In This Issue: Apple makes landmark deal with Beats Music & Electronics, ARIA launches a new award, Iggy Azalea makes Billboard Chart history, this week on the AIR charts and much, much more!
Apple To Acquire Beats Music & Electronics
Big news for the music industry as Apple has confirmed its acquisition of the critically acclaimed subscription music service Beats Music and the popular headphones and hardware manufacturer Beats Electronics, for US $3 billion.
Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple as part of the deal. “I’ve always known in my heart that Beats belonged with Apple,” said Iovine. “The idea when we started the company was inspired by Apple’s unmatched ability to marry culture and technology. Apple’s deep commitment to music fans, artists, songwriters and the music industry is something special.” Iovine’s creative flair in particular is seen to be a key part of Apple’s acquisition.
“Music is such an important part of all of our lives and holds a special place within our hearts at Apple,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “That’s why we have kept investing in music and are bringing together these extraordinary teams so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world.”
ARIA Unveils New No. 1 Award
ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) has unveiled a new program to acknowledge Australian and international artists that reach the number one position on the ARIA album or singles charts. The ARIA #1 Chart Award will be presented to artists as soon as they hit the coveted peak position.
Due to the amazing success of Australian artists in the charts over the last 18 months, ARIA has retrospectively awarded all local acts that have reached number one with a trophy. From the beginning of January 2013 until today, Australian artists have spent 34 weeks at the top, across the ARIA Singles and Albums charts.
The likes of Sheppard, Chet Faker, 5 Seconds of Summer, Flume and Kylie Minogue represent the diverse range of Australian talent to conquer the charts this year.
Iggy Azalea Makes Billboard Chart History
Australian sensation Iggy Azalea joins The Beatles as the only acts to have nos. 1 and 2 simultaneously with their first two Hot 100 hits. Her hit ‘Fancy’ feat. Charlie XCX hit no.1 on the Billboard charts, with her track ‘Problem’ featuring Ariana Grande at no. 2.
Azalea additionally becomes only the fourth solo female rapper ever to top the Hot 100.
State Of The Art Festival Line-Up
As part of the WA Day long weekend celebrations the State Of The Art (SOTA) Festival will be hosted at the Perth Cultural Centre on Saturday the 31st of May. The line-up (which already includes the likes of San Cisco and Sable) has expanded with SOTA Surrounds, an entirely free element which includes another 40 plus acts, an MC battle, pop-up performances and a visual art exhibition.
For further details, the complete line-up and ticketing, see here.
FEEDBACK Speakers Announced
FEEDBACK: A music conference for young people has announced its first round of speakers and sessions. A collaboration between Indent and Vivid Ideas, FEEDBACK promises to be a jam-packed afternoon of music industry guest speakers, interactive sessions and networking opportunities. It will be held on Monday the 9th of June at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.
Announced speakers include Josh Pyke, Wayne Connolly, Winston McCall (Parkway Drive), Graham Nixon (Resist Records), Thelma Plum, Stephen Goodhew (FBi Radio), Greg Morrow (APRA), Dave Ruby Howe (triple J Unearthed) and many more. They will cover topics from music making to marketing with plenty of advice particularly for young artists.
For the complete list of speakers and to buy tickets for this invaluable opportunity visit www.vividsydney.com/ideas
JMC Academy To Award Alumni
JMC Academy, Australia’s leading Creative Industries institution, will celebrate some of their many successful alumni with awards to acknowledge their achievements in the entertainment industry. To be held on Friday 26th of June at 4pm and hosted by Angela Bishop the event will take place at the Academy’s new Sydney campus in Ultimo and will feature performances by academy teacher James Reyne of the band Australian Crawl and recent alumni Double Black and current students Erin and Eden.
Many entertainment industry celebrities are expected to attend. For more information on the academy visit http://www.jmcacademy.edu.au.
Myth Behind The Riff Workshop
The Myth Behind The Riff, a metal and hard-core workshop presented by Leaps and Bounds Music Festival and Music Victoria will be held on Wednesday, 9th of July.
The information session will feature some of the most dynamic players on the Victorian metal and hard-core scene, such as Matt Young of King Parrot, Phoebe Pinnock of Heaven the Axe, Chris O’Brien (General Manager of Soundwave Festival) and moderated by Stu Harvey, radio presenter of short.fast.loud.
To book, click here.
Signings This Week
Australian independent label Chugg Music has announced their first international signing, Down with Webster. The Canadian band has already achieved #1 in their homeland with their album Party For Your Life and their first Australian single ‘One in a Million’ will hit Australian radio and Itunes this week.
AND Publishing has announced the signing of Jesse Davidson to a worldwide publishing deal. Danny Rogers of AND Publishing said, “We signed Jesse because we were staggered that a kid of just 18 could write songs of this quality. We went and watched Jesse perform and knew he was going to be a killer live act.”
Liberation Music has signed a deal with Brisbane based band The Creases. Their single ‘Static Lines’ off their forthcoming EP has already had more than 39,000 plays on Soundcloud in just over a week.
AIR: Independent Music Charts
SINGLES
1. Geronimo – Sheppard
2. Chandelier – Sia
3. Something I Said – Thundamentals
4. 1998 – Chet Faker
5. Talk Is Cheap – Chet Faker
6. Smiles Don’t Lie – Thundamentals
7. Drop The Game – Flume & Chet Faker
8. Sheppard – Sheppard
9. Given The Chance – The Kite String Tangle
10. Gold Snafu – Sticky Fingers
ALBUMS
1. So We Can Remember - Thundamentals
2. The Beard Album - The Beards
3. Pink Lemonade - Closure In Moscow
4. Flesh & Blood - John Butler Trio
5. Thinking In Textures - Chet Faker
6. Puddinghead - Ball Park Music
7. The Brink - The Jezabels
8. This Was Tomorrow - Seth Sentry
9. Certified Blue - The Black Sorrows
10. Lovelife - Darren Percival
