Music

Roddy Ricch had a very good 2020. After releasing “The Box” in Dec. 2019, the Compton rapper hit his stride, logging his first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 and registering one of the biggest hits of the year with 11 weeks at the top spot. Not only did the track earn a rare diamond certification

After years of second-class citizenship, it appears that music for television is finally being taken seriously by Grammy voters, based on this year’s unprecedented number of TV nominations in the visual media categories. Seven of the 18 nominations, or more than one-third of the total in the score soundtrack, compilation soundtrack, and original song categories,

Allison Russell’s debut solo album, “Outside Child,” explores the trauma she experienced being sexually and emotionally abused until the time she was 15, and how she learned to choose her own family and channel the power of music and art to escape and thrive. Triply Grammy-nominated, it’s the kind of album the Recording Academy can

Bassist and composer Leonard “Hub” Hubbard, one of the earliest members of The Roots, passed away on December 16 after a long battle with multiple myeloma, a rare form of blood cancer with which he was diagnosed, and which led to his departure from the band, in 2007. He was 62. “It’s with the heaviest

So many music books, so little time. As always, we did our best to keep up with the bounty of music tomes that have hit the shelves in the past year, and as always, we failed dismally — but we did read quite a few! Below are our summations of the best ones that we

The estate of George Michael has extended its global publishing agreement with Warner Chappell Music U.K. The deal covers Michael’s solo work and songs from his time in Wham! The George Michael-Warner Chappell alignments dates back four decades, according to an announcement of the renewal. “We are genuinely delighted that, after many months of detailed

The song-catalog sweepstakes hit a new peak on Wednesday, when news broke that Bruce Springsteen has sold his publishing and his recorded-music catalog to Sony Music for a reported $500 million, the largest known single-catalog acquisition to date. On Thursday, Sony Music confirmed the acquisition — noting the recorded-music and publishing agreements are separate —

As 2021 comes to a close, Young Stoner Life Records artist Strick has squeezed in a new video for the single “For Sale” featuring A$AP Rocky. The track comes from his latest album, “Strick Land,” which arrived on Nov. 5 with features from YSL Records founder Young Thug, Kid Cudi, Ty Dolla $ign, Gunna, NAV

Danny Elfman, the man behind the scores for “Batman” and “Edward Scissorhands,” is reteaming with director Tim Burton to compose the theme for Netflix’s “Wednesday.” Directed by Burton, the live-action, comedic coming-of-age tale focuses on Wednesday Addams’ teenage years. In addition to composing the theme, Elfman will work on the score for the entire season

The sale of Bruce Springsteen’s catalog to Sony Music Publishing — part of a deal that also includes his master recordings, estimated to have cost Sony around $500 million overall — could mean his body of work will be exploited for considerably more commercial licensing. But what sort of syncs are his songs specifically suited

With a production discography boasting modern hip-hop classics including Kanye West and Jay-Z’s “Ni**as in Paris,” Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” and Beyoncé’s “Sorry,” it’s somewhat surprising to learn that Hit-Boy (real name: Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr.) is a first-time nominee for producer of the year, non-classical. For the 2022 Grammy Awards, the Californian hitmaker was

All 10 of the victims at Travis Scott’s Astroworld concert died from compression asphyxia, according to a report from the medical examiner. One victim is cited as having a contributory cause of “combined toxic effects of cocaine, methamphetamine and ethanol,” but the primarily cause for all of the victims was essentially being suffocated by external

In 1991, the inaugural Grammy award for alternative music album went to Sinéad O’Connor’s “I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got.” But it would be 24 more years before the next solo female artist, St. Vincent, took home the prize — a situation emblematic of a wider gender imbalance that the Recording Academy

Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) and Banijay signed an exclusive global music publishing and production agreement Thursday that seeks to maximize music-related revenues from the latter’s content catalogue. The deal reinforces UMPG’s foothold as a leading music publisher for film and TV content. Banijay’s portfolio includes over 110,000 hours of content, including shows such as

As expected, Warner Music Group has acquired 300 Entertainment, home to Megan Thee Stallion – who won Best New Artist at this year’s Grammy Awards — Young Thug and his label Young Stoner Life, Gunna, Fetty Wap, Highly Suspect, the newly signed “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” Mary J. Blige, and others. Since its launch nearly

Brandi Carlile, Graham Nash, Herbie Hancock, James Taylor, Leon Bridges, Pentatonix, Black Pumas, Jon Batiste, Maggie Rogers and Mickey Guyton will honor Joni Mitchell as performers at the MusiCares Person of the Year concert taking placed on Saturday, Jan. 29, two nights before the 64th annual Grammy Awards. The MusiCares concert — which was held

If you’re watching taste-making artists perform on a stage built into a skate bowl inside a 118-year-old mansion, chances are you’re at the brand new House of Vans outpost in Mexico City’s Mixcoac neighborhood. The facility, which joins permanent Vans venues in Chicago and London, opened its doors to the public with a free Dec.

