Music

Brian Kelley, half of the country duo Florida Georgia Line, has signed on as a producer for “May We All,” a jukebox musical that will incorporate country hits by fellow stars of the genre like Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and Dolly Parton as well as FGL’s own music. “May We All” is slated

October 16, 2019 8:00AM PT The Spice Girls have returned to their longtime agency after a four-month sojourn to UTA. Creative Artists Agency (CAA) today announced the re-signing of the group for representation in all areas worldwide. This spring, four original members — Emma Bunton (Baby), Geri Horner (Ginger), Melanie Brown (Scary) and Melanie Chisholm (Sporty),

October 16, 2019 7:44AM PT “Wow! This is a lot of people in a tiny office!” Taylor Swift said as she walked into her NPR “Tiny Desk Concert,” which was released today. One of several intimate sets she’s performed around the release of her latest album, “Lover,” she called the NPR series “one of my

Future Classic and Paradigm agent Tom Windish today announce the formation of a new record label: Wilder, a singles oriented joint-venture set on creating a release pipeline for emerging young artists and bands. Wilder — named after Windish’s newborn son — launches today with the re-release of ”Applesauce” the first single from 19-year old Indiana-based

October 16, 2019 6:05AM PT Grammy and Emmy Award winner Harry Connick Jr will be honored with at star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next week. The ceremony will take place on the morning of Oct. 24. “When choosing a star location, we try to incorporate ties to the honoree and this one turned

Atlantic UK president Ben Cook announced today that he is stepping down from his post due to an “offensive” appearance as a member of Run-DMC at a birthday party seven years ago. Parlophone co-president Mark Mitchell will take on the leadership of the label on an interim basis. “It is with great sadness that today

The fast-rising Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited continues its aggressive growth surge, acquiring a catalog from songwriter-producer-artist Timbaland that comprises 108 albums and songs. Timbaland is one of the most successful songwriter-producers in the hip-hop/R&B realm: The catalog includes hits by Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliott, Aaliyah, Jay-Z, Nelly Furtado, 50 Cent, Madonna, 2Pac, Rihanna, Drake and

October 15, 2019 8:47PM PT SAG-AFTRA’s national board has approved unanimously an agreement with major record labels on a three-year successor contract to their music video agreement. The new agreement is effective retroactively from May 1, 2019, through April 30, 2022. The major labels party to the agreement are Warner Records, Atlantic Records, Sony Music

Phillip Kovac, a veteran concert promoter, transportation executive and music manager, died in Los Angeles following a battle with PSP, a rare form of Parkinson’s. He was 65. The brother of longtime Motley Crue manager and Eleven Seven Music Group CEO Allen Kovac, Phillip was laid to rest at his home in Houston Texas on

The “culture-clash musical” is a familiar template, in which a white American protagonist — waving the flag of individuality, optimism and freedom — trumps and tramps over the complexities of that which is foreign, challenging or “other.” David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori’s “Soft Power,” the new “play with a musical” at Off Broadway’s Public

If nothing else was established by Brandi Carlile’s live recreation of Joni Mitchell’s 1971 “Blue” album — and plenty else was — it was that the 38-year-old singer has nerves even steelier than her vocal cords are pliable. Mitchell is as impossible to emulate as a ridiculously tricky singer, songwriter and picker as they come, which

Singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright has signed a new global recordings agreement with BMG to release his upcoming studio album. The still-untitled album, Wainwright’s ninth of original material and first since 2012, is described in the announcement as “a return to form and his most accessible album to date.” To that end, it is “the bookend” to

New York Times bestselling author Holly George-Warren had an intimate discussion with moderator Scott Goldman at the Grammy Museum on Monday, discussing her new book “Janis: Her Life and Music,” which was followed by a special performance by the singer Pearl. The book was released in October, preceding likely interest in a film adaptation of

“Jagged Little Pill” wasn’t originally written with Broadway in mind — but the songs on Alanis Morissette’s smash-hit 1995 album do exactly what good musical theater songs should do, according to the upcoming show’s creators and producers. Listen to this week’s podcast below: The team explained why on Variety‘s theater podcast, “Stagecraft,” in an episode

Volkswagen has a long history of introducing obscure and previously overlooked music to mass audiences through its commercials, having single-handedly revived the posthumous catalog of Nick Drake and post-breakup career of German group Trio in the late ‘90s. But for its latest pair of campaigns, the first under new U.S. ad agency Johannes Leonardo, the

