Today’s Music News: Prince’s new album “HitNRun” to appear exclusively on Tidal
by Staff
August 09, 2015
Prince has announced that, at least initially, his new album HitNRun will be released exclusively on Jay Z's streaming service Tidal. "After one meeting, it was obvious that Jay Z and the team he has assembled at Tidal recognize and applaud the effort that real musicians put in2 their craft 2 achieve the very best they can at this pivotal time in the music industry," said Prince in a statement. "Secondly, Tidal have honored Us with a non-restrictive arrangement that once again allows Us to continue making art in the fashion We've grown accustomed 2 and We're Extremely grateful 4 their generous support." HitNRun hits Tidal on Sept. 7. (Rolling Stone)
On Saturday night, Prince hosted a Paisley Park dance party for members of the National Association of Black Journalists, which was meeting in Minneapolis for its annual convention. Though Prince didn't perform, attendees were treated to a pair of new tracks from HitNRun, and a small group of journalists joined Prince for a conversation where he repeated his long-held aversion to record contracts ("Record contracts are just like—I'm gonna say the word—slavery") and said he supports Jay Z's initiative to create an artist-owned streaming service. (Rolling Stone)
Joanna Newsom has announced her first album since 2010's Have One On Me. Newsom's new album Divers will be released Oct. 23. A video for the first single, "Sapokanikan," was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood). (Pitchfork)
After a brief reprieve, it's now once again illegal to duplicate any copyrighted music in the U.K.—even for private use. Recent legislation made it legal to, for example, rip a CD to your computer for personal listening; the High Court has now overturned that legislation after rights holders complained of possible loss of income. (Billboard)
2.2 million songs have been removed from China's most popular streaming music services as part of "Sword Net 2015," an attempt by the government to bring Chinese practices into closer compliance with international copyright law. (Billboard)
Rapper Sean Price has died, of as-yet-unknown causes, at age 43. The Brooklyn MC was half of the duo Heltah Skeltah. (Pitchfork)
Timbaland has announced that he'll soon be sharing previously unreleased music by Aaliyah. The R&B vocalist, who died in a 2001 plane crash at age 22, worked extensively with Timbaland during her life. (Billboard)
Aerosmith performed at this year's Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival on Friday night in Canton, Ohio. While they were in town, they attended Thursday night's Republican presidential debate in Cleveland. Steven Tyler was reportedly at the debate as a personal guest of Donald Trump; Tyler's representative identified the singer as "a bipartisan advocate on issues that he is passionate about." Guitarist Joe Perry is a self-identified "old-school Republican," and he also has some views on pro football politics: he doesn't think deflated footballs are responsible for Tom Brady's success with the New England Patriots.
On Friday night in Connecticut, Yes played their first show since the death of founding member Chris Squire. "Grown men wept aloud" in the audience during a show-opening tribute to Squire, reports Rolling Stone. "From there, though, Yes took to the stage with an almost desperate glee."
Rumors are swirling that Ozzy Osbourne will have a cameo in the new Ghostbusters movie, playing himself in a scene featuring a heavy metal concert. (Billboard)
Video has emerged of Gwar bassist Michael "Blothar" Bishop giving a TED talk on regional identity in April, explaining how "the world's only openly extraterrestrial rock band" reflects "the culture, history and geography" of Richmond, Va., the city where Gwar got its start in 1984. According to Blothar, "Gwar registers this city's troubled history with race relations and economic struggle." (Rolling Stone)
