Music

Epic Games is making live music performances a regular part of “Fortnite.” But because of its current legal fight with Apple, the concerts on the game’s Party Royale island will not be available on iOS or Mac devices. The new “Fortnite” Spotlight concert series will kick off with singer-rapper-songwriter Dominic Fike, who will perform songs

Downtown Music Publishing announced the signing of global publishing administration agreements with Wu-Tang Productions, and owners Robert “RZA” Diggs and Mitchell “Divine” Diggs, to represent the iconic hip-hop group’s interest in songs from its back catalog of classic albums, as well as select works co-written or produced by individual Wu-Tang Clan members for solo releases,

The Rolling Stones will open their first “flagship” store, “RS No. 9 Carnaby,” on Wednesday at 9 Carnaby Street in London’s Soho district. The new store, created in partnership with Bravado, Universal Music Group’s merchandise and brand management company, features all of the hallmarks of the iconic band and includes exclusive new fashion label “RS

Two high-profile nonprofit organizations, Global Citizen and HeadCount, are teaming up for a voter registration campaign that is bringing in pop stars like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Usher and DJ Khaled to urge fans to get on the rolls. The nonpartisan “Just Vote” drive will have the musicians offering “rewards” to elect fans who use

Hipgnosis Songs founder Merck Mercuriadis named Ted Cockle president and Amy Thomson as chief catalogue officer of the company. Cockle was most recently president of Virgin EMI in the U.K., which under his tenure managed the recorded music for artists including Queen, Elton John, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, George Michael, Justin Bieber, Emeli Sande, The

Taylor Swift’s “Folklore” continued its run at the top of the Rolling Stone album chart for a sixth consecutive week, as sales actually increased from week five. In the latest frame, “Folklore” collected 91,2000 album units, a figure that combines sales and streaming numbers. That’s up from 87,400 album units the week before. Actual full-album

Nick Cordero, the Broadway actor who died in July of coronavirus at the age of 41, was remembered Sunday as a mega-talent with a commanding presence and husky baritone, who remained humble about his many successes when not taking center stage. The Tony-nominated star of “Bullets Over Broadway,” “The Toxic Avenger” and “Waitress” was honored

“Got Live if You Want It,” the Rolling Stones promised in a 1966 album title. And oh, do we want it, in 2020, when the pandemic has rendered the live concert experience unavailable, in a total blackout that once would have seemed purely the province of science-fiction. Fortunately, we still have access to the thousands

Kanye West has put $6.76 million into his presidential campaign, including millions to political operatives to help him get on the ballot. West launched the campaign in July, and has qualified for the ballot in 10 states, including Minnesota, Iowa and Colorado. Over the last several weeks, numerous links to Republican-aligned lawyers have raised concerns

DJ Khaled and Drake brought on a popstar to star in their latest collaboration, aptly titled “Popstar.” The eight-minute video opens on the two artists discussing the logistics of shooting the video while separated amid the pandemic, before Drake decides to call in a favor. The scene shifts and Justin Bieber, who is presumably the

Five years after appearing together on “All Hands On Deck,” Tinashe and Iggy Azalea have re-teamed  for the latter’s latest single, “Dance Like Nobody’s Watching.” An uptempo, feel-good, harmony-filled pop record, the song came about during quarantine and serves as a reminder to all who listen to live each day like your last. The two

If outrage could be magnified, commodified and made into hard currency — and then accessorized with sloppy rainbow dreadlocks — that billion-dollar bankroll would be Tekashi 6ix9ine, the rapper-troll whose main goal in life is rubbing others’ noses in his mess. That’s hardly editorializing when you consider the title of his his fresh-from-prison-release new album:

Compared with the avalanche of recent weeks, the days leading up to Labor Day weekend were relatively slow for incoming new songs — which means we went through just 80 instead of 120! — providing a great opportunity to shine a light on some lesser-known artists. That, however, is not where we’ll start… SZA (featuring

With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to impact a multitude of countries, the touring industry remains at a standstill, draining not only the coffers of agencies and promoters worldwide but also hitting the pockets of the thousands of crew members going on nearly six months without income. It is for this reason that Live Nation and

When veteran music producer Hal Willner passed away due to complications believed to be associated with Covid-19 on April 7, a day after his 64th birthday, the music community in New York and beyond was devastated. Willner had been the sketch music producer for “Saturday Night Live” for decades — the show paid homage with

