The Australian dance music industry and fans nationwide are in a state of shock and mourning today, with the news that Adrian Thomas, aka AJAX, tragically passed away in Melbourne last night. Thomas, instrumental in forming the foundations of Australian dance music, bringing our artists to international attention (and vice versa), was well known for his electric live shows and successful work with Bang Gang.

Tributes have been flooding in through social media overnight and today for the DJ who has influenced many local producers and was counted up there with some of the best talent in the world.

The AU Review sends out love, condolences and supportive vibes to AJAX's family and friends during this understandably hard time.

To show your support, please visit the official tribute page. www.facebook.com/ajaxtribute.

Australia's exporting one of it's best festivals to North America - yay for Laneway! Also, Flume tickets are selling like hotcakes, Shock Records appoints a new General Manager, so many bands are being snapped up by labels, and be prepared to dust off your record player because Record Store Day is just around the corner. Plus, plenty more goss and tid bits below the cut!

Flume Sells Out

Insanely popular human person and electro music wunderkind Flume sold out the Sydney and Melbourne dates of his upcoming national tour with Chet Faker in just 15 minutes after they went on sale last week. Extra shows in Sydney and Melbourne have been added, but you should probably jump on those tickets pretty quickly, because the Adelaide, Perth, and Melbourne shows are selling fast as well.

Flume also announced that he will be joining the line-up of triple j's One Night Stand, alongside Seth Sentry, The Ruebens, and Ball Park Music in an as-yet-unknown rural town.

Laneway Goes American

In massive news this week it was announced that St. Jerome's Laneway Festival will be the first Australian festival to be launched in North America as they take their indie festival to an as yet unknown American city. Pretty great for something that started as a back alley street party. Anyway, details will be announced at Laneway's SXSW party on March 15th in Austin. Great news, even if the majority of us probably won't be able to attend the American debut of this cool Australian festival.

New General Manager for Shock

Shock Records named Craig May their new general manager this week. May, most recently of Dew Process, will be taking over from Leigh Gruppetta, who has been with Shock for eight years.

Apart From This Joins Hindsight

Melbourne band Apart From This have joined Perth-based independent label Hindsight Records for the release of their first album In Gloom, due out April 5th.

Compass Signings

Nashville-based Compass Records added some bluegrass to its roster with the signing of Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen. The IBMA Emerging Artist 2012 nominees will be releasing their first album with Compass Records, On The Edge, on April 30th, so if you're into bluegrass, keep an eye on that.

Yolanda Be Cool On Dim Mak

Incredibly popular Australian dance music duo Yolanda Be Cool have signed to Steve Aoki's Dim Mak records in the US, joining major electro artists like Bloody Beetroots, Angger Dimas, and of course Steve Aoki himself. The announcement coincided with the launch of Yolanda Be Cool's new single Sweat Naked, from their forthcoming debut album Ladies and Mentalman.

The Temper Trap Go Platinum

The Temper Trap's self-titled album and their single "Trembling Hands" have gone platinum in Australia, both selling over 70,000 copies. This news comes on the heels of the release of their latest single "Miracle"– not related to the iconic Insane Clown Posse opus about magnets, probably. The Temper Trap are also back in the country for Future Music Festival and Groovin' In The Moo.

ARIA Charts Gets Religious

Youth-orientated super-mega church group Hillsong United has swept to the top of the ARIA charts this week with their new album Zion. This marks their second number one album and their thirteenth top ten. Looks like somebody up there likes them!

Deezer Partners With Bluesfest

Streaming music website Deezer has partnered with Bluesfest. The website will be hosting Bluesfest Radio, featuring sampler of the festival's impressive line up. Deezer has also recently partnered with Soundwave and St. Jerome's Laneway Festival.

The Young Things Battle World Wide

New York band The Young Things has joined up with Battle Word Wide Recordings to release their new record Hello Love/Goodbye Sexual, due out on July 4th.

Record Store Day

Record Store Day Australia has been set this year for April 20th, so get ready to get your mitts on some cool vinyl, and support your local record stores to celebrate the fifth year of Record Store Day Australia.

This afternoon, Hermitude took out the 8th Australian Music Prize for their album HyperParadise. The duo are now the recipients of the $30,000 prize, announced at Amped Up In Conversation today. Emerging from the shortlist of nine, Hermitude claimed their award in front of some the Australian industry's finest.

This year's nominated artists represented some of the best music productions of the year, with recent records by The Presets, Tame Impala and Flume amongst the shortlisted artists. The AU congratulates all the artists involved in the 2013 Coopers AMP, but most of all, a huge congratulations to Hermitude!

The hip hop duo Hermitude have taken away the 8th Coopers Australian Music Prize, winning $30,000 from the PPCA for their fourth feature album HyperParadise.

The award was announced yesterday at the ‘Amped Up In Conversation’ event, with HyperParadise being one of the nine shortlisted albums of 2012 that were selected from over 300 contenders. The other shortlisted artists included: Flume (Flume), Tame Impala (Lonerism), The Presets (Pacifica), Grand Salvo (Slay Me In My Sleep), Jess Ribeiro & The Bone Collectors (My Little River), Liz Stringer (Warm In The Darkness), Daily Meds (Happy Daze) and Urthboy (Smokey’s Haunt).

