Issa Rae Unveils New ‘Insecure’ Soundtrack, Featuring Saweetie, TeaMarrr, Thundercat, More (EXCLUSIVE)

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWhy was pioneering hip-hop photographer Ricky Powell important? This exclusive clip from the forthcoming Showtime documentary “The Individualist” — which premieres tonight (Dec. 10) at 8 p.m.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJack White has announced the first dates of his 2022 “Supply Chain Issues” tour, with shows in North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom.The Live Nation-produced tour — which includes White’s first headline shows in four years — will begin with two special “Fear of the Dawn” album release shows on April 8-9, 2022 at Detroit’s Masonic Temple Theatre and continue through August 29 in Kansas City (full list of dates below).Third Man Records Vault Members will have

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWhen the 2022 Grammy nominations were announced late last month, many people were surprised to see ABBA’s first song in nearly 40 years, “I Still Have Faith in You,” as a nominee for Record of the Year.They shouldn’t have been: ABBA are one of the most popular, influential and successful groups in the history of the world.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDef Leppard and lead singer Joe Elliott, Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon and John Taylor, Living Colour, Rob Thomas, Gary Oldman and more are among the artists joining the second annual “A Bowie Celebration,” set for January 8, 2022, what would have been David Bowie’s 75th birthday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAtlantic Records has announced a new artist development partnership and joint venture label deal with Detroit-based independent music company Assemble Sound.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy-nominated singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo — who was honored at Variety’s Hitmakers awards on Saturday — has announced dates for the her 2022 “Sour Tour” in support of her RIAA double-platinum certified debut album, “Sour.”Kicking off April 2 in San Francisco, the tour will visit more than 40 major cities across North America and Europe, including two-night runs at Radio City Music Hall in New York and L.A.’s Greek Theatre before wrapping with two nights at

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSince his career as a hitmaker first took off with Kelly Clarkson’s 2004 smash “Since U Been Gone,” Lukasz Gottwald — a.k.a. Dr. Luke, Tyler Trax and others — has reigned as one of the world’s top hitmakers via songs with Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball,” Katy Perry’s “California Gurls,” Britney Spears’ “Hold It Against Me,” Pink’s “U + Ur Hand” and many more, and his Prescription Songs proves he’s no slouch as a publisher, either.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn this week’s installment of Strictly Business, Variety’s weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment, TaP Music’s Ed Millet and Wendy Ong go deep about the rewards and challenges of managing such prominent and pioneering artists as Lana Del Rey, Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding, Caroline Polacheck, Noah Cyrus and many more.The conversation starts with Millet discussing founding the company in 2010 with his

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt seems barely a day passes without some noises coming from the Foo Fighters camp, and the noise is big today: The newly minted Rock and Roll Hall of Famers have announced 17 more concert dates, adding to shows on the West Coast and South America late this year and next, which will take place at amphitheaters, stadiums and festivals across North America during May, July and August of 2022.The dates include one at New York’s Citi Field stadium and two at the Banc of

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBritain’s Wet Leg, one of the most buzzed-about indie groups to emerge in years via their singles “Chaise Longue” and “Wet Dream,” have dropped two new songs and unveiled the release date for their forthcoming debut album and a big pile of tour dates in the U.S.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIssa Rae has unveiled the soundtrack for the next soundtrack to her Peabody-award-winning HBO series “Insecure,” which features new songs from Saweetie — “Get It Girl,” which dropped earlier this month — Nnena, Thundercat, B.K. Habermehl, TeaMarrr and Amindi, among many others.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRepublic Records has promoted Wendy Goldstein and Jim Roppo to the roles of co-presidents, the label’s co-founders, Monte Lipman and Avery Lipman, announced Wednesday.Goldstein, one of the top A&R people in the music industry, has served as president of West Coast Creative since 2019 and is based in the Los Angeles office.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorApple Music has released an expanded, exclusive holiday collection with its second annual “Carols Covered” playlist, available in Spatial Audio.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorQuality Ventures — the private equity investment arm of hip-hop and sports powerhouse Quality Control — and the Network Advisory have entered into a strategic partnership to launch Vocal, a premium multi-platform podcast and audio streaming network that occupies the intersection of music, sports, fashion and culture.The announcement was made jointly by Quality Control Media Holdings founders Kevin “Coach K” Lee and Pierre “P” Thomas, Quality Films President Brian

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFive years after the release of the second chapter of his “BlackSummers’Night” trilogy, three-time Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter Maxwell has finally revealed plans to release the final installment, “blacksummers’NIGHT,” in the spring — and he’s leading with a new song, “Off,” and the announcement of a long tour, kicking off in TK, that will see fellow R&B vets Anthony Hamilton and Joe opening.The new single is another classic slice of Maxwell-flavored R&B, a

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJackson Browne and Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna cofounder Jorma Kaukonen will headline a star-packed lineup of artists at a benefit for the non-partisan voters’ rights non-profit Headcount, to be held at the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs expected, veteran agent Scott Clayton, who left his role as co-head of music at WME late last month, has joined UTA as co-head of its global music division and as a partner, the company announced Monday.Clayton and current UTA Global Music Co-Heads Sam Kirby Yoh and David Zedeck will together “create a powerhouse leadership trio spanning UTA’s New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville music hubs and further solidify the agency’s reach across all music genres,”

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAdele debuted three new songs from her upcoming album “30” during her CBS television special on Sunday night: “I Drink Wine,” “Hold On” and “Love Is a Game.”Adele has been teasing “Hold On” in a trailer for the special as well as an Amazon Christmas advertisement.The special, titled “Adele: One Night Only,” also included a new sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey, billed as her “first televised wide-ranging conversation about her new album, the stories behind the

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs expected, Kanye West has released a deluxe version of his most recent album, “Donda,” that features more than 20 extra minutes of previously unreleased tracks and alternate versions, including “Life Of The Party” featuring Andre 3000, “Up From The Ashes,” “Never Abandon Your Family,” “Remote Control 2” with Young Thug and a new feature from Kid Cudi, and more.The new edition expands the already long album past the two-hour mark; it’s now 2:11.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSnap has struck a licensing deal with Sony Music Entertainment — which means the music of all three major labels/ publishers and many indies is now available on the platform (which prefers to be called a camera company, not a social media network).