Oak View Group co-founders Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff were among the luminaries on hand to mark Pollstar’s inaugural Impact 50 list recognizing the executives shaping the present and future of the live concert industry. Live Nation president/CEO Michael Rapino was named “Most Impactful” on the list. The event was held on May 16 high
Music
Here is something you’d place a bet on after seeing Janet Jackson’s new Las Vegas residency: She has been putting in a lot of hours on the treadmill. Not that we get to see how well-toned she is or isn’t, since she’s practically overdressed for the occasion, compared to the other superstar divas who come
As far as “Neue Deutsche Härte” bands from Berlin go, Rammstein is the Euro-everyman’s favorite go-to gear-grinding sextet, together with the same membership for 25 years — although their new album, the group’s first in a decade, marks the first time they’ve gotten round to an eponymous album. Taking after a name defined (in German
Back in the pre-television era — and before the advent of rock and roll — show tunes from stage musicals were popular music. And these days, you could almost say the same. From Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings,” which interpolates “My Favorite Things” from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music,” to Lana
May 17, 2019 3:30PM PT Canadian rock group Barenaked Ladies conceived an acoustic version for the show’s last episode. Twelve years after Barenaked Ladies wrote the theme song for “The Big Bang Theory,” the band returned to the megahit series to compose an acoustic version for the final episode. Vocalist/guitarist Ed Robertson penned the new
May 17, 2019 1:45PM PT Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, officially has its own official music video with stars such as Chris Rock, Vince Staples, and Diplo making appearances in the Wild West. The five-minute video, whose cinematography and dialogue compares more to an old-school Western film, starts off in
May 17, 2019 12:48PM PT PledgeMusic, the direct-to-fan marketplace that is headed into administration (the British equivalent of bankruptcy), today posted a note to artists and fans, offering the ability for artists to download their data from the platform. A source tells Variety that more information will be coming once an administrator is named —
UPDATED: Has the cavalry arrived for Woodstock 50? A new financial partner, Oppenheimer & Co., has come on board, although the exact capacity in which they’re involved isn’t entirely clear from the announcement, which describes the company’s involvement as a “financial advisor to complete the financing for the festival.” A source clarified (somewhat) that the
ASCAP came up with a triple bill Thursday night that managed to marry the best of 2019 with the best of 1979. The performing rights organization’s annual Pop Awards ceremony featured stirring three-song performances from Jeff Lynne and Blondie, who were being given lifetime achievement kudos, as well as Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas
Over the course of seven albums and a career that’s lasted twenty years, the National have accrued their fair share of trademark habits. For one, there’s the unmistakable moodiness of the band’s songs—brooding tales of suburban anxieties and the tender nature of love. There’s also the meticulous musicianship each member contributes, together creating a sonic
Sure, DJ Khaled is pop-hop’s most cheerfully optimistic cheerleader. More of a gatherer-party-thrower-influencer than an artist or producer (name one sonic signature beyond yelling his own name), the oversized Miami-by-way-of-New-Orleans personality has invited his famous friends to the brightly lit ball for 10 albums now. That they have all come in droves, willingly, says as
May 17, 2019 7:35AM PT Late last night Bruce Springsteen dropped “There Goes My Miracle,” the second single from his upcoming LP “Western Stars.” Like the first single, “Hello Sunshine,” it’s in the spirit of late-1960s orchestrated pop songs by Glen Campbell, Burt Bacharach and others. Springsteen described the album, which has been finished for
Elton John has all the fame, fortune and awards any artist could wish for. Even so, he still has times when his self-esteem wavers. “I think every artist does [have self-doubt],” the singer told Variety during an exclusive one-on-one interview Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival. “Every creative artist does have doubt and has moments
Madonna has dropped the fourth song from “Madame X,” her forthcoming album, a reggae-flavored duet with Migos’ Quavo called “Future.” The pair previously collaborated on “Champagne Rose,” a song from his solo debut, “Quavo Huncho.” Previous songs released from the album include the Maluma duet “Medellin,” the Swae Lee duet “Crave,” and the ballad “I
In a surprise appearance at the ASCAP Awards in Beverly Hills Thursday night, Julia Roberts introduced Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connor, the 17- and 21-year-old brother and sister team who were being honored with the performing rights organization’s Visionary Award. “Julia Roberts?” said Eilish. “Geesh. The baddest bitch around.” Eilish, obviously one of the youngest