In addition to winning this highly esteemed prize, Hermitude have emerged from a stellar 2012 having also been awarded an AIR award, two SMAC awards, an ARIA nomination and a Triple J JAward nomination.

Since pairing up to form Hermitude in the Blue Mountains in 2001, Luke Dubs (Luke Dubber) and Elgusto (Angus Stuart) have certainly come a long way, with the Founder and Prize Director Scott Murphy saying, “This prize celebrates great Australian music and in particular originality – Hermitude is certainly original, distinctive and very deserving of The Coopers AMP”.

This year’s international guest was Daniel Glass, the president and founder of the Glassnote Entertainment Group. Discussing his journey from accidentally becoming a DJ, to running an internationally successful label, Glass’ address was simply captivating.

Glass was also the special guest at the AMP Pre-Party, held on Wednesday night by the new Surry Hills venue, The Soda Factory. The night featured a headline performance by the Melbourne act The Courtney Barnetts, with the four piece proving themselves to be an act well on the rise.

Summer may be drawing to a close down here in the southern hemisphere but the tour circuit is still smoking hot. This week we've got news from Phoenix, Splendour, national event news, new music, and new labels.

French Funsters Phoenix Announce Tour Dates

Fromage, frogs, and Phoenix! Viva la France! Yes, they’re back with their soon to be released fourth LP Bankrupt!. You can get your dance on from April 19 when the album hits the shelves for your dose of playful, synth-pop. Here’s something to chew on while you wait - Bankrupt! was mixed on the bad-boy Harrison 4032 solid-state recording console that the King of Pop, white-gloved-glitter-socked, Mr Michael Jackson used for Thriller. Whoa. Guitarist for the band, Laurent ‘Branco’ Brancowitz gives this strange description on what we can expect, “…we wanted it to be really fluid and simple like a sphere made of marble. You just see a sphere, but there’s a guy who polished it for a year.” So there you go. A big shiny ball of an album.

SPLENDOUR!

Need I say more. That’s right back in the grass. While Byron is currently under the influence of the blues and roots for this year’s Bluesfest, the people behind Splendour in the Grass are working hard to bring you what is set to be another smashing July festival. After a long wait they are moving permanently to their new location at North Byron Parklands with the dates set for this year for Friday 26, Saturday 27, & Sunday 28 July. We wait with bated breath for the line-up.

Jagwar Ma Duo Go National

Not the car, not the big cat but, yes indeed the pair of music-makers behind that sweltering, summer track Come and Save Me are heading to a town near you on their first national headline tour. Hand-picked like ripe, juicy cherries dangling in the musical ether by The xx to support them on their upcoming Australian tour. Big kudos. They’re currently the hot topic of talk in the industry circles with praise being showered from Pitchfork, airtime on BBC Radio 1, and one of the most played tracks on Triple J. Latest track Throw is our now via Future Classic and ready to tickle your ears on iTunes.

WOMADelaide’s Soaring Ticket Sales

Thought the South Australian state had nothing but poppy fields and shark infested waters? Bazinga! 21 years and stronger than ever, WOMADelaide has grown into one of the most popular annual events in Australia’s jam-packed summer calendar. This year they have proved themselves ever triumphant with record ticket sales. Bag your ticket early for the next one!

Triple J’s One Night Stand hits Dubbo

Now I’ve never been to Dubbo but it sounds like a pretty hip and happening place. Now even more so now that Triple J are taking their 10 year old One Night Stand event to their showgrounds. The free, all ages concert will take place on Saturday 13 April with some huge names like Flume, Ball Park Music, and Seth Sentry lined up. Are you a local? Are you in a band? Well why don’t you upload one of your tracks to Triple J’s Unearthed website and you too could be playing this awesome event.

BWR Welcomes NY’s The Young Things

From the city that manufactures bands come NYC’s The Young Things and welcoming them into the fold is Battle Worldwide Recordings. Soon to release their new record ‘Hello Love / Goodbye Sexual Health’ the band is pushing up the mercury on the talent barometer. Vintage indie with big, dirty guitar and heavy boot thumping drums. Definitely ones to watch out for.

Rogers & Tudhope Launch And Publishing

The brains in the back office behind acts like Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling, Gotye and Temper Trap Adam Tudhope and Danny Rogers (also founder of legendary Laneway Festival have joined forces to create new label And Publishing. A veritable powerhouse has begun with this new venture. Their aim? To bring together good music and good people. In Tudhope’s own words they’re scouting for “artists who are probably just starting out but who have a long-term view for their career.”

This week in industry news, Laneway Festival makes their big reveal, Birds of Tokyo sweeps the ARIA Charts, Willy Mason returns down under, plus plenty more industry goss and music news.

So remember how we were talking about Laneway going Stateside? Well the city has been announced, and if you're in or around Detroit this September, be sure to check out this Aussie festival's American debut! It's being held on September 14th, 2013 in Rochester Hills, Michigan.

