As we look back on the year that was, there are a handful of notable figures who truly define 2014. This list of 2014's top newsmakers contains some artists at the top of their games who grabbed headlines with exciting comebacks, chart-topping dominance and powerful social campaigning. But there were those who were in the news for all of the wrong reasons, too: this list includes feuds, ill-advised promotional blunders and controversies aplenty.
So as we here at Exclaim.ca ready ourselves for another year of reporting the news from around the music world, we're taking a look back at the industry's biggest players in 2014.
Don't forget to head over to our 2014 in Lists section to see more of our Year-End coverage.
Top 10 Newsmakers of 2014:
10. Run the Jewels
Many fans agree that Run the Jewels released the year's best rap album with their stunning Run the Jewels 2, but that's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what made this such an interesting year for El-P and Killer Mike. On top of plenty of staggering live shows, they made headlines with an outlandish stunt to remix their album using exclusively cat sounds; fans were so amused at the idea of Meow the Jewels that they managed to raise $65,783 on Kickstarter to fund the project. Meanwhile, Killer Mike also made headlines with his thought-provoking social and political commentary; he penned op-eds on the Michael Brown shooting and rap music's treatment in courts, and he even expanded his barbershop business. In fact, the only real setback in their triumphant campaign was a recent trailer fire.
9. Sun Kil Moon
Songwriter Mark Kozelek dropped four separate releases this year: there was the starkly morbid (and critically lauded) full-length Benji, a concert album called Live at Biko, the holiday-themed Sings Christmas Carols and a two-song ten-inch. But, perhaps regrettably, what most folks will remember about his year is his ridiculous feud with the War on Drugs. Here's what happened: during a September appearance at the Ottawa Folk Festival, Sun Kil Moon's quiet set was partially drowned out the War on Drugs' set at an adjacent stage. He said, "I hate that beer commercial lead-guitar shit," and added, "This next song is called, 'The War on Drugs Can Suck My Fucking Dick.'" In the coming weeks, he proceeded to troll his chosen rivals with two diss songs: "War on Drugs: Suck My Cock" and "Adam Granofsky Blues." All of this began to remind us of a certain Smiths song.
8. Beyoncé
Soul-pop megastar Beyoncé released her self-titled album late in 2013, and the shockwaves from that surprise release continued to resonate throughout 2014. Releasing a surprise LP — which several artists did throughout the year — became known as "pulling a Beyoncé" — and the furor sparked feminist debates and classroom controversies. Meanwhile, the singer hit the road for a massive tour with her husband Jay Z, although their domestic bliss was upset rather publicly when security camera footage of Bey's sister Solange attacking Jay Z leaked online. (But hey, at least the rapper emerged with all of his fingers intact.) To cap it all off, Beyoncé expanded her previously digital-only album for a Platinum Edition box set. It was such a great year that one radio station even adopted an all-Beyoncé format.
7. Wu-Tang Clan
For a long time, we thought Wu-Tang Clan's new album might never happen. The rap collective had been talking about A Better Tomorrow since 2013, but RZA began pointing the finger at Raekwon for holding up the process. Rae then responded with some harsh words in the press, saying that he wasn't happy with how the album was sounding and arguing that "It's time for a new fucking game plan." Much to our surprise, however, they reconciled, and once they were back on the same page, it wasn't long before A Better Tomorrow came out. The group also captured fans' curiosity with Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, an album that they've pressed in an edition of one. They've apparently been offered $5 million for it — which might help make up for all the money that RZA apparently lost in making A Better Tomorrow. Meanwhile, band members like Ghostface Killah and Raekwon remained active on the solo front.
6. Aphex Twin
Electronic legend Richard D. James hadn't released an album as Aphex Twin since 2001's Drukqs, but things began to turn around when he complied with a wildly successful fan-funded campaign to unearth an archival album from his side-project Caustic Window. It sold for more than $46,000, and a couple of months later, a mysterious blimp went flying over England. This signalled the impending arrival of Syro, a stunning new album that thrilled the producer's long-suffering fans. Okay, so he might have alienated a few folks with his dubious 9/11 "truther" talk, but it's still great to have him back. 5. Ariel Pink
Ariel Pink has always been a bit of an oddball, but in 2014, his alleged misogyny broke into the mainstream. As he went about promoting his new album pom pom, he was quoted as saying that he had been tapped to write songs for Madonna, claiming that she had been on a "downward slide" since her debut album and that he represented a "return to values." This prompted Grimes to accuse him of "delusional misogyny"; his response was that she was "stupid and retarded." By the end of all this, Pink was widely being referred to as the "most hated man" in indie rock, and told The New Yorker, "Everybody's a victim, except for small, white, nice guys who just want to make their moms proud and touch some boobies." Oh brother.
4. Taylor Swift
If there was any doubt as to who held the title of the world's biggest pop star in 2014, country crossover artist Taylor Swift cleared that up with the release of her juggernaut album 1989. It sold an incredible 1.287 million copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, making for the biggest debut since Eminem's The Eminem Show's 1.322 million in 2002. The album's high sales were likely aided by Swift's decision to remove her catalogue from Spotify, which reignited debates about whether streaming services devalued music and offered unfair compensation to artists. Of course, it's impossible to become the biggest in the world without making a few enemies along the way: Earl Sweatshirt accused her of stereotyping black people; El-P hated her song "Welcome to New York"; and Billy Bragg dissed her marketing strategy (then quickly apologized when it turned out his information was wrong). But hey, at least Kendrick Lamar is a fan.
