Music

Janet Jackson’s life story will get the documentary treatment next year from Lifetime and A&E to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her first album. At its virtual upfront today, the A+E Networks group highlighted its upcoming programming slate and announced that Lifetime and A&E have ordered a two-night, four-hour documentary event with the working titled

Doug Smiley, the marketing director for Verve Music Group, died Saturday, February 27. He had been diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer less than a month before dying at home in Maplewood, NJ, surrounded by family. He was 42. Smiley joined Universal Music Group’s Verve division last year as its marketing director. He was the

Following its acquisition of select Beach Boys assets last month, Irving Azoff’s new Iconic Artist Group has made another move into the lucrative catalog acquisition marketplace by partnering with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer David Crosby. Iconic has acquired Crosby’s catalog, which according to the announcement includes his publishing and recorded music rights, including

Sony Music Publishing has partnered with Silence the Shame to launch “The Soundtrack of Mental Health,” a global multi-year program which will offer songwriters, employees, and the greater music community educational trainings and support around mental health. According to the announcement, as a part of Sony Music Group’s Global Social Justice fund, Sony Music Publishing

Not many bands have the benefit of having their origin story recorded on film for posterity by a documentarian. Cases are fewer still where said documentarian puts down the camera (or at least sets it on a tripod) midway through the process so he can actually join the band. This was all the case, though,

Music publishing veteran Richard Rowe has been named executive vice president of Hipgnosis Songs, effective immediately, founder Merck Mercuriadis announced. Rowe began his career at CBS Records in 1979 as a lawyer in its business affairs department before rising through the ranks to become president of Sony Music Publishing from 1991 to 2005. During his tenure the company

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jon Bon Jovi will sit down for an exclusive interview March 20 with Spotify’s head of rock, Allison Hagendorf, for “AXS TV Presents: A Conversation With Jon Bon Jovi,” followed by the broadcast premiere of the band’s only concert performance of 2020, “On A Night Like This — Bon

It was definitely an evening of “soul” at the second annual Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards, as the Pixar film “Soul” and the Latvian film “Blizzard of Souls” took the top prizes for outstanding original scores for 2020 films. The “Soul” composing trio of Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste won for outstanding

In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re in the midst of a renaissance moment in pop-music documentaries. For a while, it seemed like they’d gone away, sucked up into the whole packaging-of-CDs-with-extras thing. (The films were still being made, only now they were seen largely as promotional tools, folded into the selling of a new album

Four decades in, hip-hop is not just a music genre, but a microcosm of the nation. At its core, the genre  embodies the concept of the American dream — to transcend one’s environment in search of a better life — and with that comes its own challenges. FX’s latest documentary series, “Hip Hop Uncovered” (also

As Netflix boasts the success of “Bridgerton’ — the show reached 63 million households in its first month — the L.A,-based ensemble the Vitamin String Quartet has seen its music catalog surpass a billion streams. Since the release of a “Bridgerton” soundtrack in December, Vitamin String Quartet has seen a 350% increase in streams across DSPs

Oscar balloting for the final five nominees in the song and score categories begins March 5. But none of the music supervisors that worked on those movies will get to vote. That’s because the Academy music branch, which chooses the nominees, bars music supervisors — the people who advise and collaborate with filmmakers on songs

To the surprise of few, the CMA Festival planned for downtown Nashville in June has been canceled for a second consecutive year — likely the first of many likely summer festival cancellations to come in the U.S. The news first came via a lengthy note sent by Country Music Festival CEO Sarah Trahern to CMA

Bunny Wailer, a founding member of Bob Marley’s Wailers and a legendary reggae singer whose career reached across seven decades, died early Tuesday, his manager confirmed to the Jamaica Observer; a rep for the Wailers’ longtime U.S. label did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment. He was 73. “He died about 8:00 this morning. I’m

It’s not possible to hand out all 84 Grammy Awards during the televised ceremony, so for many years the bulk of the trophies have been given out during the afternoon before the big show at the Premiere Ceremony — often called the “pre-tel.” While the ceremony is not as glamorous or well-attended as the main

The latest music festival to give up on 2021 is Spain’s popular Primavera Sound Barcelona, which called off this year’s installment due to the pandemic. Tickets can be transferred to the 2022 edition, the lineup for which will be revealed on June 2; refunds will be available after that date. It is likely that many

