Random Music News for Saturday, December 16, 2017

If this is your birthday, you have the distinction of having the worst birth date on the calendar. Here’s why. And now, the music news for December 16.

1. A good read: Rewiring our entire relationship to music.
2. U2’s Songs of Experience sold about 180,000 copies in its first week in the US. That’s the biggest first week total for a rock album this year. Discuss that amongst yourselves.
3. Qantas hates Uggs. Especially on older New Wave/technopop stars.
4. The average Spotify user streams 40 artists a week.
5. If you read this, you’ll never listen to “White Christmas” the same way again…
6. …or George Michael’s “Last Christmas.”
7. Creditors have moved in on the organizers of the Fyre Festival. Good luck in extracting any money from them.
8. Do podcasts have a discoverability problem? Have you ever tried to search for something cool?
9. The estimated value of Spotify just keeps rising. It’s now at around $19 billion, which is more than all the major labels put together.
10. You just knew that Samsung was working on a smart speaker…
11. …and Apple’s HomePod is still in the works.
12. Meanwhile, Apple has brought Siri to 30 airports, including Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton.
13. Here’s the latest merger of speakers and fake stone.
14. Cell phone service comes to the TTC subways. Finally.
15. Here’s a list of the best music industry newsletters. I subscribe to just about all of them.
16. There’s a new clue into the WW II disappearance of bandleader Glenn Miller.
17. Vincent Nguini, who was known for playing with Paul Simon, has died at age 65.