August 22, 2019 12:45PM PT Cara Donatto ankles Atlantic for the Universal Music Group label. Variety has confirmed one of the worst kept secrets in the music business: Cara Donatto is joining Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA) as its new head of publicity. She arrives at the Universal Music Group label from Atlantic Records, where she
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August 22, 2019 12:43PM PT The VMAs will reunite “Sopranos” castmates for the big awards show happening Monday night in Newark, New Jersey — right next door to America’s favorite crime family. Drea De Matteo (who played the mobster girlfriend-turned F.B.I. informant Adriana La Cerva), Jamie-Lynn Sigler (who played Tony Soprano’s precocious daughter Meadow Soprano)
Miley Cyrus took to Twitter Thursday morning to address her recent split from Liam Hemsworth, denying that she had cheated on the actor, and also opened up about past drama in her career. “It is no secret that I was into partying and drugs in my early teens and 20s,” she wrote in a lengthy
August 22, 2019 10:00AM PT Mary J. Blige is attached to executive produce a drama series in development at USA Network, Variety has learned. The project is titled “Philly Reign.” Inspired by the life of Thelma Wright. From suburban housewife to drug queenpin in under five years, the death of Wright’s husband left her two choices:
August 22, 2019 6:59AM PT Hip-hop producer, DJ, label executive and tastemaker Mustard, whose credits include the Grammy-winning “Boo’d Up” by Ella Mai and and “Pure Water” featuring Migos, has made the move to ASCAP, the performing-rights organization announced Thursday. He was previously with BMI. Mustard’s career dates back to 2010 when his work appeared
August 22, 2019 6:26AM PT Taylor Swift performed on ABC’s “Good Morning America” as part of the run-up to the release of her new album “Lover.” The singer played three songs, but she also provided more details about her plan to re-record songs from her past albums. “Something that’s very special to me about this
UPDATED: In a follow-up to an amended complaint filed Friday from attorneys representing Soundgarden, Steve Earle and the estates of Tom Petty and Tupac, Universal Music Group claimed today that three of those four artists did not lose masters in a 2008 fire. The company added that its search for the archives of the one
Celso Piña, the cumbia music legend known as “the rebel of the accordion,” died of a heart attack on Wednesday in his hometown of Monterrey, Mexico. He was 66 years old. “Today is a sad day for La Tuna Group, with deep pain we communicate the unexpected departure of a family member, our friend, and
Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes are performing their hit single “Señorita” live together for the first time at the 2019 Video Music Awards. Cabello received five VMA nominations this year, including Best Collaboration, Best Art Direction, Best Choreography, Best Cinematography and Song of Summer. Mendes received six: Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Art
Her few words echoed around the world within minutes: Asked in a preview of her forthcoming “CBS This Morning” interview whether she might re-record her master recordings from her Big Machine, which are now owned and controlled by her nemesis, Justin Bieber manager Scooter Braun, Taylor Swift said, “Oh yeah.” Asked whether she plans to:
Saying “Baby, I could drive your car” has proven to be a very good strategy for James Corden — never more so than when he put Paul McCartney into the highly sought passenger seat. The primetime special “Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney, Live From Liverpool” is a contender in five Emmy categories this year,
In today’s roundup, “Big Mouth” Season 3 sets an October 4 premiere date and Univison releases a sneak peek of its new music competition show “Reina de la Canción.” DATES “Big Mouth” will return to Netflix with its third season on Oct. 4. The adult animated comedy, created by childhood friends Andrew Goldberg and Nick
August 21, 2019 3:04PM PT The BBC has commissioned a feature length documentary about country music legend Dolly Parton, it announced Wednesday. The documentary, tentatively titled “Dolly’s Country” will air on BBC Two this fall as part of a season of programs dedicated to country music. The broadcaster announced earlier in the day that it
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and civil rights activist Shaun King will receive this year’s Diamond Ball Award at Rihanna’s fifth annual Diamond Ball, which will also feature performances from Pharrell and DJ Khaled. “I can’t imagine a better night than this year’s Clara Lionel Foundation event with Seth Meyers, Pharrell and DJ Khaled,” said
When Taylor Swift let her feelings be known about her former label, Big Machine, ending up in the hands of Scooter Braun, speculation about what little recourse she had in the situation ran rampant: What if she simply re-recorded material from those first six studio albums? Although that was considered a long shot for any
