Music

The most performed R&B and hip-hop songs in the BMI repertoire were awarded at the 2021 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, recognizing the top songwriters, producers and music publishers of the previous year. Held virtually across all BMI digital and social channels, marquee categories included song, songwriter, producer and publisher of the year. “Say So” written and

Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” topped the Rolling Stone albums chart for a second week, holding the No. 1 spot with more than 232,000 project units, according to Alpha Data. The album moved more than double the amount of the week’s biggest debut, Kacey Musgraves’ “Star-Crossed.” That album made a strong entry at No. 2, with

Apparently concerts, albums, documentaries, writing songs with Mick Jagger, VMA honors and writing books aren’t enough to keep the indefatigable Dave Grohl busy: Now he’s doing a book tour. Later this month and next, Grohl will undertake an extremely limited run of intimate evenings that’ll see (and hear) him bring his first book to life:

Some of the biggest stars of ’90s pop will convene in Los Angeles for a benefit concert paying homage to MTV’s “Total Request Live” era this January, and organizer Nick Lachey is ready to “roll out the red carpet” for “TRL” icons Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. The 98 Degrees member is working with the

Amid strict COVID-19 protocols, the iHeartRadio Music Festival returned to Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena over the weekend. Acts including Dua Lipa, Finneas, Nelly and Weezer kicked off the concert showcase on Friday night, with Coldplay, Billie Eilish, Khalid and Sam Hunt among Saturday’s lineup. The Daytime Stage also returned with Olivia Rodrigo, The Kid LAROI,

Universal Music Group’s long-awaited debut on the stock market doesn’t officially launch until Tuesday morning in Europe, but the process just began with Euronext announcing that the technical reference price for UMG’s shares is around $21.70 per share (€18.50), which would place its value at around $39 billion. The price, which was communicated to Euronext

The 2021 All Things Go Music Festival — with headliners Haim, Charli XCX, St Vincent along with Girl in Red, Soccer Mommy and more — have announced their All Things Go Creator Summit, to be held on Friday, October 15th, the day before the actual festival, at Eaton Hotel in Washington, DC. Presented by Pandora

BTS spoke and gave a special performance at the United Nations in New York on Monday, addressing the assembly and then cutting to a video they filmed, in respectful suits, at the iconic building’s auditorium, lobby and front. The group were recently named the U.N.’s Special Presidential Envoys for Future Generations and Culture; it marked

Muse fans looking to relive the band’s sensational 2019 Simulation Theory tour will have a chance to do so via a new VR experience presented by Stageverse, creators of 3D virtual venues and interactive experiences. Opening for beta access today (Sept. 20), “Muse: Enter The Simulation” (the Stageverse app is available on iOS, Android and

The beach in Asbury Park, N.J., may have at first seemed an unlikely venue to host Pearl Jam’s first concert in more than three years, but it turned out to be a highly appropriate locale the weekend of Sept. 18 at the third-annual Sea.Hear.Now festival on the Jersey Shore. “We’ve got the moon lighting up

Tori Amos will release a new studio album called “Ocean to Ocean” on October 29, 2021 via Decca Records, the company announced Monday morning. Described as “an emotional record,” the new album has the pandemic and the attack on the Capitol as touchstones, leading to “a return to the kind of introspection she recognized from

Pearl Jam’s first live show in more than three years was an eventful one on Saturday, Sept. 18 at the Sea.Hear.Now festival beachside in Asbury Park, N.J., as the group debuted six songs from its 2020 album “Gigaton” and welcomed new touring member Josh Klinghoffer into the fold. Pearl Jam opened the 20-song set with

A few months back Lee Soo-man appeared on stage at the 2021 World Cultural Industry Forum and boasted of his formative role in the Korean pop industry. “K-pop started with SM Entertainment,” he declared. But already the K-pop firmament is getting ready for a new king. SM Entertainment has formally put a 20% stake up

The divorce rate appears to be going up in Nashville, and although we don’t wish that life disruption on anybody, it sure is turning out to be good for country music. This month alone has brought two superior concept albums about unions being torn personally and legally asunder — first, “Star-Crossed” by Kacey Musgraves, who

“Those songs just touched at a moment,” says Mickey Guyton of the back-to-back impact of her songs “Remember Her Name,” written shortly after the death of Breonna Taylor at the hands of local police, “Black Like Me,” which helped soundtracked the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the murder of George Floyd (Minneapolis