Delightful Australian country music sensation Catherine Britt will be taking over hosting duties for Saturday Night Country on ABC Local Radio for the next three months while previous host Felicity Urqhart is on maternity leave, having given birth to a baby girl in February. So congrats to Ms. Urqhart and Ms. Britt, and good luck to both of them!

New-ish Brisbane venue Eatons Hill Hotel has added Powderfinger guitarist Ian Haug too its bookings team. The venue, which started hosting gigs in 2011, is one of Australia's most promising mid-size venues, and has already played host to the sold out shows of Marilyn Manson, Refused, and Prince.

Birds of Tokyo's most recent album March Fires (a fitting title for an Australian album...) has debuted at number one on this week's ARIA charts. You can catch Birds of Tokyo touring with their first ARIA number one album around the country this month, but you'll have to be quick – their last show is on the Gold Coast on the 23rd of March.

Berry Gordy, founder of the legendary Motown Records will be honoured with the prestigious Pioneer Award at the Songwriter's Hall of Fame Gala in June. Gordy is the first living person to be given the award, which recognises a historic creator of an extensive body of musical work that has been a major influence on generations of song writers. You can't say the founder of Motown doesn't deserve it!

On top of her metro tour of churches and cathedrals – announced last week – manic pixie music genius Kate Miller-Heidke has just announced her first tour of Australia's regional areas since 2009. The tour kicks off in May and goes through to June, and tickets go on sale this Friday, March the 22nd. Jump on this if you wanna catch her in your home town, this lady sells out fast.

Fantastic folk person Willy Mason is returning to Australia this April to support UK folk singer Ben Howard on his Australian tour. While here, Mason will also be playing two headlining shows in Sydney and Melbourne, and an all-ages in-store performance at Jet Black Cat Music in Brisbane, kicking off April 5th. Willy Mason was pretty great last year when he supported Mumford and Sons, so this would definitely be worth seeing.

Voting has opened on the 10th annual OzHipHop Awards at ozhiphop.com. This year the voting is open to everyone, so get over to the website before March 26th (that's the closing date) and get your vote in! Winners will be announced shortly after voting closes, so keep an eye out for that too.

Wollongong-based psychedelic rock trio The Walking Who have announced a string of tour dates, kicking off this Friday the 22nd of March at the Espy Front Bar in Melbourne, and concluding with a headlining show at The Oxford Arts Factory in Sydney on the 4th of April. So if you like psychedelic rock, or if you want to know what music written in a haunted house sounds like, check 'em out!

Hey unsigned artists, you're in luck. The deadline for the Unsigned Only music competition has been extended to April 16th, giving you extra time to get those applications perfected. Give it a shot, you might just win the $10,000 top prize – and who couldn't use $10,000? For more info and entry details, check out www.unsignedonly.com.

Selected from a pool of over 2000 artists, a group of eight talented musicians have been selected as the recipients of the 2013 APRA Professional Developement Awards, a title which also rewards the musicians with a nice little cheque for $12,000 cash to help them with their projects!

With a total prize pool value of $240,000, the winners of the awards not only take away the cash prize, but a career-changing package which includes meetings with publishers, managers and more, to ensure that their journey as songwriters and composers is well supported.

Congratluations to the winners, listed below!

2013 APRA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

Popular Contemporary

Husky Gawenda
Georgi Kay
Thomas Calder

Classical

Alexander Garsden

Jazz

Matthew Sheens

Country

Morgan Evans

Film & Television

Joe Twist

Aborginal & Torres Strait Islander

Leah Flanagan

UTAS Stephen Schwartz Songwriting Award

Amali Ward

This week in music news, awesome ladies are making headway in hip-hop, Triple J's One Night Stand is heading to Dubbo, and the APRA Professional Development Awards have chosen their lucky winners. Plus plenty of other tours, signings, and record releases to keep you informed for the next week.

Chelsea Jane Wins Hilltop Hoods Initiative
Young hip hop artist Chelsea Jane has won the 2013 Hilltop Hoods Initiative. The talented young emerging artist will be awarded $10,000, courtesy of The Hilltop Hoods and APRA, to go towards the release and promotion of her debut solo album.

Nick Van Breda Signs With Catch And Release
Sydney indie-folk musician Nick Van Breda has signed with Catch And Release Records to release his latest single 'The World And The Everyday', a follow up to his highly acclaimed 2012 single 'Think About'.

Seam Lam Launches Paris Is Patient
Seam Lam– former production Promotions and Label Manager for UNFD and Hopeless Records AUNZ – has launched her own boutique PR agency, Paris Is Patient. The agency will be based in Melbourne, specialising in representation and publicity for for Australian artists, connecting premier Australian artists with their international counterparts.

I'lls Sign To Yes Please
Melbourne trio I'lls– I'm liking the weird punctuation, by the way – has signed to Sydney's Yes Please for the release of their second EP 'A Warm Reception', to be released on May 21st as a 'name your price' download from Bandcamp. You can check out I'lls melodic sounds and ironic punctuation right now on their new single, 'Plans Only Drawn'.

