Table of contents for No. 1387 in Music Week

Tip of the Spears Even if I wasn't already a card-carrying Britney Spears super-fan, I would have still been champing at the bit to read The Woman In Me. Released last month, the global icon's long-awaited autobiography details her meteoric rise, struggles with fame, mental and physical trauma, and the successful attempt to extricate herself from the oppressive conservatorship that restricted her life for 13 years. It is, by turns, deeply heartbreaking and truly inspiring to read her first-hand account. Judging from the headlines spun out of the book so far, a lot of music outlets seem, sadly and predictably, to be preoccupied with tabloid sensationalism rather than diving into some of the very real questions Britney poses for our industry. Yes, many of her biggest grievances – as she…

THE BIG REPORT Global royalty collections for songwriters and composers reached a high point of €10.8 billion in 2022, according to CISAC. The increase of 28% was the largest rise on record and the first time that music income has topped €10bn. In the annual report, CISAC president Björn Ulvaeus flagged the impact of artificial intelligence: “AI will radically change the world for creators and the creative industry. It demands international leadership and a strong united front from all parts of the creative industry.” THE BIG SHOW TikTok is staging a live event headlined by Cardi B, Niall Horan, Anitta and Charlie Puth. TikTok In The Mix will take place at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona on December 10, 2023, and will be streamed globally via TikTok LIVE. “No other…

THIS MONTH: THE SONGWRITERS PODCAST Hosted by: Louise Golbey Contact: chris@weareunedited.com What was the inspiration behind launching The Songwriters Podcast with the Ivors Academy? “The Songwriters Podcast was created by myself and Unedited co-founder Bernard P. Achampong. We have a deep passion for music and wanted an avenue to give songwriters more of a spotlight and show that songwriting is a viable career path. We approached The Ivors Academy because they represent the epitome of British songwriters – celebrating and giving credit to composers and writers for the last 75 years. With our common goal, it made sense to get them on board, and we hope it helps highlight their importance to upcoming songwriters and music lovers.” Were there any misconceptions about the world of songwriting that you wanted to…

Poppy Waring Manager, member and partner success, Merlin How did you get your first break in the music industry? “At university, I dabbled in music journalism and ran our radio station, which involved securing funding for gear and mixing, scheduling and booking gigs. I started looking for ways into the industry after that and interned at the PR company Stereo Sanctity. After a few months going freelance, I interviewed at Merlin. I've been here for nearly six years and I'm so grateful to be in a place that allows me to be nerdy about the things I [love] and is so supportive of my learning.” You are part of the international team working to strike deals with Merlin's digital partners. What does your work look like day-to-day? “My day-to-day [work]…

Nick Reilly, news editor, Rolling Stone UK THE LAST DINNER PARTY – SINNER It's not long until Spotify Wrapped arrives and there's one band I'm fully expecting to see at the top of my list: The Last Dinner Party. I've been obsessed with the South Londoners ever since I saw them at The George Tavern in March. They arrived on stage looking like the Bennet sisters from Pride And Prejudice, before delivering the kind of racket that would raise Jane Austen from her grave. Their debut single Nothing Matters was, for my money, one of the best pop songs released in years. But it's the subsequent tracks that show a truly exciting trajectory. Sinner is like the soundtrack to a sleazy party in Old Soho, while My Lady Of Mercy…

NOVEMBER 17 Bob Dylan The Complete Budokan 1978 – Live Columbia Dolly Parton Rockstar Big Machine Emeli Sandé How Were We To Know Chrysalis Evanescence Fallen: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Craft/Concord Iron & Wine Who Can See Forever (Soundtrack) Sub Pop Kenny Wayne Shepherd Dirt On My Diamonds Vol.1 Mascot Kurt Vile Back To Moon Beach Verve Little Man Tate Welcome To The Rest Of Your Life Best Of Three Made For Humans Made For Humans II SO/Silva Screen Muse Muse Absolution XX Anniversary A&E Narada Michael Walden Euphoria Nicolosi/Walden Plain White T's Plain White T's Fearless/Concord The Kinks The Journey, Pt.2 BMG Thea Gilmore Thea Gilmore Mighty Village NOVEMBER 24 Raze Regal & White Denim Inc. Raze Regal & White Denim Inc. Bella Union Snoop Dogg Doggystyle: 30th Anniversary Death…

