Music

The 1970s — synonymous with great female singer-songwriters and the precursor to Eurodance – represent everything Bebe Rexha had envisioned herself proclaiming to the world with her third and self-titled studio album that arrives today via Warner Records. “It’s about feeling empowered even while feeling uncertain — of change, growing up, self-reflecting,” Rexha tells Variety.

What’s 420 divided by 90? While you ponder that, take in the news that, on the eve of Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday, he and Billy Strings have released their own birthday present to the world — a surprise collaboration called “California Sober,” which, as you might be able to guess from the title, celebrates weed

Some of the most high-profile copyright infringement cases happen in the music industry, where the accusation of plagiarism is as nebulous as a concept can get. It happens sometimes by accident — an “unconscious borrowing” — and other times it’s on purpose, deemed a “musical homage.” Ed Sheeran has been at the center of the

The trial settling the case of whether Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” plagiarized the Marvin Gaye hit “Let’s Get It On” will never likely slip into concert mode, but it came about as close as it’s likely to during the pop star’s testimony on Thursday, when he picked up a guitar and briefly sang for

Kari Krome, a songwriter for the 1970s all-female rock band the Runaways, has filed a lawsuit against the group’s late manager, Kim Fowley, and longtime KROQ DJ and nightclub owner Rodney Bingenheimer, alleging that both of them sexually assaulted when she was a minor. The suit was first reported by Rolling Stone. “Plaintiff, Kari Krome [legal

Less than a month after parting ways with Warner Music, Brazilian superstar singer Anitta has signed with Republic Records in partnership with Universal Music Latin Entertainment, the companies officially announced today. Variety broke the news of the deal last week. (Photo IDs below.) About the signing, Anitta shared, “After being in this business for many years, I wanted to find partners

In the four days since announcing U2’s first dates for a limited engagement at the massive new Sphere in Las Vegas, the number of shows has incrementally expanded. The mere five gigs announced on Monday got stretched to a dozen shows as of Wednesday, and now, come Thursday morning, five more were added, to make

Karol G is hitting the road for her first-ever stadium trek across the United States supporting her chart-topping album, “Mañana Será Bonito.” Produced by Live Nation, the six-date tour is set to begin on Aug. 11 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium and will hit Pasadena, Miami, Houston and Dallas with an end date of Sept.

Aubrey “Drake” Graham and Sean “Diddy” Combs have signed on as executive producers of Grammy-nominated rapper French Montana’s documentary “For Khadija,” which is set to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 16. Directed by Mandon Lovett, “For Khadija” follows “the unlikely rise of Moroccan-born, multi-platinum recording artist French Montana, as his single mother

The Academy of Country Music and Dick Clark Productions announced an initial lineup of 15 performers for their upcoming awards show on Prime Video, with a heavy focus on the younger performers who have the lion’s share of nominations going into the May 11 kudocast. Represented in the first list of artist to perform are

Artificial Intelligence dominated the conversation at the inaugural Moving the World with Music conference in Seoul. But K-Pop executives said that copyright law is lagging far behind technologies such as ChatGPT and Midjourney. Supertone, a Korean startup that has financial backing from BTS promoter Hybe Corp., used its platform at MWM to demonstrate voice technology

Australian music legend Colin Hay, who was part of 1980s hitmakers Men At Work (“Down Under”) was Thursday awarded the honorary Ted Albert Award for outstanding services to Australian music at the 2023 APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) Music Awards held in Sydney. The annual awards recognize song-writing, sales and airplay performances. The award, named

In the wake of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing examining on Ticketmaster’s powerful presence in the live-entertainment market, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Mn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.) today introduced legislation intended to improve competition in live event ticketing markets. Without naming the company, the announcement notes that “Today’s primary ticketing market is dominated by one

Following the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its pause on in-person programming, the dance music industry is back and better than ever. Data from the 2023 IMS Business Report demonstrates the resiliency of the global dance music industry, which grew by 34% in 2022 to reach a valuation of $11.3 billion — a

The copyright case in which Ed Sheeran is being sued for allegedly lifting portions of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” for his own “Thinking Out Loud” took on some unexpected drama Wednesday afternoon when the plaintiff, Kathryn Townsend Griffin, collapsed and had to be carried out of court, causing an interruption in otherwise routine

Fugees rapper Pras was found guilty Wednesday of 10 counts related to a multimillion-dollar “clandestine foreign influence campaign scheme” funded by a wealthy Malaysian financier to peddle influence in the United States, according to the Associated Press and other news outlets.  The trial included testimony from witnesses ranging from actor Leonardo DiCaprio to former U.S.

