Logic, the rapper who has been talking about retiring for at least three years, appears ready to make good on that threat now, tweeting Friday that an imminent new album will mark his retreat from the music business. “Officially announcing my retirement with the release of ‘No Pressure” executive produced by No I.D. July 24th,”
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Producer and music supervisor Randall Poster has partnered with Loudon Wainwright III and big band leader/Prohibition-era scholar Vince Giordano for “I’d Rather Lead a Band,” a new project based around the Great American Songbook. Poster has provided music for over 100 films including “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Boyhood” and “Skyfall.” His earliest credits featured on
Jesus and Mary Chain, Royal Trux and Spacemen 3 aren’t evoked by many albums these days, but they’re present in glorious splendor on “Flower of Devotion,” the third full-length from Chicago trio Dehd. With singers Emily Kempf and Jason Balla trading snarling, sneering, drawling vocals over twanging, heavily reverbed guitars and echo-laden drums (with the
Interscope Records has promoted Laura Carter to the position of senior vice president and head of urban marketing at the label. Carter joined Interscope in 2008 after interning with producer Polow Da Don. Over the next 12 years she has moved up the ranks, working closely with J. Cole and Dreamville and its deep roster of artists on their “Revenge of
Keith Urban is given the superpower of coexisting with a lot of animation in “Superman,” his new video, which Variety is exclusively premiering. “Superman” is the fourth song Urban is releasing from his upcoming album, “The Speed of Now Part One,” which comes out Sept. 18 — a delayed release date that gave Urban a
The U.K. government has announced that indoor performances in theaters and other venues in England can take place from Aug. 1, and business events and conferences can resume from Oct. 1. Social distancing rules will have to be observed. The announcement was made Friday on Twitter by Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
SiriusXM has named Nicole Hughey vice president of diversity & inclusion, joining the company on Thursday (July 16). She will be based in New York and report to Dara Altman, the company’s chief administrative officer. Hughey will be responsible for creating and implementing programs and evaluating and augmenting the company’s policies and practices, which will
In a long-distant era of discord suspiciously similar to our own, Natalie Maines, the singer for the group that was, until last month, known as the Dixie Chicks, lit a forest fire with an offhand insult about George W. Bush in 2003. Since then, she’s owned her political words more deliberately by laying into Donald
When it comes to social media, Def Jam Recordings is No. 1. No, really — the Universal Music Group label boasts the largest number of followers on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube as well as the highest engagement rate of the major labels, according to analytics gathered by Def Jam, beating Atlantic, Interscope, Columbia, Warner
Hipgnosis Songs has acquired the music catalog of three-time Grammy winning producer and songwriter, RedOne, the company announced Thursday. While best known for his work on Lady Gaga’s early albums with songs like “Poker Face,” “Bad Romance,” “Just Dance” and “LoveGame,” he has also scored hits with with Jennifer Lopez, One Direction, Shakira, Enrique Iglesias,
For French Montana, accolades come in threes. His 2017 single “Unforgettable,” featuring Swae Lee, has accumulated over three billion streams in the three years since his album “Jungle Rules” made a home for the hit — all milestones the South Bronx, New York rapper celebrated this week in addition to 13 billion combined streams throughout
Variety‘s virtual Power of Law event presented by City National Bank brought in experts from across the industry on July 15 to discuss the importance of making entertainment more equitable for both those in the spotlight and behind-the-scenes. Music attorney Dina LaPolt; Jody Gerson, Universal Music Publishing Group chairman and CEO; Effie Brown, CEO of
The Prince Estate, in partnership with Warner Records, has dropped “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1979 Version),” a previously unreleased early version of the song from the forthcoming expanded reissue of Prince’s classic 1987 album “Sign O’ the Times,” which is out September 25. “I Could Never Take the Place Of
Warner Chappell Music announced today that it has signed an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with Grammy Award-winning producer-songwriter-executive Mike WiLL Made-It, who has helmed hits for Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Young Thug and many others. The signing marks the return to Warner Chappell for the hitmaker, who helmed such recent hits as Kane Brown’s “Be Like
Michelle Obama will bring her voice to Spotify’s global streaming platform later this month with the launch of “The Michelle Obama Podcast.” It’s the first project from Higher Ground, the media production company founded by President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, for Spotify under their exclusive multiyear pact announced in June 2019. And it’s the latest
