Inside TikTok’s First Year-End Music Report

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBetween the multiple official videos, late-night TV and eye-popping awards-show performances the Weeknd has done around his latest “After Hours” album, we’ll admit we lost the bad-night-in-Las-Vegas plotline after he got decapitated in the “In Your Eyes” clip in the middle of last year. But the story continues, in a way, in the latest official video for “Save Your Tears,” one of the album’s most single-worthy songs.

"In late December, we spent two days (albeit virtually this year) touring Los Angeles to get an inside update on the quickly evolving state of the TV and film industries," MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson wrote in a Tuesday report, entitled "Our Virtual Visit to an Altered Universe." In it, he covered Warner Bros.' 2021 film slate plans, the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic on Hollywood, pressure on content creators and a possible merger of Comcast's NBCUniversal with AT&T's

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAlthough singer-songwriter Jhene Aiko has been around for a minute and was even nominated for three Grammy Awards in 2015, the three nods her critically feted “Chilombo” album received for the upcoming 2021 awards was one of the more pleasant surprises in a year filled with them.Well, anyone looking to get a sense of the Aiko vibe need look no further than the 15-minute medley she posted on Instagram on Sunday, kicking off the new year with a vibe-filled performance

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSuperstar Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi, certainly the funniest multiplatinum musician to emerge from the British Isles since Adele, has announced that he’ll be taking a break from social media in order to focus on his second album.“[It’s] honestly been the most incredible few years and it means the world to have the support of all of you,” he wrote in a typically self-deprecating, humorous and foul-mouthed social media post.

Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year's honors list, which also recognized British performers, politicians, public servants and people outside the limelight who worked to defeat the coronavirus and its devastating impacts.Hamilton, who secured his seventh F1 title last month to equal Michael Schumacher’s record, has said his recent success was partly inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs this unprecedented year finally reaches its close and we look for the silver linings in nine months of lockdown, we think of time with family, time to recharge, time to think… and for some of us, quality time with another family member: music.

President-elect Joe Biden gave a sobering year-end message, particularly about the challenges remaining in the Covid-19 crisis and in the impact of the massive cyberattack on U.S. government agencies.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Band’s classic 1970 album is often considered slightly inferior to its two stone-cold-classic predecessors, the group’s debut “Music From Big Pink” and the self-titled follow-up — but what’s not often stated is that “slightly inferior” to those albums still makes it one of the best albums of the year if not the era.While the group had started to fragment a bit at the time of its recording — largely due to substance abuse — it still contains several of their

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEminem has “surprise-dropped” so many albums in the past couple of years that the arrival of a rumor has basically become the official announcement. And sure enough, days after very detailed rumors broke about the impending release of a follow-up to his most recent surprise-dropped album, “Music to Get Murdered by,” it arrived.

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicUniversal Music Group chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge was one of the first music industry executives to contract COVID-19 this year, entering the hospital shortly after his 60th birthday celebration at the end of February.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony/ATV Music Publishing has signed rising Canadian singer, songwriter and dancer Tate McRae to a worldwide publishing deal.McRae, 17, has scored hits with “Stupid” and “You Broke Me First,” which has racked up more than 500 million streams worldwide and peaked at No. 3 in the U.K.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn a year filled with things we didn’t want to think about, there were few more indulgent escapes than music books.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn an optimistic and from-your-press-release-to-god’s-ears announcement on Wednesday, Lollapalooza Stockholm unveiled the lineup for its 2021 festival, which includes Pearl Jam, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, The Killers, Zara Larsson, Veronica Maggio, DaBaby, Kacey Musgraves, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Doja Cat, Alesso, Lewis Capaldi, Playboy Carti, Jack Harlow and many more.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorVevo’s year-end statistics show that Future and Drake’s “Life is Good” is the most viewed Vevo video of 2020, with 1.3 billion views globally; and J Balvin is the most viewed Vevo artist, with 2.7 billion views worldwide.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Entertainment Africa has appointed Christine Mosha, known as “Seven,” to lead Marketing and Artist Development for the East Africa region.Starting with immediate effect, Mosha will build out the company’s roster of local talent and amplify its international repertoire and existing catalogue across the region from her base in Tanzania.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFoo Fighters founder and frontman Dave Grohl and Grammy-winning producer Greg Kurstin have announced “Hanukkah Sessions,” a series of eight songs written by Jewish artists to be rolled out beginning with the start of the eight-day Festival of Lights at sundown Thursday.The pair announced the series in a social media post late Wednesday night that begins, “Hi, I’m Greg Kurstin and I’m Jewish,” followed by, “And I’m Dave Grohl.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter actor Tiffany Haddish told Variety that she had been invited to host the Grammy Awards Premiere ceremony but turned down the offer after being told that she would have to pay her own way, Recording Academy interim chief Harvey Mason, jr. posted a public apology on social media, and said that he had apologized to her personally as well.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditoriHeartMedia has renewed and extended its relationship with Charlamagne Tha God, co-host of New York’s Power 105’s nationally syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club,” the company announced Tuesday.Under the new five-year agreement, Charlamagne will continue his trademark interview style on the radio show, which airs weekdays from 6-10 a.m.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe song-catalog bonanza of 2020 just hit a peak that is not likely to be topped: Universal Music Publishing Group has acquired Bob Dylan’s entire catalog of songs in a blockbuster agreement encompassing more than 600 copyrights spanning 60 years, ranging from 1962’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” to this year’s “Murder Most Foul.” His catalog was previously administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing.Terms were not disclosed, but a source tells Variety that the deal was