February 7, 2019 8:33AM PT In a discouraging sign for the future of PledgeMusic, the financially challenged direct-to-fan platform advised artists to “suspend” their campaigns via an email, which was obtained by Variety late Wednesday. Representatives for five artists who have worked with the company in recent months confirmed they had received the email; one
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During her Wednesday concert in Los Angeles, singer Camila Cabello paid tribute to Black Lives Matter and the March For Our Lives campaign for gun control. She performed her song “Something’s Gotta Give” off her debut album, 2018’s “Camila.” While she sang, the big screen behind her showed footage of Black Lives Matter and March
American singer Pink is set to become the first international star to receive the Brit Awards’ special prize for outstanding contribution to music. The star, whose real name is Alecia Moore, will be presented with the honor at this year’s Brit Awards ceremony on Feb. 20 at London’s O2 Arena. The news comes just days
Dave Matthews and Kacey Musgraves were among those feting Willie Nelson — Matthews in song, Musgraves in a speech — at the first official pre-Grammy event of the week Wednesday night. The occasion was the 12th annual gathering of the Recording Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing, where Nelson was accepting a lifetime achievement honor in a
Guy Webster, whose photographs adorned album covers and billboards for acts like The Rolling Stones, The Mamas and The Papas, The Beach Boys, The Doors and Simon & Garfunkel, has died, his daughter Sarah Webster confirmed to Variety. He was 79. According to Harvey Kubernik, Webster’s biographer, he had been suffering from diabetes and liver
Brandi Carlile, the most nominated female artist at the Grammys this year, is more known for her own records than her occasional moonlighting as a producer. But in the midst of all her recent pre-Grammy activities, she found time to co-produce an album for one of the biggest country stars of the 1970s and ‘80s,
In the run-up to Sunday’s Grammy Awards, one of this year’s most high-profile nominees made a stop in a much smaller space than the Staples Center — the adjacent Grammy Museum’s 200-seat Clive Davis Theatre — for “An Evening With Kacey Musgraves.” Her intimate benefit for the museum included a set of songs from her “Golden
February 6, 2019 3:06PM PT Heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne was hospitalized at the Keck Hospital of University of Southern California on Feb. 4 for complications from a bad case of the flu. His wife Sharon Osbourne tweeted an update to concerned fans on Wednesday afternoon, saying “his doctors feel this is the best way
February 6, 2019 1:06PM PT A lot more people will be humming “Walk This Way” as they walk the Hollywood Walk of Fame now. Aerosmith has just been announced as next in line to get a star on Hollywood Blvd. Honors are set for Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day — in front of an appropriate
Sheryl Crow’s winding road has brought her back to Nashville, for her new label home as well as her actual place of residence. She’s signed a deal with the Big Machine Label Group, Variety has learned. An official announcement is due shortly. The first release under the agreement will be a project Crow has been working
February 6, 2019 12:25PM PT Shawn Mendes has partnered with SmileDirectClub on a new initiative to spread positivity and benefit organizations, brands and causes that resonate with him personally. Its message: that confidence is gained with “an amazing smile.” The collaboration will launch officially with a TV spot that’s set to air during Sunday night’s Grammy
Variety and Louis XIII cognac teamed up with LVRN and Interscope Records to honor singer and Grammy nominee 6lack at an invite-only dinner on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. 6lack is up for rap/sung performance for “Pretty Little Fears,” featuring J. Cole, off his album “East Atlanta Love Letter.” It’s his third nomination in a span
Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group has announced its acquisition of the Works Entertainment, the creative and production company behind shows like the live magic franchise “The Illusionists.” This deal is the third acquisition for the group in about three years, says president and CEO Daniel Lamarre. It acquired Blue Man Group in 2017 and VStar
February 6, 2019 11:41AM PT Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier addressed the attack on “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett on Wednesday. “He’s an important and so talented member of the Fox family and our heart goes out to him,” Collier said during his executive session at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. Collier said he
February 6, 2019 6:55AM PT Ziggy Chareton has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Head of A&R for Island Records, label president Darcus Beese announced today. Chareton signed one of the label’s biggest artists, Shawn Mendes, in 2014 and has played a key role in the young artist’s success. He will be based in New York and
