Music

Absofacto never intended for his song, “Dissolve,” to go viral on TikTok. And he’s not just being humble — the indie singer-songwriter never even uploaded it to the video sharing app in the first place. “I didn’t know what TikTok was when [‘Dissolve’] first went viral,” says Absofacto, whose real name is Jonathan Visger. “Someone

The Grammy Museum has announced plans for a new streaming service, to be called “COLLECTION:live,” that will make a wealth of the filmed interviews and performances in the museum’s archives available for public viewing for the first time, along with livestreams and other new content collected remotely as pandemic conditions keep the facility closed. The

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, revenues for recorded music increased in the U.S. in the first half of 2020, according to the Recording Industry Association of America’s mid-year report. A 24% growth in streaming subscriptions and a 14% boost in streaming revenue offset revenue declines in other areas of the market. Among the key findings, total

When you watch the filmed version of a show like “Hamilton” or “Springsteen on Broadway,” it can feel like the next best thing to being there. But Spike Lee’s playful and entrancing big-screen version of David Byrne’s “American Utopia” is better than the next best thing — it feels more like a whole new thing.

Musicians and athletes have long been mutual admirers, and now a synergistic relationship is launching via the dedicated esports platform Rock N’ Jock, bringing together eight teams made up of rock stars, celebrities and athletes to battle for the top spot in a classic bracketed format. The Rock N’ Jock tournament, which will see marquee

In another example of anniversary commemoration designed to make everyone feel old, U2’s “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” — an album that many still think of as prime “late-period U2” — is turning 20 on Oct. 30, and the occasion will be marked that day by the release of a boxed set celebrating a

Hipgnosis Songs has acquired Big Deal Music Group and brought board its senior staff, with Kenny MacPherson becoming CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Group and reporting directly to founder and CEO Merck Mercuriadis. He is joined by Co-Presidents Casey Robison and Jamie Cerreta and Executive Vice President Dave Ayers (New York) as well as Senior Vice

Just over a quarter century ago, Tupac’s “Me Against The World” became the first album to debut atop the charts while the artist was in prison. And while there’s been no shortage of artists proving that the notoriety of jail time is worth its weight in chart numbers, Tekashi 6ix9ine, who was released early from

A police officer who responded to an April home invasion at Eminem’s house in Michigan testified in court Wednesday that the intruder told the rapper he intended to kill him. The testimony came during a preliminary examination in Macomb County District Court for Matthew David Hughes, the man accused of breaking into the home of

Kool & the Gang co-founder Ronald “Khalis” Bell, who was credited as a writer and producer on the group’s biggest hits — among them: 1980’s “Celebration” and 1985’s “Cherish” — died Wednesday Sept. 9 at his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands, his wife and agent Tia Sinclair Bell said in a statement on Sept.

Writer and producer J White Did It, whose credits include Cardi B’s “I Like It” and “Bodak Yellow” and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage” featuring Beyonce, has signed with Milk & Honey Management where he will be represented by manager Chad Wes, GM Nic Warner and founder and president Lucas Keller. Milk & Honey is based

Rapper, singer and songwriter 24kGoldn (real name: Golden Landis Von Jones) is in a sunny mood. Naturally, the 19-year-old has good reason to smile this season, even though summer is nearly over, as his latest single featuring Iann Dior, “Mood,” has been a surprise hit: with over 110 million streams on Spotify alone since its

If there are two things that don’t go together, it’s quarantining and queues. Yet beleaguered independent music retailers are offering positive reports on Record Store Day 2020… or, rather, the first of three monthly “Record Store Day Drops” that are belatedly substituting for the major RSD that was to have gone down in April. RSD

Gorillaz, the nearly 20-year-old music and animation project from Blur cofounder Damon Albarn and illustrator Jamie Hewlett, has announced the latest installment of its “Song Machine” project, a 17-song installment — which they are pointedly not calling an album — featuring guest performances from Beck, Elton John, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Fatoumata Diawara, St. Vincent,

Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, BMI closed its fiscal year (which ended June 30) with record revenue and royalty distributions. The company generated $1.311 billion in revenue, a $28 million increase over the previous year and distributed and administered $1.233 billion to its affiliated songwriters, composers and publishers, 3% or $37 million more

