Table of contents for No. 1392 in Music Week

Another Q1 bites the dust With Q1 now in the rear-view mirror, it's the perfect time to look back at how the music business is doing in 2024. Having just deep-fried my brain by scrolling back through a list of all the stories Music Week has published online since January 1, words like ‘Turbulent’, ‘Damn’ and ‘Ooooooh’ immediately spring to mind. The TikTok/Universal tussle. Music Venue Trust revealing that live music venues are closing at a rate of two a week. More than 200 artists – including Billie Eilish – signing an open letter urging, perhaps even warning, DSPs, tech firms and more not to “develop or deploy AI music-generation technology, content or tools that undermine or replace human artistry”. Yep, 2024 has been a lot of things, but boring…

THE BIG DEAL Universal Music Group and Spotify have expanded their strategic relationship. According to a statement, the partnership will “further amplify music discovery and social interaction and enhance fan experiences across the platform for UMG's family of artists and songwriters”. Spotify will provide new promotional and social features to help drive interaction. UMG acts will have the ability to share teasers of upcoming music on Spotify to increase fan engagement and pre-save activity before a new release. THE BIG CAMPAIGN Billie Eilish (pictured) has joined with 200 artists calling for an end to the use of AI in devaluing the rights of human artists. Stars including Chuck D, J Balvin, The Last Dinner Party, Kacey Musgraves, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and Noah Kahan also signed the open letter from…

@jaz_karis British ppl always in a hurry (Jaz Karis, artist) Friday, March 1 @townsendyesmate Working from home today and now it's 9am and I literally have to start doing some work? When I'm at home? That's unfair (Mike Townsend, ADA) Monday, March 11 @JulieAdenuga Sometimes, as an adult, you'll be minding your own business and then all of a sudden, you need to re-grout your shower. (Julie Adenuga, broadcaster) Sunday, March 24 @JaguarWorldwide I'm addicted to my job sigh (DJ Jaguar, BBC Radio 1) Tuesday, March 5 @FemiOnDrums Music education is the most important part of the music industry. (Femi Koleoso, Ezra Collective) Friday, March 8 @ShauniCaballero There's nothing in this world that a good nap can't fix (Shauni Caballero, Sony Music Publishing) Monday, March 18 @LawlessYo The first crumb of sun…

RELEASES: Blue Eclipse (out now) LABEL: Blue Note Records MANAGEMENT: Ferocious Talent WHAT THE TEAM SAY: Tom Lewis, co-president, Decca: “We are so proud to be working with the band, their management and the Blue Note team. These guys are special.” Rachel Holmberg, director, A&R, Decca: “Blue Lab Beats are a one-off. Blue Eclipse takes you on a musically daring journey, they draw on the cultures which have inspired them, while making it completely their own.” Kwame Kwaten, MD, Ferocious Talent: “Blue Lab Beats sit on the Black music intersection: R&B, jazz, Afrobeat, hip-hop, soul. Some things that make them special are their chemistry and the speed they work at. Nobody is doing what they are doing.”…

THIS MONTH'S HOTTEST BRAND NEW ACT AMIE BLU The London-based singer-songwriter defying genres, one soulful hit at a time… KEY TRACK: Everything About Her LABEL: 0207 Def Jam MANAGEMENT: Clemmie Woodhouse and Joe Rice, Co-Lab Music INSTAGRAM: @amiebluu What first drew you to becoming a musician? “My dad used to be an engineer and we had a home studio, so when I was younger my dad would make me record covers – and criticise them! Plus, my brother and I used to write a lot together. I've always known I wanted to do music, and if I wasn't an artist, I would be, like, an artist who's also a vet, you know?” Your music has been described as belonging to multiple genres so far, from indie to soul and beyond.…

