Table of contents for No. 1375 in Music Week

Taylor Made This is going to be about Taylor Swift. Of course it is. Writing in the immediate aftermath of the blockbuster success of her 10th original studio album, Midnights, it feels like our industry has just been hit by a 13-track tornado. Or 20-track, if you're rocking the 3am Edition. Which you should be. Anyhow, a brief recap: not only did Swift secure a chart double in the UK, notching up more sales than the rest of the Top 14 albums combined, Midnights also broke vinyl sales records for the 21st century, and secured the biggest weekly streaming total since Ed Sheeran's ÷ in 2017. In the States, meanwhile, Swift became the first musician to claim the entire Top 10 singles on the Top 100. I could carry on…

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH For 24/7 music business coverage, go to musicweek.com Every new creative expression is a leap. There's no ‘right way for artists to express themselves. Reels allow users to create fun, short videos, reach new audiences, build communities and be part of cultural moments on Facebook and Instagram. We want to make it easy to create reels on our platforms, which is why we've launched a range of editing tools to help artists get creative and be inspired. Whether it's using the remix feature to connect with fans and other creators, or using one of the many AR effects available, we've seen many artists experiment and find a new outlet for creative expression on reels. Meta's strategic partner manager for music artists, Christina Theodoropoulou, has worked with artists and…

Being Funny In A Foreign Language DirtyHit No1 JamieOborne JamieOborneChrisFraser(Dirty Hit) EdBlowDirtyHit) PerdiHiggsDirtyHit) JessAcremanErinTaylor(Dirty Hit), Warren Querns/ Ray Primett (Universal), George Georgopoulos/Sophie Jones (Huxley) JackCaldwellSaharSummer (Dirty Hit), Sadie Thompson/Harriet Willis/Tom Packer MotiveUnknown ClaireHigginsSophiePaton(CYOA) KarenWilliamsBigSister) Press: Anna Meacham/Nic Bestley (Huxley) WarrenHigginsChuffMedia) BradHunnerRadar JessHallRadioActive MattBatesICMPartners)…

SAM TOMPKINS Writing '90s R&B with a modern edge, this Brighton singer is mingling with the stars… KEY TRACK: Lose It All LABEL: Island MANAGEMENT: Catalyst Management INSTAGRAM: @samtompkinsuk When did you first start making music? “It's complicated. I technically first started at about 13, but I don't think the music I was writing back then was even listenable. I think I wrote the first song I actually ever liked at about 16…” Who do you draw inspiration from? “From everyone I've ever listened to - whether it's Don McLean's honesty or Stevie Wonder's depiction of love and beauty, the list goes on and on. I just love music.” You recently performed with Justin Bieber, who's a fan of your music. What was that like? “Sharing the stage with anyone…

“I want to be able to make something different every time, but retain the thread that makes it me” Gabrielle Aplin Phosphorescent is your fourth album, but you've said that while making it you felt like it was your first. What did you mean by that? “When I made my first album with [producer] Mike Spencer, it's not that I didn't know what I was doing, but it was my first time, so all these amazing, mad things were happening and I was just rolling with it. Working with him again this time felt like doing it all again - but as an adult and with experience and hindsight. I feel really excited because I had such an amazing time recording it. It was probably the best experience making any kind…

Adele White is a senior A&R manager at Island, and throughout her career has signed breakthrough artists such as Unknown T, Not3s, M Huncho and many more. She started out at BBC Radio 1xtra as a producer, before moving across to work at major labels - first as an A&R scout, then working her way up to her current role. Here, White shares words of wisdom for finding success in A&R… 1. Go to live shows… “Go to plenty of live events and network with artists, managers and producers. It's great to see talent performing live, to get a real understanding of what gives them their star quality. The more you see, the quicker you will be able to identify what an artist needs to be signed to a major…

