Music

Ed Sheeran and The Game collaborated on a song that will appear on the veteran Compton rapper’s forthcoming album, Game announced at an intimate listening session at Chalice Studios in Hollywood on Thursday night. The British singer-songwriter provides the intro to the album and also performs on a song that may be called “Gems in Los

Police outnumbered protestors at the world premiere of “Leaving Neverland,” a new documentary that examines the child sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson that debuts at the Sundance Film Festival. As press and attendees flooded into the Egyptian Theatre, they walked past two women holding placards that read “Seek Truth.” CREDIT: Variety “I’m here to

Renowned as a record producer and soundtracks guru, T Bone Burnett has been prolific in just about every way, except when it comes to his own albums. But the drought in his own discography is about to end. On April 12, he’ll release his first album of new studio songs in 11 years, “The Invisible

As expected, John Boulos has been named executive VP of promotion for Arista Records, the company announced today. He will oversee all aspects of radio promotion for the recently relaunched label and will build and lead a multi-format national promotion team. He is based in New York and reports to Arista Records CEO David Massey.

UPDATED: Indie publisher Spirit Music Group today announced a recapitalization that sees Jon Singer rising from COO to chairman and the newly formed Lyric Capital Group becoming the company’s sole owner. A rep for the company confirmed that David Renzer, chairman since 2014, will be leaving Spirit. “Spearheaded by seasoned music executive Jon Singer and Spirit’s Ross Cameron with

January 25, 2019 1:45AM PT A lawyer for Chris Brown says he has filed a defamation complaint with the Paris prosecutor against the young woman who accused the singer of rape. Attorney Raphael Chiche tweeted Thursday evening that the “Paris prosecutor has taken in the complaint filed by Chris Brown for slanderous denunciation.” Contacted by

Pink will be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Feb. 5, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced on Thursday. The artist is recognized in the recording category and will receive the 2,656th star on Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the Hollywood & Highland complex. “We are thrilled to honor one of the world’s most

“Bohemian Rhapsody” has been removed as a best original film nominee at this year’s GLAAD Media Awards, following new accusations of sexual assault and misconduct against director Bryan Singer. The media watchdog told Variety exclusively it has pulled the film from contention for the prize, in a weighted decision that takes a stand for sexual

January 24, 2019 2:00PM PT Ed Sheeran has nabbed his second “Diamond” certification for “Shape of You.” The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), known for issuing the gold and silver plaques that hang on many music company walls, designates over 10 million units in sales and streams for the award. The accomplishment makes Sheeran

A recent Goldman Sachs report projected that recorded music would balloon to an $80 billion business in the next 10 years. But walk through the halls of a major label’s urban department these days and you might think we’re already there, especially when you consider the seven-figure deals being offered to artists with “clout.” First,

Two previously unreleased recordings by the late River Phoenix and his band, Aleka’s Attic, will be issued on Valentine’s Day, as part of a single that also includes a new solo track from his sister, Rain Phoenix, in collaboration with a longtime family friend, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. “It’s so hard to believe he’s been gone

Traditionally, when Jonathan Larson’s “Rent” is performed on stage, the production design is minimal, consisting primarily of some scaffolding and a sculptural tree, with a long table, some chairs and a trash can as key set decorations. When approaching Fox’s live broadcast of the musical, production designer Jason Sherwood knew he had to honor that

January 24, 2019 9:15AM PT Sony Music Entertainment today announced that it has entered into a worldwide talent-development partnership with Chris Zarou, manager for Logic, Jon Bellion and others. As part of the agreement they are launching Visionary Records, a new Sony Music imprint “focused on discovering and advancing innovative artistry,” according to the announcement. 

The Recording Academy today announced the next wave of artists to perform on this year’s 61st annual Grammy Awards: Multiple Grammy nominee Brandi Carlile and H.E.R. will both perform, as will past Grammy nominee Miley Cyrus, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers will join Post Malone (following the rapper’s performance with Aerosmith at the MTV Video

January 24, 2019 6:54AM PT Some six years since their last album, “Modern Vampires of the City,” Vampire Weekend has dropped two new songs —  “Harmony Hall” and “2021” — that are the first to come from their forthcoming fourth album, “Father of the Bride,” due this Spring on Columbia Records. Bandleader Ezra Koenig spoke

January 23, 2019 11:45PM PT The collection includes renditions of A-Ha’s “Take On Me,” Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” TLC’s “No Scrubs” and, of course, Toto’s “Africa.” On the heels of Weezer’s mega-successful version of Toto’s “Africa,” the band has surprise-released a full album of covers. “The Teal Album” features renditions of such 80s hits as A-Ha’s “Take On

