No.1 in April's opening chart week to become Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding's first joint chart-topping single. Their third collaboration brought Harris’ 11th No.1, and Goulding's fourth, while it was the first of the 2020s for each. Miracle topped the weekly chart for three of the month's four frames, returning to the summit after being dethroned by Lewis Capaldi's Wish You The Best. The track ended the month with 185,492 sales and has 313,300 total sales to date. It has some way to go to match the figures racked up by the pair's previous joint efforts, 2012's I Need Your Love (906,340 sales) and 2014's Outside (1,182,695 sales). COMMON PEOPLE LIBIANCA People (5K Records) SALES:…

Your essential primer for the month ahead “It's liberating to be able to forge our own identity again” Mott Batesm Primory Talent Primary Talent International managing partner and CEO Matt Bates has given his first interview following the agency's management buyout. In 2020, Prmiary Talent was sold to ICM, which wa subsequently acquired by CAA last summer. In March this year, the London-based agency re-established its independent status. “There was an understanding that trying to merge Primary into CAA wasn't necessarily going to work for everybody,” said Bates. “It became obvious that there was scope to try and put something together and buy Primary back. It was always amicable.” The buyout was led with former ICM founding partner and COO Rick Levy, who Bates described as “instrumental”. Levy has been made…

EMI Co-Presidents: Rebecca Allen/Jo Charrington EMI North President: Clive Cawley Management: Cliff Burnstein (Q Prime), Marc Reiter (Metallica HQ) Director Of Commercial: Andy Knox (EMI) Marketing: Nick Adler/Ilaria Trifoglio (Capitol/EMI) Head Of E-commerce: Marisa Hemson (EMI) Digital: Kelly Allwood (EMI) National Print Press: Barbara Charone/Ant Giannaccini (MBC PR) Online Press: Ashley Matthews (MBC PR) SVP Broadcast Media: Bruno Morelli (Universal Music) Head Of TV: Helena McGeough (EMI) Streaming: Alex Bingham (EMI) Radio: Michael Pickard/Mark Rankin (EMI)…

You started as an intern at NO. What has it been like working with Michael Adex? “As we are a small team, it's a great, fast-paced environment. I've gone from making cups of tea to being given lots of responsibility early on in my career, including leading on important campaigns, which has been a rewarding process. Adex is an inspiring mentor and I wouldn't be in the position I am today without him. Working with him and the NQ team pushes me every day to perform at the highest level.” A&R is one of the most competitive areas of the industry, why did you choose it? “The main reason I wanted to become an A&R was the process of helping artists to grow from the ground up and contribute to…

LEWIS CAPALDI Wish You The Best (EMI) The latest single from Lewis Capaldi's second album hit No.1 in April, with the Scot dressing as a wrestler to celebrate. But no amount of LOLs can mask the sheer emotional heft of his music's finest moments, and this track is up there with his gut-punching best. Contact: Ant Giannaccini anthony@mbcpr.com JAKE SHEARS I Used To Be in Love (Mute) Five years after his first solo set – and 19 (!) after Scissor Sisters’ debut – Jake Shears returns with Last Man Dancing, 12 tracks that underline the fact that no one does dancefloor euphoria quite like he does. This song also boasts the bassline of the year. Contact: Rob Chute rob@toastpress.com KILLER MIKE (FEAT. EL-P & THANKUGOODSIR) Don't Let The Devil (Loma…

COVER STORY “I'm not just alright, I'm one of the best performers this country has. Fact.” TOM GRENNAN Back in 2021, there was a moment around the release of Tom Grennan's chart-topping second album Evering Road when the singer-songwriter with the belter of a voice and his manager John Dawkins were talking about what might come next. Dawkins suggested that Grennan had two ways to go. Perhaps he could venture further left, he said, maybe heading down a path similar to the one travelled by Michael Kiwanuka and his work with producer Inflo. As he was about to air the other option, Grennan cut in. “I want to be Robbie Williams,” the singer said. “I want to make big pop records and I don't want to be defined by one genre.”…

CURATED BY GIR'S CARLA MARIE WILLIAMS DYO (SONGWRITER & ARTIST) Dyo, previously known as Ms D, is responsible for a number of global hits. Her impressive songwriting catalogue includes Maroon 5's What Lovers Do Ft. SZA, Luis Fonsi and Stefflon Don's Calypso, Nathan Dawe's Way Too Long Ft. Anne-Marie and Nao's Woman Ft. Lianne La Havas, just to name a few. On top of this, Dyo is also a successful artist, having achieved an Ivor Novello nomination in 2017 for her work on Neiked's Sexual, and also featured on No.1 tracks such as Chipmunk's Oopsy Daisy and Wiley's Heatwave. Here, she shares her top five tips on making it as a songwriter in the industry… 1. Resilience is key “You will hear the word ‘No’ more than ‘Yes’ and that's…

