Music

Comcast is dropping Fuse, the music cabler owned in part by Jennifer Lopez, raising questions about the independent channel’s future as a linear cable offering. Fuse blasted the cable giant on Sunday for the decision, asserting that it “met Comcast’s financial demands and no other requirements were ever communicated to us.” Comcast said its subscribers were

Norman Gimbel, an Oscar and Grammy-winning composer whose lyrics graced hit songs such as Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly with His Song” and Jim Croce’s “I Got a Name,” died at the age of 91 on December 19 at his longtime home in Montecito, Calif. His death was confirmed by BMI, which paid tribute on

December 28, 2018 1:12PM PT Ariana Grande may be celebrating the run-up to New Year’s Eve with bed rest. One thing is certain: She won’t be spending it on stage at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, where she’d been scheduled to do a one-off show Dec. 29 — highly anticipated since it would have been

New Year’s Eve will be warmer and wetter than last year’s festivities in New York City, but hosts Ryan Seacrest and Jenny McCarthy are prepared for all conditions as they get ready to take center stage in Times Square. ABC’s “Dick Clark’s  New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” airs on Dec. 31 live starting

“Out with the old, in with the new” is a great motto for a new year… and one that those of us who love archival music releases try to pay as little attention to as possible. If you have some gift cards burning a hole in your wallet, now is a good time to circle

As anticipated, a three-day event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the legendary Woodstock Music & Arts Festival will take place August 15-17 at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts on the site of the original event. The venue will produce the event along with Live Nation Concerts and the brand communications agency INVNT. Described

One of several highlights of the 2018 Kennedy Center Honors, which aired on CBS on Dec. 26, was Adam Lambert’s moving tribute to Cher. The “American Idol” alum and current Queen frontman delivered a slowed down version of Cher’s 1998 song “Believe,” which prompted the 72-year-old singer and actress to wipe tears from her eyes

Filmmaker Tyler Perry is set to host a concert tribute to Aretha Franklin that will air as a special next year on CBS. “Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul” will be taped Jan. 13 at the Shrine Auditorium. Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, Alessia Cara, Kelly Clarkson, Common, Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys,

The name Saul Levine might not ring a bell, but anyone who’s driven on the 405 between Wilshire and Santa Monica Blvd. has undoubtedly seen the billboard for his KKGO Go Country 105 radio station, which sits atop the headquarters of Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters, Inc. (named after the local peak where he built his

Madonna has a new public relations team. The singer has signed with Kelly Bush Novak of ID, whose clients include Serena Williams, Alfonso Cuarón, Ben Stiller, Pamela Adlon, Cynthia Erivo, Hannah Gadsby, Ellen Page, Janelle Monáe, and David Oyelowo, among many others. Bush Novak founded ID in 1993 and the company, which has offices in New York

December 22, 2018 1:29PM PT Rihanna has confirmed speculation that she will release a new album in 2019. “But when is the new album dropping Robyn?” an Instagram user asked on a promotional photo for a new shade of lipstick from Rihanna’s Fenty beauty line. “Can we have a release date for that?” “2019,” the

Along with Meek Mill — and, sources tell Variety, Jay-Z — the Reverend Al Sharpton has criticized Travis Scott for his still-unconfirmed decision to perform with Maroon 5 at the Super Bowl in February, saying that such a performance is effectively an endorsement of the NFL’s treatment of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The

Warner/Chappell Music has landed Matthew Ramsey, frontman of the chart-topping country band Old Dominion, for a worldwide publishing deal. Last year, Ramsey was named ASCAP’s Artist-Songwriter of the Year at the org’s annual awards in Nashville. That reflects not just Old Dominion’s successful run of No. 1 country airplay singles — they’ve had five, starting

It’s surprising, considering his bona fides — not to mention the A-list guests on this album — that 21 Savage is not yet a household name. An East Atlanta rapper-producer with a laconically flat-lining baritone voice and a whispery liquidly flow, he’s spent the last three years since his 2015 mixtape “The Slaughter Tape,” dropping

When attorney Jackie Fuchs first appeared on “Jeopardy!” Dec. 14, viewers who recognized her from a past life had to wonder if the producers of the show were off their own game, as it were. Was it possible the trivia masters at “Jeopardy!” didn’t even know the night’s ace player was Jackie Fox, bass player

