Alicia Keys has finally announced a release date for her latest studio album, “Alicia,” which was scheduled for March 20 but delayed due to coronavirus until May 15, and then delayed indefinitely: It’s coming on Friday, she said in a brief social media post that features fans typing questions about the album’s release date, concluding
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Motown is launching a UK outpost, label president Ethiopia Habtemariam and EMI Records president Rebecca Allen announced today (Sept. 14). Rob Pascoe (pictured at left) will hold the new position of managing director and Afryea Henry-Fontaine has been named marketing director of the label which will showcase a “new generation of British Black music,” according
Shani Gonzales has been promoted to managing director of Warner Chappell Music UK. She will hold the position in addition to her current role as head of international A&R, beginning October 1. She’ll report to Guy Moot, co-chair and CEO of Warner Chappell, the publishing arm of Warner Music Group. Currently and plans to relocate
UPDATE: The software company Oracle has won the bid for TikTok’s U.S. assets, according to the Wall Street Journal. On Sunday night, Microsoft’s bid to buy the U.S. operations of the Chinese-owned video app was rejected, leaving Oracle as the frontrunner. Oracle’s acquisition should resolve President Donald Trump’s executive order threatening to ban TikTok unless the
Taylor Swift will perform “Betty” on the Academy of Country Music Awards telecast Wednesday, her first time performing on any country awards show in seven years. Swift will sing from the stage of the Grand Ole Opry House, one of three iconic Nashville venues (the other two being the Ryman and Bluebird Cafe) being used
Rapper Kanye West missed the deadline to appear on the Wisconsin presidential ballot by 14 seconds, and a judge has upheld the decision to keep him off the ballot. Judge John Zakowski ruled in favor of the Wisconsin Elections Commission on Friday night, effectively keeping West off the ballot in the state. He had filed
Toots Hibbert, who passed away Friday night at the age of 77, was one of the last surviving founders of reggae music. The influence of his six-decade career is evidenced by the wide variety of artists paying tribute to him in the hours after his death. Ziggy Marley, recording artist and son of reggae titan
The irony of the Donald Trump campaign using the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic “Fortunate Son” has escaped almost no one in recent days, except, possibly, the Donald Trump campaign. Now, the man who wrote and sang the song, John Fogerty, has spoken up to confirm that it didn’t elude him, either. As Fogerty explains in
Toots Hibbert, an influential and veteran Jamaican ska and reggae singer and founder of the band the Maytals, has died. He was 77. The cause of death is as yet unclear though he had been recently tested for Covid-19. A statement from his family released on Sept. 11 reads: “It is with the heaviest of
The Americana Honors & Awards show, slated to take place Sept. 16 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, has been formally canceled with less than a week to go after organizers decided that it would be too risky to pull off, with or without an in-person audience. The decision comes even though the Ryman recently began hosting
On-air personality Chris Booker returned to New York City’s radio airwaves today (Sept. 11), hosting the afternoon drive shift at alternative rock station WNYL (Alt 92.3). It marks his third return to the station, after a previous stint at its former name, K-Rock, in the 1990s, as well as a return to Entercom, corporate parent
After a comparatively slow week leading into the long weekend — which means we only scanned around 100 songs last week instead of the usual 130! — the avalanche of songs is back with a bang. There are so many that we could have done a “Fri 10,” and we cheated by combining three killer
A Tanya Tucker live album just announced for release next month will be culled from a pair of shows she did last October at the world-famous Troubadour … and, in deference to the troubles that it and other music nightspots are having staying alive during an extended industry-wide shutdown, she’s designating a portion of proceeds
Throughout the ‘00s, Doves were responsible for some of indie-rock’s most exquisite music. The trio from Manchester, England released four records between 2000-2009, each a perfectly-balanced ecosystem of euphoric anthems, haunting balladry and dreamy atmospherics. While never rising above the level of cult concern in America, in their home country, Doves ticked all the boxes
In celebration of her career-spanning new album, “An Evening of New York Songs and Stories,” Suzanne Vega will play two globally livestreamed concerts from New York City’s iconic Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village. The first will go live on October 7 at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time for North American fans and the second will go live on October 8 at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, to accommodate
Capping a week that has seen the company acquire Big Deal Music Group and appoint several new top officers, Hipgnosis Songs announced that it has acquired the music catalog of Chrissie Hynde, founding member, lead vocalist and primary songwriter of pioneering rock band The Pretenders. Hipgnosis has acquired 100% of Hynde’s music publishing catalog of
Range Media Partners, the splashy new management venture led by a host of former agents from the big four Hollywood talent shops, has set up a music division. The group has tapped Matt Graham, the founder and president of L.A.-based BRND MGMT, to run the unit with his partner Jack Minihan. BRND focused on management
Chicago-based media consultant Lee Abrams might seem the least likely person to complain about the corporatization and sameness that afflicts today’s traditional terrestrial AM and FM radio stations. After all, it was his infamous tightening of playlists at rock radio during the ‘70s that ushered in the AOR (Album-Oriented Rock) format, which replaced the progressive
“Dynamite,” the first single recorded entirely in English by South Korean pop sensation BTS, is a bonafide hit in the U.S. following a successful launch at Top 40 radio coupled with key television appearances, like the MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 30 and the group’s performance on the “Today Show” this morning (Sept 10).