Meet Channette Carleo, an award-winning music radio producer who, throughout her career, has worked on shows for some of the UK's biggest radio personalities and cultural tastemakers in Black music, such as MistaJam, Snoochie Shy, Henrie, Big Zuu, Tinea Taylor and many more. Carleo has also produced interviews for international artists such as Burna Boy, Tyla, Wizkid, Victoria Monét, Latto, Tems and Chloe Bailey, and has been involved at music radio networks including Capital Xtra, BBC Radio 1, The Asian Network and BBC 1Xtra. She currently works at Kiss FM as lead daytime radio producer on Kiss Fresh, and specialises in the curation of creative on-air, digital and social content targeted at youth audiences. Here, Carleo shares her top tips on building a career in radio production… 1. Make it…

Management: Duncan Ellis & Hope James (Atlas Artists) Label: Parlophone/Atlas Artists CEO: Tony Harlow President: Joe Kentish MD: Jennifer Ivory A&R: Molly McNulty/Duncan Ellis Marketing: Benson Udia Digital Marketing: Rebecca Rees/ Michael Portlock Publisher: Charlie Pinder (Reservoir) Agent: Lizzie Ford (CAA) Print/Online Press: Katie Pilbeam (Inside Out) Radio: Grace O'Neill (Parlophone) TV: Holly Marshall (Warner Music Group) Creative Director: Francesca Costa…

This month, St. Vincent returns with her brilliant new album All Born Screaming. Here, the star tells us about recruiting Dave Grohl to drum in the studio, scoring a sleeper hit with Taylor Swift and her pride in helping to inspire the next generation of female guitarists… Watching Dave Grohl play drums on my songs Flea and Broken Man was quite something… “We didn't talk music before recording, it was, ‘Let's chat, let's shoot the shit.’ The first thing Dave does is smoke Parliaments and drink a bunch of coffee and have a good chat. We'd tell stories, have a laugh, and then all of a sudden he's just ready to go – he does it and he knows exactly what he's doing. After he did his take, I walked…

Senior campaign manager & team lead, Round Agency @jazziaditamesa Having come into the UK music industry from France, how easy was it to break into the business? “It was quite difficult for me at first because I had to overcome a language barrier and get to grips with industry jargon. Plus, there was the challenge of understanding the dynamics of international markets, which was important as they influence the strategy we take for each of our projects. The industry is competitive and ever-changing, so it's crucial to be passionate, motivated and committed to constant learning.” What is the key to a brilliant artist social media campaign in 2024? And what are some of the best you've worked on, as well as some you wish you'd worked on? “The best campaigns…

CAT BURNS Alone (RCA/Since ‘93) Pop music is often best when the pain is most palpable, as it is here on a brooding ballad in which Cat Burns imagines a future without a companion. ‘Is there more to life, if I'm sharing it?’ she wonders. As ever, the singer makes grappling with growing up sound riveting. Contact: Frankie Manalo frankie@cherrycreate.com DIV Everyone Out (Fantasy) DIIV's fourth LP Frog In Boiling Water arrives on May 24, continuing their transition from indie and shoegaze into harder rock territory, while painting a bleak picture of the modern world. Based on a meditative acoustic riff, Everyone Out captures their evolution finely. Contact: Will Vincent will@prescriptionpr.co.uk AMEN DUNES Round The World (Sub Pop) Damon McMahon scaled new heights with 2018's Freedom, but follow-up Death Jokes…

“Artists can start with us from scratch and go on to global success, without giving up control of their rights or ownership of their masters” PAUL HITCHMAN PAUL HITCHMAN Awards are not the be-all and end-all, but the shortlists for this year's big bashes highlight AWAL's growing footprint in the music world. As if to emphasise its vast remit, AWAL is nominated in multiple categories at May's Music Week Awards (A&R, international marketing, label/artist services, music & brand partnership and sales team). It also enjoyed success at the recent 2024 BRIT Awards, where Jungle claimed the prize for British Group and 2022 Mercury Prize winner Little Simz and CMAT also received nods. “AWAL has every creative skill within the team that you would ever get from a record company,” proclaims AWAL…