Peoples Palace to Open One Night Stand
Triple J Unearthed winners Peoples Palace have been chosen to open Triple J's legendary One Night Stand even, this year to be held in Dubbo, NSW, on April 13th. The Dubbo quartet will be joining Flume, The Ruebens, Ball Park Music, and Seth Sentry. The event will be be broadcast live on Triple J and on ABC 2. Check out www.triplej.net.au/onenightstand for more details.

Kate Miller-Heidke Heads to Margaret River
Kate Miller-Heidke has added a new date to her regional tour of Australia. The eccentric songstress will be hitting up Margaret River on June 8th. Check out www.katemillerheidke.com to see if she'll be rolling into a country town near you.

APRA|AMCOS Professional Development Award Winners Announced
The eight winners of the 2013 APRA Professional Development Awards have been announced this week. The eight musicians, including Thomas Calder, Leah Flanagan, and Joe Twist, will receive $30,000 worth of prizes courtesy of APRA. For a full list of winners, see www.apra-amcos.com.au.

Wilco Streaming Live From The Sydney Opera House
If you weren't lucky enough to nab a seat at one of Wilco's two shows at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, you're in luck. As part of the Opera Houses' Live At The House youtube series, tomorrow night's show is being streamed live tomorrow night – Wednesday the 3rd of April, in case you forgot! For more info, and to catch the set, go to www.youtube.com/liveatthehouse.

British India Strom The Charts
British India's latest album 'Controller' has debuted at #10 on the ARIA charts this week. This is the third consecutive time that the popular indie-rock band have had an album debuted in the top 10 of the ARIA charts. They're hitting hitting the road over the next few weeks, starting at the Surfers Paradise Beer Garden on The Gold Coast on April 5th. Tickets and tour info can be found at www.oztix.com.au.

Northlane Debuts at Number 3
Huge up and coming Aussie band Northlane's album 'Singularity' has debuted at number three on the ARIA charts. Tickets for their extensive Australian tour will go on sale this Friday, April 5th.

It's no secret that the development and expansion of digital media is hurtling along at a rapid pace everywhere, but nowhere as quickly as the Asian market. With the international spotlight focused on Asia for new and inventive content, it only makes sense that the 2013 Digital & Music Matters industry conference returns, held in Singapore. This May, attendees of the three-day summit (May 21-23) will be able to learn, network and experience the best advice and ideas from global giants from the Asian and international sectors.

Live music showcases will go ahead each evening of the summit until Saturday, May 25. Announced amongst the conference speakers is Amanda Palmer, Rob Wells (Universal), Jordan Felstein (Manager, Maroon 5) and more. Below are the bands currently set to perform as part of the Digital & Music Matters live showcase series:

New Cassettes (UK)
SWISS (NZ)
Electrico (Singapore)

To register your attendance and to find out more about Digital & Music Matters, head to http://www.allthatmatters.asia/registration.html.

Officially announced as the biggest Bluesfest festival drew to a close, The Boomerang Festival is set to feature some amazing indigenous performances, both traditional and contemporary in an attempt to end the disparity in life expectancy between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia. The annual event will showcase and intertwine not only the indigenous Australian culture, but also those of first nations from around the globe; the program is set to include the following, with more details to be announced as the months go on:

- Music
- Song Circles
- Ceremony
- Dance, including Dancestry grounds
- Visual arts/crafts
- Bundjalung clans cultural exchange & avenue
- Ecology of the land and knowledge walks
- Emerging artists' program
- Youth participation and camp
- Ideas and conversation panels and forums
- Fire circles

The Boomerang Festival will take place at the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, the home of Bluesfest, from October 4th to the 6th. Announced artists set to perform include Thelma Plum, Christine Anu, Tjupurru, Leah Flanagan and Airileke. Stay tuned to bluesfest.com.au for more information!

It's possibly one of the highly-anticipated albums of this year and true to form, Daft Punk know how to tease a fan base. Ambiguous and mysterious as ever, the French group have begun adding fuel to the fire that is the hype surrounding Random Access Memories, by posting some videos to give fans a taste of what is to come.

The first 'episode' of this series, aimed at taking a look at who'll be collaborating with Daft Punk on the record, features Italian producer Giorgio Moroder. Take a look!

If you've been on Facebook tonight, you may have caught the 'tour poster' for an upcoming Daft Punk Australian tour, supposedly supported by both Justice and The Chemical Brothers, and ending with a New Years Eve party in Sydney. While we're impressed with the quality of what can only be a stitch up, we're with you in keeping our ears and eyes open for the tour announcement which will no doubt make many people's year!

The Smokescreen Music Festival, an event advertised to all facets of the music industry as the 'most dangerous festival on the earth', has been revealed to be a festival purely aimed at de-glamourising the smoking habit. Mushroom Marketing made the big announcement to coincide with World Health Day, following on from a number of teasers which had been distributed online and through street posters which caused much conversation, rumours and head-scratching as to what was actually going on.

