Music

Britney Spears writes in her new memoir, “The Woman in Me,” that the media fallout ignited by Justin Timberlake‘s 2002 music video for “Cry Me a River” turned her into a “harlot” (via The New York Times). The song, the second single from Timberlake’s solo album debut “Justified,” was reportedly inspired by his relationship and

To put the rather overheated hype around the new Rolling Stones album in superfan-quibbling terms, “Hackney Diamonds” is not their best work since “Some Girls,” released some 45 years ago — but it is their best since “Tattoo You,” which is just three years younger. That the Stones have reached such a peak while grappling with

Just a week after telling fans that she’s funding her own music career on Instagram Live, Megan Thee Stallion has officially settled her prolonged legal battle with her former label 1501 Certified Entertainment. The two entities “mutually reached a confidential settlement to resolve their legal differences,” and will “amicably part ways.” Specifics on the deal

Grupo Frontera — that is frontman Adelaido “Payo” Solís III, Juan Javier Cantú, Julian Peña Jr., Alberto “Beto” Acosta, Carlos Guerrero and Brian Ortega — have had a big year. After releasing their debut record “El Comienzo” earlier this August, Frontera scored their first Latin Grammy nominations — namely in the coveted song of the

Virgin Music Group, the independent-music division of Universal Music Group, has announced the core members of its global leadership team. As part of a global reorganization, Virgin Music Group has integrated Ingrooves’ global platform and marketing technology with Virgin Music. The company has already begun to integrate operations among the teams in 32 countries around

As widely expected, U2 is not going to pack up its stage and go home when the band’s initial 25 dates at Sphere in Las Vegas wrap up Dec. 16. The band has announced an extension that will add 11 shows in January and February of 2024, bringing the total number of concerts at the

For the past dozen years, British singer-songwriter James Blake has been one of music’s most influential and compelling outliers: a classically trained pianist with an equal love disruptive beats and electronic noise; a heart-rending singer whose high, reedy voice can ace a Joni Mitchell song and light up hip-hop hits by Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar,

When Variety Intelligence Platform (VIP+) teamed up with UTA IQ, the research, analytics and insights division of the UTA talent agency to conduct a consumer survey in August to understand the market forces driving the explosion in the live-music industry, they learned a lot more was at play than just the success of Taylor Swift

The City of Hope organization held its annual Spirit of Life gala in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, honoring legendary music executive Lyor Cohen and featuring a rich assortment of performances as part of DJ Cassidy’s “Pass the Mic Live!” Industry executives, hip-hop veterans and featured performers descended on West Hollywood’s Pacific Design Center on

Late on a July evening in the Faroe Islands — a small enclave of around 50,000 people located in the North Atlantic between England, Iceland and Norway — the G! Fest, one of Europe’s more unusual music festivals, is well underway. The three-day event’s lineup consists primarily of Faroese and Scandinavian acts, but there are a few

Mexican pop singer Danna Paola and Colombian singer Sebastián Yatra, along with actresses Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega, will be hosting the 24th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in Spain later this November. After winning big for his 2022 LP “Dharma” at last year‘s awards, Yatra is once again up for a Latin Grammy, this time

Singer-songwriter Dwight Twilley, known for such power pop hits as “I’m on Fire” and “Girls,” has died. He was 72. His wife Jan confirmed a statement from Tulsa’s Church Studio, where Twilley recorded several songs including “I’m on Fire,” which read, “He peacefully departed this world, surrounded by the love of his life, Jan, and

Taylor Swift has released “The Cruelest Summer,” featuring a live version of her hit song “Cruel Summer” from the Eras Tour, along with a new remix by LP Giobbi. Following the release of “Cruel Summer (Live from Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour),” the singer-songwriter wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday, “What a truly mind

Three major music publishers, Universal, Concord and ABKCO, filed a complaint against the new AI company Anthropic for copyright violations, according to legal documents obtained Wednesday by Variety. The legal issues stem from Anthropic’s series of AI models referred to as Claude, and is the latest move in the music industry’s efforts to stave off

Bruce Springsteen may not have gone to college, but he is getting a building named after him at Monmouth University in West Long Branch near his longtime home in New Jersey, the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music announced at a special ceremony on Wednesday morning. Springsteen has a long history with the

