Music

Multiple music industry organizations announced today that an agreement has been reached with California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez and Majority Leader Ian Calderon on pending amendments to California’s “Gig Economy” Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) that will provide relief to the majority of affected music professionals, including recording artists, musicians, composers, songwriters and vocalists. Upon the Legislature’s

Bon Iver have released “PDLIF” — “Please Don’t Live in Fear” — a new song aimed at supporting health workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. In an effort to provide essential medical items to health workers, the band is donating 100% of “PDLIF” proceeds to Direct Relief, the humanitarian aid organization coordinating

Providing atmosphere, lending emotion and propelling the action, an orchestral score adds much to a TV series, so when the coronavirus threat shut down Hollywood five weeks ago, composers faced a quandary: How to retain that special sound if musicians can no longer record together in the same studio? The answer, as heard in Tuesday

John Oates, one half of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Hall & Oates, is part of one of the most robust catalogs in modern pop music, spanning six No. 1 singles and 16 top 10s. He also happened to sport music’s most iconic ‘80s mustache. So it was only a matter of time

Time is a funny thing: Obscurities or castoffs from past decades become lost treasures or telling time capsules through the rose-colored lens of nostalgia. Records that an artist couldn’t give away at the time of their release change hands for thousands of dollars decades later, to the slack-jawed disbelief of their long-since-retired creators. And while

Most rock ‘n’ roll bands are not sheltering-in-place together at this point, which may account for how few groups have been booked for “One World: Together at Home.” But a big one has been landed at the last minute: The Rolling Stones were announced Friday morning to join the all-star television and streaming special that

Christophe, a celebrated French crooner best known for his ballads “Aline” and “Les Mots Bleus,” has died. He was 74. Christophe’s death overnight Thursday was confirmed by his wife, Veronique Bevilacqua, to AFP. He died of emphysema, a respiratory illness, after being hospitalized March 26 in a Parisian hospital and transferred to the city of

For the title of his last song, “Murder Most Foul,” Bob Dylan borrowed from Shakespeare. For his unexpectedly rapid-fire follow-up, he’s cribbing from Walt Whitman. “I Contain Multitudes” takes its name (and the final line of each stanza) from a famous parenthetical thought in Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” And true to the declaration of personal

It feels like Fiona Apple really got a big head start on us with this whole quarantining thing. Fans do not need to be reminded that it’s been eight years since her previous album, “The Idler Wheel…” (though they probably will require a refresher on its full 23-word title, which once might have been committed

It appears that quarantine has finally convinced Johnny Depp to join Instagram – and to release a cover of John Lennon’s 1970 song “Isolation.” His debut post appeared on Thursday morning, showing the actor sitting on a wooden bench, surrounded by candles. “Hello everyone… filming something for you now… gimme a minute,” the cryptic caption

Warner Music Group has promoted executive Andy Ma to a new role as CEO for Greater China, the company has announced. Ma has been with Warner Music since 2011, most recently as CEO of Warner Music China and executive vice president of commercial and business development for Greater China. Since stepping into that position in

AEG Presents, one of the two world’s largest live-entertainment companies, will begin offering refunds for concerts that have been rescheduled, according to a letter circulated to agents this week. The letter, first reported by the New York Times and obtained by Variety, says that beginning on May 1, a 30-day window will be available for

Mononymic music industry heavy hitter and wide-ranging entrepreneur Pharrell has reportedly ponied up around $30 million for a not-quite 3.5-acre waterfront estate in tony Coral Gables, Fla., a 30-35-minute drive from the heart of Miami’s South Beach. As was reported by the New York Post, who first caught wind of the transaction, the seller of

Saturday night’s “One World: Together at Home” special will mark one of the few times in history that three top U.S. broadcast networks have joined together to air the same charity-focused entertainment special — and the first there’ve also been so many ancillary digital platforms on board, too, from Apple Music to Twitter to YouTube.

