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Normally this is great news, and for intense and purposes its is! However, fans of Sir Paul McCartney woke up this morning to the news that McCartney doesn’t think he will be a headline act at next year’s (2021) Glastonbury. This is certainly a sad piece of news for fans as McCartney has been somewhat of a staple of the festival and was planned for a headline show this year before the pandemic hit “I should have been rehearsing for my shows, culminating in Glastonbury, and suddenly all of that was knocked out, so I was able to do some recording.”

The former Beatle explains that he feels that despite there being a vaccine, places like festivals and large shows (or crowds that arent his immediate family) may not be safe “100,000 people closely packed together with flags and no masks, you know, talk about superspreader. I’d love it to be, but I have a feeling it’s not going to be.”. Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis has stated that they hope Glastonbury will be safe and they are doing all they can to make sure of it “We’re doing everything we can on our end to plan and prepare, but I think we’re still quite a long way from being able to say we’re confident 2021 will go ahead.”

McCartney may feel like festivals aren’t safe, but he has made it clear he wants to set an example by getting the vaccine as soon as it is possible. During the lockdown, McCartney has been writing music for the sequel to his two former solo albums ‘McCartney’ and ‘McCartney II’. The new ‘McCartney III’ which was delayed till today (18/12/2020) “I was just making music purely for me that no one really was going to hear, except me and my family. I thought of ‘McCartney I and II’. I’d played all the instruments on those, which put this in the same class, so this should be McCartney III. I’d found a place for it.”  

#McCartneyIII. The new album, out now. Get it here: https://t.co/8UPtDfPijp by @maryamccartney pic.twitter.com/BSFO1S4sSK — Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) December 18, 2020

Aside from his own Album, McCartney also teamed up with his former Beatle Ringo Starr as a featured vocalist on his soon to be released EP ‘Zoom In’. Even if he may not be seen at Glastonbury in 2021, fans can get a whole lot of McCartney right now! ‘McCartney III’ Is available to download, buy, and stream today.

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Famous for being the drummer to one of (if not the) biggest rock bands of all time The Beatles, Starr has been spending his time writing music during the lockdown. Yesterday (16/12/2020) Starr released a single as a taste of what to come from the EP, the EP in question, titled ‘Zoom In’ (a possible link to the increased use of Zoom as a way to contact people during the pandemic and the lockdowns), will have 5 songs on it and will feature a number of guest artists from the likes of Sheryl Crow, Jenny Lewis, Lenny Kravitz and many many more!

Amongst those who have made a guest appearance is none other than former Beatles bassist, guitarist, and vocalist Paul McCartney! McCartney, who has already has contributed to Starr’s latest single, hasn’t been seen much with the former Beatle. The two remaining Beatles were last seen together on the 60th anniversary of the famous album ‘Abbey Road’ at the famous studio that gave the album its name last year. Before that, they last played together back in 2001 when George Harrison (another former Beatle) was diagnosed with throat cancer.

Speaking about why Starr released the single now rather than waiting for the whole EP to be released, the Beetle said “I wanted it out in time for New Years because it feels like a good song to end a tough year on. I wanted it out in time for New Years because it feels like a good song to end a tough year on”. Starr has been a very active musician, He still regularly releases albums starting back in 1970 with the release of his first solo studio album titled ‘Sentimental Journey’ all the way up to his most recent and 20th solo studio album ‘What’s My Name’ which released last year (2019).

Written alongside American songwriter Diane Warren, Starr explains why he collaborated with Warren “When Diane presented this song to me I loved the sentiment of it, this is the kind of song we all want to sing along to, and it was so great how many wonderful musicians joined in.”. ‘Here’s To The Night’ features 13 guest vocals (see Starr’s attached Instagram post). Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl will be featuring guest vocals in later additions to the EP.

‘Zoom In’ is expected to be released early next year on March the 19th (2021). This five-song EP is a much-anticipated release for fans of Ringo Starr, But not just his fans. Fans of The Beatles will love to hear and see a return of the last two surviving members of the famous British Rock for this EP. See below for the Track List

1. ‘Here’s To  The Night’
2. ‘Zoom In Zoom Out’
3. ‘Teach Me To Tango’
4. ‘Waiting For The Tide To Turn’
5. ‘Not Enough Love In The World’

To mark what would have been David Bowie’s 74th birthday, two previously unreleased cover versions, John Lennon’s MOTHER and Bob Dylan’s TRYIN’ TO GET TO HEAVEN, will be released as a limited edition 7” single on 8th January next year. Full press release: https://t.co/cW5mqivAdI pic.twitter.com/dctlfk2T5P

— David Bowie Official (@DavidBowieReal) December 16, 2020

The new limited edition vinyl, named Special 7, will feature covers of John Lennon’s ‘Mother’ and Bob Dylan’s ‘Tryin’ to get to heaven’. Unfortunately, there will only be a limited number of vinyls that’ll be released so fans must be very quick to be in a chance to get their hands on the vinyl. for those that miss the chance to own one, the songs will be available to stream upon release with the vinyl being for collectors more than anything else.