Central Cee is one of the biggest domestic breakthroughs of recent years, with his 2022 No.2 hit Doja racking up over 500 million streams on Spotify and becoming his biggest solo release in the UK. Here, WhyJay and LiTek, the production duo named WhyTek, take us behind the scenes of the iconic track… WhyJay: “If a track is a hit, it's a hit from your first idea.” LiTek: “Yeah, Doja was [initially] like a 10-minute thing, we liked the sample, we thought it was good and just went from there. We didn't put too much thought into it and I think that was the beauty of it. But without Central Cee, it wouldn't be what it is now.” W: “We already had a relationship with him before Doja because we…

01 AMAZING GRACE KENYA GRACE Strangers (FFRR) SALES: 154,875 Five weeks after making its chart entrance, Kenya Grace reached No.1 with Strangers in October's second frame, as her maiden hit became the fifth consecutive No.1 by a female solo act, in the wake of chart-toppers from Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo and Doja Cat. Strangers went on to spend three weeks at the summit, only to be dislodged following a deluge of hits from Taylor Swift's reissued version of 1989, which was released in the last week of the month. South African-born, UK-based drum & bass act Grace is signed to Warner imprint FFRR and wrote, produced and performed Strangers in full. She is the second artist born in the country to top the singles chart, doing so 62 years…

5 years ago… TOP STORY (OUT)STANDING OVATION For the cover of Music Week, we saluted the winners of the 2018 Women In Music Awards, with the celebrations being led by the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution honour, Jane Dyball. In a career-spanning interview, the CEO of the MPA Group reflected on her 30 years in the industry – which started off with her looking for companies to work for via, cough cough, the Music Week Directory. “It's unusual to get recognised for just getting on with it,” joked Dyball. “I do stuff behind the scenes. It's good that it's getting recognised, but it's not that kind of sexy role where you can say, ‘I went to a gig and discovered a young Bono.’ I'm never the smartest person in the…

Lucy Dickins, global head of contemporary music and touring, WME For years now, Lucy Dickins has been renowned as a trailblazer in live music and, after taking on a new global role at WME, she won the 2023 MITS Award. Here, the agent talks meeting Adele, dining with Tracy Chapman and the Dickins industry dynasty… Because I had family members in the business, my industry story began at a young age… “My very first gig was ABBA, the one after that was Bucks Fizz. When I was growing up, I didn't really want to be a girl, I had an older brother I played football with and I'd cut off all my hair. This was the early 1980s and I remember going backstage to meet Bucks Fizz with my short…

Your essential primer for the month a head Armada's global senior A&R director Jason Ellis has spoken to Music Week about the huge opportunities for both frontline artists and catalogue at the dance music label. Ellis has become a key part of Armada as the UK office celebrates a chart breakthrough with DOD. The highly experienced exec joined the independent label in the summer following two decades in charge at Universal Music UK dance label Positiva. “I had a really inspiring conversation with [CEO] Maykel Piron, and from that point it became clear that it would be the place for me in the next phase of my career,” said Ellis, who is based in London. In his role, Ellis is responsible for sourcing and developing talent. “We are a global…

“Transparency and correct metadata are the path for a fairer industry – that is core to our DNA” JOSH SIMONS, JAXSTA Jaxsta describes itself as the world's largest database of official music credits, with data partners ranging from major labels to the Grammys. Here, recently appointed chief exec Josh Simons reflects on his new position, the acquisition of Vampr and the role of AI… You have an interesting family background in the music industry, can you tell us more? “My grandfather was an early partner in Leeds Music, which was acquired multiple times over but ultimately today is the backbone of Universal Music Publishing Group. My father followed in a similar vein, although he went more of an independent route and created a few music publishing companies that worked with…

In some ways, Zoe Wees is a truly modern pop star. She has the Gen Z knack for making darkly sad pop music: her 2020 breakthrough single Control wasn't about the typical subjects of bad relationships or world domination; it was about keeping a lid on feelings of anxiety. She's also, on the surface, a being of the online world, where the borders of nation states have little to no cultural significance. Wees was born and brought up in Germany, where she still lives, but sings and speaks in flawless American-accented English. She has had a No.1 in France, is signed to Capitol Records UK and also managed by the German independent Valeria Music Group. Her debut album Therapy, released via Capitol, very much doubles down on Wees’ pronounced gift…

CURATED BY GIR'S CARLA MARIE WILLIAMS VANNESSA AMADI-OGBONNA (CEO & FOUNDER, VA-PR) Meet Vannessa Amadi-Ogbonna, the London-born founder and CEO of the award-winning public relations firm and management agency VA-PR. With a career in PR and marketing spanning over 23 years, Amadi-Ogbonna has shaped and executed publicity campaigns for a wide range of artists including Grammy Award-winning British R&B singer Estelle, Afrobeats giants Davido and Tiwa Savage, US stars Usher and Ciara, supermodel and activist Naomi Campbell, as well as the multiple award-winning global star and Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Whitney Houston, for whom she was UK publicist for five years. Amadi-Ogbonna is a highly respected music executive and one of the key forces behind bringing Afrobeats music to the international stage and entrenching its global audience.…

