Music

ICM Partners and its London-based agency Primary Talent International have hired music agent Pete Nash, it was announced today by Rob Prinz, head of worldwide concerts at ICM Partners and Matt Bates, head of international at PTI/ICM.  Nash will be based in ICM’s New York office and brings with him a client roster that includes Kings

Bruce Springsteen has released “Ghosts” from his new album, “Letter to You,” which is out October 23 on Columbia Records. The new song arrives with a video that includes clips of the E Street Band recording “Letter to You” in the studio, interspersed with archival snapshots of Springsteen’s earliest years as a musician in local

The Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC) went online Wednesday to announce its annual Film & Television Composer Awards, honoring music composers and publishers. Among the winners were Christophe Beck for “Frozen II” and Randy Newman for his work on “Marriage Story” and “Toy Story 4.” The celebration took place online and honored

Legendary French singer Juliette Gréco died Wednesday from a stroke near St. Tropez in France. She was 93. Gréco’s family confirmed the news of her death to AFP, writing: “Juliette Gréco died this Wednesday surrounded by her family in the house she loved so much. Her life was one like no other. She was still

On stage, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford is the self-proclaimed “metal god” but off, he’s a mere mortal, and ready to confess to all of his sins in a new autobiography. In “Confess,” co-written with Ian Gittins and out Sept. 29, the 69-year-old Halford dives into his humble beginnings growing up in a working class

Sylvia Rhone smashed the C-suite ceiling long before such buzz words as diversity and gender parity came into the lexicon. In 1994 at the age of 42, she was running a major record company as chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group’s Elektra (Metallica, Missy Elliott and Natalie Merchant were among the hit artists on

Def Jam Recordings has made three moves to “strengthen and refresh” its publicity team:  Lauren Ceradini has been appointed senior vice president, media and artist relations; Renata Muniz has been promoted to vice president; and Joanne Hunter has been appointed senior director (pictured above L-R, respectively), it was announced today by Gabe Tesoriero, EVP of

When Fox announced last month that its new singing competition “I Can See Your Voice” would launch this fall behind Season 4 of smash hit “The Masked Singer,” it surprised almost everyone. While most programs were still investigating how and when to get back into production during the pandemic, “Voice,” which debuts Sept. 23, had

Producers of the 2020 CMT Music Awards belatedly unveiled the list of nominees for the long-postponed telecast, and among the leading contenders, there was a six-way tie for first. Three nominations apiece went to Dan + Shay, Ashley McBryde, Luke Combs, Kelsea Ballerini, Thomas Rhett and Sam Hunt. Artists with two nominations each are Carrie

Dallas-based rapper and producer FXXXXY died last week after complications while undergoing a routine medical procedure, a rep for his label, Interscope Geffen A&M, confirms to Variety. The artist, whose real name was Maudell Watkins, was 25. Services are being planned in his hometown of Dallas. More information will be forthcoming. “The family of Maudell

Every year Variety seeks to identify the next generation of leaders in the entertainment business who represent the creative community of film, TV, music and the digital space. The 2020 music industry group has in common ambition and conviction and includes a pair of duos — Warner Chappell’s Ryan Press and Shani Gonzales and Create Music

Although she made her name as a country singer, Margo Price is not much of an adherent to genre these days. That applies to her lyrics, too, as “I’d Die for You” manages to be both the tenderest love song on her most recent album and its most pronounced sociopolitical statement. Since it was her

Elton John has announced the rescheduled North American dates for his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.” Following his recently announced dates in Europe, beginning September 1, 2021 in Berlin (tour dates here), the tour will kick off again in North America on January 19, 2022, in New Orleans, making stops in major markets, including Houston, Chicago, Toronto, New York, Miami and more. The latest dates on

WME has suspended agent Brent Smith, citing “behavioral issues,” Variety has learned.  The agency has initiated an investigation, according to Deadline, which first reported the news. Smith has represented a handful of high-profile musicians, including Drake, Calvin Harris, Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, Pharrell Williams, Childish Gambino and Frank Ocean. While it’s unclear what provoked the

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the festival that would have been drawing tens of thousands to San Francisco on the first weekend of October under other circumstances, has announced the final lineup for a virtual festival that will be taking its place Oct. 3. The festival also revealed that it is partnering with Artist Relief for the

