Music

A lot will be said in the days and years to come about all the amazing and unforgettable Grammy Moments that Ken Ehrlich has somehow made happen decade after decade live on the Grammy Awards. Likely, a lot of it has already been said by my longtime mentor and lifelong friend Ken himself to Chris Willman

Eminem’s surprise album release may bear the Hitchcock-referencing title “Music to Be Murdered By,” but, yes, as you’d expect, “Music to Murder To” might be a more apt description. The 20-track LP, his tenth since soundtracking the turn of the millennium with 1999’s “The Slim Shady LP,” finds the Detroit rap legend in an alternately rancorous

Cynthia Erivo confirmed the rumor that she is indeed singing live on set for “Genius: Aretha.” During the Nat Geo series’ Television Critics’ Association press tour pane, Erivo discussed how singing live allowed her to capture the voice and essence of the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin. “Singing is my second language, the rumor is

Chuck D, frontman of Public Enemy — who are receiving the Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Grammys next week — posted a long statement on Instagram criticizing the Recording Academy over its sudden ousting of new president/CEO Deborah Dugan yesterday. Dugan, who had been in the job only five months, was placed on administrative leave after

“Change is afoot,” Deborah Dugan said more than once during interviews with Variety in the weeks before her shocking removal from her post as president/CEO of the Recording Academy after just five months on the job. During those conversations, Dugan spoke of changes she planned to make in the Academy’s staffing organization, its Board of

Beyoncé has signed with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Variety has learned. Beyoncé and Jay-Z have worked closely for much of their careers with Jon Platt, who took the reins at the Sony Music company as chairman and CEO in 2019. Platt already brought Rihanna over to his new home last fall, after moving to Sony/ATV from

Hulu has renewed “Wu Tang: An American Saga” and “Dollface,” each for a second season. The former, created and written by Alex Tse and the RZA, is based on the formation of the Wu-Tang Clan. The first season explored the hip-hop group’s history and daily struggles of balancing its rising music career on the backdrop

Eminem’s new “Music to Be Murdered By” album has an album title and cover that pay comical homage to Alfred Hitchcock, suggesting a collection full of light-hearted mayhem. But a couple of its tracks reference real-life mass murders that occurred at concerts in recent years — the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Music Festival shootings and

Lucian Grainge — chairman/CEO of Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company — will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next Thursday (Jan. 23). Fittingly, the ceremony will take place in front of the historic Capitol Records building; Capitol is one of the several Universal-owned labels under Grainge’s domain. Universal, recently

January 17, 2020 6:27AM PT Less than 12 hours after news broke that Deborah Dugan had been placed on administrative leave from her post as president/CEO of the Recording Academy, her attorney fired back with a statement. “What has been reported is not nearly the story that needs to be told. When our ability to

As the music industry reeled in the wake of Deborah Dugan’s sudden removal from her post as president/CEO of the Recording Academy on Thursday — a mere five months after she’d taken charge, and just ten days before the Grammy Awards — even insiders were stunned by the abruptness of the move and perplexed by

Eminem may not be the Master of Suspense: He just dropped his new album, “Music to Be Murdered By,” Thursday at midnight, without even milking it with any prior warning. But he appears to be a fan of Alfred Hitchcock anyway. The new set shares its title and cover concept with the one and only

If you were cynical, you might think releasing a posthumous, pieced-together Mac Miller album 16 months after his passing from an accidental drug overdose would be just one more part of the current death march of releases from deceased young rappers with pleadingly emotive lyrics and sonically rock-ist edges. Like late Soundcloud emo-rappers such as

Recording Academy head Deborah Dugan has been placed on administrative leave, ten days ahead of the Grammy Awards. An internal memo provided to Variety states: “In light of concerns raised to the Recording Academy Board of Trustees, including a formal allegation of misconduct by a senior female member of the Recording Academy team, the Board

To shake Ken Ehrlich’s hand is to know that you are no more than two degrees of separation from just about any living pop, rock, R&B, country, hip-hop or gospel musician of note — and more than a few who are no longer with us. They, or at least someone close to them, have all

Ariana Grande was sued on Thursday by a hip-hop artist who claims she ripped off the chorus of his song for her hit “7 Rings.” Josh Stone, who performs as DOT, wrote and recorded “You Need I Got It” in 2017. He alleges that he took the song to music industry executives, including producer Tommy

