This Month
Why the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson was a damaged genius
One of pop’s most gifted and troubled songwriters has died at the age of 82, but his complex harmonies are still adored by millions of fans.
12 essential songs of Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys leader was a brilliant writer, arranger and producer whose ambitions propelled his band – and contemporaries like the Beatles – into the future.
May
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ‘kidnapped aide’ in plot to kill rapper Kid Cudi
Capricorn Clark’s account of violence launched the third week of testimony at the hip-hop mogul’s Manhattan federal sex-trafficking trial.
Dance until 10pm: Inside the new nightclub for busy women
Earlybirds, a roving dance party that ends as most nightclubs are opening, caters to women who have things to do in the morning and need dancing more than ever.
Who’s who in Eurovision 2025 – and how Australia lines up
Seven-time winner Sweden is the bookies’ favourite this year with an ode to sauna culture, while Sydney’s Go-Jo is one of several acts indulging in innuendo.
April
Spotify denies it’s directing users away from Aussie music
The streaming giant has put a new hub for local music on its Australian homepage, as it claims its algorithm is not to blame for the lack of local hits on the charts.
February
Roberta Flack, piano teacher who rose to rule the charts, dies
The music industry didn’t quite know what to do with the soulful, yet classical-inspired music of the North Carolinian – but Clint Eastwood did.
January
From YMCA to Born In The USA: Rock’s most misunderstood songs
As Bruce Springsteen says, songs are like “auditory Rorschach tests; we hear what we want to hear”.
November 2024
The 27 club is a ‘real phenomenon’
Scientists have found that the deaths of people who die at the age made famous by Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin get more attention than others.
The 14 Quincy Jones songs that sum up his legacy
The gangster turned trumpeter turned super-producer defined 20th century pop – and these are his definitive works.
October 2024
One Direction singer Liam Payne dead after falling from hotel balcony
Harry Styles’ former bandmate died after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, according to Argentine media.
M&A music on replay at Songtradr; $US175m pre-IPO raise under way
Of note, the raise has been loosely labelled a “pre-IPO” round, with investors told a float is still on the cards.
September 2024
Why Missy Higgins stopped therapy to make an album
Two decades on from the multi-platinum The Sound Of White, Missy Higgins is looking inward again – only this time it’s to cope with being a newly single mother of two.
July 2024
‘Bunnings of music’: why Matt Gudinski remade Mushroom
Most roads in the Australian music business used to lead to the Mushroom Group, and a restructure announced on Thursday seeks a return to those glory days.
Matt Gudinski remakes Mushroom in biggest restructure this century
Matt Gudinski, the son of legendary promoter Michael, will shut a range of well-known imprints and consolidate its artists under one umbrella.
What makes Queen the most valuable rock band of all time
Expect to hear even more of the songs that have become anthems after the band sold the rights to Sony Music and the private equity giant Apollo for $1.9 billion.
Escape the crowds with an intimate tour of a pop legend’s Paris home
For the first time since his death, the unchanged abode of musician Serge Gainsbourg is open to the public, with his daughter as your guide.
June 2024
A Las Vegas residency is a nice little earner for top stars
When flamboyant pianist Liberace settled in for a prolonged stay in 1955, it started a trend that’s proved lucrative for performers and the city as a whole.
April 2024
Taylor Swift is stuck in a 17-year-old’s mind
The superstar’s new album is full of intentional misery.
How Spotify beat the artist boycotts
Taylor Swift, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Thom Yorke have all pulled their music from the streaming giant. Eventually, all of them gave up.