And they shall sue one another… nevermore. Taylor Swift and Evermore Park, a theme park in Utah, have dropped the lawsuits they filed against each other in February, according to Swift’s camp. Neither side got any cash in the agreement to set aside their respective claims. “As a resolution of both lawsuits, the parties will
Music
Don Heffington, who became most visible as a member of Lone Justice in the 1980s before going on to play on hundreds of recordings by the leading lights of roots-rock, died Tuesday night at age 70. He was reported to have been hospitalized recently with leukemia. “Tears all over L.A. today,” said actor-singer Ronee Blakley,
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 5 Episode 3 of “The Masked Singer,” which aired March 24 on Fox. Danny Trejo has spent the past few weeks dodging people in public asking him if he’s the Raccoon on “The Masked Singer.” “The Masked Singer” likes to keep the identity
March 24 marks the 15th anniversary of the debut of “Hannah Montana” on Disney Channel, which was the show that introduced singer-songwriter and icon Miley Cyrus to the world.
The letter was posted on Miley’s Instagram, and Hannah had a response that we’ll spare you the click for: “Nice to hear from you @MileyCyrus. It’s only
Connie Bradley, who worked with ASCAP Nashville for 34 years and came to lead the performing rights organization’s Tennessee office, died Wednesday at age 75. “As head of ASCAP’s Nashville office for more than three decades, Connie Bradley was a mentor to so many of country music’s greatest songwriters and an indelible part of ASCAP’s
Verzuz is going ‘90s for its most recently announced matchup, which will see two all-female R&B legends squaring off: SWV against Xscape. The popular series, which was recently acquired by gaming platform Triller, launched last March with a battle between founders Swizz Beatz and Timbaland. The Verzuz series — which pits one classic artist or producer
On Tuesday, the “news” came out that Morgan Wallen would be playing his first live show since the controversy over his being caught saying the N-word on camera caused him to go into apologetic seclusion. There was just one problem: the so-called comeback show, at a country music festival in Kansas in late June, was
The veteran rapper Nas is having a very good March. He finally won his first Grammy less than two weeks ago, for best rap album for his latest release. But he’s the relative new kid on the block when it comes to the Library of Congress, which has selected his 27-year-old debut album, “Illmatic,” as one
The 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards is bringing together the cast of “Glee” for the tenth anniversary of character Santana Lopez (portrayed by the late Naya Rivera) coming out as lesbian. Demi Lovato, who played Santana’s girlfriend on the show, will introduce the special tribute, which will feature “Glee” cast members Jacob Artist, Chris Colfer,
Taylor Swift’s re-recorded version of her debut album “Fearless” comes with bonus tracks taken “From the Vault,” and the singer announced Wednesday morning that “You All Over Me,” the first such song, will arrive Thursday night at 12 a.m. ET. Swift also revealed that the song features country star Maren Morris on vocals, and was
In celebration of Saturday’s premiere of the Tina Turner documentary “Tina,” HBO has teamed up with NTS radio for five hours of programming around the legendary singer’s career, featuring Arlo Parks, Dawn Richard and others. “Tina” is directed by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin and produced by Simon Chinn, Jonathan Chinn and Diane Becker. “Tina”
The already-crowded music-catalog-acquisition business just got a formidable new player: Germany-based music company BMG and global investment firm KKR have announced they will join forces to pursue recorded music, music publishing and other music-rights acquisitions. “Working together, the companies will deliver a compelling solution for artists, songwriters and other music rights owners seeking to realize
The revival of the touring business took another tentative step forward when AEG, the world’s second-largest live-entertainment company, sent a notice to furloughed staffers that they will begin returning to work on April 1. According to an email to staff from AEG CEO Dan Beckerman, the first group of employees who had been furloughed or
The staff of Secretly Group, one of the largest independent music companies in the U.S., announced plans on Tuesday morning to form a union to address a list of concerns they’re hoping to correct with a union contract, according to an open letter and an article in Rolling Stone. The concerns include low wages and
Hundreds of members of the international music industry have signed an open letter to record labels titled “Pay Songwriters,” calling for better financial treatment from the record labels that are riding a tide of streaming-powered success. That success is evidenced by the strong numbers in the IFPI annual global report on recorded music released today,