The campaign has included the music of two 'headline artists' in M4-CEMA and The Coughin' Nails, who have released anti-smoking singles and video clips respectively. The material is to play a crucial part in the anti-smoking campaign, a multi-layered music marketing initiative to highlight the dangers smoking tobacco leads to amongst the youth.

Michael Gudinski, Chairman of the Mushroom Group of Companies explains why he was an avid supporter of the campaign:

"For many years Mushroom has used the imagery and iconography of rock ‘n’ roll to capture the attention of Australian music fans. We felt that is was timely to combine this experience and Mushroom’s creative talents and apply them to a serious health issue. We created engaging content and activated a mix of traditional and digital media channels to promote awareness of the health risks associated with smoking. The SMOKESCREEN MUSIC FESTIVAL Project does this in an entertaining and at times humorous way – while ensuring the negatives associated with smoking are clearly recognised. We have certainly fooled some people as I have had band managers contact me asking to be on the bill!"

Head to http://www.smokescreenfestival.com.au/ to find out more about the initiative.

View The Coughin' Nails and M4-CEMA video clips below:

After setting Facebook and the internet on fire last night with a fake (we think) Australian tour announcement, the latest piece of news - which has actually been confirmed - out of the hype surrounding Daft Punk's forthcoming album is that a small regional NSW town will host Random Access Memories' global launch.

Wee Waa, situated roughly eight hours out of Sydney, will host the 'global launch party' of the new Daft Punk record at the Wee Waa Show. Speaking with Triple J today, the show's President Brett Dickinson even admitted to thinking the whole thing was a joke.

"They just wanted somewhere that was different to what Daft Punk does. They're known for breaking down barriers and being creative and Wee Waa is uniquely Australian so they just said lets go to Wee Waa. Amazingly our show is on at the same time [as their album release]."

The French duo will not be performing themselves at the Wee Waa Show, but no doubt this event will attract a load of international attention to the small town. Random Access Memories is being released on May 17, the day of the regional event, which is set to be known for showcasing more than just prize-winning sheep and cattle.

The music world is awash with news this week: signings, chart toppers, competitions. A metal surprise in the Aria charts and what looks like a festival but isn’t? Find out..

Canada Music Week – Winners and Winter

Change is gradual and painful – or in this case finger-numbingly cold! After 31 years Canada Music Week has decided to change seasons. Instead of being held in the depths of winter and leaving their stoic attendees shivering in their Canuck boots, the organisers have listened to the call of their fans and as of next year they will be hosting the event across a week in the defrosted month of May. The event draws in a crowd of over 70,000 who flock to see shows by over 1000 bands and next year concert-goers, on account of the warmer weather can leave their coats at home and take the experience outdoors.

This week CMW is also pleased to announce the winners of their Radio Star National Talent Search. Drrrrrum roll! The Grand Prize goes to The Brown for his song ‘The Record Collection’ followed closely by Pistols at 20 Paces with ‘Live Again’.

Winner of the 10th Annual OzHipHop Awards go to...

The fans have spoken and a long list of well deserving artists has been announced as the winners of the 10th annual OzHipHop Awards. Seth Sentry, continuing on his global domination, takes out both Best Male MC and Best Album alongside Layla who won Best Female MC. Best Crew went to Golden Era and Best Battle MC was awarded to Manaz III. That’s not all though. For a full list of winners - http://ozhiphop.com/awards/

Smokescreen Festival is not a Festival

Speculation around the so-called new Smokescreen festival has been rife in the music industry. What is it, who’s playing, when is it, etc. Plugged as being ‘the most dangerous music festival on Earth’ it was revealed that the headline acts would include M4-CEMA and The Coughin’ Nails – figured it out yet? Oh you’re too clever. That’s right, this is not a festival at all. Disguised by music and using the power that music can bring, Smokescreen is an anti-smoking campaign with a difference. Smoking kills! With 15,000 people losing their battle with smoking related illnesses this campaign is looking to deglamourise the smoking fad amongst youth.

The ARIA Charts this week

Carving up the album charts this week is Bring me The Horizon with their debut album Sempiternal. At number one the British band boasts the 4th highest weekly sales.

On the Singles front, MKTO breeze to #2 with ‘Thank You’ leaving Passenger holding on to poll position with ‘Let Her Go’

ARIA Top 5 Albums
1. Bring Me The Horizon ‘Sempiternal’ (debut)
2. Passenger ‘All The Little Lights’
3. P!nk ‘The Truth About Love’

ARIA Top 5 Singles
1. Passenger ‘Let Her Go’
2. MKTO ‘Thank You’
3. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton ‘Can’t Hold Us’
4. P!nk feat. Nate Ruess ‘Just Give Me A Reason’
5. Nelly ‘Hey Porsche’

The Riff Celebrates its Century

Live weekly music and pop culture show ‘The Riff’ turns 100 this week. Hosted on Channel [V] it delivers a dose of the latest in music news each Saturday from 1030 their dynamic presenters wax lyrical on all things music, pop, and breaking news.