In the race for music rights supremacy, Alexi Cory-Smith likens Bella Figura Music's growing portfolio to a luxury car showroom. “Everything we've done so far is very special and we want that to continue,” she says. “I think of Bella Figura as like a garage with Ferraris in it – there are no Ford Kas sitting in there.” Be that as it may, the former BMG UK president has predominantly dealt with older classics – of the music kind – since co-founding independent music publisher and record label Bella Figura. “I was absolutely convinced about what I wanted to do and what I wanted to build,” Cory-Smith tells Music Week. “I came up against so many closed doors, but I felt there was a gap. I think it's a single-minded…

The world's greatest songs. By the people who made them. RAYE ESCAPISM (FEAT. 070 SHAKE) From the moment Raye and I met, we just loved each other. We became best friends immediately. I got to know her six years ago, when I was first getting into the industry. I'd started the whole production thing by going to studios in LA with my then manager, pressing the intercoms and saying, ‘We have a session.’ The doors would open and we'd just go in and find people to play my beats to! I was grinding for so long. I started working with artists like Selena Gomez, Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter, then I got my first publishing deal on the same day I turned down university – no more breaking into studios.…

01 RAY OF LIGHT ARIANA GRANDE Eternal Sunshine (Island/Republic) SALES: 66,532 Ariana Grande earned the fifth No.1 album of her illustrious career with Eternal Sunshine. Not only that, she held on at the summit the following week – the first album to do so since 1989 (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift in November 2023. The week one result for Eternal Sunshine was an impressive 38,207 units, 39.1% higher than the opening of 27,472 sales for Grande's previous album, Positions, in November 2020. As well as topping our monthly albums rankings, the US pop icon has a pair of singles in the Top 20. Both peaking at No.2 on the weekly chart, We Can't Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) was No.6 (144,213 sales) overall in March and Yes, And? finished at…

“AI can probably show you how to steal ideas, but it can't make you a creative” STUART WORDEN, THE BRIT SCHOOL It's a challenging time for breakthrough artists – are your students affected by that? “We've had a good run. Whether it's Black Midi, Loyle Carner or Ella Eyre, they've come through at a young age. So the students are always seeing someone go on into the music industry. I like the fact that Olivia [Dean], Rachel [Chinouriri], Lola [Young] and Strandz are doing it. But I do also understand that it might be difficult to see where it's going to come from next.” How has music become more collaborative since you started teaching there 30 years ago? “We're trying to say, ‘Surround yourself with good people.’ Because the solo…

It was during a regular day at London's Weekend Arts College around 10 years ago that a chance encounter in the lunch hall saw the birth of Blue Lab Beats. A 13-year-old Namali Kwaten, aka NK-OK, was playing his beats out of the speakers in the hall as students freestyled over them, when David Mrakpor, aka Mr DM, walked in. “He was like, ‘Wait, who made this?’ and when somebody pointed me out, he said, ‘I'm rehearsing just down the corridor so come and check it out,’” Kwaten begins, smiling. “Then when I saw David play the drums, guitar, keys and bass in the space of one hour, I thought, ‘I have to work with this guy!’” After a few months of playing together, whilst also focusing on their own…

MistaJam, DJ, Capital Dance TITA LAU & JAMES HYPE – VIBRATE The dance scene is bubbling with so many amazing new artists but, for me, few are as exciting and dynamic as Tita Lau. Inspired by rock icons like Debbie Harry and Pat Benatar, the London-based act infuses house and techno with a rock'n'roll energy that is unmistakably her own. Initially starting as a vocalist, contributing to major house tracks like Patrick Topping's Turbo Time, Rain Radio & DJ Craig Gorman's Talk About and Anton Powers’ Thinking About You, it was over lockdown that Lau began to explore production, leading to breakout track 2x2 in 2020. Lau's transition from vocalist to producer/DJ has seen her flourish. To date, she has released tracks on tastemaker labels such as her fiancée James…