Bill Wyman, founding member of the Rolling Stones and legendary bassist, has gone through his collection of historic rock and roll memorabilia and put it all up for auction to help raise money for the Prince Trust. The collection of guitars (with a secret drug compartment possibly owned by the Allman Brothers), exceedingly rare posters
There are so many musical events that should have happened in 2020 that everyone is already mourning, what’s the point in bringing to light something that the general public didn’t even know it were missing? But let’s do that anyway: As it turns out, had the year proceeded as loosely planned, Nickel Creek would have
At a time when nearly everyone could use a mental-health break, 15 meditation experts have united to launch “Love4Live,” a free-of-charge “portal of refuge, community, and support for the concert industry” that includes conversations, meditation classes, and a virtual retreat to the tens of thousands of concert industry workers impacted by the global shutdown. Resources
Lele Pons, a popular digital creator and singer, has signed for representation with CAA in all areas. Eleonora “Lele” Pons is a multihyphenate star who first rose to fame in short-form Vine comedy sketches before becoming a big YouTube and Instagram creator, and she now has a growing music career. Her YouTube channel currently has
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke Wednesday at Hxouse in Toronto, the office of the organization founded by The Weeknd and his longtime associates Lamar Taylor and Ahmed Ismail, to announce a major investment in a new national program to help Black Canadians get funding and business loans with national banks. Trudeau announced investments of
Spectrum Originals and Paramount Network are teaming to co-produce a limited series starring Jessica Chastain as country music legend Tammy Wynette. After a nine-month exclusive run for Spectrum subscribers, the series, titled “George & Tammy,” will have a second window on ViacomCBS’ forthcoming streaming service and Paramount Network. The series chronicles the country music power
Singer-songwriter Ben Harper has contributed a theme song, “Black Beauty,” for the timely new Peacock documentary “Black Boys,” which premieres on the new streaming service tonight. Watch and listen to his music video for his new composition below. “Black Boys” is a film that narrows in not just along racial but along gender lines —
Among music superstars, Joni Mitchell is among the few whose vaults have remained largely unmined for previously unheard vintage material. That changes in a big way with the Oct. 30 release of “Archives Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967),” a boxed set that will include six hours of material from the years preceding her debut
Digital music distribution and publishing admin company TuneCore has named Maria Ho-Burge global communications director. She will report jointly to Andreea Gleeson, chief marketing officer of TuneCore and Segolene Moreau, chief communications officer of TuneCore parent Believe, the Paris-based independent music company that purchased TuneCore in 2015. “Maria has established herself as a superb communicator
The powerhouse indie label and distributor Empire has launched a publishing division led by industry vets Al “Butter” McLean and Vinny Kumar. “Empire Publishing has built out its proprietary system to revolutionize the publishing industry, similar to what was done with music distribution in 2010, and is now ready to scale the vertical with maximum
Selena Gomez and Blackpink know how to end the summer on a sweet note — by releasing their new single, “Ice Cream,” just before Labor Day. The music video for the infectious candy-coated tune, which will appear on the K-pop group’s upcoming full-length album, was viewed close to 100 million times within 24 hours of