Music

Bob Kulick, who played guitar for the rock band Kiss, has died, his brother announced on Twitter. He was 70. “I am heartbroken to have to share the news of the passing of my brother Bob Kulick. His love of music, and his talent as a musician and producer should always be celebrated. Please respect

Beyoncé has taken to social media to call for justice after the death of George Floyd. Posted to Instagram on Friday night, the singer speaks out against racism in America and urges her fans to take action. The link in her biography now leads to a page on her website where four petitions are listed

Following the death of George Floyd, Billie Eilish shared a passionate message to her Instagram followers calling on her white fans to recognize their privilege. The lengthy statement, posted Saturday morning, was captioned with the hashtags #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd and #BlackLivesMatter. Eilish’s outrage at Floyd’s death is clear in both her words and the fact that much

Years from now when cultural historians revisit and reevaluate the last decade in one expansive volume, women will dominate the chapters on pop music. It’s hard to imagine what the 2010s might have sounded like without the influence of Adele, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and, of course, Lady Gaga. They all had specific

Hallwood Media, the independent music management, publishing and record label venture founded by former Geffen Records chief Neil Jacobson, has announced another major hire. Jake Posner joins as senior vice president and head of Hallwood’s New York office. The manager of rock band A R I Z O N A, Posner brings along producer PJ

The collective fury over the death of George Floyd, who was suffocated by a Minnesota police officer kneeling on his neck during an arrest in Minneapolis, has prompted the music industry to take a united stand on Tuesday, June 2. A message circulated widely on Instagram and other social media platforms on Friday evening (May

Talk of sale activity around Paradigm is heating up again. Casey Wasserman of Wasserman is pursuing a deal for the company’s music-related assets. Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos is also in the mix as an existing partner of Paradigm in some of its U.K. and European music holdings. Meanwhile, industry chatter about a Wasserman transaction spurred

If you’ve ever listened to Demi Lovato’s “I Love Me” and felt a pulse of pain during the chorus — when the singer belts, “Oh, why do I compare myself to everyone? / And I always got my finger on the self destruct” — you were likely experiencing some of what songwriter and producer Oak

Lecrae Devaughn Moore — better known simply as Lecrae — has always valued his independence. The Houston-based Christian hip-hop recording artist and producer, touched by matters of the sacred and the socially conscious, co-founded his independent record label, Reach Records, when he began dropping solo albums with 2004’s “Real Talk.” He maintained that autonomy up

Pearl Jam has unveiled a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the abstract music video for their single “Retrograde.” Released on May 14, the music video brings the issue of climate change to the forefront, featuring activist Greta Thunberg as a fortune teller revealing the earth’s dismal future through her crystal ball. Furthermore, the stills

Tencent Holdings, is in talks to buy a stake in Warner Music Group as part of the record company’s initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The paper citied “people familiar with the matter” as saying the Chinese internet giant is discussing an investment of $200 million ahead of WMG’s IPO, which was announced

As the country moves closer toward a reopening that we all hope will not be regretted, the Recording Academy’s Producers and Engineers Wing has shared a list of considerations for reopening studios. The organization stresses that the considerations are not meant to supersede local guidelines, but rather complement them with specifics for the recording industry,

Welcome to Variety Music’s third-ever Fri 5, our collection of the best, most noteworthy or simply most remarkable new songs from the past week. It is not complete or definitive or a fight-to-the-death “best of,” but rather a bunch of songs that we find interesting — because a world without five interesting new songs every week

Lil Yachty is no stranger to breaking the internet. In March, he dropped the track “Oprah’s Bank Account” featuring Drake and DaBaby along with a nine-minute visual that lampooned the entertainment mogul, played by the rapper himself, and her talk show. The clip was directed by Director X and featured Yachty costumed in a dress

The songwriting credits for the new Apple TV Plus animated series “Central Park” include a veritable who’s who of American female singer-songwriters stepping out of tune-land and into toon-land as guest writers, with Sara Bareilles, Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple, Cyndi Lauper and Meghan Trainor among those represented. None of their voices will be heard on

SummerStage concerts in New York’s Central Park have been a city ritual for decades, but like so many things in 2020, this year’s series is moving online: Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage today announced the launch of its digital series, SummerStage Anywhere. The platform will launch on Saturday, June 6th at 7PM EST with

