Table of contents for No. 1373 in Music Week

A royalty affair From Joni Mitchell's triumphant return to the stage at Newport Folk Festival to Kate Bush scoring a No.1 with Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) 37 years after its release, 2022 hasn't exactly shortchanged us when it comes to surprises. But while that can certainly be said about momentous events on stage and within the charts, it's not always the case when it comes to the finer points of the music business. As it ever was, so many of the biggest issues are dealt with in exhaustive court hearings over months, if not what feels like millennia. And that's precisely why the recent developments involving mechanical streaming rates in the US feel so worthy of adding to 2022's big ol' list of eyebrow-raising moments. As…

THE BIG MOVE Olly Murs has signed to EMI Records for his first new album since 2018. Murs was with Sony Music for 12 years, during which time he had four No.1 LPs. He previously worked with EMI co-president Jo Charrington when she was in senior roles at Sony. “I'm thrilled to be working with Olly again,” she said. “He has become one of the UK's most loved voices and entertainers, building a huge and devoted audience. His new music is stellar, full of heartfelt up-tempo bangers.” THE BIG ROLE Lucy Dickins has been promoted to WME's global head of contemporary music and touring. In her expanded role at the agency, she will oversee all aspects of the agency's contemporary music and touring business across Beverly Hills, New York, Nashville,…

Kim Bayley, chief executive officer, ERA Membership of the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) has more than doubled since Kim Bayley took charge two decades ago this month. Here, she celebrates triumphs such as Record Store Day, uniting physical and digital members, and the vinyl revival… “With the price crunch, some vinyl buyers are switching to CD”KIM BAYLEY, ERA Congratulations on 20 years as CEO. How do you reflect on ERA'S evolution? “The trade body has changed so much over those 20 years. When I joined ERA, it was very much High Street retailers like Woolworths and Virgin. Now it's a completely different beast with Spotify, Amazon and Google. So there's been a lot to grapple with over the years to bring ERA to where it is now. Record Store Day…

R&B girl groups had their last real heyday in the early 2000s, with Destiny's Child and others picking up the torch from '90s stars such as En Vogue, TLC and SWV. Since then, the style and slickness of classic R&B has largely been conspicuous by its absence. While there have been phenomenal acts like Girls Aloud and Little Mix, the girl groups scene has also been somewhat depleted. Until now, that is. Enter: FLO. Comprised of Renee Downer, Jorja Douglas and Stella Quaresma, FLO first appeared this spring with Cardboard Box, a MNEK-produced banger of a debut single. The track - which is about cathartically dumping an ex's possessions currently has over three million views on YouTube and 6.3 million streams on Spotify, with the London-based trio quickly motoring towards…

THIS MONTH'S HOTTEST BRAND NEW ACT AYRTN A South London rapper with a brand new blend of atmospheric beats and sharp lyrics¨ KEY TRACK: The Glo' LABEL: Believe MANAGEMENT: Lockoff Management INSTAGRAM: @ayrtn777 How did you get into making music? “As a kid I was always part of anything to do with music, whether it was at school, church or at home. I started seriously experimenting with music production when I was 16.1 started using GarageBand on my dad's iMac to practise my music production. I initially tried to get other artists to use my beats, but hardly anyone took them seriously, so I decided to use them for myself. I always knew I could write good lyrics, but I never saw myself as an MC or rapper.” Who are…

01 ALL THE FEELS LF SYSTEM Afraid To Feel (Warner) SALES: 183,985 It was an unbroken run at the top of the weekly singles chart throughout August for LF System, with summer dance anthem Afraid To Feel becoming the longest-running No.1 by an act from Edinburgh in the process. Despite an early dip in consumption in the month's first frame, it had recovered by the second to fight off competition from Beyoncé's Break My Soul, and from there was further buoyed by remixes from David Guetta & Dyro, CID, Tommy Villiers, Gerd Janson and Armand Van Helden. By the month's end, it had enjoyed a total of eight weeks at the summit and racked 183,985 sales, and 587,228 sales overall. 07 CEE POWER CENTRAL CEE Doja (Central Cee) SALES: 116,093 Adding 116,03…