“Power” is entering its final season, but you would never know if you walked by Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on Tuesday night. Starz pulled out all the stops for its ratings powerhouse “Power,” throwing a massive premiere event, complete with a full-length concert at Madison Square Garden from Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and a
UPDATED: On Friday night, three days after news broke that Jay-Z’s company Roc Nation had struck a controversial entertainment-and-social-justice deal with the NFL, a report suddenly emerged that he is in talks to acquire a “significant” stake in an unspecified league team. Jay’s rep declined to comment on the report, the non-denial gave the rumor
Cancer research and treatment center City of Hope today announced the initial lineup of presenters and honorees who will celebrate the song and songwriter at its 15th annual Songs of Hope event. Among the music and entertainment industry VIPs in attendance will be veteran executive and producer Clive Davis, producer Boi-1da (Drake, Kendrick Lamar), award-winning
Warner Records has named Claudia Butzky senior vice president of brand partnerships, strategic marketing & commercial sync licensing, the company announced today. Based in Los Angeles, Butzky will report to Tom Corson, Co-Chairman & COO, Warner Records, and essentially will fill the role vacated by former EVP Lori Feldman, who left the company earlier this
South Korea’s Big Hit Entertainment, home to BTS, revealed its revenues for the first half of 2019 at an event called “Big Hit Corporate Briefing With the Community” held in Seoul today. The company posted record revenues of $166.3 million — just $12 million short of its revenues for all of 2018, according to analysis
Sean Spicer must have been practicing his dance moves since leaving the White House in 2017. The former press secretary will join the cast of “Dancing with the Stars” which will premiere its 28th season Sept. 16. Other bold-faced names to join the cast include actor James Van Der Beek, former Laker Lamar Odom, “The
Just as “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the biopic of late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, wowed moviegoers last year, stage design firm Stufish Entertainment Architects has helped Queen + Adam Lambert’s current U.S. tour deliver a screen spectacular of its own. The tour, which plays New Orleans on Aug. 20 and Atlanta on Aug. 22, touched down at
Mass Appeal and Universal Music Group today announced the launch of Mass Appeal India – a new label dedicated to amplifying India’s burgeoning hip-hop culture on a global scale. The new label’s operations will be based Universal Music India’s headquarters in Mumbai and will function as a multi-channel partnership between the two companies. According to the announcement, Mass Appeal India will sign and
August 20, 2019 1:39PM PT The plague, or Black Death, decimated the European population in medieval times and has returned to ruin Phish concert-goers’ camping plans. The band announced Tuesday that camping and vending will be canceled for their Labor Day weekend performance at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce, Colo. due to concerns of
FX Network’s “American Horror Story” returns for a ninth season next month, and promos for the next chapter of the anticipated series, dubbed ‘AHS 1984,’ have been airing frequently across cable television throughout August. In the short yet effective spot (see below), the Motels’ melancholic, moody “Suddenly Last Summer” plays as aerial footage of an
August 20, 2019 10:58AM PT New York’s PlayStation Theater, a 2,100-capacity venue located in Times Square and operated by Bowery Presents, will close at the end of 2019, a source close to the situation tells Variety. The venue will close with a New Year’s series of shows from the Disco Biscuits. The theater, which is
August 20, 2019 9:37AM PT Yellow Bird U.K. has optioned the screen rights to tell-all book “Spotify Untold” with plans to develop it into a limited series for television. Sven Carlsson and Jonas Leijonhufvud’s novel details the story behind the Swedish start-up which became one of the world’s leading music services and its attempts to
August 20, 2019 9:17AM PT Jojo Siwa and actor JD McCrary will headline the T.J. Martell Foundation’s 10th Annual L.A. Family Day on Oct. 5 at The Grove in Los Angeles. “All That” actor Josh Server will host the event. Doug Cohn, senior vice president of music and talent at Nickelodeon, will receive the Visionary
It’s been a long road to Television Academy acceptance for music supervisors. In 2015, after years of lobbying, music supervisors gained entry to the music branch. In 2017, they got their own category at the Emmys, but weren’t allowed to vote in any other music competition. This year, music supervisors can vote in all seven
Taylor Swift has not given up on the full-length album as an indicator of success as well as art form, and judging from pre-release sales for “Lover,” which comes out Friday, her belief in the ongoing viability of the format is not in vain. “The anticipation of this album is extraordinary, with pre-sales quickly approaching