Apart from its nearly unprecedented success, the most remarkable thing about Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s 2017 global smash hit “Despacito” may be how quickly it came together. Today (Tuesday, March 2), Penguin Random House publishes “Decoding ‘Despacito’: An Oral History of Latin Music,” the latest book by Billboard vice president Leila Cobo, who may

Michael Gudinski, founder of the Mushroom Group, Australia’s largest independent entertainment company, has died. He was 68. Gudinski’s death was confirmed in a statement posted on the Mushroom Group’s website. “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Michael Gudinski AM overnight,” the statement reads. “The much-loved Australian music legend died peacefully

In what could be a sign of a break in country radio’s unified front, the currently forbidden superstar Morgan Wallen is back on the airwaves on at least one station that had put him on hold, WMYL-FM in Knoxville. The station may have more reason than most to return him to its playlist — Knoxville

The Recording Academy announced BTS will perform at MusiCares’ “Music on a Mission” virtual concert. We’re excited to announce that the GRAMMY-Nominated #BTS (@bts_bighit) are joining our incredible lineup of #MusicOnAMission performers! ⚡️🎟 Tickets are now available: https://t.co/rYpgPc30l1 pic.twitter.com/cKvILHBAsI — MusiCares (@MusiCares) March 1, 2021 The K-pop super group joins a lineup that features new

An indomitable couple of months for Morgan Wallen and Olivia Rodrigo are turning into an unbeatable quarter. Coming into March, the two are holding onto their undisputed 2021 dominance, at the top of the album and song charts, respectively. Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album” sits atop the Rolling Stone album chart for the seventh consecutive

Universal Music Publishing has signed rising British singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone, whose debut EP received a rave review in Variety last fall, to an exclusive, global publishing agreement. The 21-year-old singer was voted No. 2 on the BBC Sound of 2021 Poll, and Vevo’s DSCVR’s Artists To Watch 2021 and was named an Apple Up Next Artist last

Rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris and his wife, Tameka “Tiny” Harris, have been accused of engaging in sexual abuse and drugging multiple women over the past 16 years, according allegations leveled Monday at a virtual news conference. Attorney Tyrone A. Blackburn detailed the allegations of six anonymous women who claim T.I., Tiny and their associates abused

A few months before production began on the 19th season of NBC’s singing competition stalwart “The Voice,” coach Blake Shelton didn’t know if they’d be able to do the show. The world was in the middle of a pandemic, and rather than put the show together remotely, with everyone filming themselves in the self-isolation of

When NBC is evaluating new reality series and formats to potentially pick up, they ask themselves, “What’s our spinning chair?” Jenny Groom, NBCUniversal’s executive vice president of unscripted content, says. That unique element was “enough to really drive the format” of “The Voice” for the broadcast network when it first launched in 2011 and since,

Republic Records has hired Ben Facey as executive vice president of global marketing & digital strategy, EVP and General Manager Jim Roppo announced Monday morning.  He is based in the Republic’s New York headquarters. According to the announcement, in this newly established post, Facey will architect, implement, and shepherd international marketing campaigns and digital initiatives for the label’s entire roster.

Universal Music Group has elevated Ethiopia Habtemariam to chairman & CEO of Motown, reporting directly to UMG Chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge. She had been president of the label since 2014. According to the announcement, in connection with Habtemariam’s promotion, Motown will have “greater creative and commercial independence to advance its mission of artistic, social and

While Netflix had a lot to celebrate after Sunday night’s Golden Globes wins, one superstar collaborator was not joining in the toasting. Taylor Swift took to social media Monday morning to join in complaints already being made by her fans about a line on the series “Ginny & Georgia” that the singer called “lazy,” “deeply

Jason Derulo has signed with Atlantic Records, the company announced Monday morning. The signing also continues a partnership between Atlantic and Derulo’s Future History label, which recently released “Lifestyle,” the singer’s latest single featuring Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. Derulo also released the single “Take You Dancing” on APG via Atlantic last summer, but has now

Swedish singer-songwriter has signed with Sony Music Publishing, the company announced Monday morning. The singer, whose new album “Poster Girl” will be released on Friday, has enjoyed a solid run of hits over the past few years, including “Ruin My Life,” “All The Time,” “Lush Life,” and “Never Forget You,” as well as collaborations like