With each album since 2011’s “Finally Famous,” rapper Big Sean has run from the chipper insolence of youth (and away from being a Kanye protégé) into the arms of ruminative adulthood and all of its blessings and curses. The braggadocio and money behind success in hip-hop is always tempered with practicality for Big Sean. So

With the exception of the psychedelic misadventure “Their Satanic Majesties Request,” the Rolling Stones’ “Goats Head Soup” is probably the most maligned album of the group’s first 20 years. Released in 1973, it arrived as most of the bandmembers were entering their 30s and the group was entering its second decade (unheard-of for a rock

Live Nation and Ticketmaster were hit with another round of furloughs on Thursday, said to number in the hundreds, sources tell Variety. The cuts at the world’s largest live-entertainment company (Live Nation owns Ticketmaster) are said to reach across all business units, particularly regional offices. A rep for the company did not immediately respond to

For today only — Friday, Sept. 4 — a compilation album with previously unreleased songs by R.E.M., Jamila Woods, Phoebe Bridgers, Angel Olsen, The National’s Matt Berninger, Rostam, Flume, Death Cab for Cutie, and many more will be available, exclusively from Bandcamp. 100% of the proceeds from the album, which is titled “Good Music to Avert

Sara Bareilles’ voice is not a little one, but that hasn’t kept her from recording her own versions of the songs she contributed to the Apple TV Plus series. Ten of them are collected in the new album “More Love: Songs from Little Voice Season One,” which got a surprise drop as Thursday gave way

Eddie Vedder discussed working on new music during COVID-19 quarantine, memories from Pearl Jam shows with Robert Plant and Neil Young and why he finally joined Instagram during a wide-ranging call-in Q&A with listeners on the band’s SiriusXM channel yesterday (Sept. 2). Vedder said the members of Pearl Jam have not been in the same

It’s hard to believe nearly three years have passed since 66-year-old music legend Tom Petty unexpectedly died after slipping into unconsciousness at his Malibu home. Since then, Dana York Petty — the former educator who was Petty’s wife for the last 16 years of his life — has continued living at the same Malibu estate,

In a Wednesday filing in Los Angeles Superior Court, Britney Spears’ attorney filed a motion opposing a request by her father, Jamie Spears — who is also her conservator — to to keep her conservatorship case sealed. “Far from being a conspiracy theory or a ‘joke’ as James reportedly told the media, in large part

Take a fanatical worldwide following that’s no less fervent in America than anywhere else, add a peppy song that will serve as the group’s first single recorded entirely in English, map a clever way to deliver it to radio, top it with a performance on MTV’s Video Music Awards and you’ve got a recipe for

As part of a long retrospective era that’s included a documentary, a speaking tour and more, the Beastie Boys will release a 20-song compilation on Oct. 23 covering their entire career called “Beastie Boys Music.” The album is available digitally, as a CD and, more interestingly, a double-LP vinyl set. The collection is a companion

Music documentary “Fandango at the Wall,” chronicling an extraordinary journey undertaken by  musician Arturo O’Farrill and producer Kabir Sehgal — both multiple Grammy winners — to Veracruz, Mexico to recruit master musicians for a live album recording at the U.S.-Mexico border wall, is set to premiere on HBO on Sept. 25. HBO Latino and HBO

Country singer Blanco Brown received “significant injuries” in a head-on collusion Monday night and underwent 12 hours of surgery as a result of the accident, his record label announced Thursday morning. The singer, who became known for his crossover hit “The Git Up” in 2019, was said to be resting in an intensive care unit

Universal Music Group has named Eric Hutcherson, former EVP and chief human resources officer of the National Basketball Association to the newly created role of executive vice president and chief people and inclusion officer, which will see him working across the company’s record labels, publishing division and operating companies worldwide. Hutcherson, whose appointment is effective

Veteran agent and former WME head of music Marc Geiger says the live-music business will rebound in a big way once the coronavirus pandemic recedes. In a conversation with Goldman Sachs’ music specialist Lisa Yang at the International Festival Forum in London on Wednesday, Geiger said the “claustrophobia economy” of the pandemic will be replaced

The Recording Academy has announced the launch of its Black Music Collective, which it describes as a group of prominent Black music creators and professionals who share the common goal of amplifying Black voices within the Academy and the music community. The move is part of a wider diversity initiative by the Academy announced earlier