HMV Canada Gets Sold, Björk and Wilco Return, and Ten Heroes in Canadian Music in This Week's News Roundup

BY Brock ThiessenPublished Jul 2, 2011

First thing's first: Happy Canada Day weekend, Canada! On July 1, this fine country of ours turned 144 years old. Chances are, you may be feeling a bit sluggish after all that celebrating. But while you pull it back together, come have a look-see at what made headlines here in Exclaim! News this past week.

Up first, Canada's record store troubles continued this week, as struggling HMV announced the sale of all the company's Canadian locations. The 121 stores were sold to Hilco UK for roughly $3.2 million. However, this is hardly the end of HMV in Canada; Hilco will offer up $25 million in funding to help restructure the chain, with a focus on developing a stronger digital presence. Of course, only time will tell if the retailer will be able to rise back up and stay afloat.

In similar news, MySpace was sold this week for a reported $35 million. Perhaps the strangest part? Justin Timberlake is now a partial owner. Insert that "life imitates art" bit here.

It was also a week of ups and downs for Metallica fans. The band's Halifax show is on shaky ground due to a dispute between the city and the concert's promoters, but recent collaborator Lou Reed described his work with the group as, "maybe the best thing done by anyone, ever."

It was also a big week for new-album announcements. Björk finally unveiled all her Biophilia plans. Wilco announced their new Whole Love LP. And Four Tet laid out his upcoming FabricLive release.

And while you're still in the Canada Day spirit, you may want to check our newly published list of what we consider to be ten heroes in Canadian music.

Latest Coverage