Artists, From Ziggy Marley and Mick Jagger to Willie Nelson, Pay Tribute to Toots Hibbert

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBack in February, Billie Eilish dropped “No Time to Die,” the theme song from the James Bond film of the same name.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTwitch, the livestreaming and gaming platform owned by Amazon, now offers users a way to avoid avoid copyright takedowns when using music, although it has not yet licensed by major labels.The platform on Wednesday announced the beta launch of Soundtrack by Twitch, a music-streaming service within the platform that includes more than a million songs by independent artists that users can employ in their livestreams, legally and free of charge, with all rights cleared.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPrimary Wave Music Publishing and Lava Media have announced a new business relationship that sees Primary Wave making an investment in the Lava Media businesses, including the “Lava Music” and “Lava for Good” podcasts, and providing marketing and branding support for the podcasts as well as access to Primary Wave’s roster of artists and writers.In addition, Lava will work closely with Primary Wave on new publishing signings and catalog acquisitions and will

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLast week, Universal Music Group and its Task Force for Meaningful Change (in partnership with UMG’s °1824 and Diversity & Inclusion teams, Def Jam Forward, Interscope/Geffen/A&M and Republic Record’s Action Committee), launched a series of special programs and discussions in celebration of this year’s Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference.The events are free and open to the public.

As the November election draws closer, Willie Nelson debuted an animated music video for his single “Vote ‘Em Out” to encourage his fans to unseat those currently in power with their ballot. The country singer debuted the animated music video on Friday, which shows people pulling levers, filling out ballots and rebuking politicians as he croons lyrics convincing those listening to get out there and vote.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWhen you love something — a person, a dessert, a hat, or in this case, an album — you tend to want more of it. Usually, in the case of albums, there are some leftover songs that are not-quite-as-good as the ones that made the cut, and occasionally there are great ones.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorUTA announced that Samantha Kirby Yoh has been named co-head of UTA Music, joining David Zedeck in overseeing the company’s worldwide music operations.“Sam and David see eye-to-eye on how to build a great music business and will be strong partners in leading UTA Music,” said UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer. “We have long admired Sam’s success working with unique and powerful artists, and we’re thrilled she has chosen to join us.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorC.J. Strock, formerly of William Morris Endeavor, joins Patrick McAuliff and Phil Egenthal, formerly of Paradigm Talent Agency to form Mint Talent Group, the new company announced early Tuesday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTomorrow — Tuesday, Sept. 22 — is National Voter Registration Day and the HeadCount non-profit organization is leading a coordinated music industry effort involving hundreds of artists, concert venues, and digital platforms.For starters, more than 300 notable musicians will post messages and photos on their social media wearing “VOTE” masks and a call for followers to register to vote or check their voter registration status.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPrimary Wave has acquired a major stake in the music-publishing catalog of the late Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Allee Willis, which includes such timeless hits as Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” and “Boogie Wonderland” among many other songs, the company announced Monday.Also included in the catalog are such songs as “Neutron Dance” by the Pointer Sisters, “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” by the Pet Shop Boys and Dusty Springfield, and “I’ll Be There for

Willie Nelson is reflecting on his past infidelities.

Willie Nelson has a challenging past when it comes to infidelity. In his new book, “Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band,” Nelson, 87, opens up about the ways his cheating affected his ex-wives.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMusic publishing giant Kobalt, whose roster includes Paul McCartney, The Weeknd, Dave Grohl, Childish Gambino and Lorde, responded to sale rumors that broke into the open on Wednesday evening with a wordy “maybe.”“We’ve always had great interest in the company,” a rep for Kobalt said in statement.

Led Zeppelin‘s Robert Plant has shared a story remembering how Willie Nelson would give away free weed from his tour bus.Plant recently toured with the folk legend, and says it was one of the highlights of his career.Speaking on his own podcast Digging Deep, Plant spoke of the tour, saying: “The most cherished moment of my career was staying up for a couple of days. Not going home, just going to the next place.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorToots Hibbert, an influential and veteran Jamaican ska and reggae singer and founder of the band the Maytals, has died. He was 77.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDespite the COVID-19 pandemic, revenues for recorded music actually increased in the U.S. in the first half of 2020, according to the Recording Industry Association of America’s mid-year report.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHipgnosis Songs has acquired Big Deal Music Group and brought board its senior staff, with Kenny MacPherson becoming CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Group and reporting directly to founder and CEO Merck Mercuriadis. He is joined by Co-Presidents Casey Robison and Jamie Cerreta and Executive Vice President Dave Ayers (New York) as well as Senior Vice President Pete Robinson (Nashville) all of whom have signed new five-year contracts, according to the announcement.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTriller, the music-video creation app, has named a dozen top female music industry executives to a new advisory board.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWith the in-person awards ceremony canceled due to the pandemic, iHeartRadio unveiled its Music Award winners over the weekend.Winners include Billie Eilish for Female Artist of the Year and two other awards, Lizzo for Song of the Year (“Truth Hurts”), Jonas Brothers for Best Duo/Group of the Year, Taylor Swift for Album of the Year (“Lover”) and more. The 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards also honored Elton John with the Tour of the Year Award.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDowntown Music Publishing announced the signing of global publishing administration agreements with Wu-Tang Productions and Diggs Family Music, and owners Robert “RZA” Diggs and Mitchell “Divine” Diggs, to represent the iconic hip-hop group’s interest in songs from its back catalog of classic albums, as well as select works co-written or produced by individual Wu-Tang Clan members for solo releases, affiliates and other artists.