Marc Kinchen, a DJ and producer who goes by MK, filed a lawsuit against his management company on Wednesday, accusing the firm of duping him into signing an “unconscionable” agreement. The performer alleges that manager Mark Davenport tricked him into signing the deal during a surprise meeting at an airport after he had been up
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Canadian music producer Henry Walter, known as Cirkut, has new management. The Los Angeles-based hitmaker has tapped WMG heavyweight Mike Caren and Luke Mitzman of 100 Management to rep him going forward in all areas. This represents Mike Caren’s first formal foray into the management realm, and he couldn’t be more excited. “Cirkut is one
Country superstar Garth Brooks announced Wednesday that he is attempting to withdraw himself from consideration for entertainer of the year, the top prize at the CMA Awards, which he won last November for a seventh time, saying it’s time to let a new generation take the honor. In a press conference held via Zoom, Brooks
Malik Abdul Baset, an early member of The Roots who performed on the group’s first four albums, has died, a rep for the group confirmed to Variety. He was 47. “It is with heavy hearts and tearful eyes that we regretfully inform you of the passing of our beloved brother and long time Roots member
One Direction’s “hiatus” hasn’t stifled its streaming success. The band’s music catalog experienced a 468% increase on YouTube Music in response to the band’s 10th anniversary on July 23, despite members going their own ways in 2015. “10 Years of One Direction,” the first video uploaded to the group’s YouTube channel since early 2016, has
What happens when Hollywood’s intellectual property king meets Queen Bey? That’s the question worldwide fans and Hollywood insiders are mulling with anticipation, as Beyoncé’s latest visual album, “Black Is King,” prepares to debut July 31 on Disney Plus. The top-secret project from the superstar entertainer was announced less than a month ago, and promises to
The Wu-Tang Clan’s first album, “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers),” was released in late 1993, and it sold respectably, though its cultural impact far outpaced its initial commercial fortunes. By the time the group’s second release, the mammoth double album “Wu-Tang Forever,” arrived in 1997, the Staten Island nine-piece was arguably the hottest commodity in
The Americana Music Association Foundation has rolled out an initial lineup for its online “Thriving Roots” conference in September, including several “intimate conversations” between stars of roots-based music or, in the case of Ken Burns, one of their equally famous chroniclers. Burns will be joined by Emmylou Harris for “Country Music: One Year Later,” a
Instagram blurred a discredited coronavirus conspiracy theory viral video posted by pop icon Madonna on Instagram with a caption stating: “False Information – Reviewed by independent fact-checkers.” The video was subsequently deleted from Madonna’s Instagram page. The video is by Houston-based Dr. Stella Immanuel who advocates hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus cure. “The Truth will set
Ahead of Spotify’s earnings call for its 2020 second-quarter results on Wednesday morning, the company’s cofounder and CEO Daniel Ek and CFO Paul Vogel got on the phone for a short call with Variety’s Jem Aswad and Todd Spangler. The conversation follows in full. How did you launch in 12 countries, including Russia, during a pandemic?
Dear Wiley, How are you? I ask that sincerely, as I’m sure the past week has been challenging for you, as it has been for many of us. Your words have hurt. Like a broken record, they’re anti-Semitic tropes we’ve heard for time immemorial. They go back to the very dawn of civilization, and they
Hipgnosis Songs Fund has acquired the music catalogue of four time Grammy winner Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, who will also be joining the investment adviser’s advisory board with immediate effect. Hipgnosis has acquired 100% of Rodney Jerkins’ Writer’s Share of Income in his early works and 100% of his Publishing interest and Writer’s Share of Income
Lena Waithe and CBS’ chief creative officer David Nevins have been conducting a “great social experiment” over the past couple months, Waithe tells Variety. The findings of her preliminary research on “Twenties” — the semi-autobiographical sitcom she has been shopping for over a decade that began airing its eight-episode season on BET in March —
What is it about ‘80s rockers and imitation French homes? First Jon Bon Jovi listed his sprawling New Jersey take on Gallic-themed architecture, and now the “Red Rocker,” aka Sammy Hagar — solo artist and former lead singer of Van Halen — has done likewise with his French-inspired chateau that’s sited on the shore of
Pharrell Willliams, Labrinth (pictured) and Isabella Summers of Florence & The Machine could all wind up with Emmys this year. So, for that matter, could Ingrid Michaelson, Nine Inch Nails founder Trent Reznor and veteran pop producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. All were among nominees in the music categories as the Television Academy announced
