International sales agency Sola Media, which is taking part in Hong Kong’s Filmart this week, has boarded the Norwegian remake of Czech classic film “Three Wishes for Cinderella,” with pop music star Astrid Smeplass, better known as Astrid S, playing Cinderella. Smeplass’ tracks have generated more than 2.3 billion streams with hit singles such as
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Demi Lovato’s new documentary, “Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil,” sees the pop singer and former Disney star opening up about her past more than ever before. In the four-part series — which opened tonight at SXSW and will premiere on YouTube March 23 — Lovato discusses her struggle with addiction and life-threatening overdose in
Fadia Kader has left Instagram after four years and is joining Clubhouse as its new head of media partnerships and creators. She reports to global head of marketing Maya Watson, who recently arrived from Netflix. Clubhouse is a quickly growing social audio chat app. Kader’s role will focus on working with creators and brands in
Crypto.com has named Joe Conyers III EVP, NFT Platform. In his new role, Conyers, who was most recently chief strategy officer of Downtown Music Holdings, will oversee the development of Crypto.com’s invite-only NFT platform, which will feature artists, athletes and sports leagues. While at Downtown, Conyers also co-founded the songwriter royalty collection service Songtrust. +
Sunday night’s Grammys are still all the buzz among music fans and the industry — something you wouldn’t guess from a glance at the (predictably) dismal overnight ratings, but the people who cared about the show really cared about the show. And what’s not to care about when you’ve got Harry not only unmasked but
The Neil Lasher Music Fund at Caron Treatment Centers has been created in memory of veteran music industry executive Neil Lasher, who died in April 2020 from complications due to coronavirus. The Fund, initiated by his life partner Jill Jordon, and administered by Caron, will provide financial assistance for access to addiction and recovery treatment,
The Academy music branch made Oscar history yesterday by nominating two films with Black composers for best original score: “Soul” and “Da 5 Bloods.” Previously, only six films featuring Black composers were even nominated in the entire 86-year history of the category: “In Cold Blood,” “Shaft,” “The Color Purple,” “Round Midnight,” “Cry Freedom” and “BlacKkKlansman.”
This column by songwriter-producer Ross Golan — who has worked with Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Celine Dion, Justin Bieber and many others and is also creator and host of the “And the Writer Is” podcast — calls for the Recording Academy to change the “33% rule” it uses to determine which contributors to an album
Sometimes you have to cut loose from the shackles of self-perception to really be free. Nearly two decades into their recorded career, Kings of Leon are a band now willing to let go of commercial concerns. “We’ll argue with the record label later if we don’t have the radio hit,” frontman and principal songwriter Caleb
A new album from Demi Lovato is coming next month. During a livestream on Clubhouse Monday night, Lovato revealed that her first album since 2017 is titled “Dancing With the Devil: The Art of Starting Over,” and will release on April 2. Lovato explained that the original title was just “The Art of Starting Over,”
Elton John is speaking out against the Vatican after they issued a statement saying that the Catholic Church will not bless same-sex marriages. On Monday, the Vatican’s orthodoxy office issued a response to a question asking if members of the Catholic clergy can bless gay marriages. Their statement, which was approved by Pope Francis, stated
Global revenue for recorded music had a significant bump in 2020, growing by 7% despite the pandemic, according to a new study released by Midia Research. That came despite a second quarter where revenue was down by 3% from the year before, as music took a hit as quarantining kicked in. By the fourth quarter
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has been given notice by Hollywood publicists. A group of 102 PR firms has signed a letter to the HFPA advising them that they are instructing their clients not work with the HFPA until the organization not only releases a plan to drastically transform the non-profit organization. The letter was
All three songs from the new Drake EP, “Scary Hours 2,” punched in at the top of this week’s Rolling Stone songs chart, followed by the new single from Bruno Mars’ and Anderson .Paak’s supergroup, Silk Sonic in the fourth spot. All that action coming from newly released song helped make up for the lack
When Lake Street Dive settled in to work with producer Mike Elizondo on the band’s new album, “Obviously,” it might not have seemed like a completely obvious choice — at least not for those who think of him primarily as a hip-hop producer, not the jack-of-all-trades that he really is, and for those who identify
