June 26, 2019 7:16PM PT Two “American Idol” alumni — Gabby Barrett and Alejandro Aranda — as well as viral star Greyson Chance all announced new major label recording contracts this week. Barrett, who finished in third place of the first season of the rebooted ABC version of “Idol,” has joined the roster of Warner
Music
A new sports and entertainment arena is coming to downtown Palm Springs. Today it was announced that the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and Oak View Group (OVG) will partner to build a new state-of-the-art sports and live entertainment venue. Live Nation Entertainment also boards as a strategic partner. The venue’s capacity will seat at
Any thoughts that Madonna’s provocative streak might be taking a time-out in 2019 were put to a halt with her release Wednesday of a new music video for her song “God Control,” which portrays a bloody massacre in a nightclub and is peppered with slogans advocating for gun control. Filmed by director Jonas Åkerlund largely in
The T.J. Martell Foundation for Cancer Research has announced the 44 th Annual New York Honors Gala, to be held on October 15th at Cipriani in New York, will honor Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern, BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill and Atlantic Records EVP and general counsel Michael Kushner (pictured above, left to
As details about a serious 2008 fire that destroyed hundreds of thousands of master recordings owned by Universal Music Group continue to emerge, the company’s SVP of Recording Studios & Archive Management, Pat Kraus, today issued a memo to the staff that Variety has obtained. The memo follows in full: Dear Colleagues, Today, I’m writing
Actor and musician Idris Elba has signed an exclusive, worldwide publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). In addition, UMPG will sub-publish artists signed to Elba’s record label, 7Wallace, which launched in 2015 and is based in London. The accomplished star of such films as “The Wire”, “Luther” and “Beasts of No Nation,” Elba
June 26, 2019 11:11AM PT The Dixie Chicks haven’t exactly made a secret of the fact that they’ve been in the studio working on their first album in 13 years, as photographs have popped up on their social media accounts for months portraying the group at work. But official announcements have not been forthcoming. Now,
Republic Records advances Wendy Goldstein to President of West Coast Creative, label co-founders and chief executives Monte and Avery Lipman announced today. Goldstein has overseen the company’s Santa Monica office since 2017 as EVP of Republic Records. Over the past year, she headed up the label’s efforts for Ariana Grande’s back-to-back No. 1 debuts for the singer’s “Sweetener” and “Thank U, Next” albums, and
June 26, 2019 8:34AM PT Arriving with uncanny timing, a day after Cardi B pleaded not guilty to assault in an ongoing case around an incident at a New York nightclub last August, the rapper has dropped an eye-popping new video for her latest single “Press” that features violence, nudity, multiple murders and, wow, lots
June 26, 2019 6:25AM PT Singer-songwriter-actor Hayley Kiyoko, seen most recently in a cameo in Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” video, has signed an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with Kobalt, the company announced today. The partnership includes publishing administration, creative services and synch for all of her catalogue and future works. Jamie Kinelski,
June 26, 2019 5:54AM PT As Danny Boyle’s Beatles-themed film “Yesterday” gets ready to hit theaters, David Blot, a longtime French proponent of house music, has decided to post his 2011 graphic novel – which has the same title and a similar premise – for free online. Blot’s graphic novel follows John Duval, a French
June 25, 2019 9:35PM PT MTV has announced that comedian, actor and best-selling author Sebastian Maniscalco will host the 2019 “VMAs” live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Monday, Aug. 26. Last year, Maniscalco published his best selling book “Stay Hungry,” followed by a stand up tour of the same name. The
Lawsuits have been filed asking the Universal Music Group to come up with a complete accounting of recordings lost in the 2008 fire on the studio lot that destroyed untold thousands of master recordings, and UMG is unlikely to comply with those requests soon, for any number of practical or legal reasons. But the New
June 25, 2019 5:30PM PT The Korean pop group will be back on the big screen this summer. BTS will be back on the big screen this summer. The Korean pop group announced today that their latest feature film, “Bring the Soul: The Movie,” will have a global release on August 7. It arrives just
Jackson-Morel and Bush are set to return to court on Sept. 9. Cardi B’s next court date is not yet scheduled.
