Cumulus Media Names Doug Cohn and Bruce Gilbert to Senior Leadership Roles

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt’s hard to think of a musical genre more difficult to carry off past one’s youth than hardcore punk, which was built to have a short shelf life in almost every way.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJames Blake is one of the most unusual and seemingly contradictory artists to arise in the past decade: an electronic-music auteur whose music is filled of all kinds of odd noises, but he’s also a balladeer with a spine-tingling voice, raised on Laurel Canyon singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.

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 EditorPepsi, the NFL and Roc Nation have assembled a truly memorable lineup of performers for the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPost Malone’s third annual Posty Fest, scheduled to take place over Halloween weekend outside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, has been canceled and moved to 2022.“Due to logistical issues impacting the production of the festival, Posty Fest is rescheduling to 2022. Refunds available at point of purchase.

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 EditorSenators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) today introduced the 
“SOS Extension Act,” which would extend the timeline for using Small Business Administration Shuttered Venue Operators Grants, created by his bipartisan Save Our Stages Act, from the end of 2021 to spring of 2023.The move is largely inspired by the six-month-plus delay between the $16 billion “Save Our Stages” Covid relief act being passed into law in December and independent venues and

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn another big move for Columbia Records’ A&R department, Katie Vinten has been named senior vice president of A&R for the label. The move was announced by Rani Hancock, the new executive VP and head of A&R for the Sony Music-owned label, to whom Vinten will report.“Katie’s consummate understanding of song craft as well as her innate ability to nurture artists and creatives makes her a wonderful addition to the Columbia Records A&R team” stated Hancock.

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 EditorIt’s rare that a new group releases two songs and they’re both great, but that’s the case with the new British duo Wet Leg, who just dropped the second song, “Wet Dream.”The duo — Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers — hail from the Isle of Wight and are signed to indie powerhouse Domino Records, and set the alt world abuzz with their debut single and video “Chaise Longue,” which has racked up 3 million streams and a million video views.Teasdale says “Wet Dream,” the

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Kid Laroi has joined forces with Adam Leber’s Rebel Management, Leber has confirmed to Variety, after just three months with Scooter Braun’s SB Projects. The parting was said to be amicable, according to sources.The 18-year-old Australian rapper-singer’s recent smash “Stay,” a collaboration with longtime SB client Justin Bieber, is one of the year’s top songs and is currently in its sixth week at No.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs part of the Association of Independent Music Publishers’ (AIMP) diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative, the LA Chapter is presenting a free event open to the entire industry entitled, “Leading the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Challenge: Fostering Change,” to be held on September 28, 2021 at 2 p.m. ET/ 11 a.m.

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

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJack White made sure the opening of his Third Man Records Store in London over the weekend was a memorable event, playing a special set for an invite-only audience in the store’s Blue Basement performance space before moving outside and rocking neighbors with a short set on artist Damien Hirst’s nearby balcony.

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 EditorThe Rolling Stones opened the latest leg of their ‘No Filter’ tour in St. Louis on Sunday night, and as expected, the group paid deep tribute to Charlie Watts, their drummer since January of 1963, who passed away last month at the age of 80.The show opened with a video montage of Watts across the years, as an isolated drum track played, sometimes in sync with the video.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s set during the 1979 all-star “No Nukes” concerts at New York’s Madison Square Garden is legendary, but only one song from it had been released — until November of this year, when Sony Music Entertainment’s Premium Content Division in partnership with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release “The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts.”The film features ten never-before released Springsteen performances from the concerts, and

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 EditorJ.