Music

Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s board of directors announced Thursday that the company will sell two segments of its song catalog in a bid to increase its stock price and pay down debt. The statement, made in a dense 20-page document capably translated into plain English by Billboard, reveals that one package of assets includes 29 catalogs

Offset has announced the title and release date of his sophomore solo album, “Set It Off.” The project, which features Travis Scott, is slated to drop on Oct. 13. Back in April, the Migos rapper revealed to Variety that the album is slated to feature fellow Atlanta rapper Future, Chloe Bailey, Latto and of course his

TikTok and Billboard have launched a new Top 50 songs chart that will track the most consumed singles on the platform in the United States. The inaugural list is led by “SkeeYee” by Sexyy Red — the St. Louis-born rapper whom Drake recently recruited as an opener for a few nights of his “It’s All

Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones, Paul Cook, and the estate of Sid Vicious have signed a new global publishing administration agreement with BMG. The deal includes their portion of the pioneering band’s songwriting catalog; singer John Lydon and original bassist Glen Matlock are not involved in the arrangement. The Pistols barely lasted two years but their influence

Derek Smalls, the legendary bassist with the ultimate heavy metal band, Spinal Tap, has returned with a brutally contemporary new single: “Must Crush Barbie,” which is described as “an excoriating attack on the pink sensation … that advocate of everything pink and fluffy, Barbie.”  The vividly worded announcement continues, “The self-described embodiment of lukewarm water reaches boiling

The Rolling Stones have revealed the full track list of their first full album of original studio material since 2005, “Hackney Diamonds” — and the full list of guests. “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven” features vocals from Lady Gaga and keyboards and piano from Stevie Wonder, “Bite My Head Off” gets some inimitable bass from Paul McCartney, and “Get Close” and

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation is rolling out a new industry screening series to show off a select group of music documentaries and films that feature its inductees as well as fresh talent. The inaugural title launching the series is MGM+’s “San Francisco Sounds: A Place In Time,” a new two-part original

Sean “Puff Daddy/Diddy” Combs’ decision to give artists and songwriters the publishing rights that he owns on songs from his 1990s powerhouse label Bad Boy, confirmed last week, was surprising, to put it mildly, and possibly unprecedented in its scale. At a time when music catalogs are routinely selling for nine figures and awareness of

Ask Taha Othman Ahmad to describe his sound and the answer is “final boss music.” In fact, the 23-year-old Palestinian American artist, better known as Odetari, is just as inspired by The Legend of Zelda as Playboi Carti. His music, which melds pitched-up rap hooks, glitchy trap flare and menacing club beats, captures the climactic

Tinashe is being more candid than ever about her artistic evolution and her controversial collaborations during her time with RCA, the label she left in 2019. In a new interview with the Zach Sang Show, Tinashe was asked whether she thought her singles with disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly and Chris Brown — who has

The 75th anniversary of Atlantic Records is being celebrated by that label and its sister catalog imprint, Rhino Records, with a year-long rollout of 90 vinyl releases and re-releases, covering the gamut from Led Zeppelin to Lizzo and John Coltrane to Coldplay. Most — not all — of the titles are being pressed on clear

Olivia Rodrigo is taking her new album “Guts” on the road for the second tour of her fast-rising career. The trek launches in California in February and stretches across North America for six weeks before moving to Europe, then returns to North America in May before concluding in Rodrigo’s home of Los Angeles on August

Oscar-winner Ben Affleck has never forgotten his Massachusetts roots. The Cambridge-raised actor, who is frequently spotted balancing multiple Dunkin’ iced coffees, is known as a loyal patron to the franchise that originated in Quincy, MA, not too far from his hometown. Affleck’s love for the coffee company has spawned an ongoing partnership with Dunkin’. A

Grammy-winning artist Shakira paid tribute to her decades-long globally successful career with a hits-filled, 10-minute performance for the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday night. Shakira kicked things off with “She Wolf,” incorporating the eye-popping choreography featured in the song’s iconic 2009 music video. She then rapidly transitioned into her and Rauw Alejandro’s “Te Felicito,”

A camera operator has been tasked with filming Taylor Swift for the entire duration of the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. Swift, who sat in the front row beside her publicist Tree Paine and Ice Spice at the event, was seen by Variety on Tuesday night being continuously filmed by a cameraman. No other artist

