Music

Beatport today announced that its 34-hour live stream “ReConnect,” held in partnership with Twitch, raised more than $180,000 for the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and the Association for Electronic Music members’ COVID-19 Hardship Fund. Set up specifically to administer donations from this event to help struggling AFEM member companies retain lower earning workers who

The CMA Festival, the world’s largest country music gathering, has been canceled for 2020, rather than trying to push the mass gathering set for June in Nashville to a later date in the year. For passholders, the festival is offering a choice of refunds or credits toward the 2021 CMA Fest. It was to have

The U.K. government is facing increasing pressure from the creative industries after it emerged that economic measures set out for the self-employed last week by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak have yawning gaps in them. The measures may have come as a welcome move for many creative industries workers, but not all are eligible

Jessie Reyez, Noah Cyrus, Ari Lennox and 070 Shake are just four of the dozens of up-and-coming artists performing during Fader Fort’s broadcast, which has been extended to two days: It’s already up and running at www.thefader.com/fort and will continue until 7 p.m. ET, and will run 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday. This digital incarnation of

Howard Stern announced Tuesday that SiriusXM Premier will be free through May 15 as a courtesy to those staying home in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus. For the next month and a half, listeners will have access to more than 300 ad-free channels, including the Howard Stern Show. Sirius XM is also

The Songwriters Hall of Fame has rescheduled their 51st Annual Induction & Awards Gala originally set for June 11, 2020 to June 10, 2021, at the Marriott Marquis New York, the organization announced today. In making the announcement, SHOF President & CEO, Linda Moran, stated, “In facing the reality of the future being unknown and the extraordinary number

“Late Late Show” host James Corden used the final minutes of his “Homefest” special on Monday night to speak out about his anxiety over the global coronavirus pandemic. The British presenter, who hosted the special out of a custom-built set in his garage, said, “I’ve found it tougher than I ever thought I would. I

Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation, which has already made substantial donations to coronavirus-relief, today announced that an additional $1 million in grants towards COVID-19 response efforts will be matched by Jay-Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation. The funds, totaling a combined $2 million between the two foundations, will support undocumented workers, the children of frontline health workers and first

Adam Schlesinger, a musician and Emmy-winning songwriter highly regarded for his work as a member of Fountains of Wayne and songwriter for TV’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” has been hospitalized with coronavirus and is on a ventilator but is not in a coma, contrary to initial reports, his attorney of 25 years Josh Grier confirmed to Variety.

Spotify is giving more housebound parents — and their cooped-up kids — a new tool to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The streaming giant on Tuesday launched Spotify Kids, a walled-off app with over 8,000 curated songs for children ages 3 and up, in the U.S., Canada and France. Of course, it’s not some kind

Vivendi has closed the sale of 10% of its subsidiary Universal Music Group to a consortium led by the Chinese powerhouse Tencent. The deal, which was signed three months ago, values UMG for €30 billion. As part of the agreement, the consortium – which includes Tencent Music Entertainment, as well as other financial co-investors —

iHeartMedia has joined the growing list of companies implementing sizable pay cuts for senior executives amid the upheaval caused by the coronavirus crisis. Bob Pittman, chairman and chief executive of broadcast giant iHeartRadio, which counts more than 800 stations as well as a formidable digital radio presence, will forego his salary for the remainder of the

Over the years, unmolested and original midcentury modern homes have become increasingly scarce, even in the midcentury mecca that is Los Angeles. So when a 1958 gem in prime Los Feliz became available last year, for the very first time ever, potential buyers flocked to the residential time capsule. The unassuming house quickly sold for

Sofar Sounds — which has made a name and a business for itself by staging “secret gigs and intimate concerts” featuring emerging artists for an invited, engaged audience — is among the many businesses in the live-entertainment space that have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. While it was thriving both as a platform —

Over the years, unmolested and original midcentury modern homes have become increasingly scarce, even in the midcentury mecca that is Los Angeles. So when a 1958 gem in prime Los Feliz became available last year, for the very first time ever, potential buyers flocked to the residential time capsule. The unassuming house quickly sold for

Before “Tiger King” became a water-cooler sensation, a key character in Netflix’s bizarre true-crime documentary had his own moment in the spotlight. “Tiger King” enthusiasts discovered that Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, an animal trainer who worked closely with series’ central character Joe Exotic, had a surprising connection to Britney Spears. As fate would have it, Antle

