Kacey Musgraves Brings Pop Star Power to Beacon Theatre Show

Kacey Musgraves makes crossover look easier. Two-thirds of the way into her January 26th show at New York’s Beacon Theatre, the second of two sold-out nights at the venue, she gathered together her men-in-black touring band at the front of the stage. The unplugged segment has become almost de rigueur for pop acts, but Musgraves added a revealing twist. Halfway through a mountain-stream-clear version of “Love Is a Wild Thing,” her band switched back over to their electric instruments — all while they continued playing the song. Before anyone knew it, Musgraves and her band were in full plugged-in mode — literally without missing a beat.

That effortlessness, the way Musgraves places country arm-in-arm with the most atmospheric of electro beats, permeated her nearly two-hour show. With each successive record, culminating in the velvety and confident Golden Hour, Musgraves has expanded both her sonics and her fan base. The latter was particularly evident at the Beacon, where she was greeted with repeated shrieks of delight one would associate with a huge pop act. The crowd also continually sang along with her, both on Golden Hour songs and “Merry Go ‘Round” (from Same Trailer Different Park), one of the few back-catalog songs in the set.

The nearly two-hour show, about two weeks into her extensive “Oh What a World: Tour,” focused not surprisingly on Golden Hour — which is up for four Grammys, including Album of the Year. Her road band, which blended banjo and pedal steel with dual keyboards, replicated the blend of retro and chill-out sonics of tracks from that album, like “Lonely Weekend” and “Wonder Woman.”

Combined with her Grammy nods, the show and her entire tour feel like a celebratory moment for her. But as the Beacon show made clear, no one will ever call Musgraves a showboater. The show began with her standing in silhouette at stage rear, near her drummer, and there she remained during the entirety of that opening number, “Slow Burn.” Even when she moved to the front of the stage for the remainder of the show, Musgraves kept the moves to a minimum. At times, she almost seemed overwhelmed by the outpouring of audience love in her direction, and she preferred to stay close to the mic, projecting nothing but resolute strength even when a hint of a hurt throb emerged from her voice.

Her flashiest gesture was the glittery headband she wore throughout the night; like her one-piece leisure-wear outfit, it managed to be retro-Seventies stylish without making her look like an extra in Saturday Night Fever. Every so often, she would wander to one side of the stage and address the crowd, telling them they were going to have a “great fucking party” together. But the next song and determined, unflinching performance were only a beat away.

As the show went on, those firm but never-overpowering disco beats slowly built, making it perhaps inevitable when she went into a cover of Gloria Gaynor’s Studio 54 anthem “I Will Survive” (joined by Nashville singer-songwriter Natalie Prass, her opening act on the tour). But even as the rhythms grew more pronounced, Musgraves stayed focused — no choreography, no backup dancers, little in the way of projected backdrops. During a joyful, climactic version of “High Horse,” massive inflated balls descended on the audience, turning the Beacon into an indoor beach party. Musgraves shimmied along but still kept her voice and manner under control, just the way she likes it.

 

Former K-pop star charged with’habitual’ casino gambling

A former K-pop star could end up behind bars due to her Macau casino activity potentially violating South Korea’s laws governing ‘habitual’ gambling.

This week, South Korean media reported that the actress/singer known professionally as Shoo, who formerly belonged to first-wave K-pop girl group S.E.S., could face up to three years in prison if convicted on charges that she lost KRW790m (US$707k) gambling in Macau casinos over a two-year period.

In August, Shoo confirmed that she was the subject of a civil action brought by two private lenders who claimed the singer had failed to repay KRW600m she was lent in June for gambling purposes in Paradise Co Ltd’s foreigners-only Paradise Walker Hill Casino in Seoul.

South Korean law prohibits local residents from gambling in any domestic casino other the Kangwon Land resort north of Seoul. However, Shoo was born in Japan and holds an overseas permanent resident card, which allowed her to cross the Paradise casino threshold.

Shoo, who claimed ignorance of local gambling laws, was originally charged with fraud and domestic gambling. However, these charges were dropped after prosecutors concluded that Shoo was eligible to gamble at the Paradise casino and that there were no formal records detailing the money that the singer was accused of borrowing.

However, Shoo has been charged for her activities in Macau casinos, due to South Korea’s extraterritorial laws on its citizens engaging in ‘habitual’ gambling abroad. Prosecutors are reportedly examining the KRW790m that Shoo allegedly lost between August 2016 and May 2018.

South Korea has targeted several high-profile executives and athletes using these ‘habitual’ gambling laws, which make an exception for individuals who gamble “just for momentary pleasure.” Shoo faces a fine of up to KRW10m ($9k) if convicted of this lesser offence, but a habitual gambling conviction carries a maximum financial penalty of KRW20m and up to three years behind bars.

