Random music news for Tuesday, December 5, 2023

A quirky of history: Viagra owes its success to a Welsh miner who noticed something about his new heart medication. Now we can move to music news for December 5, 2023.

1. Turns out Shane MacGowan died of complications stemming from pneumonia and viral encephalitis.
2. Spotify is laying off 17% of its workforce. That means around 1,500 will be unemployed just in time for Christmas. By the time they’re done, 2,300 people will have been laid off.
3. Meanwhile, it’s possible that there will be a last-second deal to keep Spotify from pulling out of Uruguay.
4. Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” was released in 1958. It’s the #1 single today making Lee the oldest person to do that.
5. Imagine having this kind of entertainment for your birthday party.
6. I guess Drake felt he needed his own amusement park.
7. TikTok has beefed up its partnership with Ticketmaster to help sell more concert tickets. This involves 75,000 artists across 20 countries including Canada.
8. This is scary: The idea that extreme weather is threatening music festivals.
9. Hall and Oates fans are being forced to pick sides in the duo’s current legal battle. No can do.
10. Wait: Was that Weezer?
11. You’ve probably never heard of Robert Precht, but he brought a lot of music into people’s homes. He’s died at the age of 93.
12. Noise cameras? They’re a thing.
13. This Tay-Tay accomplishment needs to be taken in context. The album charts aren’t what they used to be in the old days. The weight given to streaming can result in distortions like this.
14. If your name is Deuxmoi, Taylor Swift is coming for you. Hard.
15. And a law school is offering a course in Tay-Tay.
16. Want to play in Google’s AI sandbox? Take a look at “Instrument Playground,” a new AI-powered music tool.

More music news? Check here.

BONUS: If you’re not watching Slow Horses on Apple TV+, you absolutely must.

BONUS BONUS: I want this internet.