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Questlove spends most of his waking (and sometimes sleeping) hours of his life at the Greenwich Village’s famed Electric Lady Studios. So it makes sense that he chose the psychedelic lair, with curved walls,

Between this spring’s Roots Picnic in Philadelphia and September’s Global Citizen event in Manhattan, Lauryn Hill has been in a celebratory mood. Along with playing the finest moments of her genre-jumbling, 20-million-selling “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” (still her only solo studio album), the singer has thrilled audiences with a rare joviality, powerful displays of

Chrissy Metz is not just a hard worker — she’s a fast worker. So fast that after co-writing her children’s book, “When I Talk to God, I Talk About You,” she got right to work on the companion album, “Prayed for This Day.” The album is Grammy-eligible and co-written by Bradley Collins. “I don’t think

Universal Music Group and BandLab Technologies have announced plans for a strategic relationship concentrated on protecting artists’ rights in the age of AI. “Centered on empowering the next generation of artists, including within BandLab’s global community, the alliance will advance the companies’ shared commitment to ethical use of AI and the protection of artist and

Madonna addressed the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas at her third Celebration Tour date in London on Tuesday night, asking the audience, “What the fuck is going on in the world?” According to The Guardian, the Queen of Pop took a moment during the concert to make a lengthy statement about the war, calling

Carla Bley, an influential jazz composer and pianist, died in her home in Willow, N.Y. due to complications from brain cancer. She was 87. Bley’s partner of over 30 years, bassist Steve Swallow, confirmed the news to The New York Times. A pioneer of the free jazz movement, Bley led a big band with New

The making of the Rolling Stones‘ forthcoming album, “Hackney Diamonds,” is explored in a new one-hour TV documentary, “The Stones: Still Rolling,” produced by Fulwell 73 and Mercury Studios. Mercury is looking to sell the project at Mipcom, taking place this week in Cannes. The TV doc is described as “a rare glimpse of the

Ghanaian-American singer-songwriter Amaarae has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Concord Music Publishing in partnership with rights management company Immensum Music. The deal encompasses her full catalog and all future works, including her 2023 album “Fountain Baby,” which Variety listed as one of the best albums of the year so far. The record blends R&B,

Of all the fallen stars of the rock era, Sly Stone is definitely in the top 5 who seemed least likely to be writing an autobiography at 80 years old. As the founder and guiding light of Sly and the Family Stone, he was one of the most brilliant stars of the Sixties, a charismatic

ESPN’s Custom NBA Music Strategy has partnered with Mike Will Made It to serve as its first-ever lead producer to curate music for the 2023-2024 NBA season. Along with collaboration, Mike Will and Ear Drummers/Giant Music have released “Different Breed” alongside Swae Lee and Latto. The basketball-themed single, which will be the first of many

Britney Spears says she had an abortion during her relationship with Justin Timberlake. Spears makes the revelation in her upcoming book, “The Woman In Me.” This week, Spears appears on the cover of People magazine, which published the first excerpts from the book. “Justin definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy. He said we weren’t ready

John Legend is lending his voice to “We Dare to Dream,” a documentary about the refugee Olympic team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Legend will write, compose and record “Don’t Need to Sleep,” an original song for the docu, which will open theatrically Oct. 20 at New York’s IFC Center. Legend as well as

As if there wasn’t already enough drama and confusion around AI and the music industry, the shadowy musician Ghostwriter’s song “Heart on My Sleeve” — which used generative AI to create fake verses that sound uncannily like Drake and the Weeknd — has spawned no small amount of confusion regarding the Grammys. First, it seemed

Graham Nash — member of the Hollies and Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Grammy winner, two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and two-time Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee — has entered into an agreement with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group that will see the company acquiring, developing, and expanding his musical legacy. The deal encompasses

The 2023 Latin Grammy Awards are taking place on Nov. 16 live from Sevilla, Spain with performances from breakthrough artists Maria Becerra, Bizarrap and Feid, along with singer-songwriters Kany García, Carin León, Christian Nodal, Rauw Alejandro and Alejandro Sanz. Feid has five nominations, including best reggaeton performance, best rap/hip-hop song and best urban music album