Universal Music Group today announced several initiatives to bring relief to musicians, its employees and the music industry in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that in a short time has devastated so much of the global economy. It also pledged to assist its artists in their charitable efforts The non-UMG effort comes in the

Over the years, unmolested and original midcentury modern homes have become increasingly scarce, even in the midcentury mecca that is Los Angeles. So when a 1958 gem in prime Los Feliz became available last year, for the very first time ever, potential buyers flocked to the residential time capsule. The unassuming house quickly sold for

While most of the world hunkers down amid the coronavirus, James Corden is remotely bringing together artists from around the globe — BTS in South Korea, Andrea Bocelli in Italy, Dua Lipa in London, and Billie Eilish with Finneas and John Legend in Los Angeles, to name a few — for a virtual concert hosted

Spanish opera singer Plácido Domingo has been hospitalized in Acapulco, Mexico, for coronavirus. “He is doing well and is responding to treatment,” Domingo’s spokesperson told CNN on Sunday. On March 22, the 79-year-old Domingo revealed via his Facebook page that he had tested positive for COVID-19. “I beg everyone to be extremely careful, follow the basic

Hipgnosis Songs has acquired a music catalog from Richie Sambora. The guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer is best known for his tenure as a member of Bon Jovi. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. According to an announcement released March 30, Hipgnosis has acquired 100% of Sambora’s

Joe Diffie: In a post-modern world, he was the perfect old-school hillbilly singer. Like George Jones, there was no interest in going uptown, no need for turbo-sophistication. Give him a Manuel cowboy shirt, some clever wordplay, a hot band… and Joe, with that craggy, bluegrass-honed voice and the ability to twist notes like balloons at

March 29, 2020 4:03PM PT R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe took to YouTube today (March 29) to premiere what he described as the “first take” of “No Time for Love Like Now,” a new solo ballad written in collaboration with The National’s Aaron Dessner. In the clip, Stipe sings live over an electronic beat playing from

Singer-songwriter John Prine, who received a Grammy lifetime achievement award this year, is in critical condition with symptoms of coronavirus, his family relayed via his Twitter account Sunday. “After a sudden onset of Covid-19 symptoms, John was hospitalized on Thursday (3/26),” the statement from the Prine family said. “He was intubated Saturday evening, and continues

Joe Diffie, an icon to many country fans for his string of No. 1 hits in the 1990s, has died from complications related to the coronavirus, a spokesperson revealed Sunday afternoon. He was 61. “Grammy-winning country music legend Joe Diffie passed away today, Sunday, March 29, from complications of coronavirus (COVID-19),” the statement read simply.

DJ D-Nice’s Instagram Live virtual dance parties have been the sensation of isolation, drawing upwards of 150,000 viewers — among them, both Democratic candidates, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, former first lady Michelle Obama, Drake, Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith and even Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg — and helping relieve anxiety during this time of stress

The big kahuna among this weekend’s music live-streams is a half-day marathon Saturday being put on by Twitch. The 12 hours of performances on “Twitch Aid” feature a wide array of artists from multiple genres, including Barry Gibb, Luke Combs, Marcus Mumford, Yola, Garth Brooks, Ryan Tedder, Rufus Wainwright, Diplo, Charlie Puth, Ashley McBryde, Steve

March 27, 2020 8:19PM PT Caroline and Latin label Sie7etr3 have entered into a worldwide distribution pact. Sie7etr3 The Label (known as Siete Tres or 73) is home to Chucky73, Fetti031, Youngkilla73 and Dglo73. “Dili” by Chucky73 and Fetti031, which dropped January 17, is the Bronx-based label’s first release under the new partnership. Future releases

Rapper Scarface gave an emotional account of his time in isolation since testing positive for the coronavirus. Scarface, whose real name is Brad Jordan, was interviewed by Atlanta rapper Ludacris on Instagram Live on March 27. Some three thousand people tuned in for the 20-minute chat. “I’m scared to death,” said Scarface, who on Thursday

Is it wrong, right now, to be as happy as Dua Lipa’s second album makes you? Is this any time to celebrate pop music at its most ebullient, when we should be bullish on meditation? Shouldn’t we be focusing our attention on weightier matters than how to all guiltlessly throw ourselves a solo disco party?