While it was announced during the Grammy Awards on Sunday, the formation of the Recording Academy’s Songwriters and Composers Wing was not done in secret, and the Songwriters of North America, the Black Music Action Coalition, the Music Artists Coalition and the 100 Percenters responded quickly with an open letter to the new organization calling
Nearly all of Oscar’s 2020 original-song nominees are newcomers, while only two of this morning’s original-score nominees are new to the competition. Veteran songwriter Diane Warren earned her 12th nomination for “Io Sì (Seen)” from “The Life Ahead,” shared with singer and co-lyricist Laura Pausini. She must be seen as the front-runner, as she has
Reading interviews with the Grammys’ producers ahead of the 2021 telecast, you might have had trouble getting a handle on what, exactly, the show would be like. There was a reason for that: It was a little bit of everything — more so than a typical Grammys telecast, which would normally have the advantage or
South Korean band BTS made history on Sunday night as it became the first K-pop group to perform one of its own songs at the Grammy Awards. Jumping across (what appeared to be) the Grammy stage at the Los Angeles Staples Center the groups lead the audience on a chase backstage, up the utility stairs
Lil Baby performed “The Bigger Picture” in a powerful call to action against police brutality during the 63rd annual Grammy Awards. The rapper was joined during for the performance by three prominent activists: “Insecure” star Kendrick Sampson, Women’s March cofounder Tamika Mallory and Atlanta rapper Killer Mike. Following an intro from James Baldwin, the performance
Taylor Swift became the first woman to win the award for album of the year three times when “Folklore” triumphed in that marquee category at the Grammy Awards Sunday night. She previously won the prize for her sophomore album, “Fearless,” in 2010, and scored again in 2016 for her fifth album, “1989.” “Folklore” is her
Beyoncé’s 28 wins at the Grammys Sunday made her the most-awarded woman in the history of the awards, moving her ahead of the former champion, Alison Krauss. Among both genders, she trails only classical conductor Sir George Solti, who still holds the all-time record with 31 Grammys, a benchmark that Beyonce shouldn’t have much trouble
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion amped up the Grammys with a jaw-dropping performance of their NSFW anthem “WAP.” The duo performed a strip club-themed version of the song, featuring a pole on a massive high heel and ending with the two rappers writhing together on a giant bed. Even though the chorus was changed
Songwriters and composers have long felt under-recognized by the Grammy Awards — and many have advocated for a Songwriter of the Year award — and today the Recording Academy has made a step toward addressing that by announcing the creation of its Songwriters & Composers Wing, an Academy membership division representing the diverse community of
Beyoncé wasn’t performing at Sunday night’s Grammys, but she did take the stage — to accept the best rap song prize with Megan Thee Stallion for their collaboration “Savage.” It was the second big moment in the ceremony for Megan, who had just finished performing her hit “WAP” with Cardi B in one of the
Dua Lipa, who just two years earlier was anointed best new artist at the Grammys, took the stage like a well-established queen on Sunday’s telecast with a performance that matched together her two biggest 2020 hits, “Don’t Start Now” and “Levitating” — and joined her with one of hip-hop’s reigning stars, DaBaby. The two-song medley
Taylor Swift performed on the Grammy Awards for the first time in five years, bringing her “Folklore” collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner with her for the first on-stage performance they’ve done together. She kicked off the performance with “Cardigan,” laying on a grassy ground and singing up to the audience. The camera panned out
Megan The Stallion has won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. “Everybody is amazing,” she said of her fellow nominees during her tearful acceptance speech. “Secondly, I really just want to thank god because thank you for putting life into my body for me to be able to even be here today. I want
The host of Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, Trevor Noah, opened the show by acknowledging the nature of the socially distanced ceremony, but still struck a hopeful note as he pointed to the healing role music played during the past year of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’ll be your host tonight as we celebrate the last 10
Harry Styles, Variety‘s Hitmaker of the Year for 2020, opened the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards Sunday night with a laid-back version of his hit song “Watermelon Sugar.” Sporting a fitted black leather suit and green feather boa, Styles grooved through his first-ever Grammys performance. The former One Direction member was accompanied by an eight-piece band,