Win a backstage songwriting competition with Seth Sentry

This guy is doing everything right now. The people behind Groovin’ the Moo and MusicNSW are giving you the chance to win perfect your songwriting skills with Seth Sentry. A once in a lifetime opportunity, budding MCs have until April 19 to enter. Head to www.musicnsw.com for more information.

Skrillex reaches 1 BILLION YouTube views

What more can be said. Winner of 6 Grammy awards and an artist that should be on all Friday playlists, Skrillex joins the likes of Bruno Mars as an internet sensation with over 1 billion views on YouTube.

Georgi Kay – signed, sealed, and set for big things to come

Starlet Georgi Kay has signed to UK label Parlophone for her UK release joining the likes of Bat for Lashes, Gorillaz, and Sigur Ros. Keeping good company and last week was announced as a winner of the coveted APRA award, she’s one to keep a pulse on.

Create/Control welcomes Patrick James

The sharp and pensive gazed Patrick James has been taken into the bosom of label Create/Control. This comes ahead of the release of his debut EP All About to Change due April 26.

This week in industry news, Daft Punk leak some fabulous collaborating artists and more info on the new album, Allday's debut storms the charts, and K-Pop superstart Psy releases his latest single (be prepared for annoying dances and people sounding ridiculous in a language they don't understand). Also happening this week: Queensland Music Awards announce judges as the deadline draws near, plenty of new labels being launched, and more industry gossip behind the cut! Have a good week!

Ash Pournouri Launches New Label

Swedish manager/producer Ash Pournouri, founder of AT Night Management, has announced the creation of a new label, PRMD Records. The Grammy-nominated producer's first release will be Cazzette's, aka Alexander Bjorkland's, album Eject, which Pournouri has spent the last eighteen months developing.

CAAMA To Train 'Music Industry Rangers'

Alice Springs-based label CAAMA – which focuses exclusively on indigenous music and musicians – is launching its Regional Music Development Program to train sixteen specially selected 'Music Industry Rangers' from Central Australia over the next three years in order help foster and preserve Indigenous languages through song. The program also aims to develop pathways to employment in the music industry for the Music Industry Rangers. Here's to both the preservation of Australia's indigenous languages and to the furthering of Indigenous People's in the music industry! Good luck to CAAMA's Music Industry Rangers.

Allday Enjoys Massive Debut

Adelaide-born Melbourne transplant Allday has had a very solid debut on the ARIA Charts this week with his EP Loners Are Cool entering the charts at number 18. It's also number 3 on the Urban Chart and took out the top spot of the iTunes hip hop chart.

Plastic World Label Launches

James McInnes, formerly of Future Classic, and Vic Edirisinghe, part owner of management group Astral People, have banded together to launch a new boutique record label, Plastic World. The label aims to push 'forward-thinking' Australian music on the international scale, using McInnes' and Edirisinghe's combined wealth of industry experience.

Judges Locked In For QLD Music Awards

The judges for the 2013 Queensland Music Awards have been announced, and they include such names as Lars Brandle of Billboard, Rhoda Roberts of the Sydney Opera House, and Glenn Dickie of Sounds of Australia. The entries close Monday, April 22, so Queensland songwriters, get to submitting! Find more info at www.queenslandmusicawards.com.au.

Psy Gets Gentlemanly

How glad are you that the whole Gangnam Style thing is over? Is it very glad? Well prepare to be disappointed – or excited if you're a fan of k-pop. Psy has just released 'Gentleman', his follow up to Gangnam Style, the video for which earned him 40 million Youtube views in 48 hours. Seriously, 40 million. That's probably a let down after Gangnam Style but still, that's a hell of a lot of views. Let's hope you don't have to hear this song performed 'ironically' by legions of terrible acquaintances from now until the end of time.

Daft Punk Confirms All Star Collaborators

Daft Punk confirmed an awesome list of collaborators for their upcoming album, Get Lucky, in a video from Coachella this week. The list includes Julian Casablanca of The Strokes, Panda Bear of Animal Collective, Chilly Gonzales, and Pharrell. This is in addition to the list of phenomenal songwriters, including Paul Williams, Giorgio Morodor, Todd Edwards, and Nile Rodgers. This should get you pumped up for Get Lucky, as if you weren't already.

Digital & Music Matters, set to take off next month in Singapore, has released its full programme; the event which 'brings the entire entertainment ecosystem' together for three days of interactive workshops, panels and sessions plus five days of entertainment, is celebrating it's eighth year in 2013!

For the first time in the event's history, this year will be celebrating the YouTube FanFest, powered by HP on the 20th and 21st of May. The two night educational showcase of the online stars of today will kick Digital & Music Matters off in proper style. Pitched as being 'one part entertainment and one part education' the YouTube FanFest is set to give both industry personnel and the general public to get up close and personal with the figures who are currently dominating the online sphere.

The 20 featured guests share an impressive 3 billion online views between them - a fitting, epic way to launch this event in Singapore! Guests include:

Ryan Higa
Boyce Avenue
Hikakin
David Choi
Eat Your Kimchi
My Chonny

Adding to the excitement is the announcement that Jonny Wright manager to Justin Timberlake and mentor to many other international music icons, will appear at the conference; a massive pull for the event and no doubt, a figure many will want to learn from!

