Music

As anyone reading this probably knows, the Grammy Awards, and Recording Academy chairman Neil Portnow in particular, received a firestorm of criticism in the months after this year’s ceremony due to the low female representation in the nominees, the winners and the show — and by extension the industry at large. Fueling the fire was

December 7, 2018 7:37AM PT After failing to appear at a scheduled court hearing on Monday and incurring a warning from the judge, Cardi B showed up in a New York courtroom Friday morning — at the same time she earned five Grammy nominations — for her arraignment over misdemeanor charges against her stemming from

One of the ironies of the 2018 Grammy Awards was that even though it had the most racially diverse list of nominees (although not winners) in the show’s history, female artists were severely under-represented — not to mention in the winners and the show itself. The situation was enflamed by chairman Neil Portnow’s unfortunate post-show

Every year, in the hours after the nominees for the Grammy Awards are announced, howls of outrage can be heard across the globe. “He/She was/They were robbed!” “Who is he/she/they?” “This is BS!” The ranks of the disgruntled are endless. While the winners are a whole other conversation, it’s fair to say that the Grammys’

Ellen DeGeneres has a new place to spin her favorite tunes: The talk-show host/comedian struck a content and promotion deal with Spotify, under which “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and the music-streaming service partnership will promote each other. It’s the first time Spotify is turning over control to a partner to develop a content hub, which

Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Brandi Carlile and hit producer Boi-1Da led the nominees list for the 2019 Grammy Awards, which were announced this morning. Lamar leads with 8, Drake follows with 7, and Carlile and Drake/Cardi B/Jay-Z & Beyonce producer Boi-1Da have six each. While three of those nominees are not surprising, singer-songwriter Carlile is a

Kendrick Lamar led the nominations for the 61st Grammy Awards, with eight nods recognizing his work for the “Black Panther” soundtrack, including the hit song “All The Stars,” with SZA. Drake is right on his tails with seven nominations, and producer Boi-1Da and Americana singer Brandi Carlile are just behind them with six apiece. Cardi B, Lady

December 7, 2018 4:30AM PT [embedded content] The Recording Academy will announce the nominations for the 61st Grammy Awards on Friday morning, two days after the originally scheduled date of Dec. 5 (moved due to memorial services for late President George H.W. Bush). Nominations will be staggered throughout the morning. Select categories will be revealed

One of the nation’s top concert promoters, Louis Messina, will be honored with the CMA Touring Lifetime Achievement Award on Jan. 28, at a CMA Touring Awards ceremony to be held at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works. In making the announcement Thursday, the Country Music Association revealed that the CEO of the Messina Touring Group had received

Pete Shelley, the lead singer of the influential English punk rock band Buzzcocks, has died in Estonia. He was 63. The BBC reported that he died on Thursday of a suspected heart attack. On Thursday, Shelley’s band mates tweeted a statement, saying “Pete’s music has inspired generations of musicians over a career that spanned five

December 6, 2018 9:14AM PT Scooter Braun’s SB Projects has hired Tony Bracy as vice president of marketing and promotions, the company announced today. Bracy arrives from Capitol Records, where he was West Coast regional promotion director and worked hit songs by Katy Perry, Niall Horan, Tori Kelly, Halsey, Migos and Bastille, among others. In his new role, Bracy

Republic Records has promoted Kevin Lipson to executive VP of commerce, streaming, and digital strategy, label EVP/General Manager Jim Roppo announced on Thursday. Previously, Lipson was the company’s SVP of Commerce, a role he held since 2014. He is a 22-year veteran of Universal Music Group, having held senior level management positions at the company’s labels Island, Def Jam, UMe and UMG’s commercial

In the Golden Globes’ film music nominations, Dolly is in and “Mary” is out — at least in this year’s much-watched Best Song category. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association gave all five slots to stars from the pop, country or hip-hop worlds, with Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Annie Lennox and Troye Sivan making

December 6, 2018 7:13AM PT MTV host and veteran radio DJ Matt Pinfield was hospitalized in Los Angeles Wednesday after being hit by a car and suffering major injuries. TMZ was first to report the news, which Pinfield shared on social media. He was crossing the street when he was struck by the car, according to the

Amazon Music today announced the rollout of new voice features that enables listeners to personalize their streaming music experience. Essentially, listeners can have a conversation with the service’s Alexa to find playlists and music for specific moods or occasions, “liking” or rejecting songs, identifying songs by lyrics and more, all through voice. The goal is for

