Mailbag: What of Ticketmaster’s future?
This email popped in from Jeff: “Do you see any end in sight for Ticketmaster‘s reign to end anytime soon? I heard that they have to take a few steps back with that
Read MoreMusic Industry
The 2026 Grammy Award nominations are out.
We’re about to head into award season, that stretch of months where the entertainment industries (including music) try to squeeze as much as they can out of the previous year’s releases. The Grammys
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Spotify sued, accused of “modern payola”
In most of the world, it is illegal to pay money for special promotion for music without being transparent about it. This practice, known as “payola,” is almost as old as recorded music
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This is your weekly Canadian vinyl and CD sales report along with what’s happening in streaming (06 Nov 2025)
Luminate is the company that monitors the consumption patterns of Canadian music fans. Here’s what they can tell us this week. Streaming numbers:
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What does the Canadian music and radio industry think of the new federal budget? [UPDATE]
Canadian Federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne delivered a new budget in the House of Commons Tuesday (Nov 4), months ahead of the original date. What does it means for the Canadian music and
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It looks like 2025 will be Live Nation’s best year ever
Live Nation announced Q3 results this week and more records were broken. Why the huge bump? An increase in the number of stadium shows. (We’re looking at you Oasis, Coldplay, and My Chemical
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The future of AI and music is becoming clear. You’re probably not going to like it.
[This was my weekly column for GlobalNews.ca. – AC] The record executives had gathered in the back corner of an exclusive private club, sipping from crystal highball glasses, each with a large square
Read MoreThere’s a new campaign. “Don’t stream fascism: Cancel Spotify.”
Spotify has been in the crosshairs for a couple of political reasons this year. First, artists have been pulling their music from the platform over CEO Daniel Ek’s investment in a defence contractor.
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This could be a landmark deal in the history of AI and music.
A while back, Universal Music Group sued Udio, a company with AI-generated music technology. The accusation was that Udio was scraping copyrighted material for the training of its AI models without permission or
Read MoreTime for the weekly Canadian vinyl and CD sales report with some streaming numbers thrown in (30 Oct 2025)
The hysteria over Taylor Swift’s Life of a Showgirl has largely played out as all the Swifties have completed their purchase. What does that reveal about everything else happening with CDs, vinyl, and
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Toronto’s Budweiser Stage will soon be no more. HOWEVER…
People have been flocking to Toronto’s Ontario Place for live since the funky circular Forum opened in the spring of 1971. It’s long gone, of course, replaced by the much bigger Molson Amphitheatre
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