Head to http://www.allthatmatters.asia/digital-and-music for extensive information and updates on the conference!

As the nation remembers our unforgotten soldiers this ANZAC day we also celebrate some brilliant successes in Australian music. Big news for Australian artists with new signings, competitions for budding artists, and some meaty updates from across the shores.

JAYNE DENHAM – HOT COUNTRY TALENT

I don’t think we say enough about Country music and when we do we tend to look back on the big American legends of the genre. So, I am very pleased to announce brilliant new local talent Jayne Denham. Country music is all about telling stories and Denham’s latest album Renegade Country is quite the lyrical novel. In tribute to ANZAC Day she has posted her track ‘Note from a Soldier’ on YouTube. The track tells the true war love story of how her friend’s parents met during the war. Launching into the ARIA Country charts at #8 and the album charts at #16 shows that her talent is more than just a barn dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvOOpouRKDM&feature=youtu.be

PARAMORE IS PARAMOUNT

Despite coming from the home of Country music, Nashville, Tennessee - Jeremy, Hayley, and Taylor of Paramore are taking it to the top with pop rock sound. Debuting on the ARIA charts at #1 this week with their critically acclaimed, self-titled album and on the #1 on the US Billboard charts they are proving that that they are a tour de force in the current music arena.

EPITAPH SIGNS SHY KIDX

Legendary label Epitaph has this week taken on Italian electronic dance artist Shy Kidx. Synth-sonic sounds, big drums, and deep bass are signature to his upbeat sound and being likened to big names in his field like Skrillex and Bloody Beetroots we can expect an earful of dance-inducing goodness from upcoming EP Orion. Released on May 14 he says, "The most amazing part about electronic music to me is that it's so international and it just seems to keep growing; it's like there's a community all over the world and we're all working toward the same goal."

ATTENTION QLD TALENT – MUSIC AWARD DEADLINE EXTENDED

Entries for the 2013 Queensland Music Awards have been extended. Songwriters now have 2 more weeks to get in the entries giving the state’s upcoming and budding talent an even better chance to be heard. Judges for this year’s competition include the distinguished Rolling Stone editor Matt Coyte, One Louder’s Bill Cullen, and Rhoda Roberts of Sydney Opera House and Boomerang Festival. Inviting entries from all genres from pop to rock, Country to Urban, Blues and Folk, even Music Video winners will enjoy sharing the platform with previous award recipients including Kate Miller-Heidke, Cub Scouts, and DZ Deathrays. Get your entry in before midnight May 6.
www.queenslandmusicawards.com.au

DAFT PUNK GETS LUCKY

Is it luck? Or perhaps the combination of the French electronic masters Daft Punk together with Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers. Whatever it is their new single ‘Get Lucky’ is causing a world sensation taking the #1 spot in 46 countries including the US, UK, Australia, and France (of course). The album Random Access Memories comes out on May 17 on Columbia Records via Sony Music Entertainment. The world might implode shortly after from minds being blown*.

*not really.

"GET LUCKY" FEATURING PHARRELL WILLIAMS & NILE RODGERS - http://smarturl.it/GetLucky

NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR NIMAs

Celebrating the talent of Indigenous artists nationally, the National Indigenous Music Awards are now welcoming entries for this year’s competition. Established in 2011, the competition will also collaborate with triple j’s Unearthed to uncover Indigenous talent across categories like Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Film Clip of the Year and New Talent of the Year.

http://nima.musicnt.com.au

ARIA CHART MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Increasing sales by 8% this week Passenger double their lead on the pole position against MKTO with single ‘Let Her Go’. And of course on the album charts Paramore hold number one for the second week in a row.

ARIA Singles Chart
1. Passenger ‘Let Her Go’
2. MKTO ‘Thank You’
3. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton ‘Can’t Hold Us’
4. Stafford Brothers featuring Lil Wayne & Christina Milian
5. Nelly ‘Hey Porsche’

ARIA Albums Chart
1. Paramore ‘Paramore’ (debut)
2. Passenger ‘All The Little Lights’
3. Bruno Mars ‘Unorthodox Jukebox’
4. Stone Sour ‘House Of Gold & Bones Part 2’ (debut)
5. James Blake ‘Overgrown’ (debut)

New signings this week for Dan Cribb, Jordie Lane, and Wendy Matthews, as well as a will.i.am promo visit and ARIA Chart happenings. And if you've been wondering whatever whatever happened to Andrew Stockdale - he of the crazy 'fro and the even crazier voice - read inside for good news.

Dan Cribb Signs With Pee

No, Perth punk musician Dan Cribb – also known as the guitarist in Perth punk band The Decline – isn't signing his name in the snow, so to speak. What he is doing is signing Pee Records in advance of his EP The Memories Last. The EP will be released through Pee (heh heh heh) on July 19th, and you should be able to find it in all your favourite record stores.

