Capitol Records Names Ray Alba, Nathan Sheppard Senior VPs of Marketing

A comedian said he felt let down by Will Smith’s Oscars attack after it overshadowed the three awards won by Coda.

Newtown’s Bedford Square is set to become Pride Square.The Inner West Council in NSW is seeking to permanently rename the public square outside Newtown Town Hall in time for WorldPride 2023.Inner West Councillor Mat Howard put forward the amendment which passed unanimously.Howard believes that Bedford Square is an ideal location as it is centrally located just adjacent to Newtown Station and is “right in the middle of businesses that are LGBTQ and/or LGBTQ friendly.”Howard continued, “I know when I first moved to Sydney, Newtown was the first place I came to looking for connection and support. I hope future generations of young LGBTQ+ people will do the same, see Pride Square at the heart of the suburb, and know that this is a community where they can be safe, be valued, and thrive.”Pride Square and the recently announced Rainbow Crossing would join the Rainbow Crossing in Summer Hill.It passed unanimously at the March 8 Council Meeting.  The Newtown Rainbow Crossing and Pride Square would be the fulfilment of a campaign aspiration by Howard.Prior to the 2021 Inner West Council Elections, he told Star Observer,  “I’m committed to delivering an Inner West Pride Centre, creating a rainbow crossing in Newtown, and making sure Council marks IDAHOBIT, Transgender Day of Visibility and Transgender Day of Remembrance.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Infowars host Alex Jones failed to show up and testify under oath at a deposition Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, leading the families' lawyer to call for Jones' arrest if he doesn't appear again Thursday.Jones, whose attorney said he missed the deposition because of an appointment for undisclosed medical conditions, was scheduled to testify Wednesday and Thursday in Austin, Texas, where Infowars is based, in connection with the relatives’ defamation lawsuit against him for saying the 2012 school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, was a hoax.Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis found Jones liable for damages in November.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe global recorded music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by growth in paid subscription streaming, according to IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), the organization that represents the recorded music industry worldwide. Figures released Tuesday in IFPI’s Global Music Report show total revenues for 2021 were $25.9 billion.While the free version of the report does not attach numbers to all of the rankings, they’re pretty fascinating anyway:The top 10 global artists, based on “consumption across all formats and all countries, weighted based on the value of each method of consumption,” are:The top 10 global digital singles were: The top 10 all-format albums were:And, for good measure, the top-selling vinyl titles across the world were:Digging into the data, the report notes that paid subscription streaming revenues increased by 21.9% to $12.3 billion, with 523 million users of paid subscription accounts at the end of 2021.

A 17-year-month old girl who died after being mauled by a dog at home in Merseyside has been named as Bella-Rae Birch.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Entertainment Latin-Iberia has struck a new partnership with WK Records, the record label founded by WK Entertainment CEO-founder Walter Kolm.WKR artists include reggaeton star Alex Rose, Grammy-nominated/ Latin Grammy-winning producer-artist Foreign Teck, singer-songwriter Emilia, Argentine trap artist Seven Kayne, and Colombian artist Cheo Gallego, with more signings to be announced in the coming weeks.WKR is led by CEO and WKE head of music Horacio Rodriguez (who joined last year after 15 years at Universal Music Latin), with a pop and urban division led by WKR GM/co-founder Oscar Guitián, and a regional Mexican division led by producer-composer-executive Alberto De León, who previously held roles at Universal, Capitol Latin, Machete Music and  Fonovisa/Disa. “We have an incredible relationship with the entire WK family,” said Sony Latin-Iberia chairman-CEO Afo Verde.

Ray Romano had one of the funniest moments of the night at the 2022 Critics Choice Awards!

Two family dramas, the feature film Freda and short film You Can Always Come Home, have earned the top prizes at the 39th edition of Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival. Presented in a hybrid format with in-theater and virtual presentations, the 2022 Festival ran from March 4 through tomorrow.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe U.S. recorded-music business continues its upward swing, posting a near-record $15 billion in revenue for 2021, driven by a surge in streaming, solid vinyl and even CD sales, and the inclusion of TikTok music revenue for the first time.In fact, all major formats of music posted growth over the prior year, except digital downloads.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editortoday (March 9). He is based in the Republic Records Los Angeles office.Most recently, Beard  spent a decade at APG, where he rose from intern to senior VP of A&R and brought in Charlie Puth, Alex Benjamin and Pink Sweat$; he also has worked closely with David Guetta, Jason Derulo, Pitbull and Flo Rida, in addition to songwriters such as Amy Allen, Sean Douglas, Madison Love, Salem Ilese, and others. He also worked extensively as a DJ in nightclubs across the U.S., on-air for KIIS-FM and at private events.Goldstein said, “Miles has really set the pace for pop music with an unbelievable winning streak of incredible signings throughout the past decade.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTom March has been named president of Geffen Records in the U.S., the company announced today (March 7). March, who as co-president of Polydor Records made the label one of the top imprints in the U.K., will begin his tenure at Geffen in July.Geffen Records was relaunched by Interscope Geffen A&M chairman & CEO John Janick two years ago as a label within Interscope, and it launched 2021’s breakout star Olivia Rodrigo, who is nominated for seven Grammy Awards.

Ray Quinn recently revealed that he is set to become a dad again, as he and his fiancée Emily Fletcher are expecting their first child together. The former X Factor star, 33, announced the happy news on social media, with him and Emily sharing a stunning video on Instagram where the couple were seen in a theatre. Emily could be seen dressed in a gorgeous white gown as she joins Ray on stage, before they begin dancing together and the camera pans down to Emily's stomach, revealing her blossoming baby bump.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRepublic Records has appointed David Wolter executive vice president of A&R,label  co-president Wendy Goldstein announced today (March 7). He is based in Republic Records’ New York headquarters.Throughout his career,  Wolter has signed or worked closely with artists ranging from Gorillaz to Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers. At Republic, he will oversee upcoming releases for Benee, Greta Van Fleet, Jimmy Fallon and others, in addition to signing new talent.Prior to joining Republic Records, Wolter had been an executive VP of Virgin Records at Capitol Music Group since 2017.