Music

YouTube’s rescheduled graduation ceremony, originally slated for Saturday, is taking place this Sunday, June 7, and will feature voices from the Former First Lady Michelle Obama and Former President Barack Obama, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Lady Gaga and BTS, along with other big names in the industry. Here’s how to watch the virtual commencement. The commencement ceremony,

Former “X Factor” contestant Trevi Moran has come out as a transgender woman. Moran, who has 1.43 million subscribers on YouTube, posted a short video to site today titled “Coming Out. I Am Female.” In the video, she detailed her journey thus far and announced a docuseries about her transition. “Hi. My name is Trevi

After K-pop titans BTS stated their solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter this week, declaring “we stand together” against racial discrimination, the group and its Korean record label are making a further commitment: BTS and Big Hit Entertainment have donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter, a rep for Big Hit confirms to Variety. The donation was transferred

Blerim Elmazi and S. Lee Merritt — lawyers representing Ahmaud Arbery, who was fatally shot while jogging in February — found themselves found themselves without transportation on June 4 when they needed to attend a court hearing in Brunswick, Ga. Luckily, rapper Jay-Z was there to help. Elmazi revealed on Instagram that he and Merritt

In response to George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police, Tompkins Square Records today released “Out of the Ashes,” a 16-track compilation album of area artists that will benefit two charitable organizations in the city. The full lineup appears below. The two organizations the compilation benefits are MIGIZI, which aims to “nurture the

The legendary Abbey Road Studios has opened its doors after a 10-week closure. The recording studio where the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Oasis and countless other artists recorded classic albums reopened for business on Thursday, June 4. Melody Gardot was the lucky musician to secure the first recording session. Gardot was due to record at the

Rapper, actress and radio personality Da Brat has more than just the cover of Variety‘s Pride Issue to celebrate this week: the first female hip-hop artist to go platinum also just dropped new music. The timely “Quarantine With U” arrived with no set-up or fanfare, in a move that might make you think of Beyoncé.

Looks like the band behind the songs featured in Netflix’s wildly popular “Tiger King” are finally getting their share of the spotlight. Vince Johnson, one half of The Clinton-Johnson Band who wrote and performed the songs Joe Exotic tried to pass of as his own, has officially signed an exclusive worldwide licensing and distribution deal

Independent artists from around the world will be featured on a new compilation called “Talk – Action = Zero,” which pays tribute to black Americans who have been died due to police brutality. “Talk – Action = Zero” is out today (Friday, June 5) exclusively on Bandcamp — which today is waiving its sales fee, meaning all

2020 is a hell of a time to be doing anything, including releasing music, and it’s safe to say that most of the albums that have been released this year are landing in a world very different from the one in which they were created (except, of course, for Charli XCX’s made-in-quarantine “how i’m feeling

Composer Max Steiner, whose scores for “King Kong,” “Gone With the Wind” and “Casablanca” placed him in the movie-music pantheon, isn’t much discussed today. He seems to belong to that old-school, pre-synthesizer world of orchestral scoring from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. But as author Steven C. Smith points out in his engrossing new biography

Along with the social-change efforts announced by its parent company Universal Music Group earlier this week, Republic Records has announced its own campaign — one aspect of which is that the company will cease to use the term “urban” to describe black music. “ ‘Urban’ is rooted in the historical evolution of terms that sought

Sony Music Group has announced the launch of a $100 million fund to support social justice and anti-racist initiatives around the world. The company — which includes all of its recorded-music and content divisions and music-publishing company — will immediately begin to donate to organizations that foster equal rights, according to the announcement. In making

If you cross paths with Crystal Moselle, be warned, she might make a movie of your life. It’s what the New York-based filmmaker did when she met the shut-in family portrayed in her disturbing 2015 documentary and Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner “The Wolfpack.” She repeated the feat with a girl skater crew she met

As coronavirus and protests continue to disrupt the country and its economy, many have asked the best ways to support musicians who suddenly and abruptly lost their main form of income. The usual answer is “buy an album or merch” — and today (Friday, June 5) offers a rare opportunity to maximize the amount of