Hollywood is mourning Harry Belafonte, the Calypso singer, award-winning performer and activist, who died on April 25 of congestive heart failure at age 96. The Caribbean-American entertainer is lauded as one of the most versatile recording artists of the 1950s and was one of the first Black leading men in cinema. He also had a

Driven by big releases from Morgan Wallen, Taylor Swift, Tomorrow X Together, Drake and others, Universal Music Group saw its revenues rise 11.5% year over year to $2.71 billion in the first quarter of 2023. But the company’s earnings call on Wednesday was just as newsworthy for the company doubling down on the strong remarks

The guest list for Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday all-star concerts at the Hollywood Bowl has been significantly expanded. Sixteen additional names were announced Wednesday for the already packed two-night lineup, representing a roughly 50% expansion of a bill that was advertised with 30 stars when it first went on sale — and immediately sold out

Jack Harlow’s new album “Jackman,” the follow-up to 2022’s “Come Home the Kids Miss You,” will be arriving on April 28 via Generation Now and Atlantic Records. On Wednesday morning, the album’s release date and name were revealed alongside the album art which sees a shirtless Harlow standing stoic in a residential alleyway. At the time

Michael Huppe is president-CEO of SoundExchange, a non-profit rights- management organization that provides products and services to collect royalties for more than 650,000 artists, labels and publishers. At the National Association of Broadcasters’ (NAB) annual convention in Las Vegas this past week, the organization celebrated 100 years of representing big broadcasters’ interests in Washington, D.C. But for the music community, the moment served as

A copyright trial in a Manhattan federal courtroom pitting Ed Sheeran against the heirs of a co-writer of Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On” saw the pop star taking the stand Tuesday, offering strong retorts to attorneys’ arguments that he had stolen elements of the 1970s hit for his own “Thinking Out Loud.” One

Kelly Clarkson celebrated her 41st birthday Monday night with a ceremonial purge, performing for fans all 14 songs from “Chemistry,” a project he’s been working on for three years that has been described — quite accurately, as it turns out — as putting her feelings about her divorce on the record, in every way. “I

+ Reach Music Publishing has acquired both the master and publishing rights of heavy metal legends and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members Judas Priest’s first two albums, “Rocka Rolla” and “Sad Wings of Destiny,” from Gull Entertainments. According to the announcement, Reach will be working in partnership with Judas Priest on these two

Harry Belafonte, who passed away today at the age of 96, was not only a Tony-, Grammy- and Emmy-winning singer and actor, he was a vitally important activist who brought many top Hollywood actors to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legendary march on Washington in 1963. Below, his longtime friend, EGOT-winning actress, singer and dancer

The Park City Song Summit will return to Utah this September for another installment in its annual mixture of performances and panels, featuring an array of guests from different genres, with those set to speak or sing ranging from Grateful Dead veteran Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. to rising star Joy Oladokun. This year’s festival

In a rich musical career initially defined by the lilting sounds of calypso, over the course of seven decades, Harry Belafonte — the actor, activist, producer and vocalist who died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at the age of 96 — was so much more. The brassy showtunes of Broadway, the finesse of folk and

Tanya Tucker, Juanes, Regina Spektor, Jason Moran, Grandmaster Flash and many more will perform during the 2023 season of Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage, which brings 80 free and benefit shows to Central Park and 12 neighborhood parks across the five boroughs. The full lineup appears below. Neighborhood parks and outdoor spaces hosting SummerStage

Taylor Swift is looking at becoming the first artist to have an exclusive Record Store Day release enter the top 10 of the Billboard 200 album chart when the next results are reported this coming weekend. That’s because nearly all 75,000 domestic copies of her RSD-exclusive double-LP, “Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions,” are believed

Metallica came in strong on this week’s Billboard 200 with a No. 2 bow for the group’s latest album, “72 Seasons,” which came in almost within sight of the chart’s recently indomitable leader, Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time.” Wallen extended his run at No. 1 to seven weeks at a time, and counting,