Tyga has signed with Columbia Records. The rapper, whose hits include “Taste” featuring Offset, “Dip” featuring Nicki Minaj and YG’s “Go Loko,” released his seventh studio album, “Legendary,” in June via EMPIRE Records. Joining the Sony Music label was a decision made with a global view, Tyga tells Variety. “They definitely understand the global brand,”

California’s Stagecoach Festival has named Carrie Underwood, Eric Church and Thomas Rhett as the three nightly headliners for its 2020 edition, set to take place in Indio April 24-26, 2020.  Lil Nas X, Dan + Shay, Morgan Wallen, Jon Pardi and Midland are among the next-generation breakouts filling out the vast bill. Underwood and Church

People’s hall, or elitists’ hall? It’s hard for any institution to be both, and with this year’s nominations, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is making a stand: Rock is a populist artform, not a medium for critics’ favorites alone. Because “elite” is as dirty a word with most rock fans as it is

Nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 were announced Tuesday morning: The lineup comprises Pat Benatar, Depeche Mode, the Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Judas Priest, Kraftwerk, Dave Matthews Band, MC5, Motorhead, Nine Inch Nails, the Notorious B.I.G., Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Todd Rundgren, Soundgarden, T. Rex and Thin Lizzy. The

Concerts, promotional operations and press events across South Korea were canceled Tuesday following the unexpected death of prominent singer-actress Sulli. Sulli, whose real name was Choi Jin-ri, was found dead at her home near Seoul on Monday. Her manager said that Sulli, 25, formerly part of girl group f(x), had recently suffered from depression. While

Halsey, Rosalía, Becky G, Akon, Ava Max, and Mabel are the first artists announced as performers at the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards, the global music show which will air live from Spain on Nov. 3. Pop star Halsey returns to the EMA stage with three nods for Best Collaboration, Best Pop and Best Look.

October 14, 2019 5:19PM PT A sold-out concert by country star Kane Brown scheduled for Friday at Staples Center in Los Angeles has been postponed until January, due to the death of the singer’s drummer, Kenny Dixon, in a car accident Saturday in Tennessee. Brown was scheduled to perform Friday at the first of several

Pharrell Williams talks about a wide variety of topics in his new cover interview with GQ, particularly his definition of masculinity and what it does and doesn’t (and should and shouldn’t) mean in the charged atmosphere of 2019. As part of that, he actually raises the subject of “Blurred Lines,” his 2013 collaboration with Robin

October 14, 2019 2:09PM PT Kane Brown and his fans are mourning the death of the country star’s drummer, Kenny Dixon, in an automobile accident in Tennessee Saturday. “I’m gonna miss you so much man. I’d always come back and jam out with u,” Brown tweeted on Sunday, posting a photo of himself standing on

George “Pops” Chambers, singer and bassist for the Chambers Brothers, best known for the 1968 hit “Time Has Come Today,” died Saturday at 88. “The best big brother you could ever have,” Willie Chambers wrote on his Facebook page Sunday night. “I am so sad, and at the same time, I’m so glad to have

The music industry is entering a time of financial prosperity thanks to the widespread use of streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal. According to a recent report by Musicwatch, 77% of all internet users in the U.S. stream music, while Goldman Sachs projects a revenue pot of $34 billion by 2030. Finally, the

Today, Insomniac Events announced the lineup for the fourth edition of Florida’s Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival. The four-day event will return to Sunshine Grove in Okeechobee, Florida March 5-8, 2020 with a multi-genre lineup led by Vampire Weekend, Mumford & Sons, Rufus du Sol and Bassnectar, along with over 100 other artists across a

Korean pop star Sulli was found dead at her home near Seoul on Monday. She was 25. Her manager found her body and alerted the police. The manager reported that the star, whose real name was Choi Jin-ri, suffered from depression, and police said that they were working on the assumption that she had died

Bob Geldof and the re-formed Boomtown Rats will talk about their legendary punk band in a new feature doc, “Boomtown.” It is one of the first two films from a new music producer-distributor that has been formed by Beyond Entertainment and TNC Media – BeyondTNC. BeyondTNC will be launching “Boomtown” to international buyers in Cannes,

October 12, 2019 1:39PM PT Zedd has been “permanently banned” from China after the German DJ liked a tweet from the “South Park” Twitter account. Zedd, whose real name is Anton Zaslavski, announced the news via his own Twitter account: “I just got permanently banned from China because I liked a @SouthPark tweet,” he wrote.