Random music news for Tuesday, April 24, 2018

It was a rough day for Canada yesterday. Anything I can offer for music news will seem inconsequential. Still, here’s what’s happening for April 24, 2018.

1. Canadian music sales last week vs. a year ago:  Total albums, -25.1%; physical albums, -25.7%; digital albums, -24.1%; CDs, -30.1%; digital tracks, -20.2%; vinyl (which does NOT include Record Store Day), +56.3%; streaming, +54.8%.
2. The best strategy about Trump is probably not to say anything at all. Right, Shania Twain?
3. Avicii’s music sales have increased by 6,000% in the US alone since he died on Friday.
4. Here’s a look at Prince’s bank vault, the place where he kept all his unreleased music.
5. Kanye always finds a way to stick his foot in his mouth, doesn’t he? Here’s the latest.
6. “How a racist smear campaign derailed Lauryn Hill’s career.”
7. Want some sound effects? The BBC has just made 16,000 available for free download.
8. This is a good discussion about how AI and machine learning are going to affect music.
9. That discussion should have probably included this feud between two artificially-generated Instagram influencers.
10. Vancouver band JPNSGRLS has changed their name to Hotel Mira. That could cause some Trip Advisor problems. Wait–what?
11. I’m not entirely how this new music knowledge-testing app works, but it’s somehow connected to virtual currency.
12. Radio in Canada seems to doing just fine according to this chart.
13. Speaking of radio, here’s a map of all the known FM transmitters in the world.
14. Are you paying attention to these new “deep fake” videos? You should be.
15. The lineup for this upcoming Rolling Stones tour looks pretty fine.
16. No more K-pop at the DMZ. This is a positive diplomatic move.
17. R Kelly’s legal problems just keep getting more and more complicated. (Via Tom)
18. Elton John is finally getting the biopic treatment. He’ll be played by Taron Egerton.
19. If you love vinyl, you should check out this site.
20. We’re approaching the 25th anniversary of the start of Britpop. Let’s look back at one part of its legacy.
21. Looking for a cruise? The new Monsters of Rock cruise has been announced.