“Seventeen artists, six days, one incredible album full of new music.” That was the description used by Def Jam Records to introduce the label’s “Rap Camp” concept, which yielded the compilation album “Undisputed” designed to introduce the roster’s slate of hip-hop newcomers. Def Jam is, of course, home to some of the biggest names in rap

Venice, California-based painter Gustavo Zermeno Jr. paid tribute to what would have been Mac Miller’s 27th birthday on January 19 with an 11-feet x 50-feet mural spread across Express Label, a custom printing and graphic design firm on Beverly Blvd., just east of N. Virgil Avenue in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Miller died

Variety has confirmed that Cardi B will be making money moves with her first Las Vegas residency this spring. Coming to KAOS, a new day and nightclub opening at the Palms Casino Resort the first weekend in April, Cardi joins a hip-hop and EDM-heavy lineup that will have G-Eazy, Above and Beyond, Kaskade and Skrillex taking

January 23, 2019 2:58PM PT BlocBoy JB is joining the ranks of performers suing Epic Games for a dance move. In this case, James “BlocBoy JB” Baker filed suit against the “Fortnite” creator for the game’s use of his “shoot” dance, a dance move he created in his music video for “Shoot.” The dance move

January 23, 2019 12:15PM PT Almost a year after top-earning 1980s supermodel Paulina Porizkova announced, via social media, that she and veteran New Wave rock star Ric Ocasek of the Cars had “peacefully” split up a year earlier, following almost three decades of marriage, the erstwhile couple’s Manhattan home, a handsome townhouse on a pretty,

Not to be outdone by Ariana Grande’s impending record news, filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón has announced the track list and release date for his new album, which, coincidentally, is also due Feb. 8. He’s the curator of “Music Inspired by the Film Roma,” which was already teased by a Billie Eilish track, and is now revealed

Downtown Music Publishing has entered into a multi-year publishing administration deal with Faber Music, which represents the musical repertoire from “Cats,” the beloved and long-running Broadway sensation currently being turned into a feature film starring Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, Idris Elba and Judi Dench, among others. The Universal picture, directed by Tom Hooper, recently

As “Bohemian Rhapsody” approaches a landmark $800 million at the global box office, another Queen milestone quietly took place in 2018. With appearances in nationwide campaigns for Amazon, Ram Trucks, Google, Peloton, Silk Almondmilk and many more, Queen’s music was licensed by more blue-chip brands than any other calendar year. And in the first few

January 23, 2019 6:35AM PT Three days after making a widely criticized statement that she was “praying for” R. Kelly, Erykah Badu got into a Twitter spat with Dream Hampton, executive producer of “Surviving R. Kelly,” the Lifetime docuseries that has rallied public outcry against the singer over longstanding sexual-misconduct accusations against him. It all

Kew Media Distribution has sold over 100 hours of programming to buyers in Latin America it announced at the ongoing NATPE programming market in Miami. Pay-TV platform operator DirecTV has bought a package from Kew that includes feature documentaries “Active Measures,” about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, and “Divide and Conquer: The Story

January 22, 2019 7:22PM PT Ariana Grande has provided material for a thousand memes with the release of the tracklist for her fifth studio album, “Thank U, Next.” According to an Instagram post, the tracklist for the upcoming album, to be released February 8, is as follows: ImagineNeedyNASABloodlineFake SmileBad IdeaMake UpGhostinIn My Head7 RingsThank U,

DJ Snake’s bilingual banger, “Taki, Taki,” is the latest reggaeton track to become a bona fide pop hit thanks to an alignment of stars (Selena Gomez, Ozuna and Cardi B) and the guidance of Geffen Records president Neil Jacobson. “There’s somewhat of an inexact science to making collaborative records like this,” says Jacobson, the veteran A&R

January 22, 2019 2:13PM PT Chris Brown has been released from custody in Paris with no charges filed after being detained on rape accusations, a rep for the singer tells Variety, citing an Associated Press report. Brown and two other people, who were not identified but reports said were Brown’s bodyguard and a friend, were

January 22, 2019 11:13AM PT Andrea Ganis has been promoted to the newly created position of president of promotion for Atlantic Records, it was announced today by Atlantic Chairman & COO Julie Greenwald and Chairman & CEO Craig Kallman. In her new role, she will continue to oversee all promotion activities for Atlantic and its