Scene and Heard: This week's entertainment news

MUSIC NEWS

The music industry has always had an ambiguous attitude to Spotify – wary of its streaming model that some say pays too little to artists, but glad to have somebody paying for music in a digital world where free content was king.

Rolling Stone reports that the latest round of battles could come from the major labels Spotify relies on for its content — Universal, Warner and Sony — as they grow wary of the streaming giant’s attempt to deal directly with artists.

The piece quotes a music industry analyst as saying: “The record labels want Spotify to succeed, but not too much. It gives them too much leverage.”

Meanwhile, one way for artists to increase sales and social media follows is get involved in a public beef, but there genuinely seems to be no love lost in the ongoing dispute between Nicky Minaj and Cardi B. The ‘she said-she said’ spat has even involved Cardi’s tussle with her opposite number’s security entourage, after accusing Minaj of questioning her parenting skills.

Back on planet Ireland, two of the nation’s better artists have new albums on the way in the next few weeks. Conor O’Brien’s Villagers will release The Art Of Pretending To Swim on Sept 21, while Lisa O’Neill’s Heard A Long Gone Song follows on Oct 19.

GIG WISE

The 1975 return to Ireland for a gig at the 3Arena on Jan 10, with tickets going on sale next Friday. Fatboy Slim plays the same venue on March 2, with his ‘In The Round Show’ placing him at the centre of the arena. The publicity blurb for the gig promises a revolving stage and a “live smiley face experience”. Sounds wonderful.

Other Voices makes its first trip to Ballina, Co Mayo,on the weekend of Sept 28-29, with a lineup that includes Villagers, Tamino and Julien Baker. And don’t worry, the usual Dingle version also goes ahead from Nov 30 to Dec 2.

In Cork, Brian Downey of Thin Lizzy is at Cyprus Avenue tomorrow, while West Cork-based Swedish singer Camilla Griehsel brings her Mamasongue project to the Everyman.

Both of Leesides’s big music festivals launched their programmes this week, with the folk event (Oct 3-7) introducing a strand of Portugese fado music alongside an impressive list of Irish performers; and the jazz festival rolling out a roster that will include Laura Mvula playing at the City Hall.

FILM TIPS

Among the big releases today is

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There’s a maternal tale of a different kind in A Mother Brings Her Son to be Shot, also released today. As the title suggests, this documentary on punishment shootings in present-day Derry, does include one woman’s account of bringing her son to his appointment with the local republican vigilantes.

Among the films at Triskel in Cork from Sunday is Lucky, the final film Harry Dean Stanton starred in before his death last year at the age of 91. The cast also includes fellow industry veteran David Lynch.

ALL AND SUNDRY

Tipperary-born artist Alice Maher’s exhibition continues at the Crawford in Cork, while the next instalment of the Lucian Freud series of exhibitions at IMMA in Dublin opens on Oct 4.

The next play at Cork Arts Theatre is A Story Of Destiny, a one-act psychological thriller written and performed by Robert Power, next Thursday.

Finally, next Friday is Culture Night, with literally hundreds of free events taking place around the country.