January 16, 2020 1:58PM PT Sony Pictures has tapped Parris Goebel to direct “Murder on the Dance Floor,” an adaptation of her acclaimed street-dance-based production. The movie will mark Goebel’s feature film directorial debut. In addition to choreographing “Murder on the Dance Floor,” Goebel — famous in the music and dance worlds — directed numerous

Artist Partner Group (APG) has strengthened its senior leadership team with several staff promotions, including: Miles Beard to SVP of A&R; Eli Piccarreta to VP of A&R; Jessica Kelm to VP of Digital Marketing; while Nikisha Bailey has been hired as VP of A&R Admin & Operations. Beard, Piccarreta, and Bailey will report to CEO Mike Caren,

The celebrity cannabis business club has a new member: Carlos Santana. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is partnering with Left Coast Ventures, the same California company that provides flower for Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart’s Mind Your Head brand and Marley Natural. Asked how the Left Coast partnership came together, Santana, 72, told

New York’s Governors Ball has announced the lineup for its 10th annual festival, and it’s a wide mix of styles, genres and eras: Missy Elliott — making her first major NYC performance in over a decade — Tame Impala, Stevie Nicks, Vampire Weekend, Solange, Miley Cyrus, Flume, Ellie Goulding, H.E.R., Swae Lee, Rufus Du Sol,

Indie drama “Show Me What You Got” has been selected for screening via the Level Forward/Screen Forward network that aims to expand theatrical distribution for up-and-coming filmmakers. “Show Me What You Got” will screen in the second quarter of this year in the theaters that are participating in the Screen Forward venture launched last week

The Songwriters Hall of Fame today announced its 2020 inductees: they are Mariah Carey, Eurythmics (Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart), the Isley Brothers (Ernie, Marvin, O’Kelly, Ronald, Rudolph Isley and Chris Jasper), Steve Miller, the Neptunes (Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams), Rick Nowels and Motown great William “Mickey” Stevenson. The inductees will be honored at

Demi Lovato, who was announced this week as a performer at the Grammy Awards, will sing the National Anthem a week later as part of Super Bowl LIV pregame festivities at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Sunday, February 2, the NFL and the Fox network announced today. The pregame show, including the National Anthem,

Along with SZA and H.E.R., London-born Ella Mai has brought old-school soul singing back to mainstream R&B after a long hiatus. Her talent already has earned her a best R&B song Grammy for her 2018 hit “Boo’d Up,” and this year, her self-titled debut is in the running for best R&B album. While she’s on

January 15, 2020 2:55PM PT Clio Massey has been named General Manager, Work of Art Publishing and has added the role of Vice President of A&R at Arista Records, it was announced today. According to the announcement, at Work of Art, Massey will oversee business operations and development of the company’s roster of songwriters. Since

January 15, 2020 2:27PM PT Just four months after releasing her “Sunshine Kitty” album, Tove Lo surprised fans today with two brand-new songs — collaborations with Billie Eilish’s brother Finneas, no less — “Bikini Porn” and the succinctly titled “Passion and Pain Taste the Same When I’m Weak.” In an interview with Variety last fall,

On January 31, dBpm Records will release “Chicago 2017,” an album comprised of songs from Daniel Johnston’s final Chicago performance at The Vic Theatre in October of 2017, as well as a session recorded at Wilco’s Loft studio. For the performances, the late singer was backed by Tweedy (featuring Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and his son Spencer). Hear a preview from the album, Johnston’s song “Worried Shoes,”

Camila Cabello, H.E.R., the Jonas Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Rosalia, Run-DMC, Tyler, the Creator and Charlie Wilson have joined the list of performers at the Grammy Awards, which take place in Los Angeles on Jan. 26. They join the roster of already announced performers: Aerosmith, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Demi Lovato, and a duet from

Depeche Mode, the Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, The Notorious B.I.G. and T.Rex are the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2020 inductees, the organization announced this morning. Receiving the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which is essentially for non-performing professionals, are longtime Bruce Springsteen manager and former music critic Jon Landau and veteran Eagles

January 14, 2020 3:50PM PT Run-DMC will perform with Aerosmith at the Grammy Awards on January 26, a source close to the situation tells Variety. The duo are not expected to perform with the Boston group for their entire set — which makes it seem likely that the band will perform a career-spanning medley, as