A series of live events in the U.K. have been canceled only a few days after the government lifted the ban on outdoor performances. News broke late Wednesday that Live Nation has canceled its Live From The Drive-In tour, citing “localized lockdowns” as spikes in COVID-19 infection continue to occur. These meant the promoter was
Pierre “P” Thomas, cofounder of the Atlanta powerhouse label Quality Control, has responded to Migos’ accusation that it was “cheated out of millions of dollars” by the label and its longtime attorney Damien Granderson. “It is unfortunate that the same people that we have worked hard, provided opportunities for, and championed for are now alleging
Sara Bareilles had long favored “Little Voice” as a title — she named her debut album that, back in 2007. And it ultimately came up as one again when she and her collaborator on Broadway’s “Waitress,” Jessie Nelson, began working on a new TV series about a young singer-songwriter who is just beginning to find
Geffen Records has named Nicole Bilzerian to the newly created position of executive vice president at the label. In her new role, Bilzerian will oversee and expand marketing operations at the revitalized label, working alongside EVP/GM Lee L’Heureux who came to Geffen earlier this year. Geffen, which is described in the announcement as a “full-service
When Blackpink released a music video for its new song “How You Like That,” the all-female K-pop group quickly found out that something some of its international fans don’t like is having Hindi deities portrayed in a pop music context. The fans’ uprising on social media got results, as the offending image was quietly edited
Apple is buying the Justin Timberlake drama “Palmer” from SK Global in a move to expand its slate of high-profile original films. “Palmer,” directed by Fisher Stevens from Cheryl Guerriero’s script, follows a former college football phenomenon who returns to his hometown to get his life back on track upon his release from prison. He
Megan Thee Stallion has issued a statement clarifying the incident in which she was wounded over the weekend. “I suffered gunshot wounds as a result of a crime that was committed against me and done with the intention to physically harm me,” she said in her first statement since the incident took place early Sunday.
Mickey Madden, whose tenure as Adam Levine’s partner in Maroon 5 and other bands goes back to the early 1990s, announced that he is taking his leave from the group for now because he does “not want to be a distraction to my bandmates” following an arrest for alleged domestic violence. “I have some things
Cardi B, DaBaby, Meek Mill and Universal Music Publishing are among the big winners at ASCAP’s annual Rhythm & Soul Awards, which began virtually at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday and will continue through Friday. The awards, which recognize ASCAP’s most-performed songs of the past year in R&B, hip-hop and gospel music, will feature exclusive
Happiness doesn’t come easily for Noah Cyrus. When the 20-year-old singer began writing her new EP, “The End of Everything,” in 2018, she was in one of the worst mental states of her life. After the release of her first EP, “Good Cry,” a strenuous tour and the end of a relationship, Cyrus was left
Simon Cowell has bought out Sony Music Entertainment’s 75% share in their joint venture Syco Holdings, which owns TV formats such as “Got Talent” and “The X Factor.” Syco Holdings, to be renamed Syco Entertainment, retains ownership of all the company’s television formats. Sony Music Entertainment will retain the music assets from the joint venture,
Atlanta rap trio Migos on Wednesday filed a complaint against their longtime attorney Damien Granderson, claiming that he “abused his position of trust as Migos’ fiduciary from the moment he was retained as Migos’ lawyer” and “cheated [the group] out of millions of dollars,” accusing him of “glaring conflicts of interest” and favoring the group’s
Joan Jett has released her cover of T. Rex’s 1971 classic “Jeepster,” the latest track from the forthcoming tribute album “Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan and T. Rex,” which arrives on Sept. 4 on BMG and was helmed by legendary producer Hal Willner, who died of coronavirus complications in April. Check it out
Shawn Mendes has committed $250,000 through his Shawn Mendes Foundation (SMF) and in partnership with nonprofit organization Global Citizen to fund the Global Citizen Academy, a “leadership experience” for high school graduates. Awarding need-based scholarships, the program is designed with Minerva Project and will feature its own curriculum and program of speakers diving into such
Tina Turner, 80, is collaborating with DJ Kygo on a remix of her 1984 smash “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” On Monday, the 28-year-old Kygo (Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll) announced on Twitter that he is teaming up with the iconic singer Tina Turner and will drop the 2020 update on Friday (July 17). Wrote the