March
Strip club Cinderella story ‘Anora’ wins top Oscar
Sean Baker’s tale of an erotic dancer who elopes with the son of a Russian oligarch was made for just $US6 million.
February
‘Conclave’, Chalamet win at SAG Awards, setting up Oscars battle
The Conclave cast won best movie ensemble at the awards, the last major honours before next weekend’s Oscars.
‘Conclave’ and ‘The Brutalist’ top BAFTAs amid scandal
The Papal thriller and period drama both collected four trophies, while audacious musical “Emilia Pérez” won two awards amid the continuing drama surrounding its lead.
January
Marianne Faithfull, pop star and Jagger muse, dies
The fresh-faced, feather-voiced 1960s pop star went from girlfriend of Mick Jagger to a homeless heroin addict, only to re-emerge as an acclaimed cabaret singer.
Bob Dylan’s an unlovable man making undeniable music in new biopic
The makers of A Complete Unknown gave up trying to make the singer-songwriter sympathetic, and let his music – and a bravura turn from Timothée Chalamet – provide the heart.
November 2024
At 83, Bob Dylan is at his best in years
The troubadour’s Rough and Rowdy Ways tour is marked by a new polish, performing more of a theatre piece than rock concert.
Quincy Jones shows why AI will never beat human brilliance
No algorithm will ever have the real life story that is embedded in the work of a great and original artist.
July 2023
Drake joins the pop-star poetry struggle
The singer is the latest in a long line of musicians to publish works in verse, and deal with the response.
January 2023
US rock pioneer David Crosby dies aged 81
The musician helped set up two major bands in the 1960s: The Byrds, and Crosby, Stills and Nash. He was renowned for his guitar-playing and vocal harmonies.
February 2022
IPO hopeful Songtradr rides music’s ‘golden age’
The music marketplace sits in the middle of an explosion of activity in the sector.
Sting sells his songwriting catalogue for estimated $438m
Major music conglomerates and Wall Street investors have poured billions of dollars into music deals, driven by the growth of streaming, low-interest rates and old-fashioned competition.
January 2022
Why musicians are selling their song catalogues
The rights to the works of Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie has joined that of other top-selling artists and is now in the hands of corporations.
December 2021
The buzz: Girl From The North Country, readers picks, Harry Potter
A local production of a musical set in Depression-era US punctuated by Dylan songs is shaping up as a hit; readers faves, and Harry Potter Anniversary Special.
Nick Greiner on surviving ICAC and being the ambassador to Wall Street
The former NSW premier fell foul of the commission he created and so knows just how its most recent victim, Gladys Berejiklian, feels.
October 2021
Song lyrics strike a chord with private equity
In the past month, Blackstone, KKR and Apollo have poured more than $US3 billion into buying song copyrights, as a revived music industry hums back towards CD-era revenue levels.
May 2021
Bob Dylan at 80 – three takes on his changing times
For all his achievements and acclaim, Dylan still has the capacity to catch his public unaware. A trio of books try to capture the conflict between trickster and soothsayer.
January 2021
Neil Young sells half of his 1180-strong Songbook
The deal marks the latest in a bonanza of music rights acquisitions after artists, cut off from touring income by the coronavirus pandemic, look to raise cash.
December 2020
Loud, angry and socially distanced: the top albums of 2020
Music is always shaped by the times, and in 2020 it was impossible to separate the year's top albums from the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Pay, lady, pay: Dylan sells 60 years' worth of songs
Universal has signed a landmark deal to buy Dylan's entire songwriting catalogue in what may be the biggest acquisition of the music publishing rights of a single songwriter.
Bob Dylan sells his entire songwriting catalogue
The Nobel prize winner's catalogue features some of the iconic songs of the 20th century and is said to be worth $270 million.