Music

The Latin Recording Academy has announced that the 21st annual Latin Grammy Awards will air on Univision on Nov. 19. Under the banner “Music Makes Us Human,” the “reimagined telecast” will beam from Miami and include performances from cities around the Latin world. Should the COVID situation change, the Latin Academy will consider hosting a

Rotimi, the actor and singer-songwriter known for his roles on the Starz series “Power” and “Boss,” has re-upped with Empire music group, the company announced. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, although it is described as “multimillion”-dollar agreement. Rotimi signed with the company for distribution last year. The announcement also notes that after COVID-related

Following Michelle Obama is no easy task, but the duo of Billy Porter and Stephen Stills stepped up with a virtual performance of “For What It’s Worth” during the opening night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention. While Stills first wrote and sang the song — which is perhaps better known by its subtitle, “Stop,

Quinn Coleman, a DJ and A&R executive and son of former BET chief Debra Lee and Randy Coleman, died suddenly on Sunday, August 16 at the age of 31, according to a statement from his family. The cause of death was not given. According to a statement from a rep for Lee: “Quinn was a

Ellen DeGeneres’ resident DJ Stephen “tWitch” Boss has been named a co-executive producer at the daytime talk show, two individuals familiar with the decision told Variety. The news was announced during a highly emotional address from DeGeneres to her “Ellen Show” staff on Monday, where she confronted months of reports of a toxic work environment

ICM Partners has promoted Robert Gibbs to head of contemporary music, it was announced today by CEO Chris Silbermann and head of worldwide concerts Rob Prinz. Gibbs has been with the agency for 14 years and was named partner in 2016. He becomes the first African-American department head of a major agency music department, notes

Today, Amazon Music announces the hire of Raymond Leon Roker as its global head of editorial. He will “lead all aspects of Amazon Music’s editorial content strategy across music, video, and voice,” according to the announcement, be based in Los Angeles and will report to Ryan Redington, director of Amazon Music. Nathan Brackett, Amazon Music’s

Even in an election year without a pandemic, combining politics and music is a tricky proposition — but the Democratic National Convention, which begins tonight and runs through Thursday night, has assembled a lineup of (virtual) musical performances that is not only remarkably diverse, it also advances the party’s and presumptive candidates Joe Biden and

TikTok — the popular short-form video app that President Trump has threatened to ban in the U.S. — has announced a new deal with independent music distributor UnitedMasters that will allow full integration between both services directly through the TikTok app. With this deal, UnitedMasters becomes the first music distribution company to be integrated into

“Can you believe that’s an online orchestra?” asks composer Laura Karpman. She’s talking about the musical score of HBO’s new “Lovecraft Country,” which debuted Sunday night and is believed to be the first post-pandemic series to be entirely scored, from first episode to last, by musicians recording remotely from their homes. Together with musical partner

The 2002 murder of Jam Master Jay, DJ for the pioneering hip-hop group Run-DMC, has been unsolved for nearly 18 years, but federal prosecutors on Monday announced the indictment of two men who have long been suspects in the crime. The men, Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan, Jr., were indicted on charges of murder while

If a screenwriter wrote a spec script telling the story of how SAINt JHN’s “Roses” became a global smash, few would believe it. The seductive yet dark R&B tune by the New York-born artist (real name Carlos St. John) was originally released in 2016, then a sped-up, remixed version by a then-unknown bedroom producer from

Apple is getting into the music competition series space. The streamer has ordered the series “My Kind of Country,” which will feature a global search for country music talent. Per Apple, the series will feature a documentary component as it hunts for “unconventional and extraordinary” country music stars. Adam Blackstone will serve as the musical

Consumers believe movie theaters and live music concerts have been among the hardest hit industries by the coronavirus pandemic, according to an exclusive new survey from Performance Research in partnership with Full Circle Research. And yet, despite that understanding, they are also much less eager to support federal relief for theaters and live music venues

Wave, a startup that produces interactive virtual-entertainment concerts, has hired Tina Rubin as chief marketing officer. Rubin, a marketing veteran with nearly two decades of experience, joins from Netflix, where she was head of strategy and consumer marketing for its YA and family original TV shows. At L.A.-based Wave — whose investors include Scooter Braun