R. Kelly’s lawyers on Thursday renewed their request for him to be released, after six inmates at the jail where he is being held tested positive for COVID-19. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly denied Kelly’s first request last week, saying he posed a flight risk and noting the concern that he would seek to intimidate

Hollywood power couple John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are significantly expanding their real estate portfolio on both coasts. Earlier this year, they agreed to acquire the $8 million Manhattan penthouse that happens to lie immediately next door to the $9 million penthouse they already own. And last week, the banana bread and romaine lettuce-loving pair

Roc Nation, the multifaceted management-label-publishing company established as a partnership between Jay-Z and Live Nation, was hit with multiple furloughs and pay cuts last month that extend across as much as half the company, multiple sources confirm to Variety. Reps for Roc Nation and Live Nation did not respond to Variety’s requests for comment. The

Kelly Clarkson dropped her new single “I Dare You” – along with duets of the song performed with five different singers in their native languages. The bundle sees Clarkson joined by Zaz (“Appelle Ton Amour” – French Version), Faouzia (“كنتحداك” – Arabic Version), Blas Cantó (“Te Reto A Amar” – Spanish Version), Glasperlenspiel (“Trau Dich”

300 Entertainment today announced that it is teaming up with Young Thug and Young Stoner Life Records to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the rapper’s mixtape “Barter 6” with a contest to inspire creatives globally during these challenging times. The contest is part of a larger initiative started by 300 called “300 Creates,” a weekly contest series with the opportunity to win prizes,

SoundExchange today announced the promotion of Colin Rushing to Chief Legal Officer. With this promotion, Rushing will now lead SoundExchange’s business development strategy in addition to overseeing the company’s legal, regulatory, and enforcement initiatives. Rushing will serve in this role in Nashville, Tennessee. “Colin is one of the music industry’s leading minds whose knowledge and

In “Stardust,” a movie that dramatizes David Bowie’s road trip across America in 1971, David (Johnny Flynn), several years into his career but still, in terms of image, a bit of a leftover hippie rocker, finds himself performing at a convention of vacuum-cleaner salesmen. It seems his manager back in England had failed to secure

“Mr. McFarland has informed us that he has pre-existing conditions that make contracting Covid-19 easier, and which increase his potential to suffer severe health issues and death if he does so, including being diagnosed with asthma as a teenager,” his lawyers said. “Further, he has informed us that he was diagnosed on the ‘extreme’ scale

It was just a matter of time before the iconic and eccentric singer-songwriter Tom Waits paid tribute to his friend Hal Willner, who died on April 7 with symptoms consistent with coronavirus. Willner was renowned as a multi-talented producer of albums by Lou Reed, Marianne Faithfull, Lucinda Williams as well as elaborate multi-artist tribute compilations (featuring Waits)

Hopes for a 2020 edition of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival are dwindling after New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s latest press conference on Tuesday. In response to a reporter’s question about the status of Jazz Fest as it relates to the coronavirus pandemic, Cantrell advised that all large gatherings be rescheduled for 2021.

Jon Bon Jovi will debut a brand new song addressing the coronavirus crisis, he revealed Wednesday (April 15) on SiriusXM’s “Howard Stern Show.” Calling in from his New Jersey home, Bon Jovi used the opportunity to promote his upcoming performance on the all-star “Jersey 4 Jersey” fundraiser. Scheduled for April 22 and organized by the New

As entertainment businesses go, the live music sector has taken among the heaviest beatings by the coronavirus pandemic, with some experts positing that it will be at least 18 months before concerts and other stage performances return to something resembling normalcy. But for artists, agents, promoters, vendors and customers, the pain is immediate and complicated.

Performing Rights Organizations, including the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), and SESAC announced today that they are contributing to create a special fund as part of the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund to support music creators who are affected by the coronavirus pandemic. While the COVID-19 Relief Fund was created to help all music industry

Quarantine has been a productive time even for a hyper-prolific artist like The Weeknd, who today dropped another new video — of the Lil Uzi Vert remix of his hit “Heartless” — and remix — a Diplo-helmed Major Lazer retake of his other smash from the fall “Blinding Lights.” Since the drop of his latest

Brittany Howard has recorded a new version of her recent song “Stay High” for the Spotify Singles program — but fans may be more excited by the single’s “B-Side,” a cover of Funkadelic’s “You And Your Folks, Me And My Folks.” As the announcement says, the song – which originally appeared on Funkadelic’s classic 1971 album, “Maggot Brain” – “takes on fresh urgency as

Selena Gomez has filed a $10 million lawsuit against the makers of a mobile game, alleging that it rips off her likeness and those of other celebrities. “Clothes Forever — Styling Game” is available for download in Apple’s App Store. It allows users to buy “diamonds” for prices ranging from $.99 up to $99.99, and