Veteran heavy-metal musician and reality TV star Bret Michaels is looking to rock out of his Westlake Village, Calif., estate. The kerchief-wearing frontman of the 1980s glam-rock band Poison, star of several VH1 dating competition series in the late 2010s, has put an almost $4.5 million price tag on the tropically landscaped Mediterranean spread he

While the concert industry is already down as much as 98% in quarterly revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some silver linings are beginning to emerge in the music biz. And sync licensing, one of many artists’ primary revenue streams for the foreseeable future without touring, is one of them. Songtradr, a Los Angeles-based music

Triller, the music-video creation app, has named a dozen top female music industry executives to a new advisory board. The execs are: Rebeca Leon (Lionfish Entertainment), Rosa Asciola (Spotify), Jenifer Mallory (Columbia Records), Elyse Rogers (APG), Tina Davis (Empire), Phylicia Fant (Columbia Records), Dina Sahim (Sal&Co/Maverick), Rhea Pasricha (Prescription Songs), Allison Maccio (Live Nation), Ebonie

Spirit Music Group has picked up the master recordings of three Tim McGraw albums, the publishing company announced Wednesday. The albums being acquired all date back to McGraw’s first stint on the Big Machine label in the mid-2010s, and include the No. 1 country hits “Humble and Kind,” “Highway Don’t Care” and “Shotgun Rider.” Spirit,

Liz Phair, whose widely influential 1990s albums have been enjoying a revival in recent years, has signed a new deal with the relaunched Chrysalis Records and will release her first album in a decade next year, the company announced Wednesday. Phair’s albums, particularly her 1993 debut “Exile in Guyville” and the follow-up “Whip-Smart,” have influenced

Travis Scott has added another major milestone to his resume: his own meal at McDonald’s. The last celebrity to have his name on a meal at the fast-food chain was Michael Jordan whose McJordan burger launched in 1992. The Houston rapper personally ushered in the Travis Scott Meal at a McDonald’s in Downey, Calif on

Will it be combat… or church? Verzuz seems to believe they can have it both ways. The popular faceoff platform announced in a social media post Tuesday that soul divas Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle will be the next to square off, in a contest for the heavyweight belters’ belt Sunday night. “Leave ya church

After unloading her notorious Sunset Strip mansion earlier this year, it’s no big surprise that Demi Lovato has forsaken the often frenetic energy of Hollywood in favor of a more low-key area of Los Angeles. Property records reveal the former Disney Channel star-turned-internationally successful musician, now engaged to actor Max Ehrich, has paid exactly $7

Matthew Caws of Nada Surf, Neal Francis, Say Hi, Pink Mountaintops, The Long Ryders, a new project featuring Kurt Wagner of Lambchop and Mac McCaughan of Superchunk, and many more independent artists have banded together for a 58-track compilation album to benefit voters’ rights called “Talk – Action = Zero Vol. 2,” curated and organized

Lana Del Rey has not given up being an Angeleno, but she talks about living a different kind of life in frequent stays in Oklahoma in a new cover story for Interview magazine. The singer also goes deep into the subject of mental health issues during a pandemic — hers, and the world’s — as

With the in-person awards ceremony canceled due to the pandemic, iHeartRadio unveiled its Music Award winners over the weekend. Winners include Billie Eilish for Female Artist of the Year and two other awards, Lizzo for Song of the Year (“Truth Hurts”), Jonas Brothers for Best Duo/Group of the Year, Taylor Swift for Album of the

Warner Chappell Music announced today that it has entered into a global publishing agreement with the legendary Quincy Jones. The administration deal covers Jones’s genre-crossing songwriting catalog, as well as all current and future material. The pact, which encompasses over 2,000 compositions, also includes work by several songwriters under the umbrella of Jones’s company, including

The success of MTV in the 1980s also helped propel the careers of many executives still working in music today, several of whom are featured in the A&E documentary “I Want My MTV” (read Variety‘s review), which premieres tonight (Sept. 8). Among those first employees: John Sykes, now the chairman of the Rock and Roll

Unless you’ve been in the right place in Los Angeles at the right time over the past several years, Fiona Apple performances have been as rare as Bigfoot sightings. While she hinted that she might tour behind “Fetch the Bolt Cutters,” her first album in eight years, which dropped in April, the pandemic has put

Warner Music Group announced that Kareem Chin has joined the company as Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations, effective immediately. Chin comes to WMG from iHeartMedia, Inc., where he held the same title. In his new post at WMG, Chin will be based in New York and report to EVP & Chief Financial Officer