The Recording Industry Association Of America say that in the first half of 2017 retail revenues from recorded music in the US were up approximately 17% to $4 billion, with wholesale revenues up about 14.6% to around $2.7 billion. The big growth is in streaming with revenues from all the various streaming services available in the US now accounting for 62% of the total American market, with total streaming revenues up 48% to $2.5 billion in the first six months of the year.
Skepta has been refused entry to the US after US authorities decided not to give him a work visa. He won't be able to perform at Coachella. The rest of his US tour dates might be cancelled too.
And British band Lush has been forced to cancel their performance at weekend 1 of Coachella and reschedule their concert in San Francisco on Sunday, citing visa issues. According to a press release, the recently reunited band will still be performing at Coachella weekend 2, and its other West Coast shows remain scheduled as planned.
Skepta’s 'Shutdown' in one of the final three nominations in the Best Contemporary Song category at the 2016 Ivor Novello Awards
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/36056565/skepta-denied-entry-to-america-after-being-refused-a-visa
Morrissey has been forced to cancel the remaining nine dates of his US tour, after contracting a respiratory infection. The singers Facebook page expressed "great sadness", while semi-official fansite True To You said it was "unimaginable sorrow". This is the third time in the last eighteen months that Morrissey's health has caused him to cancel live shows. In March last year, he cancelled another US tour due to a variety of medical problems, including pneumonia in both lungs. The singer later revealed that doctors had advised him to retire from performing live altogether. In July, part of a South American tour was cancelled after Morrissey and his security guard contracting food poisoning in Peru, with the remaining dates later pulled due to financial reasons.
