Although rumors about a Fugees reunion tour had been bubbling for days before it was actually announced on Tuesday, the news still made a splash: a multi-date international tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of the group’s galvanizing 1996 album “The Score” would be starting in a matter of weeks (see dates here), and would be
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Warner Records has named Steve “Steve O” Carless president of A&R, a new position at the Warner Music Group label that’s home to such artists as Dua Lipa, Saweetie David Guetta and Anitta. Carless’ start date is Dec. 1 and he’ll be reporting to co-chairman and CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and working closely with Julian Petty,
The 30 th anniversary of the release of Nirvana’s galvanizing second album “Nevermind” is Friday, but just in time for the holiday season Geffen/Ume will roll out a set of multi-format reissues containing a total of 94 audio and video tracks — 70 of them previously unreleased. The releases, which begin rolling out on Nov. 12,
The Rolling Stones and much of the rock world were by the death of Charlie Watts, the band’s drummer since 1963, on August 24. While the group had previously announced that Watts (pictured above, right, in 2019) would not be joining them for their upcoming “No Filter” North American tour due to illness, and his
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s set during the 1979 all-star “No Nukes” concerts at New York’s Madison Square Garden is legendary, but only one song from it had been released — until November of this year, when Sony Music Entertainment’s Premium Content Division in partnership with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release “The Legendary
Brandi Carlile, Sturgill Simpson and the late John Prine were among those receiving kudos at Wednesday night’s 20th annual Americana Honors & Awards, which returned to an in-person ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium after being announced online last year due to the pandemic. Even without having a new album out — yet (there’s one coming
During closing statements on Wednesday, federal prosecutor Elizabeth Geddes drove home the point that R. Kelly used his fame to take advantage of underaged girls and boys, as well as young women, characterizing the R&B singer as a predator. In the New York trial that began Aug. 18, Kelly faces federal counts of human trafficking,
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the Season 6 season premiere, part one, of “The Masked Singer,” which aired September 22 on Fox. Basketball star Dwight Howard will at least have more time now to focus on bringing a championship back to Los Angeles. The Lakers player was the first
Julz Sale, co-founder and singer of Delta 5, whose 1980 indie hit “Mind Your Own Business” saw an unexpected revival when it was used in an Apple ad earlier this year, has died, Variety has confirmed via the band’s U.S. label. Her age and the circumstances of her death had not been announced at the
Britney Spears’ lawyer told a judge on Wednesday that he expects that her conservatorship will be terminated “completely and inevitably” this fall. In a court filing, attorney Mathew Rosengart reiterated that his top priority, however, is removing her father, Jamie Spears, from the role of conservator of her estate, which has given him control over
“Dear White People” may be saying goodbye to Netflix with this fourth season, but the show is going out with a bang as not only a musical season, but also one that flashes 15 years into the future to see where the characters land post-graduation from Winchester University. In a series of show-stopping numbers, creator
Composer Dan Gillespie Sells says he wanted to tell the story of young Jamie Campbell in “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” because the central protagonist is heroic and not victimized. In the film — now streaming on Amazon Prime Video — Jamie (Max Harwood) is a 16-year-old who dreams of becoming a drag queen. Sells, who
No false advertising anywhere on the cover of the newest entry in Bob Dylan’s “Bootleg Series” about which era is being covered. The boxed set’s subtitle lays out the dates — 1980-85 — but even before you land on the fine print, there’s the period-specificity of the cover photo, a vintage Ken Regan shot of
On Thursday, just 15 months after it was formed, the Black Music Action Coalition will host its inaugural Music in Action Awards gala in Los Angeles, honoring musicians, executives, businesses, entrepreneurs, and activists who have made significant contributions to social justice, change, and/or equity over the preceding year. BMAC, which was formed after the transformative
J. Cole gave fans a surprise on Tuesday by releasing a new video and song titled “Heaven’s EP” that finds him rapping over the beat of Drake’s “Pipe Down,” from the Canadian rapper’s just-two-weeks-old “Certified Lover Boy” album. Cole raps on the track: “Some people say that I’m running third, they threw the bronze at
