Martin Talbot is stepping down as CEO of the Official Charts Company, the U.K.’s charts compiler.

A former journalist and editor, Talbot took the reins at the OCC in 2007, a time when appetite for physical soundcarriers was in sharp decline and the likes of Spotify and other streaming brands had yet to announce their arrival.

In the years since, Talbot successfully navigated the organization through that period of unprecedented transition, as consumer tastes shifted from physical, to downloads, and now streaming, and secured agreements to produce the official charts in Ireland and France, in addition to the United Kingdom. Also, Talbot has overseen the negotiation of five successive BBC contracts.

With Talbot at the helm, the Official Charts announced almost 1,000 No. 1s.

Talbot departs as the OCC prepares for the launch later this year of a new, state-of-the-art data system, following the largest infrastructure investment in the company’s history, reads a statement.

Prior to joining the OCC, Talbot served as editor of Music Week, the U.K. music trade title where he learned the ropes as a reporter back in 1990.

“It has been a privilege to head the Official Charts for the best part of two decades, to establish it as a leading entertainment brand and player in the international market. But, with the company ready to take its next step forward with a brand-new state of the art data platform later this year, I feel it is time to step away,” Talbot explains in a statement.

“When I joined Official Charts, legitimate downloading was only a couple of years old, the download market was five years away from its peak, streaming was yet to emerge and vinyl sales were at an all-time low. To have steered the ship which has tracked and navigated that evolution from the inside has been hugely rewarding.”

Talbot is expected to exit towards the end of April. In his absence, he’s confident OCC commercial director Becca Monahan, operations director Chris Austin and digital & brand director Lauren Kreisler can help “take the business to new heights.”

“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Martin for his outstanding leadership and commitment over the past 18 years,” comments Drew Hill, chair of the board. “Under his stewardship, the company has grown significantly, navigated major industry shifts and made the investments that will underpin its future success. We are extremely grateful for his contribution and wish him every success in his next chapter.”

The OCC, 50/50 joint venture between labels’ association BPI and the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA, formerly BARD), publishes a suite of more than 50 weekly charts, including the flagship Official U.K. Singles and Albums Charts. The Official Chart is said to captures over 99% of all U.K. singles consumption, 98% of all albums and over 90% of all videos and DVDs, and counts sales and streams from 8,000 sources each day.

SYDNEY, Australia — Qudos Bank Arena shifted its 15 millionth ticket, a major milestone that was notched up at last weekend’s Linkin Park concert.

For those keeping track, the result was a relief. Linkin Park canceled a concert last week in Adelaide due to illness in the band. By the time the Sydney leg rolled around, the nu-metal band had a clean bill of health, and had the honors for cracking the milestone.

Sydney engineering student Jared Garwood, 20, held the golden ticket.

Qudos Bank Arena is owned by TEG and operated by Legends Global, and, with a 22,000 capacity, it’s the country’s biggest arena.

The venue officially opened in November 1999 with a special performance by Luciano Pavarotti, and went on to host basketball, gymnastics and trampolining competition at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Music highlights over the years have included P!nk’s Beautiful Trauma World Tour, which sold 147,970 tickets sold across nine shows; Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour, which established a new single-event attendance record of 21,001 guests, besting the previous mark set by Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveShow Tour; RÜFÜS DU SOL’s 48,865 tickets sold across three shows last November, setting a new benchmark for an electronic music act at the venue; and TWICE’s 29,572 tickets sold over two shows for their This Is For World Tour, a new high mark for a K-pop artist at the arena.

Originally built as the Sydney SuperDome, the venue hosts 120 events in a typical year. Up to 1,000 people work on each event.

“The arena has played host to so many of Sydney’s most memorable entertainment moments over the past 27 years and now regularly ranks in the top 10 in ticket sales for large indoor arenas anywhere in the world,” comments Legends Global chairman & CEO Harvey Lister.

Sydney became a one arena town when, in early 2016, the Sydney Entertainment Centre was demolished to make way for the Darling Square residential development.

Robbie Williams will play stadiums when his BRITPOP World Tour swings into Australia and New Zealand later this year.

The superstar British pop singer will perform some of his biggest Australasian concerts ever, and visit cities for the first time, on his seven-city trek, announced Wednesday, March 18.

The jaunt will get underway Saturday, Nov. 7 at Adelaide Oval, then drops by Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, Sydney’s Accor Stadium, Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium, and Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, then wraps with shows on New Zealand’s North Island (Eden Park, Auckland) and South Island ​(Christchurch’s One New Zealand Stadium).

When Robbie completes his tour of these parts in Christchurch, on Nov. 28, he’ll become the first international artist to perform at the city’s new venue.

“Australia and New Zealand have always had a very special place in my heart. Ever since my first solo tours, you have welcomed me with open arms and made me feel at home,” the former Take That singer says in a statement. “I’m beyond excited to be coming back this November for the BRITPOP World Tour. Can’t wait to see you all there.”

As the itinerary stands, Perth residents are unlucky to miss out.

Michael Chugg’s​ Chugg Entertainment and the concert promoter’s partner Frontier Touring are producing the trek, which follows Williams’ A Day On The Green run three years ago, in November 2023, part of his XXV anniversary tour. More recently, he was in these parts to headline the 2025 New Year’s Eve celebrations at the Sydney Opera House.

Although Robbie can comfortably get his shopping done in the United States without being mobbed, he’s a megastar in the U.K. and Europe, and around the globe. According to the Official Charts Company, Robbie boasts has six of the top 100 best-selling albums in British recorded music history, with 16 U.K. No. 1 albums as a solo artist — breaking the tie with the Beatles, for the most leader of all time. He also owns 18 Brit  Awards, more than any other artist.