Jordie Lane Sign To Paquin

Acoustic balladeer Jordie Lane has signed to Canadian booking agency Paquin Entertainment, who also plays host to Canadian indie mega-stars Tegan and Sarah. To celebrate, he will be touring Canada in July/August of this year. You can catch the tail end of his current Australian tour this week, however, which wraps up on the 5th of May in Byron Bay. For more details, check out www.jordielane.com.

Wendy Matthew's Welcomes The Fire With Fanfare

In great news for headline writers everywhere – and also for Wendy Matthew's fans – Wendy Matthews is back this year with her first album of all new material in 12 years. The record, The Welcome Fire, is produced by John Castle and will be released by Fanfare Records, Matthew's new home (see, the headline practically writes itself). Every song on the album has been co-written with many other talented artists, including Megan Washington and Josh Pyke. The Welcome Fire will be released in August of this year.

will.i.am Down Under

will.i.am has announced a promo tour to Australia to support his new album, #willpower. Yes the hashtag is part of the album name. It's also part of the name of the lead single, "#thatPOWER". Both #willpower and "#thatPower" are out now, and will.i.am himself will be in Sydney from the 6th - 8th of May. You can also catch him on the soundtrack for the up-coming remake of The Great Gatsby, out May 10th.

Andrew Stockdale Keeps Moving

Andrew Stockdale, best known as the guy with the voice from Wolfmother, is set to take back the limelight in 2013 with his first every self-produced album, Keep Moving. The first single, "Long Way To Go", released as part of a four-track EP creatively called Keep Moving (EP), is in stores now. The album is in stores from June 7th, and a national tour kicks off in Newcastle on June 6th.

Passenger Rules The Singles Charts

In the ARIA charts this week, Passanger's"Let Her Go" still reigns supreme after 5 weeks at the top. Daft Punk's highly anticipated, Pharrell William's featuring track "Get Lucky" debuted at #2 this week, but don't be surprised if it gets to the top – and stays there – very soon. Calvin Harris's track "I Need Your Love" (featuring to Elli Goulding), has risen to #3, displacing "Can't Hold Us" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (ft. Ray Dalton), which has fallon slightly to #4. Guess they couldn't hold their position. Cough cough.

Sorry that was terrible. Moving on, Jason Derulo's"The Other Side" debuted at #5 this week, and Paramore has broken the ARIA top 10 for the first time with there song "Still Into You", which sits at #6. Michael Bublé, who is apparently much more popular than I realised, is continuing to reign over on the album charts with his album To Be Loved holding the top spot for the second week in a row.

With the 2013 Digital and Music Matters summit in Singapore just around the corner, more details emerge on how the Australian market is set to be represented. A huge contingent of Aussie industry professionals and performers are set to fly the flag during the conference and entertainment series - the only even in the Asia-Pacific region which 'brings the entire entertainment ecosystem under one roof'.

Following on from the successful Australian representation seen at the Nokia Music Connects event in Mumbai in 2012, Singapore is well set to host and showcase Australian talent and professionalism in leadership to the wider international market.

Musical performances by the following artists are set to ignite the stages during the conference's entertainment series, demonstrating the level of talent emerging from our diverse and dynamic music scene at present:

At Sunset
Cub Scouts
Dub FX
FAIRCHILD
Gurrumul
Katie Noonan
Monks of Mellonwah
Vaudeville Smash

Along with the opportunity to meet and interact with some of the most influential promoters, concert and festival organisers and venue reps in the Asia region, there will be a special keynote interview with Gurrumul Yunupingu, as well as a panel entitled Australia Into Asia: What Opportunities Does Asia Present for the Australian Music Industry.

The panel will see established Australian music industry leaders discuss why Asia is no longer a rest stop or holiday destination on one's way to cracking the North American or European markets. Moderated by Millie Millgate from Sounds Australia, attendees will see the following industry members in discussion:

Nick O'Byrne - Australian Independent Record Labels Association
General Manager

Brett Murrihy - Artist Voice

Vijay Nair - Only Music Louder
Director

Scot Morris - International, APRA|AMCOS
Director

Check out http://www.allthatmatters.asia/ for more information on the conference if you're already attending, or ways to become involved. We'll be there covering the event, so be sure to keep your eyes trained to the AU to follow our content!

The biggest showcase of Australian music in the UK that is, of course, the Aussie BBQ, will be returning to Cargo for another 12 massive hours of music and food this month! May 12 will see the London venue host and showcase the best international Australian music in a quintessentially British setting.

Presented by Sounds Australia, in its fifth year in 2013, the Aussie BBQ will be featuring the amazing talents of these artists:

Caitlin Park
Cub Scouts
Deep Sea Arcade
DUNE
Echo & The Empress
Glass Towers
Jackie Onassis
Made In Japan
Mikelangelo & the Black Sea Gentlemen
Neighbourhood Youth
Phebe Starr
The Upskirts

Head to http://www.gigantic.com/the-aussie-bbq-2013/cargo-london for information and where to get your tickets if you're just going to be bouncing round ole' London town!