01 PRECIOUS STONES ROLLING STONES Hackney Diamonds (Polydor) SALES: 72,236 In a remarkable chart career of six decades, The Rolling Stones secured their 14th No.1 album – and the month's biggest seller – with Hackney Diamonds. With this, the Rolling Stones move into a four-way tie for most No.1 studio albums by an act (11), alongside The Beatles, Robbie Williams and Bruce Springsteen. In the final week of October, the Stones’ first album of original material since 2005 secured the third biggest opening of 2023 with sales of 72,204 (64,606 physical copies, 4,373 downloads and 3,225 sales-equivalent streams). As Music Week went to press, huge sales for Taylor Swift's 1989 (Taylor's Version) gave her the year's biggest week one total ahead of Lewis Capaldi, Ed Sheeran and the Stones. Swift's sales…

@Madonna London was a knock out. Four unforgettable evenings! Thank you for your warm welcome! #MadonnaCelebrationTour (Madonna, artist) Saturday, October 21 @niall_mdoherty For Halloween this year I'm going to dress up as a PR lurking in the corner during a Zoom interview on mute. Scary, unsettling shit (Niall Doherty, journalist) Monday, October 23 @Blessed_Madonna Immediately before my show last night while napping I was bitten by some kind of bug on my face and without my consent my costume became Woogie in There's Something About Mary. (The Blessed Madonna, DJ) Wednesday, November 1 @SZA In my only doing shit for people that deserve it and make me feel happy era (SZA, artist) Monday, October 23 @britneyspears It's happening!!! My book is the highest selling celebrity memoir in history and it's…

DANNY BROWN Tantor (Warp) The lead track from Danny Brown's sixth album Quaranta is a chaotic affair, proof that moving to Austin, Texas and going sober has done nothing to dull his fidgety, fantastical ways. Tantor packs in the sound of dial-up modem, a namecheck for diver Greg Louganis and lots more. Contact: Ben Harris ben@runmusic.co.uk NADINE SHAH Topless Mother (EMI North) Inspired by past encounters with a therapist (‘I pay you money just to humour me'), Topless Mother turns personal turmoil into an enjoyable scree, as Nadine Shah uses double tracked harmonies on the first single from fifth album Filthy Underneath. Contact: Nathan Beazer nathan@dogdaypress.com THE BEATLES Now And Then (Apple Corps/Capitol/UME) It says much about their continued impact on the music industry that The Beatles still have the…

“Duran Duran are not an ‘80s band, they've had hits throughout their career” WENDY LAISTER Wendy Laister has worked with some of the biggest stars in the world over the past few decades, but the music manager singles out one iconic figure in her career. “You could feel his presence,” she recalls of the time she met Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid activist who would later become president of South Africa. “He had this aura that very few people have that was just incredible.” At the time, the former PR supremo coordinated press and publicity campaigns for global televised music events. As a result, she was closely involved in both the 1988 Mandela 70th birthday concert at Wembley Stadium – which called for his freedom – and the 1990 event at…

I'm sure I remember a time when you heard about a great plan, a positive opportunity or a simple way to do something that could make things better, and just said, ‘Oh, that's good, count me in.’ These days it seems to be like pulling teeth. In October, it was my privilege to attend the unveiling of a special plaque on the side of The Snug in Atherton. That name may not be familiar to you, and most likely many of you reading these words will never have been to Atherton in Greater Manchester. But whether you know it or not, The Snug is a vitally important asset to its local community. Its work starts with the belief in supporting artists, encouraging people to be creative and giving them opportunities…

UNITED KINGDOM KAD Ft Kak Hatt Just How You Like It Video Creations: 125,000 Emerging producer KAD and artist Kak Hatt have taken over playlists and For You Pages with the release of their viral single, Just How You Like It. The community has shown a lot of love for the song so far, with creators using the sound to the words ‘keep it lemon’, meaning ‘keep it cool ‘or ‘fresh’, with the first sign of the trend being traced back to February this year. UK TikTok fans have been creating videos where they're rhyming to the lyrics of the track's hook in their local pubs and at football games, whilst audiences in the US have also started to show an interest. Since the song's release, producer KAD also met…