Random music news for Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Now in transit home from Thailand. By the time I get home, I’ll have been traveling for 32 hours. Ouch. At least it gives me some time to deal with music news for November 20, 2018.

1. Weekly music sales and streams stats for Canada vs. this time a year ago:  total albums, -22.6%; digital albums, -20.0%; physical albums, -23.8%; CDs, -27.4%; vinyl albums, +26%; streaming, +47.9% (1.543 billion streams last week)
2. The winner of the who-will-sign-Taylor-Swift sweepstakes is…
3. And thanks to Tay-Tay, a lot of artists on that label are going to get some nice royalty cheques.
4. Warner music just spent $180 million on a merch company. That tells you a lot of where the business is at these days.
5. This DJ who spent decades broadcasting from a garden shed just to his wife has been offered a gig by the BBC.
6. The family of legendary DJ Casey Kasem is still throwing around blame over who was responsible for his death.
7. Podcast recommendation number one: My Humber College interns talk about their plan for “millennial radio.” Once you’re done listening, read this on how millennials are changing music.
8. Podcast recommendation number two: I was a guest on the No Sleep Til Sudbury podcast.
9. Aerosmith’s Joe Perry is now out of the hospital after that scary backstage collapse at Madison Square Garden.
10. It appears that Apple’s new iPhones aren’t selling as well as expected.
11. If you work in radio–or even if you just listen–check out these nightmare radio bloopers.
12. YouTube is now offering some big Hollywood movies for free–and it’s completely legal, too.
13. If you were ever a fan of Shrek, you’ve got to see this.
14. Still more fallout from the wildfires around Malibu: Lady Gaga still hasn’t gone home.
15. Spare a thought for poor punk rocker Powerclown, who’s in a Japanese jail for smuggling drugs.
16. Bohemian Rhapsody is now the second-highest-grossing biopic ever.
17. And speaking of movies, Bradley Cooper was coached in A Star is Born by Noel Gallagher.
18. Still more movies: This is Spinal Tap is going to receive a special honor next year.
19. And one more cinematic event: K-pop stars BTS set this record for their cinematic presentation.
20. No football for the Bon Jovi family on Thanksgiving.