APRIL 26 Accept Humanoid Napalm Adult Jazz So Sorry So Slow Spare Thought Billy Idol Rebel Yell (40th Anniv. Deluxe) Capitol/UMe Brian Eno Eno – OST Universal Bullion Affection Ghostly Int. Chief Keef Almighty So 2 BMG Corridor Mimi Sub Pop Hovvdy Hovvdy Arts & Crafts Iron & Wine Light Verse Sub Pop Justice Hyperdrama Ed Banger/Because Laufey Bewitched: The Goddess Edition AWAL Lawrence Rothman The Plow That Broke The Plains KRO Microwave Let's Start Degeneracy Pure Noise Pet Shop Boys Nonetheless Parlophone Sega Bodega Dennis Ambient Tweets St Vincent All Born Screaming Virgin/Fiction Tina Turner What's Love Got To Do With It (30th Anniv. Edition) Parlophone MAY 3 Death Lens Cold World Epitaph Dua Lipa Radical Optimism Warner Frank Turner Undefeated Xtra Mile Hana Vu Romanticism Ghostly International Kacy…

Management: Dugi Lipa, Sofia Gold (Radical22) Radical22 Marketing: Joel Quartey Radical22 Digital: Jess Spink Label: Warner Records CEO & Chairman: Tony Harlow President/A&R: Joe Kentish MD: Alex Burford Marketing: Lottie Llewellyn Digital Marketing: Sebastian Simone, Lucy Fletcher Publisher: Radical22 Publishing Limited Agent: David Bradley (WME) UK Press: Richard Dawes (DawBell) Global Press: Kathy Reilly (Permanent Press) Radio: Jane Arthy TV: Karen Williams (Big Sister) Creative Director: Dua Lipa/Republika Communications…

Rachel Chinouriri has been searching for her place in the world for quite some time. “I've always been looking for home, looking for what it would mean to me,” she says. “I'm someone who wants stability in her life.” More on that quest shortly. For the time being, the singer's current physical place of residence is her flat in East London. Wearing black-and-green tie-dye leggings and a hoodie made by internet superstar Quenlin Blackwell, she opts to sit stretching her legs out on the floor for our interview, even though she has a perfectly functioning desk just steps away. Either side of her chat with Music Week, she's having a sorting day at home. “I went a bit viral on Twitter yesterday,” she says. “So I've been replying to everyone,…

Are we living in the age of the superfan? London's V&A Museum certainly thinks so. In February, the hallowed institution posted a job vacancy for a Taylor Swift ‘Superfan Advisor’ – “to help us learn more about our collection… as well as the current cultural trends that will inform the future of museum collecting.” The search to find the ultimate Swiftie was – to quote another pop icon with a fanatical following of his own – a sign of the times. But while Tay Sway, whose new album The Tortured Poets Department is released this month across four versions (each featuring a different bonus track and cover art), provides the ultimate modern case study, the industry is setting the stage for a whole new wave of superfandom. Indeed, Sir Lucian…

With so many pressures building up on the grassroots music ecosystem, it is sometimes lost how resolvable some of the challenges are. Take, for instance, the issue of inappropriate taxation of the network of venues that play host to new artists. In 2023, the UK's grassroots music venues (GMVs) operated on a 0.5% profit margin. Thirty-eight percent of all these venues reported a loss in that year. As business entities, it might therefore be expected that the tax payable within this network would be insignificant – and in terms of taxes payable on profits, that is true. On a total sector turnover of £501,101,118, just £475,000 made its way to the Treasury in the form of corporation tax, an effective 0.09% tax to turnover cost. But this is far from…

GLOBAL Djo End Of Beginning Video Creations: 2,500,000 Djo's End Of Beginning has had an impressive run in the UK Official Charts, sparked by a TikTok trend where creators share the love for their favourite cities and locations. The synth-pop track has featured in over two million videos on TikTok, sending it from No.100 to No.4 in the UK Official Charts in just a few weeks, while it has resonated with the TravelTok community, too. Kira Ashwin, TikTok UK's music partnerships manager, outlines the vital role that the platform has had to play in the growing impact of Djo (aka Stranger Things star Joe Keery) across the world. “The story around the rise of End Of Beginning defines what is unique about the TikTok community,” she says. “A track which…