Music

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tarik “Black Thought” Trotter of the iconic hip-hop collective The Roots and their production company, Two One Five Entertainment, have signed a first-look deal with Universal Television Alternative Studio and Universal Television. “The Roots are innovators and cultural tastemakers whose breadth of musical knowledge is unparalleled,” said Meredith Ahr, President, NBC

“MJ,” the musical about the life and career of the late Michael Jackson, has pushed back its Broadway opening to spring of 2021. The move comes after the Great White Way extended its shutdown through Labor Day due to the coronavirus pandemic. The show will now start preview performances on March 8, 2021, with an

The moral of the story, such as it is, is that it’s never too early in a burgeoning career to go ahead and salute your heroes. Ashe certainly thinks so, at least. The L.A.-based singer/songwriter’s song “Moral of the Story” continues to crest a year after its release, and before she’s even released her first

I was — God, do I have to admit this? — about 13 when I first heard Little Richard. There were two people like that in 1956 or ’57: him and Jerry Lee Lewis. I watched Elvis Presley on “Ed Sullivan,” but I have a more vivid memory of the first time I saw Jerry

The music part of Sony Music posted a strong fiscal fourth quarter of 2019, with streaming revenue soaring 27% to $641.7 million year over year, recorded music bouncing 14% to $1.07 billion and publishing up 15%, in terms of dollars. Physical music revenues were also up 10.9%, to nearly $200 million, driven by strong markets

Andre Harrell, the veteran music executive who died on May 7 of heart failure at the age of 59, played an enormous role in creating the world-changing culture that hip-hop is today — and, by extension, all R&B, urban and pop music. Over the course of his 30-plus year career, and particularly during the golden

Diane Warren, who for years has been the purest examplar of the working songwriter in the modern age, has inked a global publishing deal with BMG, which will administer her Realsongs catalog outside of the U.S. and Canada. A recording contract has been built into the deal, too, with plans later in 2020 for BMG’s

Doja Cat’s fast-rising hit “Say So” — which soars to No. 2 on the Rolling Stone Top 100 this week and hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100  — is the kind of song that you feel like you’ve heard before. Maybe it’s because of the razor-sharp vocals or the TikTok-ready guitar licks, or —

A number of executives have found new placements in Asia’s music and content industries. WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks and Sales has appointed Athreyan Sundararajan as its VP of marketing and brand services for the region of Southeast Asia and the Pacific (SEAP). In the newly created, Singapore-based role, he will oversee brands including HBO, Cinemax, Warner

After battling coronavirus for more than a month in intensive care, Broadway actor Nick Cordero has woken up from a medically-induced coma. His wife Amanda Kloots made the announcement on her Instagram story while holding their son Elvis. “Guys, we might have to change our hashtag to #CodeRocky because Nick — Dada — is awake!”

Marc Geiger has called WME home since 2003, so when a Hits report published Tuesday suggested the agency’s global head of music was in the running for a high-ranking position at Spotify — “Insiders speculate that the potential hiring … is part of the Swedish streaming giant’s expansion into the live space,” read the report

Rocker Bryan Adams is taking a cue from one of his top 10 hits in the ’90s, “Please Forgive Me,” as he apologizes for a coronavirus-related social media post that struck many as reckless. “Apologies to any and all that took offense to my posting yesterday,” he wrote on Instagram, referring back to a contentious

The cast of NBC’s “Smash” is back for a one-night-only virtual performance of “Bombshell In Concert” on May 20 to raise money for The Actors Fund. Five years ago, the cast performed “Bombshell in Concert” – based on the life of Marilyn Monroe – for a similar one night run in support of The Actors

Broadway theaters will remain closed at least through Labor Day, extending the shutdowns that began in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s the third extension, after the original targeted date to end the closures, April 12, was pushed back to June 7. Broadway performances were suspended on March 12, prompting the longest period of

Charlie Puth, who is credited with one of the most successful movie songs of all-time, “See You Again” from the “Fast and Furious 7” (4.5 billion views on YouTube and counting), has lent his name to the upcoming animated feature “Scoob!” Collaborating with Lennon Stella, “Summer Feelings” is an upbeat tune produced by Invincible (Cardi