June 25, 2019 5:01PM PT Bette Midler is set to appear at New York’s Pride Main Event this Saturday (June 29) at the Javits Center. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, she’ll perform a song accompanied by composer Marc Shaiman, of “Hairspray” and “Mary Poppins Returns” fame. Her stage time is set for
British singer-songwriter Labrinth (née Timothy Lee McKenzie) has been having one of the biggest years of his nearly decade-long career, from the April release of his collaborative album with L.S.D. (a.k.a. Labrinth Sia & Diplo) to his starring role in the latest campaign for MINI, where he reinterprets Cole Porter’s cowboy classic “Don’t Fence Me
June 25, 2019 1:21PM PT In accordance with the entire schedule for the Grammys being bumped up to avoid a conflict with the Oscars in 2020, a date has been set for the announcement of the nominees later this year: Nov. 20. That’s 17 days ahead of the Dec. 7 date when the previous slate
The Raconteurs came to iHeartRadio’s theater in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood Monday night for a record release party for their first album in a decade, “Help Us Stranger” — and, during a Q&A that came during a performance intermission, faced questions about whether they intend to get back on a more regular studio timetable.
“It’s been a decade since I played to an audience this size,” Lady Gaga said, in one of many look-how-far-I’ve-come moments during this invite-only hometown concert. “I went from playing for 30 people to 300 people to fifteen hundred people,” she continued, adding on even more zeroes before concluding, “and that’s down to one thing:
It’s been a long wait for new music from Alabama Shakes, whose second release, “Sound & Color,” debuted at No. 1 in 2015 and went on to win multiple Grammys and be nominated for album of the year. But while the group itself has been dormant of late, its singer/songwriter, Brittany Howard, has been busy
June 25, 2019 8:58AM PT The two-day event is scheduled for Nov. 15 and 16 at downtown Los Angeles’ Banc Of California Stadium. The second annual Adult Swim Festival is set to take place on Friday, November 15 and Saturday, November 16 at Los Angeles’ Banc Of California Stadium. Music acts on the bill include
With the summer officially under way, it’s time to ponder what stands the best chance of becoming that anthem blasting out of car radios, dominating streaming playlists and capturing earbuds coast-to-coast as the weather heats up. According to Hit Songs Deconstructed’s David Penn, who founded the music data and analytics company in 2011 with his
Rihanna clearly hasn’t spent all her time “day drinking” lately. There was a method behind the madness of seeing her in seemingly carefree mode as she downed shots with Seth Myers last week on late-night TV. She was in full promotion mode — but for the Fenty fashion line, a new designer label she’s launching
James Blake has signed an exclusive global publishing deal with Pulse Music Group. Scott Cutler and Josh Abraham, co-CEOs of Pulse Music Group, and Maria Egan, president and head of creative, announced the signing for future works. Already a Grammy winner earlier this year (for “King’s Dead” with Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Future, from
Yang Hyun-suk last week resigned from his remaining positions at YG Entertainment. The talent agency he co-founded is deeply mired in a series of inter-linked scandals that stretch from drugs to prostitution. Problems started with the band Bigbang and its star Seungri, but now also encompass other YG artists. Hwang Bo-kyung was appointed as the
June 25, 2019 2:35AM PT Michael Jackson’s estate issued a statement Monday in support of the late pop star on the 10th anniversary of his death amid an ongoing battle over his reputation and legacy. The statement described Jackson as a “gifted artist and extraordinary humanitarian” whose continued influence in dance, fashion, music and art
June 24, 2019 7:08PM PT Lady Gaga was all about pride during her SiriusXM show at Harlem’s Apollo Theater Monday night. In between songs, the “Born This Way” pop star gave a rousing speech about the importance of asking people’s pronouns and the necessity of gay pride. She also referenced transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson
June 24, 2019 5:18PM PT A Saturday night performance by Jason Aldean at the Country Stampede Festival in Topeka, Kansas was canceled due to a major lightning storm. According to local news, inclement weather troubled the three-day country music gathering. Rainstorms delayed the concert on multiple occasions, until eventually organizers called off Aldean’s headlining June
Dead & Company’s show Sunday at New York’s Citi Field was their 13th on the band’s current tour, but something was different about this night, which fans started to buzz about as the show went on. John Mayer was playing a unusual guitar — a light brown model that turned out to be Jerry Garcia’s