Barbie Unveils Awesome Music-Producer Doll ‘to Highlight the Gender Gap in the Industry’

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWhile there was no official announcement, Sony Music is expanding its “Artists Forward” program with the opening of Artist Assistance, a service offering access to free, confidential counseling services to address stress, anxiety, depression, grief, family and relationship issues.Active-roster artists around the world will now be able connect with a dedicated, licensed therapist at no cost. Participation is completely confidential, according to a letter the company

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSplice, the platform for rights-cleared sounds and beats, has established its first Global Music Council, a strategic advisory board of artist entrepreneurs, activists and experts in major music territories. According to the announcement, the advisors were hand-picked to provide diverse perspectives, and an artist’s lens, on expanding access to Splice’s music creation platform around the world.Splice’s Global Music Council will be chaired by Caron Veazey, founder

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPioneering Puerto Rican reggaetón artist Daddy Yankee has signed with WME in all areas. Among many other feats since he first emerged in the 1990s, he recently became the only Latin artist to log over one billion Spotify streams on three tracks, and also has racked up more than 7 billion streams in the last 12 months alone on YouTube — due only in part to “Despacito,” his collaboration with Luis Fonsi.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter more than twenty years of horrifying and damning accusations, as of today R.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTicketing platform Dice has raised up to to $122 million in Series C funding in a round was led by new investor, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with follow on investments from Tony Fadell’s Future Shape, Blisce, French entrepreneur Xavier Niel, Mirabaud Private Equity, Cassius and Evolution.“We believe DICE’s technology has the capacity to transform the future of live entertainment,” said Yanni Pipilis, Managing Partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRoblox and the National Music Publishers’ Association today announced an agreement that “settles any previous claims against Roblox and sets the foundation for future partnerships with global publishers that will unlock new creative and commercial opportunities on its platform,” according to the announcement.In June, a group of music publishers sued Roblox through the NMPA for $200 million-plus, claiming copyright infringement by the company.The agreement settles

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn Thursday, just 15 months after it was formed, the Black Music Action Coalition will host its inaugural Music in Action Awards gala in Los Angeles, honoring musicians, executives, businesses, entrepreneurs, and activists who have made significant contributions to social justice, change, and/or equity over the preceding year.BMAC, which was formed after the transformative yet all-too-familiar events leading up to the Black Lives Matter protests last spring, will

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn a day that has been remarkably good for music companies on stock markets, Warner Music Group — which saw its stock climb thanks in part to Universal Music’s lofty IPO — on Tuesday announced the sale of an aggregate of 2,340,000 shares of the company’s common stock by affiliates of Access Industries to Morgan Stanley & Co. as the sole underwriter in the registered public offering of those shares.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter months of strong words, the National Music Publishers’ Association and livestreaming platform Twitch have announced an agreement to work together “to build productive partnerships between the service and music publishers,” according to the announcement.The deal follows months of animosity toward the Amazon-owned streaming platform, from the NMPA along with other industry trade groups, including the RIAA and the Recording Academy, over what they deemed its

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe 2022 Grammy nominations will be announced on Tuesday, November 23, the Recording Academy announced on Tuesday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBjorn Ulvaeus, co-founder of ABBA and president of CISAC, unveiled a new global initiative called “Credits Due” on Tuesday that is intended to upgrade the music industry’s payment processes.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHipgnosis Songs, founded by Merck Mercuriadis and launched on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, is one of the most disruptive upstarts in recent music industry history, spending more than $2 billion acquiring catalogs of hitmakers ranging from the Chainsmokers to half of Neil Young’s work, with a foundation in lesser-known but high-earning songwriters and producers such as Kanye West/Harry Styles collaborator Jeff Bhasker and Eurythmics cofounder Dave

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorReggaeton star, actor and philanthropist Don Omar has signed a multiyear partnership with Saban Music Group (SMG). The label founded by entertainment giant Haim Saban and headed by CEO Gustavo López is home to such acts as Static and Ben El, Nakkia Gold and Chesca, among others.“I am thrilled to be joining forces with Saban Music Group and being backed by the savvy business and artistic instincts of Haim and Gus,” said Omar.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorApparently concerts, albums, documentaries, writing songs with Mick Jagger, VMA honors and writing books aren’t enough to keep the indefatigable Dave Grohl busy: Now he’s doing a book tour.Later this month and next, Grohl will undertake an extremely limited run of intimate evenings that’ll see (and hear) him bring his first book to life: “The Storyteller –Tales of Life and Music,” which is described as “a collection of memories of a life lived loud,” is out October

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe 2021 All Things Go Music Festival — with headliners Haim, Charli XCX, St Vincent along with Girl in Red, Soccer Mommy and more — have announced their All Things Go Creator Summit, to be held on Friday, October 15th, the day before the actual festival, at Eaton Hotel in Washington, DC. Presented by Pandora and SiriusXM, people can attend the Women in Music and Women in Media panels for free, with RSVP.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPost Malone has revealed the lineup for the third annual Posty Fest, the festival he holds in his home state. Hosted by Kerwin Frost and headlined by Post himself, the Dallas-area festival also includes Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Uzi Vert, Roddy Ricch, Jack Harlow, $uicideboy$, Polo G, Rod Wave, Tyga, Iann Dior, Koe Wetzel, Turnstile, Tyla Yaweh, Flo Milli, Kaash Paige, Kenny Mason, Peach Tree Rascals, RMR, Gatecreeper, Clever, LoveLeo.According to the announcement,

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe estate of David Bowie and Warner Music Group have announced a global partnership that will bring the late artist’s vast recorded-music catalog from 1968 through 2016 under the Warner umbrella.The new deal sees Bowie’s albums from 2000 through 2016, which were originally released via Sony Music, joining his 1968-1999 catalog at Warner.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAn apparent collaboration between rapper Young Thug and Nate Ruess, Jack Antonoff’s erstwhile collaborator in the Grammy-winning group Fun., was teased on Instagram by super-producer Jeff Bhasker on Tuesday.The post includes only photos of the two artists and a comment from Bhasker reading “This is happening.”In the photo, Thug is wearing a necklace that reads “Jeffrey,” which refers to his 2016 mixtape of the same name, although perhaps the photo was chosen by

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLudacris will release the soundtrack to the Netflix series “Karma’s World,” the official companion to the animated kids’ series from the Grammy-winning rapper. The show, produced by Karma’s World Entertainment and 9 Story Media Group.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRepublic Records today formally launched Imperial Music, a new independent music company led by former Astralwerks executive Glenn Mendlinger that soft-launched last year.According to the announcement, the New York-based label is a new division of Republic and signs, develops and markets emerging independent artists and creators, and partners with Ingrooves Music Group for distribution services.