Madonna has gotten the green light to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv on Saturday night (May 18). At 9 p.m. local Tel Aviv time, confirmation came from Noel Curren, Director General of the European Broadcasting Union. Eurovision’s executive supervisor Jon Ola Sand announced on Thursday night that he had “reached an
May 16, 2019 1:35PM PT Lizzo will make her first major televised award show performance at the 2019 Movie & TV Awards on June 17. Along with the fast-rising singer — whose debut album, “Cuz I Love You” was met with rave reviews, including Variety‘s — Dutch DJ and producer Martin Garrix, Macklemore and Patrick
Solvan “Slick” Naim is developing an untitled hip-hop movie musical based on William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” for Netflix. The streaming service announced the project on Thursday, a day before it premieres Naim’s comedy series “It’s Bruno.” Naim stars as the owner of a dog named Bruno in Brooklyn. He also wrote and directed. Naim
Word is starting to snake its way down the celebrity real estate gossip grapevine that Adele is the secret buyer who shelled out $10.65 million to acquire a second home in the same, celebrity-packed Beverly Hills enclave where the mono-monikored pop chanteuse already owns a substantial residence scooped up about three years ago for $9.5
Concert and film producer Blackbird Presents announced today that industry veteran Joe Litvag has joined the company as a partner and president of live entertainment. In this newly created position, Litvag will oversee Blackbird’s full slate of live entertainment projects and will lead the development of new live event ventures for the company, according to
Soundgarden, along with The Chris Cornell Estate, UMe and Artists Den, announced today a series of immersive events and a set of products titled “Soundgarden: Live from the Artists Den.” According to the announcement, the events will feature a “reimagined experience” of the Artists Den’s previous 2013 concert taping of the legendary Seattle band Soundgarden and its late frontman Chris
Even in a pop landscape where half the new artists on the Hot 100 seem to have sprung from reality shows and viral videos, the ascendancy of Carly Rae Jepsen has been an unexpected ride. Going from a folky singer-songwriter hosting open-mic nights to a “Canadian Idol” runner-up and then a presumptive one-hit wonder thanks
May 16, 2019 6:18AM PT Another big-ticket independent animated feature is coming to market in the shape of “Ladybug & Cat Noir Awakening.” Sierra/Affinity has boarded sales and has the project at Cannes. Six-time Grammy-winning producer and composer Harvey Mason Jr. (“Dreamgirls”) is composing the music for the movie project with Jeremy Zag, who directs.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Chairman and CEO Jon Platt announced today that David Ventura and Tim Major will head up the company’s U.K. operations. Ventura is promoted to president & co-managing director and Major to co-managing director, replacing previous managing director Guy Moot (who in January took over Platt’s previous role as CEO of Warner/Chappell Music Publishing). Both
Just a day after Mick Jagger posted a video clip of himself dancing strenuously, the Rolling Stones have announced rescheduled dates for their “No Filter” North American tour, which was postponed after the singer required heart surgery. All of the postponed shows have been rescheduled. The “No Filter” will now kick off — just two
Introducing “a new bunch of moptopped heartthrobs” from “across the pond, the big one with Hawaii in the middle,” Stephen Colbert dressed BTS up as the Beatles — and put himself in Ed Sullivan drag — for a pair of black-and-white segments that lovingly recreated the look of the Fab Four’s history-making appearance on that
Wednesday’s annual gala celebrating the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) served as a poignant moment of transition for the New York stalwart of contemporary performance. As long-time artistic director Joe Melillo, who along with Harvey Lichtenstein transformed BAM into a vanguard of progressive art, prepares to pass the torch to new leadership, gathered patrons and
May 15, 2019 8:59PM PT Rap producer, performer and social-media star DJ Khaled announced Wednesday that he, along with his co-writers and co-producers, have agreed to donate 100% of their future earnings for forthcoming collaboration “Higher” to Nipsey Hussle’s children. Just days before the Los Angeles rapper, born Ermias Davidson Asghedom, was shot on March
Tom Petty’s daughters filed suit against his widow on Wednesday, as a struggle continues for control of the late singer-songwriter’s catalog. Adria Petty and Annakim Violette allege that their father’s wife, Dana York Petty, has deprived them of their rightful role in determining how Petty’s works are released. The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior
UPDATED: The Woodstock 50 festival, scheduled for August 16-18 in Watkins Glen, New York, won a key court decision against financier Dentsu. Citing termination terms outlined in the contract between Woodstock Ventures and Amplifi, a subsidiary of Japanese ad and marketing agency Dentsu, a Supreme Court of the State of New York judge ordered that