April 23, 2019 2:39PM PT Michael Franti has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Position Music to maximize opportunities for his new music in film, television, advertising and gaming outlets. The singer and songwriter, best known for the 2010 hit “The Sound of Sunshine,” also moonlights as a poet and filmmaker and is known to

April 23, 2019 11:55AM PT Billie Eilish, Chance the Rapper, Post Malone and the Black Keys are a few of the more than 70 artists set to perform at the seventh annual Life Is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas, which takes place from Sept. 20-22. Following sold-out shows for the last two years, the rapidly growing

It’s a legitimate question. Following the surprise appearance of *NSYNC members Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick with Ariana Grande at the Coachella music festival on April 15, could the group stage a comeback play without Justin Timberlake? The foursome took to the stage deep into Grande’s song “Break Up With Your

April 23, 2019 10:25AM PT Linda Perry, who was nominated at the most recent Grammy Awards as producer of the year, isn’t finished with her 2019 Grammy-related honors. She’ll be the subject of a tribute concert as part of a Grammy Museum benefit gala being held in her honor in downtown Los Angeles June 29.

The two brothers who allegedly participated in a staged hate attack on Jussie Smollett have filed a defamation suit against Smollett’s lawyers, accusing the attorneys of smearing their reputations in a bid to salvage Smollett’s image. Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo filed suit in federal court in Illinois on Tuesday. The suit alleges that Smollett’s attorneys

April 23, 2019 9:00AM PT Steve Lassiter, a 20-year veteran of talent agency APA, has been promoted to co-head of worldwide music, president and CEO Jim Gosnell announced today. Lassiter joins fellow co-heads of worldwide music Bruce Solar and Steve Martin. He most recently served as head of concerts at APA Nashville, where his roster

Malevolent toddler voice? Check. Boozy, foul-mouthed teddy bear voice? Got it. Silky-smooth singing baritone that can croon a saloon song all the way down to the bottom of the whiskey glass? Seth MacFarlane can do that, too. When he’s not minding his expanding multimedia empire, MacFarlane’s personal passion project is singing and recording classic tunes

Sony Music Entertainment today announced the promotion of Sylvia Rhone to Chairman and CEO of Epic Records. According to the announcement, in this role, Rhone will report to Rob Stringer, CEO, Sony Music Entertainment. She will lead the overall creative direction and management of Epic Records, overseeing a roster of chart-topping artists including Camila Cabello,

The last time Mars Wrigley’s Extra gum debuted an original ad campaign with original music, 2015’s “The Story of Sarah & Juan,” the spot achieved a rare made-for-synch trajectory for its custom cover of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by former “American Idol” contestant Haley Reinhart. [embedded content] Reinhart’s romantic, vocals-and-piano version of the Elvis

On Tayla Parx’s debut album, “We Need to Talk,” released April 5th, fans finally got a glimpse of the preternaturally seasoned songwriter that they’d never seen — or, rather, heard — before. “It’s my perspective without any filter,” says Parx of her solo songs. “I’m an artist that pushes the boundaries of both genre and

As exclusively revealed by Variety last week, Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ album — which had been exclusively available for streaming on Tidal — is now available across all major streaming services, including Spotify and Apple Music. Upon its release in 2016, sources close to the singer said that the album would be a Tidal exclusive “in perpetuity,”

April 22, 2019 4:47PM PT A group of protesters gathered outside City Hall in West Hollywood on Monday afternoon (April 22) to demand the release of pop star Britney Spears from a psychiatric facility. Carrying “Free Britney” signs and chanting “Hands off, Britney” and “Justice for Britney” about a dozen fans took to the corner

April 22, 2019 2:35PM PT Danny Cooper has been named senior vice president of promotion at Arista Records, it was announced today by John Boulos, the label’s executive VP of promotion. In this role, Cooper will work closely with Boulos in all areas of promotion across genres, and oversee Arista’s promotion staff throughout the U.S.