The Radicalism of Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift announced last week that she had signed to Universal Music Group, where her upcoming albums will live under the umbrella of Republic Records, the imprint that is home to fellow pop megastars like Ariana Grande, Drake, Post Malone, and the Weeknd. Swift’s decision to leave behind independent label Big Machine Records (which was distributed through Republic) wasn’t too shocking. What sparked headlines was the solid she did for other artists as part of the deal: Now, thanks to Swift, when UMG divests from the music-streaming giant Spotify, in which it has a small but valuable stake, it will pay a good chunk of the proceeds to artists on its roster.

As one of the world’s biggest pop stars, Swift had maximum bargaining power as she sought a new label, and she used that position to get better deals for other artists. When the news emerged, the progressive policy wonk Matt Bruenig tweeted, perhaps a bit jokingly, that Swift is a “labor radical.” In fact, that’s exactly right. For years, Swift has loudly defended the rights of laborers in her industry from the imperatives of capital—and matched her rhetoric with action.

The specifics of the Spotify arrangement require some background: Back in 2008, when Spotify was first licensing music to stream from the major labels (Universal, Sony, and Warner) along with the Merlin Network, the largest collective of independent labels, each company got a small chunk of the company. After Spotify went public in April, these labels began selling their stock.

Merlin, which had the smallest share, sold off everything. Warner Music Group, according to Rolling Stone, got $504 million for its shares, but it counted the money owed against artists’ recording advances, which allowed the label to hold onto most of the money, since a majority of artists never make back more than their initial advance. Sony sold half of its shares for $768 million, and it paid artists from that pot without counting it against advances. Swift asked Universal Music Group to do the same and now whenever the record label sells its shares, the artists will get a small percentage of it back without it counting against what they still owe the label thanks to advances.

Swift’s shrewd contractual negotiations aren’t the first time she’s acted as a spokesperson for scores of musicians. Back in 2014, she argued in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that Spotify’s business model devalued music, since it pays a much lower royalty than physical or digital record sales; she pulled her catalog from the service later that year. It was a move that critics viewed as a privilege only afforded to artists in Swift’s tax bracket. What they didn’t consider was that by withholding her labor, she positioned herself to extract concessions from the company. She formed a picket line—though without support from the rest of the industry, she eventually turned back to Spotify in 2017.

The singer again took up an industrywide complaint when, before the launch of Apple Music in 2015, she wrote an open letter to the company arguing that it needed to pay artists royalties during the initial free three-month trial. Her now-deleted Tumblr post stated: “This is about the producer who works tirelessly to innovate and create, just like the innovators and creators at Apple are pioneering in their field … but will not get paid for a quarter of a year’s worth of plays on his or her songs.” Before Swift’s statement, the American Association of Independent Music, a trade association of independent labels, cautioned against Apple’s position, which was asking to stream their music for free. Publicly, at least, Swift’s statement got much of the credit when Apple ultimately reversed its decision and paid up during its trial period.

The mainstream record industry is one where the power of collectivized labor is fairly weak. The American Federation of the Musicians, which mostly represented classical and jazz musicians, held tremendous power over the business in the 1940s after a successful wave of strikes extracted massive concessions from record labels to boost artists’ pay. Swift’s actions share the same instinct as that movement: If a corporation, whether it’s a tech company or a record label, is going to greatly profit off of musicians, then they deserve better treatment.

Then and now, it’s not an easy task. As Michael James Roberts tells it in his book Tell Tchaikovsky the News, the AFM eventually lost its influence amid racial and class strikes between the union and the new generation of musical laborers, rock ‘n’ roll artists. Though major label artists are eligible for health care and benefits with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, rank-and-file musicians’ concerns often go unheard by record labels—and as the manner of distribution has shifted onto the web, their position has arguably only weakened.

Until she waded into the Tennessee U.S. Senate race this fall, Swift has never been comfortable dabbling in national politics. But speaking up for the rights of musicians is where she stands almost uniquely to the left of many of her high-wattage peers. When he launched the streaming competitor Tidal, Jay-Z might’ve played up a narrative of musicians taking back power, but he meant it only for the 0.1 percent of artists that stood on the stage next to him. Even Beyoncé, a partial owner of Tidal and someone with nearly unrivaled music industry clout, doesn’t use her position to tilt the scales in favor of smaller acts.

Perhaps Universal Music Group already thought about giving its Spotify money back to artists and Swift’s demand was just good PR. Even if that was the case, though, Swift again showed musicians, who might be more distrustful of management than any other American workforce, that it’s never too late to ask for better treatment.

