Five Months After ‘Save Our Stages’ Became Law, Indie Venues Have Received $0 in Federal Relief

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorNearly six months after Congress passed the $16 billion Save Our Stages act into law, less than 100 of the nearly 5,000 struggling independent venues have been approved for relief money, according to a report released Wednesday (June 9) by the Small Business Administration, which distributes the loans — and just “a few” have actually received any funds.This stunning state of affairs stands in bold contrast to the initial PPP and the more recent restaurant relief

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDrake and Live Nation Canada will open History, a new live-entertainment venue in the superstar rapper’s hometown of Toronto, later this year, the company announced Tuesday (June 8).“Some of my most memorable shows were playing smaller rooms like History,” Drake in a statement.  “I wanted to take those memories and what I learned to create an incredible experience for both the artists and the fans.”According to the announcement, the 2,500-capacity venue will “offer

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorYouTube paid out more than $4 billion in royalties to artists, songwriters, and rights-holders, according to a new blog post from the streaming giant’s global head of music Lyor Cohen.While the post was short on detail, Cohen did say that “YouTube has paid over $4 billion to the music industry in the last 12 months alone and has added more paid members in Q1 ’21 than in any other quarter since launch.” He also added that the money was derived from ads and premium

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWilco frontman Jeff Tweedy will be the first performer at Brooklyn Made, a new, 500-capacity music venue opening in the borough’s Bushwick neighborhood this fall.Tweedy will open the club with a special two-night run of shows on September 30 and October 1, followed by Greg Dulli on October 2 and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue on October 4 and 5.  The current full lineup is listed below; tickets for all shows will go on sale at noon on June 11.“This venue is truly

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHayley Kiyoko is officially kicking off Pride Month with a new love song called “Chance” and a self-directed video co-starring actor Alexandra Shipp (“Love, Simon,” “X-Men: Apocalypse”).“‘Chance’ is a song based on those moments when I denied my true feelings for someone out of fear of rejection, and therefore didn’t allow someone to take a chance on me,” Kiyoko says. “I hope this song empowers people to push past their own self-doubt and realize how worthy they are

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Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPop singer-songwriter JoJo dropped her new single “Creature of Habit” in the wee hours of Thursday, The song was written by hitmaker Justin Tranter (Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber) and Sasha Sloan (Camila Cabello, Katy Perry) and produced by Mano (the Weeknd) and Rissi (Lukas Graham, Kygo).“‘Creature of Habit’ is about someone who feels addicted to the habit a relationship, even though they’re not truly happy in it,” JoJo explains in the press materials accompanying

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy-winning singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile and the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) will receive 2021 Clio Music Impact Awards as part of Clio Music’s virtual awards celebration, taking place June 10 at Clios.com. The awards are being presented for the sixth year by Citi.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTaylor Swift will receive the National Music Publishers Association’s Songwriter Icon Award at the organization’s annual meeting on June 9, among other honorees and speakers. Swift’s voluminous accomplishments include 11 Grammy Awards, one of only four artists in history to win three Grammy Album of the Year awards (and the only female ever to have accomplished this historical feat), and 76 NMPA Songwriting Gold & Platinum Awards.

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Jesy Nelson has announced that she has signed a solo record deal with Polydor just five months after quitting Little Mix. In 2011, the singer rose to fame after being put in a girl group by X Factor judge Tulisa, alongside Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Leigh Anne Pinnock and Little Mix was formed.

Jesy Nelson has announced she has signed a solo record deal just five months after quitting Little Mix.The 29 year old stepped away from the chart-topping girl group due to mental health reasons in December 2020. She has now announced via a social media post that she has inked a deal with Polydor Records, the home of Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez and Gary Barlow amongst many others.Taking to Instagram, she posed in front of the record label's logo in a post shared with her 7.9million followers.

Emma Watson couldn’t stay silent amid the building engagement speculation. So, the 31-year-old Harry Potter actress responded to the rumors as fans wondered if she and her boyfriend, businessman Leo Robinton, were headed down the aisle via Twitter on May 17.