December 21, 2018 11:56AM PT [embedded content] It’s no secret that Cardi B worked as a stripper before rising to fame via VH1’s “Love & Hip-Hop: New York” and then her multiplatinum career as a rapper, and she shows off some of her moves in the new video for “Money,” which dropped on Friday. While

As 2018 draws to a close, on Friday Universal Music Group Chairman & CEO Lucian Grainge issued a letter to the company’s staff, thanking them for “a historic year.” Read the letter in full below. Dear Colleagues, It is with enormous pride that I can begin my end-of-year letter by reporting that UMG continues to

December 21, 2018 7:52AM PT On Friday morning Sam Smith released “Fire On Fire,” a song he co-wrote with producer/songwriter Steve Mac for the forthcoming adaptation of the classic Richard Adams’ novel, “Watership Down.” The song, which will serve as the theme to the animated mini-series, is a characteristically sweeping Smith ballad, recorded with the BBC Concert Orchestra

UPDATED: Two Beyonce albums of old material briefly leaked onto Spotify and Apple Music late Thursday and were quickly removed, according to multiple news reports. Representatives for Beyoncé, her label Columbia, its parent company Sony Music, Apple Music and Spotify either declined comment or did not immediately respond to Variety’s requests for comment. The two

“Pop/Stars,” the chart-topping single from a fictional band created inside the video game “League of Legends,” is coming to an unrelated rhythm game as a playable level. That bit of video game inception involving VR game “Beat Saber” is just the latest sign that Riot Games’ massively popular “League of Legends” game is housed in

Now that America has come together as one and finally settled that whole “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” thing (we did, didn’t we?), it’s time to spend the remaining days of the Christmas season resolving some other debates. Like, who made the best new holiday music of 2018? Okay, that one’s too easy: Clearly, by popular

December 20, 2018 5:15PM PT Kanye West was among those who attended the show, though he left before the encore, “Sicko Mode.” Travis Scott’s sold out show at the Forum on Wednesday night drew an A-list crowd that included Jay-Z and Beyonce, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, Halsey and members of Migos. The two-hour show,

December 20, 2018 2:55PM PT Public Enemy cofounder Chuck D has joined the Universal Hip Hop Museum’s celebrity board as chairman, director Rocky Bucano and chairman of the board Kurtis Blow announced Thursday. “Chuck D is one of the most intelligent and well-respected MCs in the culture of hip-hop,” Blow said. “The credibility he brings to

December 20, 2018 1:50PM PT Watch the trio’s live recording of the John Lennon and Yoko Ono holiday classic. [embedded content] Vevo has released a special performance of Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson’s cover of “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” featuring Sean Ono Lennon (watch the video above). The holiday classic was originally released by

Neil Young now wants you to keep on rockin’ in the paywall world after a year of offering a free beta version of his Neil Young Archives website while he ramped up the service. But for fans, it’ll be a small price to pay for unlimited access to the voluminous and still-growing library the celebrated

December 20, 2018 11:15AM PT Drake’s “God’s Plan” was the Top Song and Cardi B, Post Malone and Migos had the Top Albums in the RIAA’s Top-Certified Gold & Platinum list of 2018. “God’s Plan” was certified eight-times platinum. Cardi B’s “Invasion of Privacy,” Post Malone’s “Beerbongs & Bentleys” and Migos’ “Culture II” were all

UPDATED: Maroon 5’s long search for a top-name artist to perform with them at the Super Bowl appears to be over: According to a report in TMZ, rapper Travis Scott will perform with the quintet at the big game in Atlanta on Feb. 3. Contacted by Variety, reps for Scott and his management declined to

Warner Music Group Corp. today announced that in 2018 its revenue exceeded $4 billion for the first time in company history during its call for fourth-quarter and full-year financial results for the period ended September 30, 2018. It also noted that streaming revenue is up 20.4% (18.5% in constant currency). “We’ve had another terrific year and

As the year winds down, several artist managers are making moves. Moe Shalizi, who represents Marshmello, has exited Red Light to start his own shop, The Shalizi Group. Forbes reports that the 28-year-old will take with him ten employees as well as artists Jauz, Slushii, Southside, Ookay, Ghastly, Sikdope and Marshmello, who the magazine featured

As the daughter of a music industry lifer, I first noticed the music business was a boys club at a very young age. My father, Charles Chavez, had been in radio for years, and later went into management, representing Pitbull, MAGIC! and Ally Brooke. Over the years, he would introduce me to women executives and