The story of 1960s pop ultimately has to boil down to the story of The Beatles. First appearing in the UK singles chart in October 1962 with Love Me Do, their first No.l was From Me To You the following May. By the end of the decade, they were over, but they had chalked up 17 No.1 singles (including Christmas toppers in 1963, ‘64, ‘65 and ‘67) and 28 Top 10s. The Beatles changed so much about how music was made and promoted. Before them, few artists wrote their own songs, the biggest stars around the globe tended to come from the United States and concerts generally took place in halls not stadiums, which The Beatles had reached by the time of their last and legendary 1966 US tour. The…

The 2021/22 MVT annual survey results are in. And they make unpleasant reading. Despite the vainglorious Brexit battle cry that we'd “had enough of experts”, the truth is that good government relies on evidence from solid sources, well researched and properly analysed. When we started Music Venue Trust in 2014, this was a truism. At that time, little if any information about the people who work in the sector - where they work, what they do, what that work achieves - was available. The group of people who had come together to create our charity knew all too well that the grassroots music venue sector had been in crisis for a significant period of time. But their evidence, aside from the closure of venues, was entirely anecdotal. Venues were closing,…

UNITED KINGDOM FLO Cardboard Box (Happi Mix) Song Creations: 1,100,000 Made up of Jorja Douglas, Renée Downer and Stella Quaresma, London-based trio FLO released their R&B hit Cardboard Box earlier this year. The group have seen huge success on and off TikTok, but their recent success on the platform is thanks in no small part to popular creator and producer Happi, who created an Afrobeats version of the track, generating a viral dance trend that helped fuel its popularity. FLO officially released the remix hit in October and travelled across the pond to perform their song on Jimmy Kimmel's TV show. The band also curated their own playlist on TikTok to celebrate Black History Month, spotlighting the Black artists and sounds that inspire them. Alice Razack, artist partnerships manager at…

THE BIG TRIBUTE Tributes have been paid to Migos member Takeoff, who was killed in a shooting in Houston. “Forever a legend,” praised fellow US rapper Lil Pump of the 28-year-old, whose real name was Kirshnik Khari Ball. As part of Migos, Takeoff was involved in a huge run of streaming hits, including MotorSport and Stir Fry. The star and fellow Migos member Quavo had just released a video for their song Messy, a track from their side project Unc 8c Phew. THE BIG SIGNING Baby Queen has signed a global deal with Sony Music Publishing UK. Baby Queen, real name Bella Latham, has racked up over 87 million global streams to date. David Ventura, SMP UK president, co-managing director and SVP international, said: “Not only is Baby Queen's music…

frontline “Fuga was a scruffy start-up with 10 people now it's a global business” PIETER VAN RIJN, DOWNTOWN Downtown has launched a global division to combine tech solutions, label & aitist sendees, distribution and more. Following promotion from Fuga CEO to head up the new operation, Amsterdam-based Pieter Van Rijn talks expansion, catalogue and his artist origins… Why is it important to operate Downtown Music as a unified services division? “The timing was right to think a bit more holistically around a clear market proposition, a clear definition of who does what. It's more like a realignment. You see all these businesses, and it's really about sharing best practices. We know that technology is key if you want to be an innovative services offering business. That's a strong capability at Fuga,…

SAM RYDER All The Way Over (Parlophone) Sam Ryder always seems to be smiling which is no surprise given that, thanks to Space Man and Eurovision, he's emerged as a genuine star this year. But - stop press! - he has a sad and tender side, too. Built from piano chords and his trademark falsetto, plus an epic crescendo, All The Way Over explores the universal struggle of recovering from a break-up. This month's debut album promises to delve further behind the Essex-born singer's smile. Contact Jordan Shepley jordan.shepley@dawbell.com SPECIAL INTEREST Cherry Blue Intention (Rough Trade) Endure (out now) is Special Interest's first album for Rough Trade. For a taste of what the New Orleans punks are about, try this, a combo of post-punk and breakbeat that'll crush your bones…