The spectacular rise of green-haired Finnish pop star Alma has inspired one of Finnish Film Affair’s most buzzy documentaries in progress, “Alma – Who Am I?” Finnish director and actor Pamela Tola spoke to Variety about her film. Produced by Helsinki production company Lucy Loves and Oskari Huttu, and being pitched at the Helsinki film
The Rolling Stones played the first — albeit unofficial — show of their 2021 No Filter tour at a private event on Monday night. Organized by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, the small concert took place at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., and was their first show since the death of drummer Charlie Watts
300 Entertainment CEO/founder Kevin Liles is making a sizable investment in Vancouver-based cannabis lifestyle company Burb as it closes a $4 million Series A funding round led by Connecticut-based private equity group KarpReilly. For Liles, the combination of cannabis and music is a natural fit. As a Def Jam executive, Liles’ bonafides go back to
R.E.M. fans, Michael Stipe doesn’t have encouraging news when it comes to ever seeing the seminal rock band ever together again. In a new interview for New York public radio station WNYC, Stipe was clear about his take on the future — or lack thereof — for R.E.M.: “We will never reunite.” WNYC’s “All of
On a day that has been remarkably good for music companies on stock markets, Warner Music Group — which saw its stock climb thanks in part to Universal Music’s lofty IPO — on Tuesday announced the sale of an aggregate of 2,340,000 shares of the company’s common stock by affiliates of Access Industries to Morgan
Harry Styles, Bon Jovi and Tears For Fears were among the big winners on stage at the 2021 Ivor Novello Awards in London – but events off stage loomed large over proceedings. By coincidence the Awards, which honor excellence in songwriting and composition, took place on the same day as the Universal Music Group IPO.
If Universal Music Group’s spinoff from parent Vivendi was an album or single, it would be number one with a bullet, in old music-industry terms: With a closing price of €25.10 on the first day of the company’s stock launch on the Euronext Amsterdam, the world’s largest music company landed a whopping 36.5% above its
The 2022 Grammy nominations will be announced on Tuesday, November 23, the Recording Academy announced. The unveiling takes place just two days before Thanksgiving, as they were last year. This year’s roster could be significantly different from ones in recent years, as the Academy has eliminated the “secret” nominating committees of artists, creators and industry
Bjorn Ulvaeus, co-founder of ABBA and president of CISAC, unveiled a new global initiative called “Credits Due” on Tuesday that is intended to upgrade the music industry’s payment processes. The initiative, created by the Ivors Academy and the Music Rights Awareness Foundation and announced at the songwriter-based Ivor Novello Awards in London, is intended to “unite
Hipgnosis Songs, founded by Merck Mercuriadis and launched on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, is one of the most disruptive upstarts in recent music industry history, spending more than $2 billion acquiring catalogs of hitmakers ranging from the Chainsmokers to half of Neil Young’s work, with a foundation in lesser-known but high-earning songwriters and
Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel of the hip-hop group Fugees have reunited to announce their first tour in 25 years and first shows in 15 years, celebrating the anniversary of their blockbuster 1996 “The Score,” the group announced Tuesday morning. The 12-city tour launches Wednesday (Sept. 22) with a show in New York at
Reggaeton star, actor and philanthropist Don Omar has signed a multiyear partnership with Saban Music Group (SMG). The label founded by entertainment giant Haim Saban and headed by CEO Gustavo López is home to such acts as Static and Ben El, Nakkia Gold and Chesca, among others. “I am thrilled to be joining forces with
Shares in Universal Music Group surged by more than a third in the first minutes of trading on Tuesday, following an initial public offering (IPO). Ten minutes into the trading session, shares were changing hands at €25.61 on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. That is a 38% leap compared with the €18.50 figure that the
Sarah Dash, the legendary R&B singer who gained prominence as part of the group Labelle in the 1970s, has died. She was 76. Labelle’s publicist confirmed Dash’s death to Variety. Trenton, N.J. Mayor Reed Guscoria also shared the news on his Facebook page, writing: “Our resident legend and Trenton’s very first music ambassador, Sarah Dash, has
Saweetie has signed with Full Stop Management, Variety has learned. The Bay Area rapper will be represented by Brandon Creed, joining a roster that includes Lizzo, Charli XCX, Troye Sivan, Orville Peck and Mark Ronson, among others. Full Stop was founded by Irving and Jeffrey Azoff and merged with Creed’s The Creed Co. in 2017.