December 6, 2018 12:01AM PT The most popular YouTube music videos this year once again had a distinct español flavor. Eight of the top 10 most-viewed music videos on YouTube worldwide in 2018 were in Spanish — with Puerto Rican singer Ozuna (pictured above) appearing in three of them. The No. 1 music video with 1.45

The Ally Coalition, founded by Bleachers frontman/producer-to-the-stars Jack Antonoff and his sister Rachel, is a not-for-profit organization that, according to its mission statement, aims to “end discrimination against LGBTQ people by highlighting systemic inequality and LGBTQ-serving organizations and creating opportunities for fans and entertainers to advocate for equality.” Its annual benefit concert, held at New York’s historic

December 5, 2018 8:20PM PT Just hours after he postponed the latest in a string of concerts since late October, Justin Timberlake announced that he is pushing back all of his remaining December dates as his bruised vocal cords continue to mend. “Hey guys, I’m sure you have heard that I’ve had to postpone several

December 5, 2018 1:59PM PT Primavera Sound has announced the lineup for its 2019 music festival, to be held from May 30 to June 1 in Barcelona. Future, Janelle Monáe, Nas, and Rosalía are among the headliners for the event, which is boasting a 50/50 gender lineup of both male and female musicians. The three-day

Update: The Estate of Michael Jackson disputes the announcement made by Primary Wave concerning Sly Stone copyrights. The company has issued a statement that reads: “The Sly & The Family Stone’s classic song copyrights are owned by Mijac Music, which is part of the Estate of Michael Jackson, and is administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing,

December 5, 2018 11:55AM PT Jessica Simpson fired back at Natalie Portman after the actress questioned the sexual nature of some of Simpson’s earlier work in the entertainment business. During a USA Today interview about her upcoming pop-star film “Vox Lux,” Portman shared her thoughts on how sexuality often influences the music industry before recalling

BMG is splitting its US repertoire organization into three units, the company announced today. In its new structure BMG’s three key US offices: Los Angeles, Nashville, and New York, will effectively have the same status as countries such as the UK and Germany, reporting directly to worldwide CEO Hartwig Masuch. The company cited its recent

There is one group, and one group only, that should be crusading against the performance of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” in public: vicious maiden aunts. These treacherous protectors of niece-ly chastity have no coalition in 2018, so far as we’ve heard. (Speak up and say your piece if you’re out there, Auntie Lame Society.). So

Justin Timberlake has postponed another show on his “Man of the Woods” tour as his struggle with bruised vocal cords continues. The latest date to be postponed is tonight’s show at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, although as with the other bumped concerts, promoter Live Nation immediately announced a rescheduled date, this one on March 15 at

December 5, 2018 7:33AM PT Brooklyn rapper 2 Milly is suing Epic Games over its alleged misappropriation, use, and sale of his “Milly Rock” dance in its popular battle royale game “Fortnite.” The lawsuit was filed in a California district court on Wednesday. The Milly Rock was featured in a 2014 music video of the

December 5, 2018 6:00AM PT When it comes to performing movie musicals, there’s one thing Emily Blunt and Hugh Jackman agree on: “You’ve got to commit to it so hard,” the “Mary Poppins Returns” and “Greatest Showman” actors said during their chat for Variety‘s Actors on Actors. “I think it’s a very difficult balance between a

R. Kelly’s ex-wife Drea says that she believes a gun threat that caused an evacuation at a New York City screening for Lifetime’s upcoming documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly” was connected to the singer. “I can’t speak to what he would or would not do because I don’t know what his mindset is right now,” she told

December 4, 2018 9:07PM PT If you thought the idea of Bruce Springsteen following his grueling run on Broadway with an E Street Band tour sounded too good to be true, now it’s official: it was. Springsteen — who is set to wrap his show, “Springsteen on Broadway,” on December 15 — took to Twitter

SAG-AFTRA members have ratified a three-year successor deal to the union’s contract with the major record labels with more than 99% support. Ratification voting was completed Tuesday afternoon. The contract is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2018, and expires Dec. 31, 2020. The major record labels covered by the agreement include Warner Bros. Records, Atlantic Recording Corporation,

UPDATED: A New York City screening for Lifetime’s upcoming documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly” was evacuated over a gun threat on Tuesday evening. A Lifetime rep tells Variety the event was evacuated as a precaution after the venue received two anonymous calls. Present at the screening and conversation, held at NeueHouse Madison Square in the Gramercy