Music

Even as normal social life was grinding to a standstill, with much of the world resigning itself to an uncertain future, waves of dread permeating every conversation, and previously unthinkable sights presenting themselves hourly, there was still a frisson of unreality when, late at night on Friday the 13th, one opened up Tidal and saw

Even as normal social life was grinding to a standstill, with much of the world resigning itself to an uncertain future, waves of dread permeating every conversation, and previously unthinkable sights presenting themselves hourly, there was still a frisson of unreality when, late at night on Friday the 13th, one opened up Tidal and saw

Film festivals. At the worst of times they can seem like ridiculous, overblown affairs choked with brands and studios positioning their product for maximum awards attention. But at their best, they’re the very lifeblood of film culture, often the only avenue for adventurous artists to get their names into the world, and a sanctuary for

As the music industry reels from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the Recording Academy today appealed to Congress to “protect our nation’s musicians, performers, songwriters, and studio professionals,” particularly “self-employed gig workers,” who are impacted by the loss of income due to concert cancelations and other hardships. The upshot of the letter, addressed to

The 2020 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, in Manchester, Tennessee, has been postponed due to concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The festival, originally scheduled to take place June 11–14 at Great Stage Park, has been moved to the weekend of September 24–27. The Bonnaroo 2020 lineup was announced in January. Artists on the bill

Dre London made his name in the music business alongside Post Malone’s, co-managing the artist (with Electric Feel’s Austin Rosen) as he ascended in five years from newcomer playing 250-capacity rooms to the arena-filler he is today. That success helped London land the honor of manager of the year at Variety‘s 2018 Hitmakers event and

With most musicians self-isolating, the prolific Charli XCX has turned her considerable energies toward a new daily show called “Self-Isolation IG Livestream,” a series of “daily online events, aimed at providing support to those currently self-isolating due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking place on Instagram live each day, starting from today (Wednesday, March 18), the

Kevin Ryder, a staple of morning radio on L.A. station KROQ for the past 30 years, says he has been fired from the station and escorted from the building by security guards. Jimmy Kimmel, an alumnus of the “Kevin & Bean Show,” was among those weighing in on Twitter with dismay. “Shame on you KROQ

March 18, 2020 6:33AM PT The Eurovision Song Contest, set to take place in Rotterdam in May, has been canceled as Europe battles a far-reaching coronavirus outbreak that has brought the continent to its knees. The European Broadcasting Union, which runs the event, confirmed Wednesday afternoon that this year’s contest has been called off despite

The Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles has been the setting for more than 900 intimate Q&As and performances, sometimes bringing in as many as 100 artists in a single year, as it did in 2019, to sit for an interview followed by a (usually) acoustic set. These haven’t been strictly “you had to be

The U.K.’s Glastonbury music festival has been canceled in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Festival organizers confirmed Wednesday morning that the 50th edition of the iconic fest, which was set to take place from June 24-28, would have to be called off. It will return in 2021. This year’s headline acts included Taylor Swift,

Though she remains locked in a long-running legal war with powerhouse music producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald, Kesha is no proverbial shrinking violet. The veteran singer-songwriter just released a new album, 2020’s joyous “High Road,” which Variety described as “the sound of reclamation and abandon, of finding her form and shedding old skin.” And so,

March 17, 2020 7:44PM PT Even though he starts off by singing verses from the 1987 hit “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine),” ex-R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe strikes a balanced, cautious-but-optimistic tone with a “4 Coronavirus Rules” public service announcement posted on his website and excerpted on

Although probably no one will begrudge Amazon prioritizing essential goods and services during a pandemic, the company’s decision to put a temporary halt to incoming shipments of physical media is subjecting record labels — particularly independent imprints that do a good deal of business in vinyl and CDs — to yet another blow. Amazon has

One benefit of being unwillingly thrust into the stay-at-home era: the burgeoning phenomenon of mostly free live-streamed concerts from artists determined to help is through being housebound. Who knows: we may end up experiencing more live music as shut-ins than we ever did going out, even if it’s through a screen. John Legend, Yungblood and