This plan for a limited number of vinyls has left a number of fans fairly upset. Some fans have claimed that this whole limited edition will just be a chance for people to resell them at higher prices on eBay and that it shouldn’t be just a limited edition. Another complaint is that of the lack of numbers up for grabs, unfortunately, there is only 8147 ( a very random number), 1000 of these will be a rare even more limited edition cream coloured vinyl with the remaining 7147 being normal black. Despite some fans being upset, there are a lot who are excited.

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Originally auditioning as solo acts, Jesy Nelson, Jade Thrilwall, Perrie Edwards, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock later formed the British girl group known today as Little Mix. Being the first group act to win the X Factor at the time. The band is one of the best-known winners of the X Factor having such an amazing career, having 7 successfully albums (1 of which reached number 1 in the UK), numerous singles with 4 of them being number 1 in the UK, sold-out tours, and as of recently their own talent contestant TV show.

Normally when a member leaves a group it’s due to disagreements or a falling out. With Nelson and Little Mix, however, it wasn’t anything near that. Nelson for a while has been out of the spotlight “Nelson’s decision comes a month after she took time off from the group, citing “private medical reasons” Nelson also missed the final of Little Mix’s TV show. It has now come to light that the reason for being absent was due to a decline in Nelson’s mental health.

In her statement on her Instagram, Nelson said “There comes a time in life when we need to reinvest in taking care of ourselves rather than focussing on making other people happy, and I feel now is the time to begin that process”. Being in the constant public spotlight and “living up to expectations” has taken a massive toll on Nelson leading her to step away from being a part of Little Mix. At first, fans were obviously very upset, but that sadness has turned into an outpouring of support from both fans and now former group mates.  

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Jade, Perrie, and Leigh-Anne all fully support Nelson’s decision to step away from the group. They also made a social media post on the band’s Instagram “This is an incredibly sad time for all of us but we are fully supportive of Jesy. We love her very much and agree that it is so important that she does what is right for her mental health and well-being”. 

Nelson, who has normally been such a formidable force spreading positivity and confidence for women, has seemed to bottle up a lot, and it’s very important for her to take the time for herself to get better. Fans and have shared their hope that Jesy starts to feel better and takes all the time she needs to have some much needed time for herself and her mental health

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Blue was a very popular band when they formed back in 2000. Formed by Antony Costa, Duncan James, Lee Ryan, and Simon Webbe Blue wherein high regards around the time of early Naughties pop bands. In the same tier as bands like Steps, S Club Seven, and the Spice Girls the British pop band scene of the naughties was hard to topple. Blue was a band that started very strong and did very well early but unfortunately was hit with a lot of misfortunes halting the band’s progress.

Between 2000, when the band formed, and 2003 the band released three studio albums. All of the albums reached critical success with all three peaked at number 1 in the UK charts. Starting strong early the band became so famous they worked alongside the likes of Stevie Wonder and Sir Elton John. However, Hard times hit the band and the boys announced a hiatus after the release of their compilation album Best of Blue in 2004  

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Speaking to the Sun, Duncan shed some light on the band’s goings-on “I’d like to think we’ll reform again. We were wanting to do something for our 20th anniversary but at the moment lockdown has meant it’s been difficult to get together. It’s not been easy.”. Obviously, with the on-going global pandemic, the band has missed the date of their 20 year anniversary but there is hope that 2021 will see them return. After their hiatus, the band did reunite before but has been fairly silent since the first reunion.

The original reunion (back in January of 2011) was to represent the UK in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest (a very good choice). Blue wrote the song I can for the contest, It later appeared on their fourth studio album, that year the UK came eleventh scoring 100 points. Unfortunately for the boy band, bad news followed after their comeback. in 2015 the band were dropped by their label Sony for poor sales of their fifth album. Colours was met with poor reviews selling just 4000 copies in the first week alone. Since then the band have been quiet aside from a few shows.

An insider has come forward to back up the claims of a comeback saying seemingly trying to hype up fans “They know they have a loyal fanbase who they love to entertain so it’s safe to say it’s going to be a Blue extravaganza in 2021.”

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A regular band who gigs there, New Modal Army, has a soft spot for the venue as it’s very special to them. Justin Sullivan, the lead singer, had this to say “For groups like us, it feels like home,[It’s] still independent from the meddling hands of big corporate rock. You can feel the history and all the countless great bands that have played there,”. This venue is so special for the band; Sullivan added that it is “one of the last of its kind”.