Nearly two decades after the Grammys launched in the US, the BPI established what became The BRIT Awards as a UK equivalent to honour recording artists and their music. Initially, this was a one-off event staged in 1977 to mark the Queen's Silver Jubilee and the centenary of the invention of recorded sound. It became an annual event in 1982 and for the last four decades has established itself as UK music's biggest night of the year. This includes a record-breaking 25-year relationship with Mastercard as headline sponsor and three decades with ITV as its broadcast partner. The BPI has continued to develop and innovate The BRITs, including its relocation to The O2 in London which has hosted the event every year since 2011, when Adele wowed with a show-stopping…

Management: Emily Braham (Yo&Co Management) Label: EMI CEO & chairman: David Joseph (Universal Music UK) Co-president: Rebecca Allen & Jo Charrington (EMI) MD: Lucy Dann (EMI) A&R: Jordan Jay (Karma Artists) Marketing: Sarah Howell (EMI Records), Connie Meade (Lunar Sea) Digital Marketing: Kelly Allwood (EMI) Creative: Rory Dewar (EMI) International: Holly Shaw (Universal Music UK) Commercial: Andy Knox, Alex Bingham, Marisa Hemson (EMI) Agent: Summer Marshall (CAA) Print & Online Press: Katie Pilbeam (Inside Out) Radio: Joe Dodson (All Ears) TV: Flossie Easthope & Helena McGeough (EMI)…

Sony’s rising star Mimi Webb recently passed one billion career streams, and her Top 10 hit House On Fire played a big role in helping her reach that milestone. Here, she reflects on how this revenge anthem came to life after she wanted to give people something they could scream along to in their cars… I feel like House On Fire took me to the next level. I'd already had Good Without and Dumb Love, which were emotional, more ballad-driven songs, but I wanted something that would cross me more over into the pop world, and the whole team was super eager for that. I think everyone knew that was where we had to go next, so it was a big transition moment into that new style. I think that's…

ROCK SOLID METALLICA 72 Seasons (EMI) SALES: 36,551 01 Rock rules on the monthly rankings, as Metallica's 11th studio album – and first in more than six years – finishes on top for April. 72 Seasons debuted at the summit on the weekly chart with sales of 29,249 (including 15,873 CDs, 6,292 vinyl copies, 864 cassettes, 3,159 downloads and 3,060 sales-equivalent streams) to become the band's first UK chart-topper in 15 years. That extended Metallica's span of No.1s to more than 31 years, following historical chart-topping results for eponymous fifth album Metallica (1991), follow-up Load (1996) and ninth LP Death Magnetic (2008). 72 Seasons also improved on the No.2 results for 2016's Hardwired To Self-Destruct and 2019's live orchestral album S&M2. BOY WONDER BOYGENIUS The Record (Ploydor) SALES: 26,051 03…

25 years ago… MUSICAL CHAIRS EMI president/CEO Tony Wadsworth was promising to bring stability back to the major with a restructure. The pledge came one week after EMI UK MD Neil Ferris lost his job just 11 months into the role, with Chrysalis MD Mark Collen being tasked with running the newly-combined EMI/Chrysalis. In a separate move, Wadsworth also promoted Parlophone A&R director Keith Wozencroft – aka ‘the man who signed Radiohead, Supergrass and Mansun’ – to MD. “This is the basis for long-term stability,” insisted Wadsworth. CUP RUNNETH OVER While it was ultimately host nation France that won the World Cup in 1998, there was another winner before a single game had even kicked off. Hot on the heels of their massive track Sunchyme, Dario G's Carnaval De Paris…

frontline “It's so hard to break new music – publishers are really important now for artist development” ANNETTE BARRETT, RESERVOIR/MPF The Independent Music Publishers International Forum is marking its first decade as a global trade body. Here, IMPF president Annette Barrett – also Reservoir MD & global strategic liaison – focuses on crunch issues for the sector including AI, streaming and data… As you mark IMPF's first decade, can you explain your approach with policy-makers? “When it comes to guiding policy, our primary role is to represent the interests of independent music publishers internationally, make sure their voices are heard and their needs are recognised so that they can thrive as businesses in their home territories. We are currently working on various streaming-related issues. Advocating on behalf of independent music publishers…

I would go to the headteacher's office and play my music at lunch and be like, ‘Yo, who can you connect me with?’” says Strandz, reminiscing on his time at The BRIT School. “He used to walk around barefoot listening to it.” The rapper paints a vivid picture of his years at the Croydon school, making it dear that Stuart Worden and his staff helped set him on the path to becoming one of the most exciting breakthrough acts of 2023. Music Week finds Strandz holed up in a London recording studio, working on music after returning from Paris, where he shot the video for J'adore, the new single that will drop a few days after we talk. Its predecessor, Us Against The World, ranked at No.38 in the Official…

TOMMY FARROW – COLOURS OF LOVE I can't stop listening to Tommy Farrow's latest release, Colours Of Love. Best known for his debut single Let's Just, Tommy is a Sheffield-based DJ-producer with a really unique sound. For me, Colours Of Love is his best record yet – the nostalgic sounds and the raw emotion in the melodies and chords give me goosebumps every time it comes on. I've been supporting Tommy on KISS and Tomorrowland's One World Radio for years now and I think he's in his own lane sonically, which I love. Fusing trancey sound design with either driving or atmospheric beats depending on the track, his sound varies, but you can really tell a Tommy record from the emotion and the chords. Colours Of Love is his tranciest…

