Random music news for Tuesday, March 13, 2018

What were the Phoenix Lights spotted on this day in 1997? We still don’t know. But we do know about music news for March 13, 2019?

1. It was a brutal week for physical music sales in the US. The soundtrack for The Greatest Showman is the #1 album with just 39,000 units sold. Even more shocking is Tech N9ne’s new album Planet debuted at #2 with sales of just 16,000. Totaled together, the US Top 200 sold just 532,000 units.
2. Canadian music sales last week vs. this time last year: Total albums, -29.2%; physical albums, -33.3%; digital albums, digital 22.2%; digital tracks, -19.9%; vinyl, +35.5%; streams, +58.4%/
3. And for the second week in a row–and for just the second time ever–Canadians listened to more than one billion streams.
4. Rage Against the Machine has called out “pissweasel” UK politician Nigel Farage.
5. You can now use your Amazon Alexa to listen to AI-generated tunes with a new thing called DeepMusic.
6. Here’s why there are fewer big music festivals in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada this year.
7. Facebook has teamed up with 25 MLB teams this year. Interesting move…
8. Does Norway want to replace radio people with robots? Maybe, maybe not.
9. Here are seven interesting online music discovery hacks for nerds.
10. And from the set of the Motley Crue biopic comes these pictures.
11. Oh. Tay-Tay. Another problem?
12. Eminem vs. the NRA: This won’t make the gun people happy.
13. Spotify is hoping that users that will help improve its metadata.
14. Weird record alert: Vegas dancer makes first Cornish-language psych album.
15. Looking to get into smart speakers but don’t know which one to go for? Here’s a test of seven different units.
16. Beatles fans should look at these newly-uncovered photos.