Music

SoundCloud has named Eliah Seton chief executive officer, effective immediately. He succeeds Michael Weissman, who joined the streamer in 2017, has served as CEO since 2021 and is departing for a new opportunity. Seton joined SoundCloud in 2021 as president, overseeing the Creator and Roster operating divisions as well as strategy, M&A, content partnerships, business development, and distribution and artist partnerships. In

Today we release recorded music revenue data for 2022 showing a seventh straight year of continued growth – powered by a robust 8% increase in paid subscription streaming revenues which now make up two thirds of the market. In raw numbers, paid subscriptions hit 92 million for the first time ever, continuing a decade long

The U.S. recorded-music industry reached an all-time high of $15.9 billion in 2022, marking the industry’s seventh consecutive year of growth. While overall streaming growth has been leveling off in recent years, with 92 million paid U.S. subscriptions, it’s clearly continuing to grow and fuel the market while the steady resurgence of vinyl continues. Collectively

Hong Kong’s Canto-pop sensation Mirror will make its global debut with a first English-language single “Rumours.” The track is a mature EDM tune that aims at a wider global audience than the boy band’s previous Cantonese-language hits. The single, to be released on March 17, will be streamed across all digital platforms. It will be

British musician Ed Sheeran has previewed his new single “Eyes Closed” exclusively on TikTok. Live now, the single is from Sheeran’s final album in the mathematical album era, “Subtract.” The six-day TikTok preview features Sheeran performing an acoustic performance of “Eyes Closed.” The single will drop March 24. The album, which will release on May

In observance of International Women’s Day, TuneCore/Believe have shared the third installment of their gender equality study in conjunction with entertainment data company Luminate. In an effort to take action against gender discrimination, bias and inequality in the music industry, this year’s edition of the study surveyed over 1,500 professionals across major and independent labels

Spotify announced Wednesday that its all-time payouts to music-rights holders are approaching $40 billion. The company said it pays out nearly 70% of every dollar it generates from music back to the industry, the announcement continues. It generates its music revenue from two sources: subscription fees from its Premium platform paying subscribers, and fees from

Mary J. Blige, Pepsi and Live Nation Urban are joining forces to put together the second annual Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on May 11-14. This year’s iteration will kick off with a new special live music event with Grammy Award winner Robert Glasper. There will additionally be

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. It’s a good year for music lovers, who will be able to see some of their favorite artists hit the road again after long hiatuses. Beyoncé, who broke the record for most Grammy wins

The demise of the iconic Tower Records retail chain in 2006 was in many ways the final nail in the coffin of the 20th century music business model, but as vinyl sales unexpectedly revived over the past decade, the company relaunched in 2020 as an online retailer. Since then, there have been many rumblings about

ASCAP, the only remaining not-for-profit performing rights organization in the U.S., announced that its 2022 annual revenue surpassed $1.5 billion for the first time, which fueled record royalty distributions to ASCAP’s songwriter, composer and music publisher members. Collections totaled $1.522 billion in 2022, an increase of $187 million or 14% over the previous year. According to

UPDATED: When Larry Jackson left Apple Music in September after seven years as the company’s global creative director, he kept quiet about his next move. But as an industry veteran with a deep rolodex and longstanding relationships with top music stars like Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne and Drake, his next venture was bound to

Nominations for the 2023 CMT Music Awards are led by country’s woman of the moment, Lainey Wilson, with four, followed by three apiece for Cody Johnson, newcomer Jelly Roll and the show’s recurring co-host, Kane Brown. For the second year in a row, the three-hour telecast will be getting its premiere network airing on CMT’s

Newly acquired by the Beatport Group, IMS Ibiza will hold its 14th International Music Summit on April 26-28 at Destino Pacha Ibiza resort. Among the industry figures scheduled to participate are: Warner Music Group’s CEO of recorded music Max Lousada, Ben Mawson of TaP Management, whose clients include Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding and Noah

Tennessee’s aggressive legislative moves against drag performances have prompted a host of pro-LGBTQ artists from different genres to come together for a March 20 benefit concert at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, dubbed “Love Rising,” that will raise funds for the Tennessee Equality Project and several other local pride organizations. Among those taking part in the Bridgestone