CAA is about to implement significant layoffs and furloughs this week that will amount to as much as a double-digit reduction in the workforce at the Hollywood talent agency, insiders tell Variety. Cuts are believed to be coming across the board, with about 90 agents and executives on staff facing pink slips and 275 support
The Chicks, formerly the Dixie Chicks, have the top non-posthumous album of the week, with “Gaslighter,” the trio’s first album in 14 years, which bowed with 93,400 album units. But that only puts them at No. 3. Still maintaining their hold on the top two spots on the Rolling Stone album chart are albums from
This year’s Emmy nominees in the seven music categories include such familiar scoring names as Ludwig Göransson, Pinar Toprak, Nicholas Britell, Mark Isham and Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross as well as figures from the pop world like Pharrell Williams, Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith, Ingrid Michaelson, Sheila E and the RZA. Labrinth joined Reznor and Ross
Top-earning DJ and record producer Calvin Harris is looking to spin out of a large home in a discreet and quiet area of L.A.’s Hollywood Hills, hanging a nearly $5.5 million price tag on the snazzily done-up residence he bought about 2.5 years ago from fellow DJ and record producer Steve Angello for a mite
Former Live Nation New York president Anthony Makes has launched Brooklyn Made, an independent concert promotions company. According to the announcement, the 30-year industry veteran is “looking to redefine what it means to be a 21 st century music company” and will operate out of his home in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y.
K-pop titans Blackpink announced late Monday that their debut album will be released on Oct. 2 on YG Entertainment through Interscope Records. It will be preceded by the second single from the album in August, which the group promises will include a “surprise feature”; the title of the song and the album has not yet
Sony Music India (SMI) has appointed Jagjit Singh Bhogal as its head of A&R, as New York-headquartered Sony Music Entertainment (SME) seeks to flesh out new regional hubs in Asia and the Middle East to better connect with local markets. Bhogal comes to SMI after stints at Viacom18 India, where he led the A&R, music
Lollapalooza unveiled “Lolla2020,” a four-night virtual music event to take place July 30 through Aug. 2, during the original Lollapalooza festival dates. The event’s original content will include new performances from the likes of H.E.R., Kali Uchis, Louis the Child, Yungblud and more. Past shows that will be included come from old Lollapalooza sets from
Where there’s smoke, there’s definitely the fire of social media reaction, at least, as the Chainsmokers are taking heat for a controversial charity fundraiser held in the Hamptons at a 100-acre lot transformed into a drive-in for the concert. As a result of the concern over the “Safe & Sound” fundraiser, one state official has
Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegría Hudes is set to write “Life Is a Carnival,” a Latin music-infused new film for Warner Bros. The movie will mark her second collaboration with “In the Heights” producers Scott Sanders and Mara Jacobs after Hudes wrote the book for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical as well as the screenplay for
Alan Menken became the latest recipient of EGOT status following his Daytime Emmy win on Sunday, July 26. Menken, who has eight Oscars, 11 Grammys and one Tony Award, took home the Daytime Emmy for outstanding original song in a children’s, young adult or animated program. Menken, pictured with Celine Dion at the “Beauty and
Katy Perry has delayed one due date — that of her new album, “Smile,” which just got bumped back two weeks, to August 28 — but another imminent one won’t wait. And so Perry declared that her last set before becoming a mother would be the performance she gave over the weekend as part of
A tearful Megan Thee Stallion took to Instagram Live on Monday afternoon to thank her fans, assail her haters and speak briefly about the July 12 incident during which she says she was shot in her feet. On that night, she and another woman were in a car with rapper Tory Lanez when he was
It’s been only four years since Fifth Harmony‘s “Work from Home” went top five on the Billboard Hot 100, solidifying the band’s status as the most successful girl group of the 2010s. But that catchy pop ditty feels like a lifetime ago when viewed through the lens of Normani‘s career trajectory. Back in 2016, Normani
Make no mistake: Miranda Lambert is thrilled by the just-announced news that “Bluebird” is the country superstar’s first No. 1 solo hit since the early 2010s. And also make no mistake: She was doing okay when songs like “Tin Man” were winning ACM awards while falling short of the top 10 in the interim. “I