It’s never the VMAs without drama, real, manufactured or imagined, and the first hour of Tuesday night’s show was no exception. Either before or after her performance with Cardi B of their new single “Bongos,” a clip from MTV’s backstage live feed showed Megan Thee Stallion seeming to argue with Justin Timberlake, who took the

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion delivered the first performance of their latest joint single “Bongos” at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday. The show-stopping performance started with a glimmering entrance from Cardi who dropped down to the stage from atop a diamond ball. The pair of hitmakers were surrounded by a sea

As expected, 19 years after Justin Timberlake left the group and ten since their last performance together, the five members of NSYNC reunited again on Tuesday at the VMAs at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Their return was greeted with no small amount of enthusiasm by the crowd and especially Taylor Swift, who

Pop rock’s “people’s princess” Olivia Rodrigo took the stage at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards fresh off the release of her second studio album “Guts.” Rodrigo performed “Vampire” and “Get Him Back!,” which received its matching music video earlier on Tuesday. She took the stage directly after Lil Wayne’s hits-filled performance, starting with “Vampire”

The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by Nicki Minaj for the second year in a row, kicked off at the Prudential Center in New Jersey on Tuesday evening. Taylor Swift led the nominations with eight, followed by Sza with six nods. Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, Kim Petras, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj and Sam Smith each scored five

The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards are just a few hours away.  Hosted by Nicki Minaj for the second year in a row, the 39th annual VMAs will begin at 8 p.m. ET at New Jersey’s Prudential Center on Sept. 12. The pre-show, hosted by Saweetie, with co-hosts Nessa, Dometi Pongo and Kevin Kenney, will begin at

Calling all Swifties: If you’ve ever wondered if you could get paid to devote your life to Taylor Swift, your moment has arrived. USA Today and the The USA Today Network’s newspaper The Tennessean are seeking a uniquely skilled journalist to fill a new role: Taylor Swift reporter. The outlet released the job posting on

Bad Bunny candidly addressed several of the headlines that have been surrounding his superstardom this year in a new interview with Vanity Fair. Among the numerous topics discussed, the Puerto Rican singer touched on his loss for album of the year at the 2023 Grammys. Bunny’s “Un Verano Sin Ti” broke countless records after its

Several dates for Aerosmith’s farewell tour — billed as the rock band’s final run after more than 50 years together — have been postponed after frontman Steven Tyler sustained an injury that left him with “bleeding” vocal cords during their stop at the UBS Arena on Sept. 9. “I’m heartbroken to say I have received strict

Megan Thee Stallion will no longer be performing at the 2023 Global Citizen Festival due to “unforeseen scheduling conflicts.” Megan was set to appear at the festival on Sept. 23 alongside headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ms. Lauryn Hill, along with Conan Gray, Stray Kids, Jung Kook and many more. A representative for Megan

Brittany Howard, the Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist who rose to fame as a part of Alabama Shakes and as a soloist, has signed with Island Records. The move was announced today by Justin Eshak, Co-CEO of Island Records. Howard has also announced new music coming ahead of select headline dates that start Nov. 6

Steven J. Horowitz has joined Variety as senior music writer, effective immediately. In his new role, he will be a key voice in music reporting and criticism, writing news articles, reviews, commentary, appreciations and cover stories across all of Variety’s platforms. Horowitz joins after two years at TikTok, where he was music editorial lead for North

Range Media Partners has announced that Casey Robison will join the company as the head of its new music publishing division. Robison was most recently executive VP of A&R at Hipgnosis Songs, where he led the company’s pop division, working with songwriters and artists including Monsters & Strangerz (Jordan and Stefan Johnson), John Ryan, Julian

Are Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift feuding? It’s a question that has launched more than a handful of social media conspiracies, but it’s not one Rodrigo is entertaining. Speaking to Rolling Stone, the Grammy winner addressed the alleged feud by saying she does not pay attention to the social media drama. “I don’t have beef

Ahead of next year’s 30th anniversary of the Notorious B.I.G.’s legendary debut album “Ready to Die,” the late rapper’s estate, in collaboration with Budweiser, is dropping the first of two limited editions of the iconic Word Up! magazine — which, of course, is name-dropped in the album’s hit single, “Juicy” — on September 13. The magazine