Outside Lands returns to San Fransico’s Golden Gate Park this summer for three days of performances from headliners Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Lana Del Rey, the 1975, Odesza, Megan Thee Stallion, Zedd, Janelle Monáe, Maggie Rogers and Fisher. Starting August 11, the festival will additionally welcome J.I.D, Lil Yachty, Father John Misty, Cigarettes After Sex,

Producer Metro Boomin has sold a portion of his publishing catalog to Shamrock Capital for close to $70 million, Variety can confirm. News of the hip-hop acquisition was first published by Billboard on Tuesday morning and arrives as Shamrock continues to forge major investments in catalog sales, expanding a portfolio that includes the master recordings for

Taylor Swift and Pink are set to receive special awards in honor of their impact on pop culture during the 2023 iHeart Radio Awards, airing live from Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 27. Swift will receive the 2023 iHeartRadio Innovator award in recognition of her decades-long career and artistic influence. In a press

The name “Harry Nilsson” typically inspires either a blank stare or a beatific smile — very little in between. Despite being worshipped by the Beatles and envied by other singer-songwriters ever since he came on the scene in the 1960s, Nilsson remains a cult figure. But his disciples are zealous. One of them is Nathaniel Rateliff,

The Country Music Association has announced more than a hundred artists that will be performing at June’s CMA Fest, which this summer celebrates its 50th annual edition, counting the years when it was known as Fan Fair. The event will take place June 8-11 in downtown Nashville with shows apread across six stages, capped each

Peter Gabriel has been dropping new songs with each full moon this year, and the latest one sees not only the arrival of a new song from his forthcoming album “i/o” — “Playing for Time” — but also details for his first full North American tour in many years. Produced by Live Nation, the newly

Korean entertainment-tech giant Kakao has launched an offer worth close to $1 billion to buy up one third of SM Entertainment and thwart BTS management firm HYBE Corp. from grabbing control. The Tuesday move follows a Friday court injunction that prevented SM Entertainment from issuing new shares and convertible bonds to Kakao as poison pill

Which current popular music artists will still be significant 25 years from now? It’s a question Keith Jopling posed with the latest expansion of his Art of Longevity project, titled “Crossing the Rubicon.” The answers lie within its first “white paper,” featuring case studies of 25 artists that have guested on Jopling’s podcast of the

All four of this year’s original song Oscar nominees have been confirmed to perform at the ceremony on March 12 — except for Lady Gaga. Gaga, who was deemed a frontrunner early in the race, landed her fourth career nomination for the “Top Gun: Maverick” song “Hold My Hand,” but has yet to be confirmed

A GloRilla concert Sunday night in Rochester, NY, ended in tragedy when one person was killed and nine others were injured in a crush of people exiting the show. The fatality was reported to be a 33-year-old woman who was pronounced dead after arrival at Strong Memorial Hospital. Additionally, nine more concertgoers were injured in

The Guild of Music Supervisors Awards celebrated its 13th annual awards ceremony at L.A.’s Wiltern Theatre Sunday night, with “Everything Everywhere All at Once” continuing its winning streak across awards shows. The film picked up honors for both the Oscar contender “This Is Life” as the best song written and/or recorded for a film and

Charles King’s Macro has raised a $90 million minority investment from BlackRock Alternatives, HarbourView Partners and funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Macro will use the influx of capital to expand its multiplatform operations across production, branding and talent representation units, said King, who is founder and CEO of Macro. The company will also

K-Pop is facing a “very clear slowdown in growth” that has inspired his company’s expansion efforts in the U.S., Bang Si-Hyuk, chairman of HYBE, the company behind bands including BTS and other acts, told CNN’s Richard Quest in an interview published Sunday, as HYBE seeks to expand its holdings in the South Korean music market by

In a wide-ranging restructuring, SiriusXM is eliminating 475 jobs — or about 8% of its headcount — with CEO Jennifer Witz citing economic uncertainty and a need to operate with “greater agility and efficiency.” The satellite radio and audio streaming company is the latest media company to pare back its headcount. Nearly every department across

Guitarist and songwriter Gary Rossington, the last surviving founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, died Sunday at the age of 71.  No immediate cause of death was given. Rossington had dealt with serious health issues in recent years, including emergency heart surgery in 2021, almost two decades after undergoing quintuple bypass surgery in 2003. “It is