Hot on the heels of her Nice Life/Atlantic Records debut album “Cuz I Love You” (which got a rave review in Variety last week) and her two Coachella performances, Lizzo has announced dates for a huge North American tour, billed “Cuz I Love You Too.” Produced by Live Nation, the tour begins July 18 in Portland,

Jonas Brothers, Halsey, 5 Seconds of Summer, Zedd, Ally Brooke (with special guest Tyga), Ava Max, Fletcher and Tomorrow X Together will perform at iHeartMedia’s annual Wango Tango concert at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles (formerly StubHub Center) on June 1. Freeform will broadcast a 90-minute television special on Friday, June 7

Coming 10 years almost to the week after their previous studio album, the Jonas Brothers’ “Happiness Begins” has been set for a June 7 release. A date for their full-length comeback has been eagerly anticipated by fans ever since the near-surprise March 1 release of “Sucker,” a single that has just reached No. 1 on

The memoir Prince was working on at the time of his death is coming out Oct. 29, according to the Associated Press. Publisher Random House confirmed Monday that “The Beautiful Ones” will combine Prince’s unfinished manuscript with rare photos, scrapbooks and lyrics. Announced just weeks before his 2016 death, the 288-page book, issued in partnership

Ariana Grande knows how to make up for a lost opportunity. After facing near disastrous sound issues during Nicki Minaj’s guest appearance for Grande’s weekend one Coachella set, the “Sweetener” singer brought out Justin Bieber for his first stage appearance in two years for her weekend two closing set. After a performance that was relatively

April 21, 2019 8:25PM PT Fan favorite Zedd brought out two of his best-known collaborators, Maren Morris and Alessia Cara, for hit singles “The Middle” and “Stay” at Coachella weekend two. The pair’s appearances and the overwhelming attendance at the German DJ’s set mark another notch in favor of Coachella’s long, and at this point,

[pmc=related] If the voice singing the song during the end credits of “Game of Thrones” tonight sounded familiar — or unmistakable — yes, it was Florence + the Machine. The group’s version of the original “Game of Thrones” song “Jenny of Oldstones” debuted during the closing credits of this season’s second episode, following a rendition

Lizzo fans may have a bone to pick with Coachella. After being plauged by sound issues in her weekend one set, Lizzo completed a near flawless performance at the Mojave tent on Sunday, save for her closing track, “Juice.” After a successful start to the song, accompanied by her Big Girls dancers, the backing track

Ian Hunter borrowed a bit of Easter imagery for “Roll Away the Stone,” the closing number from Mott the Hoople’s final studio album in 1974. He didn’t take the religious symbolism much further for a song that is a jubilant paean to enduring love and, implicitly, to the power of music itself. But if you

As promised, Kanye West brought his “Sunday Service” to Coachella on Easter morning, as dozens of musicians, singers and dancers performed a set of spiritual songs, covers and songs by the rapper himself — including a new one called “Water” — for an audience of thousands from a hilltop on the festival grounds in Indio,

April 21, 2019 10:56AM PT Kanye West’s Sunday Service wasn’t the only big draw on the last day of Coachella. Ye’s worship-inspired merchandise boasted lines that stretched across the field. The self-proclaimed “church clothes” were available for purchase during the musician’s morning performance. The collection was made up of neutral-hued items each bearing various god-fearing

It is difficult to think of a more impossible task than attempting to rate the 60 all-time greatest Motown songs. Founded in 1959 by Berry Gordy, not only has the label — originally a small independent out of Detroit — spawned more classics in the 60 years since its launch than many corporate-giant-owned major record

April 21, 2019 1:18AM PT After a lackluster weekend one performance, Kid Cudi brought out the big guns — or gun, singular — for his weekend two set. Everyone’s problematic fave Kanye West made a “surprise” appearance at the very start of Cudi’s closing Sahara tent set, riling up the crowd with an opening performance

Not all the surprise collaborations happened at Coachella this weekend. Seattle’s foremost male and female musical exports, Brandi Carlile and Dave Grohl, teamed up for a mini-set Saturday afternoon in their hometown, setting up shop as buskers in front of the popular shopping site Pike Place Market. Unlike most of weekend 2 of Coachella, this

Though Childish Gambino’s weekend two Coachella set didn’t vary too much from his electrifying first one, it did feature a new but familiar face. When Gambino popped backstage during a band feature, accompanied by the cameramen that made his set in part like watching a concert film on a massive screen, Grammy winning musician Chance

Sour Matt might be one of the most mysterious yet well-respected figures in the cannabis industry, as well as a growing force in the music business with which it intersects. With more than 100,000 followers on Instagram alone, he describes himself as “someone who likes to connect the dots, working with other creatives to build

April 19, 2019 9:10PM PT Parents just do understand the importance of Coachella. Jaden Smith was joined in the Sahara tent Friday night by father Will for a performance of “Icon” — as Instagrammed by the proud papa. The footage of Will Smith rapping was shot by Jaden, who turns his smartphone camera around just