Random music news for Wednesday, July 11, 2018

The first-ever transatlantic satellite transmission was made on this day in 1962. Think about that as you’re watching the World Cup in 4K. And now, music news for July 11, 2018.

1. Today’s England-Croatia World Cup match is creating hell with scheduled concerts. Lots of cancellations.
2. What’s the deal with Donald Trump and pop music? Let’s look at his history.
3. Meanwhile, Brits are putting together playlists for the Donald’s trip to the UK this week.
4. A box set of unreleased Tom Petty material is coming this September.
5. Jimmy Page delivered a lecture at Oxford on how to be a rock star.
6. Ever hear Hong Kong’s song of freedom? Here it is.
7. Interesting observation about the Spotify vs. Apple Music battle: Apple is gaining because they focus on serious music fans.
8. There’s now an audiobook version of the Tragically Hip/Gord Downie bio, The Never-ending Present by Michael Barclay. It’s read by George Strombo, too.
9. Another rape allegation has been made against Russell Simmons.
10. Astronomy fun: Listen to Saturn and its moon Enceladus sing at each other.
11. Gene Simmons has settled a sexual misconduct charge with a journalist.
12. Johnny Lydon scattered the ashes of a big Public Image Ltd. fan at a gig.
13. Eminem has a pop-up merch store in London this week.
14. In case you missed it, yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Apple App Store.
15. Just in case you want to build your own karaoke system…
16. A new movie based on the life of Buddy Holly is in development.
17. This is good: How to identify the five levels of music fans and how to engage with them.