3. U2
In what was the year's worst marketing stunt gone wrong, U2 released their surprise album Songs of Innocence as a free download to anyone with iTunes. While they intended this as a free gift to listeners, many considered it a violation when the album showed up unbidden on their phones (and proved to be difficult to delete). Frontman Bono apologized for the gaffe (but, somewhat bafflingly, also said that he was proud of the campaign). Things went from bad to worse for him when he was injured in a biking accident that turned out to be very gruesome indeed, and the band cancelled some of their promotional plans (as if having glaucoma wasn't already bad enough). Perhaps U2 will be able to console themselves with a Grammy — which they're eligible for, thanks to some rather sneaky planning.
2. Morrissey
It was another year of Morrissey being Morrissey, as the onetime Smiths singer remained in the headlines all year. This was partly thanks to his new album World Peace Is None of Your Business, his first solo effort since 2009's Years of Refusal. But he apparently wasn't satisfied with the marketing campaign behind the album, since he entered a rather bizarre back and forth with Harvest Records and ended up getting dumped by the label amid stunts that featured his band wearing "FUCK HARVEST" shirts. He also cancelled yet another tour with health complaints, allegedly called out a hit on a blogger, condemned Canada for its seal hunt and feuded with our Minister of Fisheries. Then, sadly, he revealed that he had been treated for cancer.
1. Jian Ghomeshi
The Canadian music world's far-and-away top newsmaker in 2014 wasn't actually a musician (not currently, anyway). Rather, it was former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi, longtime host of the popular arts program Q. On October 24, he announced that he was taking some "personal time" away from his show; he was fired a couple of days later, and fans rallied around him when he launched a $55 million lawsuit and posted a message claiming that he was being persecuted for his behind-closed-doors fondness for BDSM sex. The harrowing story snowballed from there, with nine women accusing him of sexual and physical assault, and others alleging impropriety in the workplace. After Owen Pallett wrote a heart-rending letter stating that "Jian Ghomeshi beats women,", many other musicians condemned him (including his former Moxy Früvous bandmates), he lost his lawsuit and he ultimately become the centre of a criminal case when he was formally charged with four counts of sexual assault (and one charge of overcoming resistance). He has claimed that his actions were consensual, but he has mostly remained silent while becoming the focus of a public debate about rape culture. The legal fallout has yet to be determined, but in 2014, Ghomeshi's fall from grace ruled the headlines.
So as we here at Exclaim.ca ready ourselves for another year of reporting the news from around the music world, we're taking a look back at the industry's biggest players in 2014.
Don't forget to head over to our 2014 in Lists section to see more of our Year-End coverage.
Top 10 Newsmakers of 2014:
10. Run the Jewels
Many fans agree that Run the Jewels released the year's best rap album with their stunning Run the Jewels 2, but that's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what made this such an interesting year for El-P and Killer Mike. On top of plenty of staggering live shows, they made headlines with an outlandish stunt to remix their album using exclusively cat sounds; fans were so amused at the idea of Meow the Jewels that they managed to raise $65,783 on Kickstarter to fund the project. Meanwhile, Killer Mike also made headlines with his thought-provoking social and political commentary; he penned op-eds on the Michael Brown shooting and rap music's treatment in courts, and he even expanded his barbershop business. In fact, the only real setback in their triumphant campaign was a recent trailer fire.
9. Sun Kil Moon
Songwriter Mark Kozelek dropped four separate releases this year: there was the starkly morbid (and critically lauded) full-length Benji, a concert album called Live at Biko, the holiday-themed Sings Christmas Carols and a two-song ten-inch. But, perhaps regrettably, what most folks will remember about his year is his ridiculous feud with the War on Drugs. Here's what happened: during a September appearance at the Ottawa Folk Festival, Sun Kil Moon's quiet set was partially drowned out the War on Drugs' set at an adjacent stage. He said, "I hate that beer commercial lead-guitar shit," and added, "This next song is called, 'The War on Drugs Can Suck My Fucking Dick.'" In the coming weeks, he proceeded to troll his chosen rivals with two diss songs: "War on Drugs: Suck My Cock" and "Adam Granofsky Blues." All of this began to remind us of a certain Smiths song.
8. Beyoncé
Soul-pop megastar Beyoncé released her self-titled album late in 2013, and the shockwaves from that surprise release continued to resonate throughout 2014. Releasing a surprise LP — which several artists did throughout the year — became known as "pulling a Beyoncé" — and the furor sparked feminist debates and classroom controversies. Meanwhile, the singer hit the road for a massive tour with her husband Jay Z, although their domestic bliss was upset rather publicly when security camera footage of Bey's sister Solange attacking Jay Z leaked online. (But hey, at least the rapper emerged with all of his fingers intact.) To cap it all off, Beyoncé expanded her previously digital-only album for a Platinum Edition box set. It was such a great year that one radio station even adopted an all-Beyoncé format.