Tommy DeVito, a founding member of the Four Seasons, whose story was immortalized with that of the other members in the stage musical and movie “Jersey Boys,” died Monday night in Las Vegas. He was 92 and had been hospitalized with COVID-19 complications. Two of the other original members, Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio, released

He’s still just 23, but music mogul and L.A. native Finneas O’Connell, known mononymously as Finneas,  boasts accolades that shame most industry folks double or even triple his age. Those include five Grammy awards, all of them for his work on the debut album of little sister Billie Eilish, who has rapidly become popular music’s

Roy Head, the rocker known for his 1965 smash “Treat Her Right,” died Monday at his home in Porter, Texas, family members reported. He was 79. “Treat Her Right” reached No. 2 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B chart in 1965; the rave-up was kept out of the top pop spot only

BTS are about to rock “The Tonight Show” for a whole week straight. The wildly popular Korean pop group has set a weeklong special with Jimmy Fallon’s show, which will see them deliver a different musical performance each night. Fallon will also join the boys throughout the week for comedy bits and a virtual interview.

He’d drink to this, legally, if he were 21 yet. At 20, prolific rapper Youngboy Never Broke Again has debuted on top of the Rolling Stone album chart for the third time in a year. It’s actually his fourth full-length release of the last 12 months, mind you, but one of those four was kept

If there’s a single artist or sound that encapsulates the rage and dread that 2020 have brought, it’s got to be Nine Inch Nails — and while there’s no shortage of music or imagery from the band’s past catalog to capture our current mood, they’ve rolled out a new series of “Pandemic 2020” merch that’s

Yet another musical event that was supposed to take place in the spring has finally found a virtual home in the fall, as the iHeartCountry Festival, once set to be recorded in front of a live audience in Austin, will now be taped in Nashville in the coming weeks, to go out on iHeart stations

C.J. Strock, formerly of William Morris Endeavor, joins Patrick McAuliff and Phil Egenthal, formerly of Paradigm Talent Agency to form Mint Talent Group, the new company announced early Tuesday. Founding agents include Mary Allen and Cassie Siegel (formerly of Madison House); Michael Morris and Ryan Owens (formerly of Paradigm); Peter Wiederlight (ex-WME) and Logan Handelsman

Berklee College of Music has named Sony/ATV Music Publishing chairman Jon Platt to its board of trustees, beginning Oct. 1. The highest ranking Black executive in the music business, Platt’s tenure at the market-leading company, which he joined in 2019, has seen its ranks diversify by race and gender, while its roster has expanded to

Rapper Bobby Shmurda, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for conspiracy to murder, was denied parole and will serve his maximum sentence until December 2021, Variety has confirmed. Shmurda, whose real name is Ackquille Pollard, had an interview with the New York state board of parole on Sept. 15, but he was denied

Tomorrow — Tuesday, Sept. 22 — is National Voter Registration Day and the HeadCount non-profit organization is leading a coordinated music industry effort involving hundreds of artists, concert venues, and digital platforms. For starters, more than 300 notable musicians will post messages and photos on their social media wearing “VOTE” masks and a call for

The good news that people in the live music industry foresee is that there will not only be a resurgence of concertgoing at the end of the pandemic but maybe even a “Roaring Twenties” level of enthusiasm for hitting the town. The bad news is that few independent venues are equipped to weather a shutdown

Superstar DJ Tiesto, alt-rock group Fitz & the Tantrums, bluegrass artist Billy Strings and funk-jam band Lotus will perform concerts from Red Rocks Amphitheater that will be livestreamed in 4K via Nugs.net, from Thursday to Sunday this week. There will be an “extremely limited number” of in-person tickets made available for purchase via axs.com and redrocksonline.com and in strict accordance with

Like everyone else, BTS and NPR have been forced to pivot during the pandemic — and for their first performance on NPR’s “Tiny Desk” concert series, the K-pop superstars performed from the record store VINYL & PLASTIC in BTS’s hometown of Seoul. The group drew more than half a million viewers for the premiere of

RECORDS, the joint-venture label between Sony Music and veteran executive Barry Weiss, will open an office in Nashville this month. Ash Bowers, a manager, songwriter, producer and former recording artist based in the city, has been named President of RECORDS Nashville, marking his first position as a music label executive. “We’re already stocked with talented