China says movie star missing 3 months owes $130 million in taxes, penalties

BEIJING — Chinese tax authorities have ordered “X-Men” star Fan Bingbing and companies she represents to pay taxes and penalties totaling $130 million, ending speculation over the fate of one of the country’s highest-profile entertainers three months after she disappeared from public view. Of the total amount, Fan is being personally fined around $70 million for tax evasion, according to an announcement carried Wednesday by China’s official Xinhua News Agency, citing tax authorities.

Fan would not be investigated for criminal responsibility for tax evasion as long as the taxes, fines and late fees amounting to nearly 900 million yuan ($130 million) are paid on time, the report said.

The announcement gave no indication of Fan’s whereabouts but indicated her agent is being held by police for allegedly obstructing the investigation.

Fan has starred in dozens of movies and TV series in China and is best known internationally for her role as Blink in 2014’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” a cameo in the Chinese version of “Iron Man 3,” and star turns on the red carpet at Cannes as recently as May. Before her disappearance, she had been booked to star with Penelope Cruz in the Hollywood film “355.” She has a role in the upcoming Bruce Willis-Adrien Brody feature “Air Strike.”

Fan posted an apology on her official account on the social media site Weibo.com saying that she accepts the tax authorities’ decision and would “try my best to overcome all difficulties and raise funds to pay back taxes and fines.”

“I am unworthy of the trust of the society and let down the fans who love me,” she wrote in her first update of her Weibo.com microblog since June 2.

A man surnamed Liang, who identified himself as a staff member of Fan’s studio when reached by phone, refused to comment on the announcement or on Fan’s location.

Her disappearance coincided with a crackdown by the authorities on high salaries for actors that can eat up much of the cost of a production. In June, regulators capped star pay at 40 percent of a TV show’s entire production budget and 70 percent of the total paid to all the actors in a film.

Chinese state media said the investigation served as a warning to anyone working in the country’s arts and entertainment. A separate Xinhua report said the penalties issued to Fan would promote the “sustainable and healthy development of the film and television industry and raise social awareness on paying taxes according to the law.”

Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times tabloid known for its nationalist pro-Communist Party opinions, said, “Fan’s case must be shaking the performing arts world.”

People who try to evade taxes now will have to cough them up sooner or later, Hu wrote on his social media page. “The bigger the brand, the more likely you are to attract scrutiny. Just suffer this financial loss to be spared greater disaster, moreover these are ill-gotten gains.”

The Xinhua report said Fan evaded 7.3 million yuan in taxes by using a secret contract worth 20 million yuan that she signed for starring in the Chinese film “Unbreakable Spirit.” She instead paid taxes on a contract for only 10 million yuan, it said. The example refers to a reportedly common entertainment industry practice in which actors have a public contract stating an official salary and a private contract detailing actual, much higher pay.

A talk show host, Cui Yongyuan, said in May that Fan had such an arrangement, which allegedly facilitates tax evasion, and revealed details that sparked a public outcry. Cui later apologized.

Japanese pop star Namie Amuro gives final performance after 26 years

Fans across Japan flocked on Sunday to events paying tribute to Namie Amuro, a Japanese pop singer famous across Asia, marking the day she will step out of the spotlight.

In her home prefecture of Okinawa, southern Japan, thousands of fans gathered in Ginowan to attend events commemorating the end of the 40-year-old diva’s career, including a fireworks show. Amuro gave her last live stage performance with other artists in the city on Saturday night.

The music and fashion icon stunned fans last September by saying she planned to quit showbiz.

The announcement on her website came just days after she marked her 25th anniversary as a performer.

“I could not have lasted 25 years without your support, for which I am eternally grateful,” she wrote last year on September 20, her birthday.

Since then, fans have been visiting Amuro-related locations around the country in places such as Tokyo and Okinawa, some on a dedicated bus that travelled across the country.

Debuting on September 16, 1992, as a member of the all-girl group Super Monkey’s, Amaro went on to dominate the charts as a solo artist with a string of megahits such as Can You Celebrate? and Chase the Chance.

With danceable tunes such as Body Feels Exit, and Don’t Wanna Cry and ballads including Sweet 19 Blues, Amuro was a Japanese pop music trailblazer.

With her signature getup of a miniskirt and high-heeled platform boots with dyed brown hair, thin-arched eyebrows and a deep tan, a teenage Amuro created a phenomenon in the mid-1990s with young girls and women copying her fashion, hairstyle and make-up.

As a measure of her enduring popularity, Amuro produced albums selling over a million copies at various points across her career – when she was in her teens, 20s, 30s, and 40s – with the last achieved by a CD of past hits called “Finally”.

Her album “Sweet 19 Blues” sold three million copies.

Her final concert tour, which began in February, has drawn about 750,000 fans, a record for a solo artist on a single music tour in Japan. Her tour dates also included stops in China’s Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Taipei, Taiwan.

After appearing less on television in recent years, concerts were virtually the only place for fans to get a glimpse of their idol.