7. Wu-Tang Clan
For a long time, we thought Wu-Tang Clan's new album might never happen. The rap collective had been talking about A Better Tomorrow since 2013, but RZA began pointing the finger at Raekwon for holding up the process. Rae then responded with some harsh words in the press, saying that he wasn't happy with how the album was sounding and arguing that "It's time for a new fucking game plan." Much to our surprise, however, they reconciled, and once they were back on the same page, it wasn't long before A Better Tomorrow came out. The group also captured fans' curiosity with Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, an album that they've pressed in an edition of one. They've apparently been offered $5 million for it — which might help make up for all the money that RZA apparently lost in making A Better Tomorrow. Meanwhile, band members like Ghostface Killah and Raekwon remained active on the solo front.
6. Aphex Twin
Electronic legend Richard D. James hadn't released an album as Aphex Twin since 2001's Drukqs, but things began to turn around when he complied with a wildly successful fan-funded campaign to unearth an archival album from his side-project Caustic Window. It sold for more than $46,000, and a couple of months later, a mysterious blimp went flying over England. This signalled the impending arrival of Syro, a stunning new album that thrilled the producer's long-suffering fans. Okay, so he might have alienated a few folks with his dubious 9/11 "truther" talk, but it's still great to have him back. 5. Ariel Pink
Ariel Pink has always been a bit of an oddball, but in 2014, his alleged misogyny broke into the mainstream. As he went about promoting his new album pom pom, he was quoted as saying that he had been tapped to write songs for Madonna, claiming that she had been on a "downward slide" since her debut album and that he represented a "return to values." This prompted Grimes to accuse him of "delusional misogyny"; his response was that she was "stupid and retarded." By the end of all this, Pink was widely being referred to as the "most hated man" in indie rock, and told The New Yorker, "Everybody's a victim, except for small, white, nice guys who just want to make their moms proud and touch some boobies." Oh brother.
4. Taylor Swift
If there was any doubt as to who held the title of the world's biggest pop star in 2014, country crossover artist Taylor Swift cleared that up with the release of her juggernaut album 1989. It sold an incredible 1.287 million copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, making for the biggest debut since Eminem's The Eminem Show's 1.322 million in 2002. The album's high sales were likely aided by Swift's decision to remove her catalogue from Spotify, which reignited debates about whether streaming services devalued music and offered unfair compensation to artists. Of course, it's impossible to become the biggest in the world without making a few enemies along the way: Earl Sweatshirt accused her of stereotyping black people; El-P hated her song "Welcome to New York"; and Billy Bragg dissed her marketing strategy (then quickly apologized when it turned out his information was wrong). But hey, at least Kendrick Lamar is a fan.
3. U2
In what was the year's worst marketing stunt gone wrong, U2 released their surprise album Songs of Innocence as a free download to anyone with iTunes. While they intended this as a free gift to listeners, many considered it a violation when the album showed up unbidden on their phones (and proved to be difficult to delete). Frontman Bono apologized for the gaffe (but, somewhat bafflingly, also said that he was proud of the campaign). Things went from bad to worse for him when he was injured in a biking accident that turned out to be very gruesome indeed, and the band cancelled some of their promotional plans (as if having glaucoma wasn't already bad enough). Perhaps U2 will be able to console themselves with a Grammy — which they're eligible for, thanks to some rather sneaky planning.
2. Morrissey
It was another year of Morrissey being Morrissey, as the onetime Smiths singer remained in the headlines all year. This was partly thanks to his new album World Peace Is None of Your Business, his first solo effort since 2009's Years of Refusal. But he apparently wasn't satisfied with the marketing campaign behind the album, since he entered a rather bizarre back and forth with Harvest Records and ended up getting dumped by the label amid stunts that featured his band wearing "FUCK HARVEST" shirts. He also cancelled yet another tour with health complaints, allegedly called out a hit on a blogger, condemned Canada for its seal hunt and feuded with our Minister of Fisheries. Then, sadly, he revealed that he had been treated for cancer.
1. Jian Ghomeshi
The Canadian music world's far-and-away top newsmaker in 2014 wasn't actually a musician (not currently, anyway). Rather, it was former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi, longtime host of the popular arts program Q. On October 24, he announced that he was taking some "personal time" away from his show; he was fired a couple of days later, and fans rallied around him when he launched a $55 million lawsuit and posted a message claiming that he was being persecuted for his behind-closed-doors fondness for BDSM sex. The harrowing story snowballed from there, with nine women accusing him of sexual and physical assault, and others alleging impropriety in the workplace. After Owen Pallett wrote a heart-rending letter stating that "Jian Ghomeshi beats women,", many other musicians condemned him (including his former Moxy Früvous bandmates), he lost his lawsuit and he ultimately become the centre of a criminal case when he was formally charged with four counts of sexual assault (and one charge of overcoming resistance). He has claimed that his actions were consensual, but he has mostly remained silent while becoming the focus of a public debate about rape culture. The legal fallout has yet to be determined, but in 2014, Ghomeshi's fall from grace ruled the headlines.