First class: Debut LPs set to boost Q4 sales with nationwide long-player celebration “KSI and Sam Ryder appeal to a younger audience who may not have grown up around physical music”Megan Page,ERA National Album Day organisers have called on labels to help the event become a key Q4 sales driver. The 2022 edition, which is themed around debut LPs, takes place on October 15. The promotional event staged by ERA and the BPI celebrates the album format across both physical music and streaming platforms. Now on its fifth edition, NAD has support from labels, retailers and media, including official partner BBC Sounds. “We always knew that it was going to be a long-term project,” said Megan Page, National Album Day coordinator at ERA. “If you look at similar campaigns like…

The Alchemist's Euphoria Label: Columbia Peak Chart Position: No.1 TEAM Kasabian CEO & Chairman: Jason Iley (Sony Music UK & Ireland) President: Ferdy Unger-Hamilton (Columbia) MD: Manish Arora (Columbia) A&R: Mike Pickering (Columbia) Management: John Coyne/Simon Moran Digital: Caitlin Fine/Mike Hanson (Columbia), Hannah Emanuel (Pinball) Marketing: Polly Withington/ Benj Cullen (Columbia) Print Press: Barbara Charone/ Ant Giannaccini (MBC PR) Online Press: Ashley Matthews (MBC PR) Radio: Rob Lynch (Airplayer) Regional Radio: Gary Hobson (Columbia) TV: Sam Sewell (Columbia)…

@AnneMarie Why do we have toenails? (Anne Marie, artist) Sunday, August 7 @liamgallagher Just watched Woodstock '99 absolute carnage top documentary check it out LG x (Liam Gallagher, artist) Thursday, August 11 @jaclynulman Can everyone please just be nice to their publicists!!!!! (Jaclyn Ulman, Grandstand HQ) Tuesday, August 16 @townsendyesmate Just said “me likey” out loud to myself when listening to the first song on the new Beyoncé album. Great record I'm sure but I'm afraid I can never listen to it again now. I don't deserve her. (Mike Townsend, ADA) Friday, July 29 @Banananey SWEET, GLORIOUS RAIN! (Barney Hunter, PPL) Tuesday, August 16 @genofeves Omg accidentally watching the news on friday night just put us all out of our misery now (Genevieve Taylor, Glisten PR) Friday, August 12 @RebeccaFMusic So many…

LEWIS CAPALDI Forget Me (EMI) Forget Me sees Lewis Capaldi reunited with songwriting trio TMS - his collaborators on world-dominating triumph Someone You Loved. Capaldi's comeback is him at his best, mining universal truths for instant romantic relatability. Contact: Ant Giannaccini anthony@mbcpr.com DRY CLEANING Gary Ashby (4AD) Dry Cleaning's latest offering is pure post-punk, spiky guitar riffs forming a backdrop for Florence Shaw's typically laconic vocals. The London quartet's second album, Stumpwork, is out October 21. Contact: Annette Lee annettelee@4ad.com KHRUANGBIN Tongo Barra (Dead Oceans) Khruangbin's next project, Ali, is a tribute to Malian icon Ali Farka Toure, made in collaboration with his son Vieux. Latest track Tongo Barra blends Malian music with Khruangbin's shimmering psychedelia, creating a fusion befitting the Texas trio's borderless sound. Contact: Rachel Campbell rachel@wired-pr.co.uk MAISIE…

No pop song has defined 2022 like Harry Styles' As It Was. Not even six months old, it has become the singer's fifth million-selling solo UK hit. Here, co-writer Tyler Johnson tells Music Week how the indie-inspired single was made in the comfy surrounds of Sony Music Group chairman & CEO Rob Stringer's living room… The story of As It Was is very of the moment. It's interesting in the context of Harry's other biggest song, which is Watermelon Sugar. That one took a while and As It Was was more speedy, right out of the gate. Harry was sitting on the Moog One and I liked what he was playing, so I sat down and played as he started to write the melodies and the lyrics. Tom [Hull aka…