A federal judge has handed a big win to Katy Perry, overturning a copyright infringement verdict regarding her hit song “Dark Horse.” Judge Christina A. Snyder issued a ruling on Tuesday vacating the jury’s verdict, finding that the short musical phrase at issue is not original enough to warrant copyright protection. The jury had found

Lil Uzi Vert dominates both the album and singles charts this week, with a blockbuster No. 1 debut for his “Eternal Atake” collection — and individual cuts from that album accounting for 14 of the top 20 song slots. Topping the Rolling Stone album chart was little challenge for the hip-hop artist, who was releasing

Music producer Andrew Watt, who was recently named one of Variety‘s Hitmakers of the Month for his work on “Señorita” and other smashes, announced Tuesday that he has tested positive for coronavirus, and shared a distressing story of being put off for tests as he developed pneumonia and ultimately required assistance from an oxygen machine.

In the wake coronavirus’ crushing impact on the music industry, the Recording Academy and its affiliated charitable foundation MusiCares have established the COVID-19 Relief Fund to help people in the music industry affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak and subsequent cancellation of thousands of music events. According to the announcement, the fund, administered through

The Rolling Stones have postponed their North American tour, which was scheduled to begin May 8 in San Diego. The announcement reads: AEG Presents/ Concerts West regret to announce the postponement of the Rolling Stones upcoming NO FILTER tour of North America due to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic. The Stones 15-date NO FILTER summer

“Charm City Kings” won over many critics in its Sundance premiere earlier this year, and likely would have been doing the same in Texas this week if it were showing, as planned, at the canceled South by Southwest Film Festival. It’ll still get its chance to charm general audiences as well as critical gatekeepers, who

Country star Dierks Bentley closed down his three-floor bar in Nashville Monday afternoon, but promised to give each of the venue’s 90 hourly employees $1,000 to help get through the coronavirus crisis as the city’s nightspots are forced to shut down. “Just gave last call at Whiskey Row Nashville as we close the doors for

March 17, 2020 8:06AM PT John Legend will perform a livestreamed solo concert today as part of “Together, at Home,” a new series of online concerts presented by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Global Citizen. Together, the organizations have launched a campaign called the Solidarity Response Fund that aims to raise $675 million throughout

March 17, 2020 7:23AM PT Ben Gibbard announced that he will livestream performances from his home studio every day for the next few weeks, as a thank-you to fans and a way to fight the loneliness the coronavirus self-isolation has brought. Beginning Tuesday, “Ben Gibbard: Live From Home” will air live at 4 p.m. PT

Tencent Music Entertainment, China’s leading online music conglomerate, increased revenues and profits in its 2019 financial year. That follows growth in the number of paying subscribers and their average spend with the company. The New York Stock Exchange-listed group, which is poised to soon buy a chunk of Universal Music, said in in regulatory filing

For the first time in more than seven years, the country radio airplay chart has three solo female artists in the top 10 — another sign of hope for proponents of greater gender parity at the heavily male-dominated format. The number holds true on both the Mediabase and Billboard airplay charts for this week. On

The 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards show has been postponed due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus. The event was due to take place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on March 29 and be broadcast on Fox. Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X and Ariana Grande were among the top nominees. Given the unlikelihood of

The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), the trade group that represents more than 600 indie labels, is exploring federal relief for smaller labels that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, while music finance firm Sound Royalties has announced a $20 million fund to assist musicians, producers and songwriters. In an email to its

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced that the upcoming Met Gala in New York City has been postponed indefinitely. The event, an annual fundraiser for the museum’s Costume Institute, was set to take place on May 4. The theme was “About Time: Fashion and Duration.” “The Museum will remain closed through Saturday, April 4.

UPDATED: Late Monday, Nashville business owner Steve Smith reportedly backed down under public pressure and said he would close the popular bars he had vowed to keep open in the tourist-filled Lower Broadway area, including Kid Rock’s Big Ass Steakhouse and Tootsie’s. It was not immediately known whether all the other nightspots in the area