At the end of a harrowing week for the country, Meek Mill dropped a hard-hitting new song called “Otherside of America.” Mill has had his own encounters with law enforcement in recent years: He spent five months in prison in a widely criticized 2017 ruling over technical violations from a years-old conviction. After outcry from

10K Projects has announced the formation of 10K Together, a charitable arm of the company whose initial focus will be to combat racist policies and racial injustice, create career opportunities for Black youth and support Black-owned businesses, according to the announcement. The company has committed to spend $500,000 over the next five years as part

Lauren London opened up on gun violence in America a little more than a year after her partner Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed in Los Angeles. On Wednesday’s episode of “Red Table Talk,” London joined host Jada Pinkett Smith to discuss Hussle’s legacy and the lasting trauma of gun violence in her life. “In

Steve Priest, bassist and singer for long-running glam-era rock band The Sweet, has died, according to statements from the band and Priest’s family. The cause of death was not announced; he was 72. “It is with a heavy heart that we announce at 8:25am PT today, Steve Priest, founding member of The Sweet, passed away.

“Blackout Tuesday” may have been the day that the industry tasked itself with reflecting on ways that it can support the black community, but obviously it’s about much more than one day. The Task Force for Meaningful Change that Universal Music chief Lucian Grainge announced over the weekend has issued its call to action in

Paradigm talent agency has secured a new investment from Crescent Drive Media, a company owned by the brother of agency chief Sam Gores, and has recruited industry veteran Bruce Rosenblum as an investment adviser. The moves come as Paradigm is grappling with a cash flow crunch exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis. Gores also continues to

Kanye West is not only the highest-paid musician of 2020 — he’s the second-highest-paid celebrity overall, according to Forbes annual list, which dropped on Thursday. While far behind extended-family member Kylie Jenner, who topped the main list with $590 million, West is No. 2 with $170 million, far ahead of the next musician on the

It’s been nearly 10 days since the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hand of a Minneapolis police officer, during which time massive protests against police violence have taken place across the country. But while tens of thousands have taken to the streets to express their anger at the systemic racism that has

Steven C. Smith’s first book, 1991’s “A Heart at Fire’s Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann,” preceded — and arguably helped precipitate — a huge uptick of interest in that once neglected, now practically deified film composer. Almost three decades later, he’s published his second biography, “Music by Max Steiner: The Epic Life

BTS is not known for making political statements, but on Thursday the group issued a social media post early Thursday saying that they “stand together” against racial discrimination and used the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. 우리는 인종차별에 반대합니다.우리는 폭력에 반대합니다.나, 당신, 우리 모두는 존중받을 권리가 있습니다. 함께 하겠습니다. We stand against racial discrimination.We condemn violence.You, I and

For the Power of Pride issue, Variety talked to eight LGBTQ couples in entertainment about their love stories. To read more, click here.  Almost 20 years ago, Linda Wallem, the showrunner of “That ’80s Show,” had a big casting idea. She wanted Melissa Etheridge — the rock-star crooner behind such hits as “Come to My Window” and

Toward the end of a harrowing week filled with protests against police violence, curfews, nearly every type of political discord and an ongoing pandemic, country singer Kane Brown has dropped a hopeful new song called “Worldwide Beautiful” that aims to highlight peace and equality. “White churches, black churches/ Different people, same hearses,“It’s kinda hard to

Prosecutors in Seoul have requested the arrest of Lee Jae-yong, the heir and presumptive head of the Samsung Group. He is accused of stock price manipulation and audit violations within the massively complicated web of Samsung-related companies. Lee is closely related to Miky Lee, producer of Cannes- and Oscar-winning film “Parasite.” Lee Jae-yong (aka Jay

Although it was billed as a “pause,” “Blackout Tuesday” — during which much of the music industry “disconnected from work” to focus on ways it can support and stand in solidarity with the black community — was not meant to be a day off, and indeed it wasn’t for the greater music industry. In a

Michael Bublé has pledged $100,000 to the ACLU in a matching challenge to his fans “to be part of the solution to help seek justice and equal rights,” it was announced on Wednesday, June 3. “Along with the rest of the world, I watched in horror as a policeman literally took the breath out of