Music

Sony Pictures Animation is developing a new movie about a pack of female K-Pop stars who slay evil spirits in between gigs. “K-Pop: Demon Hunters” is underway at the Oscar-winning studio behind “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse,” from directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. Kang, whose credits include “The Lego Ninjago Movie,” is mounting the project

Sony Music Group has announced “Beyond the Instrument,” a new, annual program designed to stimulate creativity, advance educational resources and promote career development within the music industry. Save The Music and Music Forward are SMG’s first nonprofit partners for the program, according to the announcement. In collaboration with Grammy nominated artist Noah Cyrus, the initiative will

Needless to say, the 2021 Grammy Week will not be like ones we’ve known in the past. While it’s ordinarily a week of socializing, celebrating, parties, concerts and (most of all) networking, this year we’re going to have to do all of it from home, like we’ve had to do virtually everything else for the

Like the 1988 comedy, “Coming to America,” its sequel 33 years later also features its share of memorable musical moments. Director Craig Brewer, who worked with Eddie Murphy on “Dolemite Is My Name,” knew how passionate people were about the original and “didn’t want to mess anything up,” he tells Variety. The director wanted to

It’s Grammy week and International Women’s Day, which means it’s also time to reveal the latest findings of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s “Inclusion in the Recording Studio?” report. Authored by Dr. Stacy L. Smith and funded by Spotify, the fourth edition of the study doesn’t bode especially well for women in music, but underrepresented

In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, Variety is putting the spotlight on women around the world who have had a big impact on the entertainment industry in the past 12 months. But who are the leaders that inspire them? We decided to find out, quizzing executives, talent, producers and and talent around

When it comes to Zoom backgrounds, Grammy Awards executive producer Ben Winston has one that’s tough to beat. Along with the requisite photos and tchotchkes, there’s a piece of a bridge from David Letterman’s old set, an autographed album cover with a (sadly illegible) inscription by his former roommate, Harry Styles, and … is that

Like a secret handshake, you can still measure the rock and Midwestern bonafides of people, especially those who grew up in Ohio and surrounding states in the ‘70s and ‘80s by whether they knew the Michael Stanley Band. In Cleveland, especially, Stanley was an artist who felt every bit as important as Detroit’s Bob Seger,

Michael Stanley, who became known nationally for a radio hit in 1981 but was the very symbol of rock ‘n roll for decades in the city of Cleveland, died Friday at age 72. The cause of death was lung cancer that had been diagnosed seven months earlier. Stanley’s illness became known when he took leave

“Turntables” is not, as you might guess from its placement in the documentary “All In: The Fight for Democracy,” a song written to extol vinyl. It uses that film’s exploration of the historical and recent suppression of Black voters’ rights in Georgia as a launchpad to explore “what’s goin’ on” in a nation still not

Detailing music’s pulse throughout the country, the new website “50 States of Music” certifies the industry’s cultural and economic impact on the United States, collecting regional figures on everything from how much music contributes to each state’s GDP to how many songwriters, royalty recipients and live venues there are in every state. “Music is everywhere

Steve Greenberg, founder of S-Curve Records, is leaving the company, which he founded two decades ago and sold to BMG in 2015, he confirmed to Variety. Greenberg will continue to manage the pop trio AJR, which is currently enjoying a huge radio hit with “Bang” and have an album coming on March 26; that group

The Chicks have filed a $6.6 million lawsuit against an insurance underwriter over its refusal to cover losses from the cancelation of the “Gaslighter” tour last year. The band, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, released their first studio album in 14 years last July. They also planned a 48-show North American tour, which was

No one seemed more excited about the late February emergence of Coca-Cola’s new campaign featuring an original song composed by Tyler, The Creator than Tyler himself. [embedded content] “mannnn thanks coca cola for reallll big love for the opportunity,” Tyler tweeted upon its release, among several other tweets effusively expressing his pride for the spot.