MAY 19 The Lemonheads Come On Feel (30th Anniversary Edition) Fire Bad//Dreems Hoo Ha! Farmer & The Owl/BMG Dan Croll Fools Communion Def Leppard Drastic Symphonies EMI Graham Nash Now BMG Jealous Of The Birds Hinterland Canvasbaek/Parlopbone Kesha Gag Order Kemosabe Lewis Capaldi Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent EMI Luke Elliot Let ‘Em All Talk Icons Creating Evil Art. Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton Death Wish Blues Concord/Rounder Sleep Token Take Me Back To Eden Spinefarm Temps Party Gator Purgatory Bella Union The Used Toxic Positivity Hassle/Big Noise Tinariwen Amatssou Wedge Yes Mirror To The Sky InsideOut MAY 26 Arlo Parks My Soft Machine Transgressive Boy & Bear Boy & Bear Community Clark Sus Dog Throttle Demob Happy Divine Machines Liberator Duncan Laurence Duncan Laurence Capitol Khamari A…

Management: John Dawkins, Rebecca Dixon (Various Artists Management) Label: Insanity President: Andy Varley MD: Alice Beal A&R: Alastair Kinross, Chris Briggs (Insanity) Marketing: Emma Seccombe, Rose Blackburn (Insanity) Digital Marketing: Holly Glanvill (Insanity), Callum Roberts (Eighteen88) Publisher: Sony Music Publishing Agent: Matt Bates (Primary Talent) Print & Online Press: Dave Palmer, Rachael Chinery (DawBell) National Radio: Leighton & Woolfie Regional Radio: Aaron Labbate (Plug & Play) TV: Karen Williams (Big Sister)…

“It's no coincidence that the UK punches above its weight” SOPHIE JONES, BPI Over the past 50 years, the BPI's core mission has always been clear. When we talk about our strapline of promoting British music, what we mean is to create and sustain an environment where our record labels can thrive. When labels thrive, so do artists and fans. And when this happens, great new music is made that enriches our lives and culture, and enables the music economy and exports to flourish. In turn, this sustains the wider ecosystem that benefits the whole music community, including the live sector, and supports the UK's cultural and economic life. It's no coincidence that the UK punches above its weight as the third largest recorded music market in the world and…

This year sees the launch of BRIT Billion, a new award designed to recognise British talent that has hit remarkable heights commercially. This year sees the launch of BRIT Billion, a new award designed to recognise British talent that has hit remarkable heights commercially. recognise artists whose music has surpassed one billion UK streams across their career. It will run parallel to the existing BRIT Certified scheme of Platinum, Gold and Silver awards and will use Official Charts Company data. Set to launch 50 years after the BPI introduced sales awards for singles and albums, BRIT Billion represents the first significant upgrade to the certifications programme since April 2018, when it was rebranded from the BPI Awards to the BRIT Certified Awards. This will be the first time in its…

THIS MONTH: A NATIONAL TRUST FOR VENUES As I am sure you will have seen covered extensively in the press, at the end of March, Music Venue Trust announced that the Own Our Venues project had successfully raised over £2.3 million to create a Charitable Community Benefit Society. That society now exists and can begin buying the freeholds of the UK's Grassroots Music Venues, as well as taking them into benevolent ownership. This is a huge breakthrough in providing a more sustainable and economically viable model of venue ownership and operation. This effectively creates a ‘National Trust for music venues’ that owns the buildings while maintaining the massively important independence of venue operators. The new organisation, Music Venue Properties, came into existence in April and by the time you read…

UNITED KINGDOM Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding Miracle Video Creations: 79,900 Initially previewed on TikTok, this latest single from Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding has been making waves on the platform and bringing summer vibes for all those awaiting the warmer weather. For their third and most successful collaboration yet, the duo created another smash hit and reached No.1 on the Official Singles Chart, with creators declaring it as their song of the summer and using the sound to reminisce about summers in the past. Both Harris and Goulding have engaged with fans on TikTok, regularly duetting with creators and sharing videos of crowds reacting to the song. Lisa Skeppner, label partnerships manager at TikTok, praises Miracle's success so far and highlights how Harris uses the platform to connect with…

Sharleen Spiteri, (singer/songwriter, Texas) Ahead of the release of Texas’ new retrospective collection, The Very Best Of (1989-2023), Sharleen Spiteri reflects upon her time in music. Here, she talks being mates with the Wu-Tang Clan and what the industry can learn from the late, great Alan Rickman… ■ INTERVIEW: JAMES HICKIE Texas have never had a bucket list… “Men are only impressed with lists because they remember fuck all. There are always going to be goals, of course, but you keep them close to your chest and you don't divulge them because I'm of the school of thought that as soon as you say it out loud, it's gone. You've got to have desire, though. If we didn't then we'd never have made [1997's] White On Blonde, because we had…