Nirvana, Madness, Def Leppard, David Bowie, Public Enemy, The Ramones, Guns N’ Roses, Pulp, The Cure, Rage Against the Machine, and Manic Street Preachers, to name just a few. Many more have made their marks performed on the stage of Rock City. “The roll-call of loud and intimate gigs that have taken place within Rock City’s blackened walls contains some of music’s biggest names.”. If life was normal the famous venue would hold a special celebration, however, due to Covid, the party is on hold.

Due to the country being in the government’s three-tier system and Nottingham being in the highest tier possible (tier three) all venues and social gatherings are prohibited and the host of any events can be fined up to £10,000 for breaching the lockdown restrictions. So instead of hosting a big celebration and event for its 40th birthday, Rock City instead is sharing their favorite moments and memories with its patrons online “with hundreds of fans paying tribute on social media.”. If you take the time to look at these posts you can see why Rock City is such a beloved venue.  

40 years ago today that The Undertones opened @Rock_City_Notts #Nottingham what a night. Picture was taken that very evening. pic.twitter.com/V8pzCFiMCU

— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) December 11, 2020

Love for the venue is so immense that in 2019 it even won the Live Music Business award. Over the course of the pandemic, Rock City tried to adapt and change to still allow fans to enjoy shows “It has organised ticketed indoor “Sitdown Sessions” and created a large beer garden outside. It also ran live shows in a city park in August.”. However, after the announcement of the second lockdown and Nottingmahs Their three positioning the historic venue has had to close its doors as it considers the safety of gig-goers as a top priority.

Much like Glastonbury, which had to miss its 50th birthday this year, we hope that Rock City will be able to host a delayed birthday celebration next year the pandemic slows and the vaccine rolls out and we can start enjoying a more normal year.

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Berchtold has said he feels “very good” about the future of festivals and their eventual return in the summer. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic this year, festivals and the whole music industry as a whole has been hit hard with continuing difficulty. Artists and other industry professionals have been hit with the of loosing up to half their income seeing the overall net worth plummet to £3 billion. In late November (24/11/2020) at that point with the Covid vaccine on its way the UK saw a glimmer of hope as UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced he had hope for a return to normal life by easter of 2021.

This year we missed out on a lot on the festival front. Not only did fans and regular festival-goers miss their summer of music and fun but there was a significant festival event that was missed. Glastonbury, one of the UK’s most popular and well known festival was meant to celebrate its 50th year anniversary before the global pandemic took its course with it and stopped the event in its tracks. It is unclear whether or not they will still hold the 50th anniversary but regardless of that, I’m sure that there will be a big celebration at all festivals.

Earlier in the year it was hard to imagine how we would be able to enjoy festivals again in the light of the pandemic. However, now with the vaccine being rolled out to the UK public, it’s very easy to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hancock has said he’s hopeful for festivals in the summer but still advises to take restrictions seriously “We’re going to have a summer next year that everybody can enjoy, between now and then we’ve got to hold our resolve. We passed the tiering arrangements through the Commons with a big majority last night. Let’s all respect the restrictions we have to live our lives in for now.”  

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Before the news of the vaccine being ready, festival heads were ready to put measures in place to protect attendees for next summer. Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis said that “massive testing arrangements” could be put in place next year. Reading & Leeds boss Melvin Benn told NME that he was confident that “we don’t need a vaccination because we can work through the problem with a really good testing regime”.

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At the rate it is going, the new streaming platform is on track to have enough investments that’ll make up to £200 million in flotation on London’s stock market. With the latest funding round (in which Minogue was a part of), it is believed to value ROXi at around £50 million, will help the streaming platform extend its user base and service to a new high of potentially 500 million devices that they hope will be met by 2022. This will be achieved by launching on other platforms such as smart TVs from Samsung and LG, gaming consoles like PlayStation, and Apple TV.

What is ROXi? ROXi boasts itself as the first “made for TV music experience”. It offers a massive catalogue of features and music Apps “products including karaoke and a 55m song” available to stream instantly. It also offers the ability to play music games. At present ROXi is available on Sky,s Q service as well as Google’s Android TV. It is available to purchase the hardware ROXi device here, which comes with its nifty remote controller that doubles up as a snazzy microphone for its voice commands, karaoke, and music games.  

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Kylie Minogue, when she’s signed up as an investor, is now in a three-year deal with ROXi. This includes being the face of its advertising campaign. Minogue is the most recent big name to invest in the new streaming platforming. as well as Robbie Williams, ROXi also has investments from firms like Sun Capital as well as “Henrik Holmark, the former finance chief at the music service Pandora, and Chris Wright, the founder of Chrysalis Records. Other backers include Lorna Tilbian, the chairman of Dowgate Capital and a former board member at the ad group M&C Saatchi, and Roxi’s chairman, Rupert Howell”.