For all the reinvention and rejuvenation Lady Gaga has shown over the past few years — her acclaimed acting debut in “A Star Is Born,” her duets with Tony Bennett, her show-stopping concerts, ranging from innovative Las Vegas residencies to a stellar 2017 Super Bowl halftime performance — it’s hard to escape the fact that

Matty Healy, frontman of U.K. band The 1975, has deactivated his Twitter after facing backlash for a tweet about the Black Lives Matter movement following the recent death of George Floyd. In the now-deleted tweet posted on Thursday, the singer wrote, “If you truly believe that ‘ALL LIVES MATTER’ you need to stop facilitating the

It took some 35 years, but ‘80s metal band Ratt has finally returned to television screens with the sort of frequency it hasn’t seen since its MTV days. In a popular campaign for Geico’s home and car insurance bundles called “Ratt Problem,” frontman Stephen Pearcy and his bandmates illustrate an unexpected nuisance for homeowners. The

Just hours after Megan thee Stallion landed her first Billboard number one single for her “Savage” remix featuring Beyonce, the hot girl rapper had another reason to celebrate, getting all dressed up for the virtual premiere of the HBO Max series “Legendary,” where she serves as a judge. Meg joined fellow judges — fashion stylist

Brandi Carlile is throwing fans or herself a birthday party — take your pick — with a livestream performance of her “By the Way, I Forgive You” album, the first in a promised series of full-album sets, to take place June 1 as a benefit for her band and crew. She’ll be accompanied by bandmates

Rising Spanish singer Rosalia has dropped the latest in the string of singles that has followed her Grammy-winning 2018 album “El Mal Querer,” her second collaboration with multiplatinum rapper Travis Scott, “TKN.” Says Rosalia of “TKN,” “Travis es un artista al que he admirado mucho desde el principio de su carrera y no me puedo

Global Citizen has announced its first initiative since the “One World: Together at Home” special, a program that is enlisting celebrities like Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, J Balvin and Justin Bieber to lobby governments and corporations for funding of coronavirus relief funding and programs. Named “Global Goal: Unite for Our Future,” the campaign will also

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) today announced it will honor the songwriters and publishers behind its most performed songs of the past year with four virtual celebrations for its Pop, Screen, Latin and Rhythm & Soul Music Award winners. Beginning in June and continuing through mid-July, the format will feature three

Ahead of tonight’s release of “Chromatica,” Lady Gaga’s sixth studio album, the singer has released her collaboration with K-pop girl group Blackpink from the album, “Sour Candy.” Clocking in at just over two and a half minutes, the song is a sparkling combination of the two artists’ styles: the tight, almost mechanical melodies of Blackpink on

Guy Oseary has “stepped down” from the day-to-day running Maverick, the management collective he founded in 2014. “I’m ready for my new chapter and welcome the opportunity to have more time to focus on management of Madonna and U2 while furthering my passion for identifying and incubating revolutionary businesses,” said Oseary in a statement, first

Cash Money Records is giving back in a big way. The iconic rap label founded by Bryan “Birdman” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams has donated over $225,000 to a nonprofit organization called Forward Together New Orleans (FTNO). The effort benefits those of need in the community amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the funds will specifically

Veteran music executive Carl Stubner (pictured) has added five managers and their acts to his Shelter Music Group roster. Joining the company are Paul Geary and Steve Wood of Global Artist Management, whose clients include Godsmack, The Hollywood Vampires, Joe Perry, Johnny Depp, Hoobastank, Like A Storm and Sully Erna; Alison Taylor of Atwork Management

Jonathan Steingard, the frontman of the Christian rock band Hawk Nelson, has admitted he no longer believes in God. In a lengthy post that was shared on his Instagram account last week, the singer revealed that after a lifetime as a Christian, he no longer believes in God and would be leaving the band. “After

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has promoted Peter Brodsky to General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Business Affairs, the company announced Wednesday (May 27). Brodsky is based in the company’s New York office and reports directly to Sony/ATV Chairman and CEO, Jon Platt. According to the announcement, as General Counsel and EVP, Business Affairs, Brodsky leads the company’s legal and business affairs