01 RENAISSANCE ART BEYONCÉ Renaissance (Columbia) SALES: 57,018 Beyoncé's first new studio album in more than six years, the dancefloor-focused Renaissance, made its anticipated debut at the top of the weekly chart with first-week consumption of 31,064 units, bringing the Texan mega star her fourth No.1 solo album. The following week, Renaissance became the first album to spend its first two weeks at No.1 so far this year, and the first Beyoncé album to spend more than a week at No.1 since 4 in 2011. Renaissance has some way to go to equal the singer's biggest-selling album, I Am…Sasha Fierce, which has consumption to date of 1,836,494 units. 04 STEPPING UP STEPS Platinum Collection (Sony Music CG) SALES: a4,127 Last month, Steps marked the 25th anniversary of their formation with career-spanning compilation…

Myles Kennedy, guitar/vocals, Alter Bridge/Slash Meet one of the hardest working people in music. Not only has Myles Kennedy steered Alter Bridge from small clubs to headlining The O2, he's also one of rock's most in-demand voices. Here, he reflects on everything from making records with Slash to being invited to a jam session with Led Zeppelin… Before I joined Alter Bridge, I was almost done with music… “I didn't expect my band The Mayfield Four to do well, but we got a major label deal and toured - it was great. When it ended I was like, ‘Well, that was your chance!' I went back to teaching guitar, got married and was trying to figure out what to do with my life. And then, lo and behold, a second…

THIS MONTH: THE MOJO RECORD CLUB Hosted by: Andrew Male Contact: mojo@bauermedia.co.uk What was the vision behind the Record Club series, and how does it differ to Mojo's previous Innovators podcast? John Mulvey (editor, Mojo): “Honestly, our original idea for a Mojo podcast was something akin to the Mojo Record Club but, for a bunch of very good reasons, we went with Mojo Innovators for a short run in 2019. This time, we wanted a regular podcast that complemented the mag and reflected how we communicated with each other, to our readers, and to the artists we encountered; a show where we could talk enthusiastically and intelligently about the records we loved, often quite obscure ones, without being either patronising or alienating. We wanted to show that weird old cratedigging…

Jasmin Charles Senior product manager, Warner Music LinkedIn - Jasmin Charles Did you have any idea of what to expect before you got your first job in music? “Joining Warner Music was my first foray into the industry! I didn't come from a particularly musical background - I studied photography at university and always knew I would find my feet in a creative industry. I started out at a junior level and I'm now working as a senior product manager, with a roster that ranges from new signings to established acts across all Warner Music labels. I've seen the landscape shift a lot during the last six years: we're now seeing tour merch sales stronger than ever, with artists wanting to put out more eco-conscious merch.” What does a typical…

JITWAM - THIRD Since his first album, Selftitled, in 2017, I've been a big admirer of Jitwam. His latest full-length, Third, has been on repeat since its release in July. The Sydney-based singer and songwriter uses his rich South Asian heritage in his music, and you can hear elements of that in this album. Incorporating sounds from across the world, Jitwam has always married incisive political commentary with deep introspection creating work that is simultaneously intimate and playful. On Third, his ideas feel fully formed, and ready to take flight. He expands upon his beat-making abilities and production, fusing live music with samples, while elevating his craft to new heights. He seamlessly floats through Latin music, funk, soul, punk and disco. Throughout the album, he evokes memories of finding peace…

I'm pleased to say that, with a tiny number of exceptions (you know who you are), the Own Our Venues project is receiving great support and a lot of enthusiasm from our industiy. Our task across the next few months is to convert that positivity into meaningful action. It's a difficult time to be out there talking about a long-term sustainable future in an industry with so many short-term challenges, and with the public facing a very genuine cost of living crisis. We want to solve these challenges - not just keep sticking more plasters over some pretty serious and deep injuries. I've been enjoying going to meetings with a really positive story about what we can do, instead of pleading for the money we need in order to stop…

UNITED KINGDOM Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All) Song Creations: 110,000 Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal's electronic hit B.O.T.A (Baddest Of Them All) has been shooting up the charts, both on and off TikTok. The East London DJ's first self-produced single debuted with a bang, hitting the No.2 spot on the Official Singles Chart after she posted a TikTok video of her playing the track. The TikTok community has loved using the feel-good sound in their beauty transformations and summer compilation videos. In response, Eliza Rose has been sharing her own transformation content, describing the track as “the people's rhythm”. James Lightfoot, artist community manager at TikTok, said that Rose has enjoyed the kind of start that artists dream of. “B.O.T.A has already reached No.l in…