As the coronavirus pandemic’s devastating impact on the live-entertainment industry became clear, independent music venues across the country — the most vulnerable businesses in the live-music industry — came together as NIVA, the now 2,600-member National Independent Venue Association, hired the powerful lobbying firm Akin Gump, and got to work. Last month, Senators Amy Klobuchar

Of all the music stars presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden could have spoken with in advance of the party’s national convention this week, Cardi B is certainly one of the most unfiltered. “I have a whole list of things that I want and I wish and I desire for our next president to root

Concord Music Publishing announced that it has acquired the catalog of Imagine Dragons. The Grammy-winning Las Vegas-based act is one of the most successful rock bands of the past decade, with hits like “Radioactive,” “Demons,” “Believer,” “Thunder” and “Whatever It Takes” from albums band made their mark with their global smash hits from their album “Night Visions,”

China’s Tencent Music Entertainment has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Thailand’s GMM Grammy. The move “represents a successful joint exploration of the Asian digital music entertainment market by both sides,” the companies said. It will lean significantly on TME’s WeSing online karaoke social community, and allow co-creation of content by means of adaptation

Liverpool’s Cavern Club, best known as the launchpad for The Beatles, is in a fight for survival. The club used to host about 800,000 visitors a year, but it has been standing empty since the coronavirus lockdown in March. Bill Heckle, one of the club’s directors, said it had lost £30,000 ($39,300) a week. “We

British music star Sam Fender found quite a platform when he played sold-out, back-to-back shows at the Virgin Money Unity Arena, a pop-up venue in Gosforth Park, Newcastle. He found 500 platforms, in fact. The outdoor shows had fans gathering in groups of five in that many elevated pens, for a total capacity of 2,500

“It’s shocking that they don’t just stay until they figure it out,” says Audrey Fix Schaefer of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), speaking about Congress adjourning Thursday without taking up federal legislation to relieve businesses hardest hit by the pandemic. While many Americans are in distress without a relief package, Schaefer believes that the

A judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit brought by three songwriters who argue they should be credited for Lizzo’s hit “Truth Hurts.” Justin and Jeremiah Raisen, as well as Justin “Yves” Rothman, have alleged that the song is copied from “Healthy,” a track they wrote with Lizzo a few months before “Truth Hurts” was composed.

Duane L. Tatro, who composed for nearly two dozen TV series, including such long-running hits as “Dynasty,” “The Love Boat” and “Barnaby Jones,” died Sunday at his home in Bell Canyon, Calif. He was 93. Tatro’s music accompanied the action on “The FBI,” “Mannix,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “Cade’s County,” “Cannon,” “Most Wanted,” “Vega$” and

For some musicians, being in quarantine has provided an opportunity to take time to revisit some worthy sessions that might otherwise have gotten put off or overlooked. That seems to be the case with Diana Krall, who has announced a new album, “This Dream of You,” culled from scores of studio recordings she did with

August used to be the doldrums for the music business, a dumping ground for low-priority releases that were usually ignored while everyone was on vacation and/or gearing up for the big Fall releases that would carry through until the holiday season. That model was on its way out even before the pandemic, but now all

It may be a good thing that Charlie Daniels did not live to hear Nickelback’s newly released cover of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” if only for the language issues. Performing the 1970s smash live in later years, the famously conservative Daniels would sing the climactic line “You son of a bitch” as “You

Facebook announced that it’s letting businesses, creators, artists, educators and media publishers generate cash from holding online events on the platform. The social-media giant is promising to not collect any fees for paid online events for at least the next year. However, for payments Facebook users submit through the app for Apple’s iOS app, Apple

R. Kelly’s former manager has been arrested on charges related to a gun threat that forced the evacuation of a media screening of “Surviving R. Kelly” early in 2018, according to the Associated Press. The Lifetime documentary, which chronicled the multiple claims of sexual abuse and misconduct against the singer over the years, revived attention

Hot on the heels of his 2019 solo release “Absolute Zero,” Bruce Hornsby returns with its follow-up, “Non-Secure Connection.” The effort picks up where the last one left off and features some of the same collaborators, including Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and Rob Moose, yet also sees Hornsby teaming up with the Shins’ James Mercer,