Claudia Butzky has been promoted to executive vice president of brand partnerships & sync for Warner Records. In her expanded role, Butzky will continue to lead the label’s brand partnership team while also overseeing the strategy for creative music placement and campaigns across film, television, gaming, sports and related platforms. Butzky is based at the company’s Los Angeles headquarters and

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched “The Masked Singer” Season 6, Episode 13, “Finale,” which aired Dec. 16 on Fox. When it comes to the Queen of Hearts, there’s no playing. Singer/songwriter Jewel was unmasked as the Season 6 winner of “The Masked Singer,” having wowed the show’s panelists and

In what may be the biggest single-artist music-catalog deal to date, a report in Billboard claims that Bruce Springsteen has sold his entire recorded-music and publishing catalog to Sony Music for around $500 million, topping Bob Dylan’s sale of his publishing to Universal for nearly $400 million. Reps for Springsteen and Sony Music either declined

Jamie Spears is denying his involvement in a 2003 Diane Sawyer interview that made his daughter cry, prompting the pop star’s legal team to question … why? Earlier this week, Britney Spears slammed Sawyer for a sit-down that took place when she was 21 yearscold. And while the news anchor has remained silent on the

Earlier this week, the inaugural edition of Saudi Arabia’s XP Music Conference took place over three days and nights in Riyadh, drawing hundreds of music industry professionals and artists from around the Persian Gulf and beyond. The event was sponsored by the Saudi government as it seeks to open itself up to more opportunities in

If you’ve opened the TikTok app in the past month, chances are you’ve heard the song “I Am Woman.” “I am woman/ I am fearless/ I am sexy, I’m divine/ I’m unbeatable, I’m creative/ Honey, you can get in line,” Emmy Meli croons in a rich, raspy tone over a simple yet catchy drum beat.

Ever since the July 2020 incident in which Tory Lanez allegedly shot Megan Thee Stallion in the foot after an argument, the two have used social media, songs and even (in Lanez’s case) a full album to air their differing sides of the story. That also has been the case in the hours after Lanez’s

Ringo Starr, Fred Armisen and Jon Hamm are among the A-list stars in a new official music video for George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord.” Produced 51 years after the song’s release, the video gets a little help from Harrison’s friends, including ex-Beatle Starr, the Eagles’ Joe Walsh and Jeff Lynne, who played with Harrison in

“Pretty insane, huh?” That was Wolfgang Van Halen’s reaction when he learned of his nomination for rock song at the 2022 Grammy Awards — for “Distance,” the tribute to his late father, Eddie — in a category alongside Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters, Weezer and Kings of Leon. Indeed, it culminated a whirlwind year for the

Lady Gaga has had three major acting roles. All have been anything but lighthearted material. She first showed her dramatic chops as a vampire on “American Horror Story: Hotel” in 2015. Three years later, her big-screen debut in “A Star Is Born” earned her a best actress Oscar nomination for her work as Ally, a

With her introspective lyricism and calming instrumentals, Arlo Parks has become one of music’s fastest-rising stars. Months after releasing her debut album, “Collapsed in Sunbeams,” in January, Parks collected the Brit Awards’ breakthrough artist honor and the Mercury Prize for album of the year. Now the 21-year-old musician and poet is up for best new

A previously unreleased recording made when Whitney Houston was 17 years old was sold Tuesday in a 24-hour auction on the OneOf NFT platform. The winning bid was for $1 million, the highest priced NFT auction item on the Tezos (XTZ) blockchain. In total, the full collection, which features rare images and videos, has generated over $1.1

K-pop has seen massive popularity due to boy bands’ and girl groups’ debuts and comebacks with new concepts every year. 2021 was no different, witnessing a continued surge of Korean stars embarking on solo projects, making bolder moves in the U.S. and delving deeper into technology. The genre’s success and phenomenal fandom since 2008 has