When Leslie Odom Jr. signed up to play Sam Cooke in “One Night in Miami,” he knew that he had a non-acting task awaiting him after shooting: director Regina King had already made it clear that whoever played the late, great soul singer was also who she wanted to co-write and perform an original end-credits

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, who announced last week that they’ve come together as a project called Silk Sonic, have released the first song from their forthcoming album, and it’s a glorious blast of vintage R&B called “Leave the Door Open” that could be a Best R&B Song Grammy winner from 1974. Even though the classic R&B

There once was a time, before Spotify, TikTok, Seamless, Peloton and NFTs, when it still wasn’t that out of the ordinary for a rock ’n’ roll band like Kings Of Leon to top charts all over the world with Actual Rock’n’Roll Songs™. Now here we are in 2021, with the closest thing to guitar-based music

All good things come in due time. For Drake, “due time” is whenever he wants. It has been 980 days (and counting) since the 6ix God has released a new studio album — discounting compilation tapes like “Care Package” or “Dark Lane Demo Tapes,” which consisted of previously released or leaked tracks — and the

The world has changed tremendously since Variety‘s last International Women’s Impact Report a year ago: The COVID-19 pandemic shut down business around the globe and accelerated the shift toward streamed entertainment. The music industry has felt the impact of the pandemic more than many — particularly live entertainment — but it has rose to meet

Josh Humiston, who represented clients ranging from Dionne Warwick to Judas Priest as an agent and  partner at Agency for the Performing Arts, died Wednesday at age 48. The cause of death was a stroke. “All of us are devastated for the loss of our dear friend, colleague and partner, Josh Humiston,” said Jim Gosnell,

Megan Thee Stallion has partnered with NACC Disaster Services and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee to help rebuild her hometown of Houston, which has been devastated by Texas’ historic freeze, rolling blackouts and water shortages. The rapper will enlist the help of Fashion Nova, 300 Entertainment, Mielle Organics, Maroon 5, Revlon, The Coach Foundation, Dolce

Director Shaka King tasked singer and songwriter H.E.R to bring home the end of “Judas and the Black Messiah.” Her challenge was what tone to go for. The original song contender “Fight For You” is a hopeful one. As a fan of Fred Hampton’s story, the songwriter knew she could make a masterpiece drawing on

Cameron Crowe, the writer and director of “Jerry Maguire” and “Almost Famous,” has signed with UTA. The Oscar winner was previously at CAA. UTA will work with Crowe’s longtime manager, Irving Azoff, to represent Crowe in all areas, including film, television and other media. Crowe won an Academy Award for writing the script for “Almost

Ashe co-wrote her new single, “Till Forever Falls Apart,” with producer Big Taste the day before Los Angeles and most of the U.S. went into a COVID-induced lockdown in March 2020. The timing was (and, sadly, still is) perfect, given the song’s subject matter. Set against an apocalyptic backdrop, “Till Forever Falls Apart” is a somber

Evan Winiker has joined Range Media Partners as a managing partner in the music department. He arrives from Full Stop Management, and brings with him clients MAX, Daya, Disco Biscuits, Skyler Stonestreet and Walk Off The Earth. Joining Winiker at Range are managers Zack Phillips and Valentine Banor. Range has been swiftly growing its music

Singer Miley Cyrus has signed with Columbia Records after seven years and four albums on RCA. A source close to the situation tells Variety that even though both Columbia and RCA are Sony-owned labels, there’s no animosity and the deal stems from Miley and her co-managers Adam Leber and Tish Cyrus’ long and positive relationship

St. Vincent has announced that her sixth album, “Daddy’s Home,” will be released on May 14. As is usually the case with the tradition-bucking singer-songwriter-guitarist, the new albums comes with a new look, this one a short blonde wig and cocktail dress and a disheveled vibe. “’Daddy’s Home’ collects stories of being down and out

Morgan Carey, the older brother of Mariah Carey, is suing the pop star for defamation and the intentional infliction of emotional distress as a result of the publication of “The Meaning of Mariah Carey.” The lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court on March 3, alleges the memoir contains passages that are false and defamatory.

UTA has announced the acquisition of U.K.-based Echo Location Talent Agency. The firm was founded and led by Obi Asika (pictured above), who will serve as Co-Head of UTA’s UK office alongside Neil Warnock. Asika will report to Co-Heads of Worldwide Music Samantha Kirby Yoh and David Zedeck. Senior agent Belinda Law and a group

In a year marked by the coronavirus pandemic, Vivendi was able to keep its revenues in 2020 stable thanks to the growth of Universal Music Group (UMG) and pay TV group Canal Plus Group, which helped offset the slowdown in other businesses. The company’s revenues reached €16,090 million, a 1.2% year-on increase. The company’s EBITA