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House music, viewed from the dancefloor, looks like an endless party. But when the lights come up and the speaker stacks come down, that's when someone, somewhere, needs to step in and be in charge. For Defected Records, as of August this year, that person is Wez Saunders, the label's new CEO. “I've always been a responsible person, so I take responsibilities with a pinch of salt,” he says, speaking to Music Week from his kitchen in Essex on a work from home day. “Even as a kid, I was captain of the football team, a house captain [at school]. Then when I worked in investment banking I was promoted every two years and I was on track to be the youngest ever director in Deutsche Bank's operations history.” During…

There are few working in the music business today who would be able to recall the 1970s, let alone the '60s or the '50s. Indeed, so much has changed in our industry since 1952 that it might as well be a different planet. But one of the few music institutions that does span such a long period is the Official Singles Chart, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. Few charts in the global music industry have the cultural position of the UK's Official Singles Chart. It was among the first in the world and continues to be among the most admired across the globe. Today, it is operated by the Official Charts Company, a unique partnership between the retail and label communities (represented by the Entertainment Retailers Association and…

The first million-seller of the new decade was an unlikely figure, as Bob The Builder romped to victory in the 2000 Christmas No.1 race, following in a long line of novelty No.1s including cartoon band The Archies, the Teletubbies and Mr Blobby. However, for the first few years of the decade, singles sales were in a tough place. Physical sales had fallen to a new low, partly because of a clear shift to albums (2004 was an all-time high for UK album sales, with 239 million units sold), but also the growth in online piracy. All that changed with the arrival of legitimate digital music, via the European launch of download services such as Apple's iTunes in 2004. The Official Download Chart followed and, in April 2005, downloads entered the…

‘We've reached a point where 100,000 tracks are being added to services daily'Ben MarlowCC Young To the uninitiated, getting new music into record shops, supermarkets and online stores might seem like a straightforward task, but the reality is quite different Indeed, there is a lot more to distribution than meets the eye. “The majority of labels tend to think that as a distributor, you just contact a store and they automatically list their release and buy copies to stock and rack in the store,” says Mark McQuillan, MD of Republic Of Music (ROM). “Unfortunately, this certainly isn't the case in the current era.” McQuillan knows that better than most, having handled 2022 releases by the likes of Kokorokc, Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band, Los Bitchos, Sunflower Bean, Clutch,…

Global streaming manager for services & Africa, Platoon @clawmichelle How did you get your big break in the music industry? “I always knew I wanted to work in the music industry and so would put myself forward for every available opportunity. Starting at 15, and during my school holidays, I would apply for internship after internship - to work for artist street teams, magazine stylists, management companies, you name it. One of my favourite opportunities was working for Viper Magazine alongside the team in the lead-up to its launch. At 18, I worked in retail in High Street Kensington, right by the major labels, so after work I would doorstep each one and persevere despite all the rejections. My big break came after university when I found an ad for…

JESHI - UNIVERSAL CREDIT Hip-hop has always been used as a form of social and political commentary, and although the UK has had its own variations in grime and, more recently, drill, there hasn't been much of a mainstream hip-hop scene to parallel the one in the USA. Jeshi could change that. The East London-based musician sums up the ups, downs and chaos of real life with a relatability and humour I haven't seen in UK rap for a while. His debut album Universal Credit, a deluxe edition of which is out this month, is a nod to the inequality that comes with austerity and unemployment. In the current cost-of-living crisis, it feels fitting to hear him rap about the reality of survival in England's cities. There are only two…