ROXi’s founder Rob Lewis has commented on the new growth and traction of ROXi “We have seen huge growth during lockdown, with people using their TVs for more interactive entertainment at home, the fundamental thing is when you are looking at a potential initial public offering in the future you want to be growing as quickly as you possibly can be. And with this funding, Roxi is ready to start to roll out on other platforms and in other countries.”

“At present, Spotify is believed to pay between £0.002 and £0.0038 per stream, while Apple Music pays about £0.0059. YouTube pays the least – about £0.00052 (or 0.05 pence) per stream.”. Music is an important part of our lives, and streaming is “such a useful and much-used method of consuming media content in this day and age” and is the easiest way to get widespread music listens and attention. it also tracks how many streams a song gets. However, Nile Rodgers and Fiona Bevan are among the new musicians shedding the harsh light on streaming royalties

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Bevan, who is a songwriter for artists, has gone on record to say that “Right now, hit songwriters are driving Ubers. It’s quite shameful.”. Bevan has been credited for writing songs for well-known artists like One Direction, Steps, and Lewis Capaldi revealed just how much she would earn from a song “she had earned just £100 for co-writing a track on Kylie Minogue’s number one album, Disco.”. She added that even the most successful among songwriters are struggling to pay their bills this year.

CHIC frontman Nile Rodgers has also spoken to MP’s on the matter of streaming royalties. Rodgers admitted that before this year he never truly looked into how much he made through royalties because “my tour revenue has been so substantial that I could support my entire organisation”. Rodgers links the issues to the none-discloser agreements that are set between record labels and the songwriter.  

 

 

 

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Rodgers wants transparency on the matter saying that “record labels retain up to 82% of the royalties generated from music played on services like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music” and has branded the system as just ridiculous. Rodgers also accused the record labels of deliberately withholding money from songwriters “I look at the record labels as my partners. And the interesting thing is that every single time I’ve audited my partners, I find money.”

“We don’t even know what a stream is worth… and there’s no way you can find out”

Chic’s Nile Rodgers gives evidence to MPs’ music streaming inquiry https://t.co/fiaZzkpggH pic.twitter.com/mAZKTLPsQB

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) December 8, 2020

As it stands, each stream of a song is counted as a sale of that song which then gives the record label the largest share of that ‘sale’. However, Rodgers believes that each stream is more akin to a radio broadcast, “or a licence of the recording, which would give artists 50% of the royalties” and that labels won’t want to change this as it maximises their profits. “Artists and songwriters need to update clauses in their contracts to reflect the true nature of how their songs are being consumed – which is via a licence. It is something that people are borrowing from [the streaming services]”. You can read our reporting on the first hear from artists to the DCMS here!

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Last week Ora made a public apology to her fans after she celebrated her 30th birthday in a restaurant in central London with a guest list exceeding 30 people. At the time of Ora’s party, England was in a national lockdown with meetings and gatherings like this one were not allowed. Ironically if she had waited just 2 days there would have been no lockdown, however, her party would still not been allowed due to the government’s tier system and London being in the second of the three tiers.

Ora’s second breach of the lockdown rules actually comes just before her 30th birthday party and has only just come to light today (07/12/2020). So what happened? Ora performed a private show at Cairo’s W Hotel in Egypt on the 21st of November with a six-figure sum. Not much is known about the show and who was in attendance aside from rumors. Ora has said that she would “donate her fee from the concert to charity.”. Instead of self-isolating after her return from Egypt on the 22nd, the following day,  she attended her birthday party 8 days later on the 30th.

In a recent statement Ora said “Upon my return to Britain, I should have followed government advice and isolated myself for the required period. As you know, I didn’t follow government advice and for that I apologised earlier this week. I apologise again, unreservedly.”. Her previous statement read “I’m deeply sorry for breaking the rules and in turn understand that this puts people at risk. This was a serious and inexcusable error of judgment.”  

Thank you sooo much to all of you!!
I would not be the person I am today without your unconditional love and support!! Thank you to my fans for riding this journey with me and your beautiful messages, I can’t wait to see you all again!!! https://t.co/acrMuRJUv2

— Rita Ora (@RitaOra) November 29, 2020

The UK went into a nationwide lockdown near the end of March this year (2020), as we left the lockdown we entered a three-tier system, after a second wave we entered a month-long lockdown in early November. Regardless of whether we were in a lockdown or the tier system gatherings over the number 6 (with an exception for funerals) went against the regulations and rules of the lockdowns and tier system. Those who get caught breaking the rules can be fined up to £10,000. It is unknown if Ora has paid any such fines but has promised to donate the payment from the private show to charity.