The global music industry remained remarkably resilient despite a year under lockdown, according to the IFPI’s new Global Music Report. The headline figure showed that global recorded music revenues rose 7.4% in 2020 to $21.6 billion, only slightly below 2019’s 8.2% increase. But there was also an awful lot going on underneath the surface. Variety
Isobel Waller-Bridge, whose film and TV work includes the scores for “Fleabag,” “Emma” and Netflix’s upcoming “Munich,” has signed a deal with Decca Publishing, the four-year-old publishing company that specializes in handling the catalogs of outside-the-box composers like Max Richter and Clint Mansell. Waller-Bridge also recently signed with the Mercury KX label with the intention
Demi Lovato screened her new YouTube Originals documentary series “Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil” with a three-song set at the Beverly Hilton hotel on March 22. The singer performed “I See You,” “Anyone” and “Dancing With the Devil,” the title track from her upcoming album “Dancing With the Devil…The Art of Starting Over,” before
April 21 will mark the fifth anniversary of Prince’s death — and on that day, Paisley Park, his home, studio and “creative sanctuary,” will invite fans to pay tribute to the late artist in its atrium free of charge. Advance reservations are required. “On the fifth anniversary of the passing of the incomparable Prince, Paisley
Daddy Yankee was named Songwriter of the Year for the third time and Sony Music Publishing won top publisher honors at the ASCAP 2021 Latin Music Awards on Monday night. Daddy Yankee’s haul for the evening added to his record-setting total of 42 ASCAP Latin Music Awards. He also captured Songwriter-Artist of the Year in
Private equity giant Providence Equity Partners is betting on the rebound of the live event business, backing Ambassador Theatre Group’s acquisition of high-end venues in San Francisco and Detroit. The deal calls for International Entertainment Holdings Ltd, parent company of U.K.-based ATG, to acquire the San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theatre and Orpheum Theatre and Detroit’s
China’s dominant online music platform Tencent Music Entertainment has renewed and expanded its licensing deal with Warner Music. The group also reported barely changed profits of $637 million (RMB4.16 billion) for 2020. Calling the agreement an “expanded multi-year strategic licensing agreement,” TME and Warner Music said that Warner content would continue to be available online
The 52nd NAACP Image Awards kicked off Monday with its non-televised ceremony, which was presented virtually due to the ongoing pandemic. President Barack Obama’s bestselling memoir “A Promised Land” was among the winners during Monday night’s webcast, earning the outstanding literary work nonfiction prize. ESPN & Netflix’s “The Last Dance,” which centered Michael Jordan and
R&B upstart Giveon may not need to take his time after all. The week’s top debut on the album chart belonged to the singer, whose first album, “When It’s All Said and Done… Take Time” entered at No. 7. A good number of performers who appeared on the Grammys last Sunday enjoyed boosts, with Dua
Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas has signed a worldwide publishing agreement with Concord Music Publishing, covering his past and future solo works (including his 2013 song with Daft Punk, “Instand Crush”) and various projects including The Voidz. Casablancas won his first Grammy last weekend, for the Strokes’ album “The New Abnormal.” “We are beyond excited that Julian has
Mask up, Los Angeles-area music geeks (and record-shopping) tourists: Amoeba Music is about to be back in business at its long-promised new location, but don’t expect to be able to just walk in when the California mini-chain unveils the new store. The opening date for the transplanted store, slated in pre-COVID conditions for last fall,
Tencent Music Entertainment Group, part of the massive China-based Tencent media company, and Warner Music have announced an expanded multi-year strategic licensing agreement that will also see the companies collaborating on a new joint venture record label. While Tencent became a 20% owner of Warner competitor Universal Music Group late last year, it and Warner
Neil Patrick Harris has been tapped to host the 29th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards pre-party special alongside Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish. Additionally, Dua Lipa will perform along with other names to be announced. Since 1992, the Academy Awards Viewing Party has supported the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s efforts
Courtney B. Vance has a gift for tapping into rich and complex, larger-than-life men. In 2016, for example, he won an Emmy for his portrayal of real-life lawyer Johnnie Cochran in “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”; just last year he took on the role of George Freeman in HBO’s “Lovecraft Country”( for
Perhaps it’s only appropriate that a film detailing one of Los Angeles’ most infamous unsolved murder cases would have a long journey to the screen, but Brad Furman’s “City of Lies” had a bumpier road than most. Detailing LAPD detective Russell Poole’s investigation into the 1997 murder of Christopher Wallace – a.k.a. rapper the Notorious