With Universal Music Group on the brink of launching one of the biggest initial public offerings to date, it’s worth noting how much the music industry has changed — and hasn’t — since analysts placed the business on the critical list 20 years ago. By the mid-oughts, the music industry had lost half of its peak

The Beatles’ camp is heightening anticipation for the Oct. 15 release of a “Let It Be: Special Edition” boxed set by issuing four tracks to digital service providers today, representing different components of a collection that includes new mixes, unreleased vintage mixes and previously unheard alternate takes. In the latter category are never-before-heard variants of

Lil Nas X’s debut album “Montero” — out today — boasts features from Doja Cat to Elton John, but notably absent from the record are the Teletubbies, the surreal children’s TV characters that many Gen-Zers were raised on. “@LilNasX can we get a feature on the next album?” the Teletubbies asked on Twitter, to which

Taylor Swift’s surprise release of a re-recorded version of “Wildest Dreams” quickly piqued the interest of fans Friday. Just a little more than four hours after her new rendering of the seven-year-old song was released to DSPs Friday, it passed the 2 million plays mark on Spotify. That impressive early number for “Wildest Dream (Taylor’s

Whether he’s posting fake pregnancy photos or courting controversy with eye-popping visuals, Lil Nas X’s mastery of viral marketing is peerless. In some ways, however, the music has felt like an afterthought. On his debut album, “Montero,” Nas corrects that oversight. He digs deeper lyrically, opening up about the loneliness of growing up gay and

In the 10 years since the release of Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive,” the lives of two key figures behind its pivotal soundtrack, Johnny Jewel and Cliff Martinez, have changed for the better, thanks to the film. “Before ‘Drive’ coming out, I was standing by the freeway with a cardboard sign that said, ‘Will score for

Post Malone has revealed the lineup for the third annual Posty Fest, the festival he holds in his home state. Hosted by Kerwin Frost and headlined by Post himself, the Dallas-area festival also includes Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Uzi Vert, Roddy Ricch, Jack Harlow, $uicideboy$, Polo G, Rod Wave, Tyga, Iann Dior, Koe Wetzel, Turnstile, Tyla Yaweh, Flo Milli,

After taking a break last year from the show’s usual artist-honoring format to put a pre-recorded spotlight on pandemic heroes, “CMT Artists of the Year” will return to both a live broadcast and music celebrities being celebrated in its 2021 incarnation, set for Oct. 13. The five stars selected by the country music network for

Fighting the gender gap in the music industry is not a role that Mattel’s Barbie doll traditionally has taken on, but the company has used the iconic figure for exactly that purpose with its awesome Music-Producer doll, which it announced earlier this week. The company, which partnered with veteran songwriter-producer Ester Dean for the series,

Vivendi, the parent company of Canal Plus and Universal Music Group (UMG), is planning to acquire an additional 17.93% stake in Lagardere, the French media, publishing and travel retail conglomerate, from its leading shareholder Amber Capital. The move comes as Vivendi is getting ready to list UMG, its biggest money-making asset and the world’s largest

Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” I just got back from New York City, where I covered the MTV VMAs red carpet. To see Lil Nas X blazing his rainbow trail continues to amaze me in the most beautiful way. He is LGBTQ power and awareness personified. And then to top it all off,

With so many podcasts in the audiosphere and only so many hours in the day, it can be a challenge just testing the waters, let alone finding one that delivers what you’re looking for. Well, along with Variety’s own illustrious “Strictly Business,” which focuses on music once a month, here is a selective list of

In 1978, Elvis Costello looked at a society’s collective eagerness to move on to the next thing and snipped, “This is your punishment: You’re last year’s model.” Stick around for another 43 years, though, and you may find out that this is your reward: There’s a sort of brand new version of his classic sophomore

Genius Media, the widely used lyrics-database company formerly known as Rap Genius, has been acquired by app and internet media holding company MediaLab for $80 million. Genius confirmed its agreement to sell the company to MediaLab. “MediaLab’s commitment to investing in artists and fan-driven communities makes them the ideal partner to propel Genius forward,” Genius

Amid a wave of misinformation stemming from Nicki Minaj’s comment Monday that she would not attend the Met Gala that night due to its COVID-19 vaccine requirement, the White House confirmed that it offered to put her on the phone with a doctor to discuss vaccine safety. “As we have with others, we offered a