Ever since the Grammy solo vocal contests merged into co-ed categories in 2012, Chris Stapleton and Carrie Underwood have been king and queen of the country ball. Both have won Best Country Solo Performance twice — Underwood in 2013 and 2015, Stapleton in 2016 and 2018 — but only one of them is nominated in
Shawn Mendes will team up with eBay For Charity to raise funds for Grammy-related philanthropic causes. Starting today, fans will have a chance to bid on Mendes’ VIP meet-and-greets at one of his upcoming concerts, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Grammy Museum and Musicares, the Recording Academy’s philanthropic arm which provides services and
February 5, 2019 9:56PM PT Little monsters have something to look forward at the 2019 Grammys. Lady Gaga will perform for the 61st edition of the annual awards ceremony. A source close to the situation confirmed the news to Variety. Gaga tied for the third-highest number of nominations this year with five, for record of
Due to a disagreement with Grammy producers over which songs she would perform, Ariana Grande, who has been featured on billboards promoting the show all over Los Angeles, not only won’t be performing at the Feb. 10 show, she will not even be attending it, according to sources close to the situation. An insider tells Variety
February 5, 2019 5:30PM PT Capitol Music Group (CMG) has named Emmanuelle Cuny senior vice president of video production. She will oversee the making of music videos and other visual content for CMG artists working across multiple labels. Cuny will be based out of the Capitol Tower in Los Angeles. Cuny arrives from Atlantic Records, where her
The National Music Publishers’ Association, the Nashville Songwriters Association International and the Songwriters of North America today unveiled the board members and endorsements for their Mechanical Licensing Collective submission to the U.S. Copyright Office. Members of the various boards and committees include representatives from most major music publishers and performing-rights organizations, as well as several
February 5, 2019 11:29AM PT Country-rock titans the Zac Brown Band have signed a new global licensing agreement with BMG for their yet-untitled forthcoming studio album, the company announced today. The new album is the group’s first since 2017’s “Welcome Home,” and comes as the band is preparing to kick off the second leg of their successful “Down The Rabbit Hole Live” tour
As Pink is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the singer looks back on her seven studio albums. “Can’t Take Me Home” (2000) “L.A. had the idea for me to work with Kandi Burruss, and I felt privileged to be able to work with Babyface. … A lot of it was
February 5, 2019 10:28AM PT R. Kelly, whose career is reeling from the longstanding sexual-misconduct allegations presented in Lifetime’s harrowing documentary “Surviving R. Kelly,” has announced tour dates nearly as far as geographically possible from the United States: in Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. No dates or venues were listed — simply that the
If you ever wondered how Alecia Moore became Pink, look no further than her backside. That’s right, her rosy butt cheeks inspired the moniker, which came into existence when the singer was known at LaFace Records — home to Toni Braxton, TLC and OutKast — as the “token white girl” (her words). Now, nearly two
February 5, 2019 9:57AM PT Warner Music Group today announced the dates for its move into a new state-of-the-art building in Los Angeles’ downtown Arts District. Warner/Chappell, the company’s music publishing arm, will relocate on February 25. Warner Bros. Records will move on March 18, along with the west coast teams for Atlantic, Elektra, Rhino,
February 5, 2019 8:05AM PT Lauren Schneider has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Strategic Media Relations for Island Records, it was announced today by company president Darcus Beese. According to the announcement, the Island vet will oversee all aspects of media and publicity initiatives on behalf of the company’s artists and executives. She will continue to be based in New York and
February 5, 2019 7:34AM PT In its fiscal first-quarter earnings report, Warner Music Group announced a 15 percent increase in revenue to $1.2 billion in its fiscal first quarter, from $1.045 billion in the same period last year, while also seeing its net income rise to $86 million from $5 million. That feat saw the
Pity not the plight of the remix producer: Despite the fact that most producers hired to rework popular songs don’t share in publishing revenue on compositions they re-imagine, in the Spotify era, a remixed version of a song can sometimes eclipse the original recording, generating millions on the master side. Case in point? Producer Carlos
When the inaugural USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative report was released last year, its findings — that women were sorely underrepresented in recorded music, to the tune of 17% of artists associated with Billboard’s top 100 songs in 2017 — sent a shudder throughout the industry. A year later and following groundswell from the Time’s Up