A surprise release in January, Williams’ BRITPOP album is a tip of the hat to the ‘90s Britpop era, featuring collaborations with Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Supergrass’ Gaz Coombes, Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi, Mexican pop duo Jesse & Joy and Take That co-founder Gary Barlow. In no surprise to anyone, the album went straight to No. 1 in the U.K.

Labrinth is posting to Instagram again, and he’s still not happy. In a new Notes app post shared to the platform on Tuesday (March 17), the “All for Us” singer aired his grievances with the music industry as a whole.

“WE HOVER AROUND BIG STARS HOPING TO BE IN THEIR PLACE ONE DAY LIKE SNAKES,” Labrinth begins in all caps. “WAITING TO EAT THEIR OWNERS.”

The singer continues by saying that hopeful artists who enter the music industry are turned into “wolves of Wall Street” and that creatives in the business will discard meaningful relationships with one another in favor of bigger opportunities.

Labrinth then asks a pointed question of the industry: “WHO THE F— SAID THIS IS NORMAL OR OK TO TURN WHAT I CALL GODS NOISE (our music) INTO BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS?”

He closes his post out with a simple phrase “I DONT SUBSCRIBE.”

In the caption, Labrinth expresses the desire to have “meaningful interactions” and not wanting to use or be used by anyone. “Fake ain’t a good business plan,” he writes.

While Labrinth may not subscribe to how the music business treats artists, or how musicians treat others, several artists are subscribing to his philosophy. Within an hour of the post going up, Labrinth received support from other people in his industry and related ones.

Singer India.Arie responded with “We have all felt this! I really feel you,” while former Fifth Harmony member Lauren Jauregui commented three speaking head emojis.

“I genuinely think about this every day,” commented Dove Cameron. Fans of the artist also responded with praise, asking Labrinth who wronged him and letting him know they stand with and love him.

This is not the first time in the last week Labrinth has taken to Instagram to express his feelings on the industry. On Friday, the singer slammed his record label and HBO series Euphoria in a similar text post. The now-deleted post read, “I’M DONE WITH THIS INDUSTRY / F–K COLUMBIA / DOUBLE F–K EUPHORIA / I’M OUT.”

It’s unclear what led to either of Labrinth’s Instagram posts. The British singer/producer released his fourth studio album Cosmic Opera: Act I in January — his second under Columbia, the Sony-owned label he’s been signed to since 2019. Labrinth has worked as the lead score producer for Euphoria since the show’s beginning, also in 2019. Season 3 of the drama is set to premiere April 12 and Labrinth recently shared another now-deleted post where he potentially teased his score for the new season.

Prior to Euphoria and Columbia, Labrinth was signed to Simon Cowell’s record label Syco, with whom he delivered two albums. Since his debut in 2010, Labrinth has had seven songs hit the Billboard Hot 100, including one featuring Euphoria star Zendaya.

At the time of publication, Labrinth’s latest Instagram post is still up and can be viewed below.

The composer and performer of the iconic opening Zulu chant in “The Circle of Life” from The Lion King is suing a comedian over a viral podcast comment about the song.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday (March 16) by South African composer and singer Lebo M, stems from Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Jonasi’s appearance last month on the podcast One54 Africa. In a now-viral clip, Jonasi said the famous “The Circle of Life” chant, “Nants’ingonyama bagithi Baba,” translates in English to “Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god.”

Lebo M (full name Lebohang Morake) wrote this chant and performed it in both the 1994 original The Lion King movie and its 2019 remake. Lebo M alleges in the Monday lawsuit that the chant is a form of royal praise poetry that relies on metaphors, and its true translation is, “All hail the king, we all bow in the presence of the king.”

“Jonasi’s reduction to ‘Look, there’s a lion. Oh my god’ is not a simplified translation — it is a fabricated, trivializing distortion, meant as a sick joke for unlawful self-profit and destruction of the imaginative and artistic work of Lebo M,” reads the legal complaint.

The lawsuit demands a whopping $27 million in damages from Jonasi for defamation, libel and business interference that could affect Lebo M’s longtime collaborative relationship with Disney. Lebo M says he “now fears for his life due to Xenophobic comments,” and he claims he’s been “confronted and bombarded” with comments about the podcast clip while on tour with Hans Zimmer in Europe.

Lebo M’s claims face tough odds, as the First Amendment broadly shields comedy from legal scrutiny and liability for defamation. Lebo M’s lawyer attempts to get around free speech protections by arguing that Jonasi “did not frame this as a joke in delivery.”

“Defendant presented it as factual knowledge with misguided authenticity to increase exposure and mockery of Lebo M’s creative masterpiece,” writes attorney Michael Younge.

The lawsuit marks an escalation in a back-and-forth that’s been taking place on social media between Lebo M and Jonasi since the podcast clip went viral. Lebo M stated in a March 4 video on Instagram that he’d messaged Jonasi about his concerns, but the comedian brushed him off and said he’d been doing the same joke for eight years and did not plan to stop.

“It’s rather painful to see an ignorant wannabe comedian promote ignorance and it become so globally powerful,” said Lebo M in the video. “I did try to engage this young man, and he was so arrogant.”

Jonasi responded with an Instagram video of his own on March 14, saying he was initially receptive to Lebo M’s messages and had hoped they could create a collaborative video clarifying the situation — but that he shut down the conversation after the composer called him “self-hating.”

“I realized that I’m not having a conversation with somebody that actually wants to do that,” said Jonasi in his video. “This person is literally not attacking the joke, but my character.”

A rep for Jonasi did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday (March 17).