The coronavirus outbreak weighed on costs at Tencent Music Entertainment, China’s largest online music business. But the stay-at-home orders helped the group to increase its paying subscriber numbers. For the first three months of the year, revenues the company showed revenues gaining by 10% to RMB6.31 billion ($891 million), and net profits down 10% to

Canadian singer Bryan Adams posted an expletive-ridden rant about his concerts that were canceled by the coronavirus pandemic. Adams shared a video of himself playing his 1983 hit “Cuts Like a Knife” on a guitar on Instagram Monday morning. In the caption, he bemoaned a series of canceled concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in

In the race between Kenny Chesney and Drake for the top of the album chart, the country music superstar bested his rivals in a week that saw hip-hop otherwise dominating the upper ranks of the listings, as the genre has for weeks. Chesney’s “Here and Now” enters the Rolling Stone album chart at No. 1

Major media and entertainment law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks said that after its internal data systems were hacked — and a vast trove of information on its clients was stolen — it has informed its roster of A-list clients of the breach. “We can confirm that we’ve been victimized by a cyberattack,” the

6ix9ine has officially broken the internet… again. The New York rapper was just released from prison in March due to concern over the spread of coronavirus within the corrections system and capitalized on being sprung by bragging on Instagram Live then dropping a new single and visual titled “GOOBA.” [embedded content] Breaking Eminem’s previous record

Eve Konstan, a 20-plus year veteran of HBO and WarnerMedia, has joined Spotify as general counsel. Konstan takes over the role after former Spotify general counsel Horacio Gutierrez last fall was promoted to head of global affairs and chief legal officer. Gutierrez announced her appointment in a post Monday on LinkedIn, saying, “Her extensive experience

South Korean music production, artist management and publishing company Big Hit Entertainment, whose roster of artists includes K-pop bands BTS and Tomorrow X Together, has rejigged its senior management team. Founder and CEO Bang Si-Hyuk has also taken on the role of chairman. He will now be supported by Lenzo Yoon as global CEO, and

The Music Biz conference was scheduled to take place in Nashville this week, and while it’s been rescheduled for August, the organization will host four live presentations via Zoom this week featuring execs from Spotify, Warner Records, Troy Carter’s Q&A and the Mechanical Licensing Collective. The sessions will take place Monday through Thursday at 4

Facebook has bumped up the star wattage for this week’s livestreaming “#Graduation2020” virtual commencement festivities. The social giant announced more than 70 stars — including Selena Gomez, Cardi B, Usher, Matthew McConaughey and TikTok influencer Dixie D’Amelio — will be joining its “#Graduation2020: Facebook and Instagram Celebrate the Class of 2020,” a multihour livestreaming event

iHeartMedia today announced that Bill and Melinda Gates, Apple’s Tim Cook, singers Mary J. Blige, Smokey Robinson and Becky G, rapper T.I. and actors Freida Pinto, Henry Winkler, Rita Wilson, Tim Cook and Emmy award-winning news anchor Tom Brokaw have joined “Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020” podcast event for America’s graduation month, featuring commencement addresses from

Music streaming platform Audiomack is launching a week of virtual panels, starting today (May 11). Under the banner “Moving Music Forward – An Industry Discussion,” the five-day event will feature top executives in the business and focus daily (from 3pm PST to 4pm EST) on a specific sector. Among the speakers scheduled to participate are

Bono celebrated his 60th birthday Sunday by posting a playlist of what he described as “60 Songs That Saved My Life,” with the promise to write a “fan letter” to all 60 artists. He posted the first six of these 60 mash notes on the U2 website, kicking off with his praise for Billie Eilish,

Paul McCartney said he learned “everything he knows” from Little Richard in a tribute to the late rock legend posted on social media early morning. Richard, who shared stages with the Beatles early in their career and whose songs the group covered extensively, died of cancer Saturday at the age of 87. “From ‘Tutti Frutti’ to

Betty Wright, a soul and R&B singer best known for her ’70s hit “Clean Up Woman,” has died. She was 66. Wright died at her Miami home on Sunday from cancer, according to Billboard. Born Bessie Regina Norris, Wright adopted her stage name when she was just a kid. With her siblings, she began singing

No one can do a Little Richard composition like Little Richard. In the finest moments from the rock and roll pioneer — who died Saturday at the age of 87 — self-penned songs were as flamboyant as his appearance. Informed by his Georgian roots in the Pentecostal church and the nightlife business (tellingly, his dad