NOVEMBER 18 SilverBellsUniversal MobRulesDeluxeBMG DivisiveReprise DiamondsRhinestones The Greatest Hits Sony Erasure-2022Mute TheNumberOfTheBeast - 40th Anniv. Vinyl Parlophone JoanArmatradingLiveat Asylum Chapel BMG LeftOfTheMiddle 25th Anniv. BMG WorldRecordReprise GetRollinBMG TheMiracleDeluxeUniversal TheRubyCordDomino ProfoundMysteriesIIIDogTriumph TheresNothingButSpace, Man! Parlophone LosAngelesForumApril 26, 1969 Sony IsThisWhatItFeels Like To Feel Like This? The Wombats/AWAL NOVEMBER 25 ChristmasWithCliffWarner DivineSymmetryParlophone TheAtheistBigScaryMonsters KitchenDisco-LiveAt The London Palladium Cooking Vinyl ThisIsWhatIMean 0207 Def Jam Wish-30thAnniv Fiction YoshimiBattlesThePinkRobots 20th Anniv. Warner BreakEveryRule2022Deluxe Parlophone LiveAtTheFillmore 1997 Warner DECEMBER 02 TheChristmasAlbumWarner ElvisOnTourRCA TheAMRarities(1970-1975) A&M/UMG ThisIsWhatWeDo Virgin Harvest-50thAnniv Reprise DoubleAlbumFatWreckChords MarryMeEMI LifeThruALens- 25th Anniv. Island SailOnSailor1972(Super Deluxe) Capitol PremonitionDomino DECEMBER 09 LiveAtTheCapitolTheatre BMG SeventeenGoingUnder-Live Polydor…

“The stakes are higher when it's your child, it's about sacrifice and ambition” BOSE OGULU Behind the man who christened himself the “African Giant” stands an African woman. For global superstar Burna Boy, that woman is his mother and manager Bose Ogulu. Their tight bond has proved to be a winning combination, helping to establish Burna - real name Damini Ogulu - as one of Nigeria's biggest musical exports since Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. All of which begs the question, could Burna have had the same success with a different manager? “If you're talking about awards, he probably could have,” Ogulu muses, talking to Music Week to celebrate being named Manager Of The Year at this month's Artist & Manager Awards, which is staged by the Music Managers Forum (MMF) and…

There is no doubt that 1952 was a defining year for the UK. It was a time of post-war austerity, Winston Churchill led a new Conservative government and music continued to be dominated by crooners and jazz musicians. The launch in March of the New Musical Express went largely unnoticed, other than to the most enthusiastic music fans. The Musical Express (founded in 1946) had been bought in early 1952 by manager and promoter Maurice Kinn, who recruited Percy Dickins from Melody Maker, moving the operation to Denmark Street in London and relaunching it as the New Musical Express in March 1952. By the autumn, advertising manager Dickins had decided to launch a feature designed to set it apart from the competition. He created the first ever record listing for…

By January 2010, the singles market had become almost entirely digital, with around 98% of all sales coming from downloads. By 2012, they would drive singles sales to an all-time annual high in the UK of 188.7 million. But by the end of the decade, downloads would be almost on their way out, as consumers turned to streaming. Only in the 2010s did subscription plays start to become referred to as ‘streams' and generate enough volume to be considered for the singles chart, with audio streams admitted in July 2014 and video in July 2017. The biggest artists of the decade would be defined by how they engaged with streaming. Ed Sheeran was named by the OCC as the Official No.1 Artist Of The Decade, having chalked up a combined…

There was half a decade between I'm Good (Blue) being written and finally hitting No.1 earlier this year. Here, elite songwriter Phil Plested tells Music Week the story of how David Guetta, Bebe Rexha and Kamille joined forces to revive Eiffel 65's '90s dance smash for a whole new generation, with a little help from TikTok… About five years ago, I got a phone call late one evening saying, ‘Do you mind coming down to Metropolis Studios?' I was new to the game of co-writing - especially with artists - so I was nervous. I'd just co-written Little Mix's Touch and that must've been how I got in the room with Kamille, Bebe Rexha and David Guetta because I was a newbie at the time. Touch was my first song…

Dave Rowntree, artist Few can claim to have done as much in music as Dave Rowntree. As well as conquering the world with Blur, the drummer has dabbled in composing, campaigning, DJing and more, and he's about to add going solo to the list. Here, we venture down memory lane to talk business, Britpop and Brexit… The secret to Blur's success is… “That the foundation of everything we did was the songs, that's number one. Number two is that people still haven't figured out how Graham [Coxon] gets that guitar sound, and as long as they don't we're at the leading edge of things. Ultimately, chemistry is the vital element. Damon [Albarn], Graham and I were in various bands pre-Blur, but we got much better when Alex [James] joined -…