Janelle Monae Signs Global Deal With Sony Music Publishing

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Publishing has struck a worldwide deal to administer the works of the Australian music company Alberts, which owns the complete song catalogs of AC/DC and the songwriting and producing team Vanda, Young and Wright.

Janelle Monae and Lana Del Rey have decided to pull out of the 2021 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSinger-songwriter Chris Isaak has partnered with Primary Wave in a deal that sees the publishing company acquiring a 50% stake in his master recordings and signing with the legendary Sun Records for future recordings (which was recently acquired by Primary Wave).

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLana Del Rey, Janelle Monáe and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have pulled out of the Bonnaroo festival, organizers announced over social media on Thursday (July 8), with left-field rock trio Khruangbin and dance music titans Rufus Du Sol added.No reason was given for the cancelations, but it seems likely that Del Rey’s album delay and Janelle Monae’s widely reported appearance in “Knives Out 2” could have played a role.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCreative Artists Agency announced that it has signed all six members of New Edition: Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill. The company will represent the group in all areas worldwide, including touring, theatre, literature, TV/film, production, composing and others.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBrent Smith has left WME and joined Wasserman Music, the new company formed after Casey Wasserman acquired Paradigm’s North American music representation business, as executive vice present and managing executive, the company announced Tuesday (July 6).“As many of you know, the senior leadership team and I have been spending time with Brent Smith, and today I am pleased to share that he is joining Wasserman Music as EVP and Managing Executive,” Casey Wasserman wrote

Janelle Monáe shared a new song, "Stronger," on Friday. The thumping anthem is set to appear in the new Netflix show We The People, a 10-episode educational animated series about rights and citizenship.

RELEASESTaylor Swift features on a new track by Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver’s Big Red Machine project, titled ‘Renegade’. Dessner, of course, co-wrote Swift’s two lockdown albums, ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’.

Janelle Monaé has shared a brand new track – listen to ‘Stronger’ below.The new song is taken from the soundtrack to new Netflix show We The People, which has been produced by Barack and Michelle Obama.The show launches on the streaming service on Sunday (July 4), and sees musicians including Monaé, H.E.R.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMotown Records announced that Brian Nolan has been appointed executive vice president of the label and executive VP of marketing, effective immediately. According to the announcement, in this new role, Nolan joins the label’s executive leadership team and will help guide the company as well as oversee Motown’s marketing teams and initiatives.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorYoung Thug has landed a major role in the musical dramedy “Throw It Back” — appearing in the movie and overseeing its soundtrack as executive producer. Directed by Shadae Lamar Smith from a script written with Rochée Jeffrey, the film stars Shahadi Wright Joseph and will feature Tiffany Haddish in a supporting role.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMass Appeal has named two key executive hires —two “trailblazing women who will play a pivotal role in elevating and expanding the entertainment company’s presence,” according to the announcement.Jessica Rivera (pictured above, left) will serve as the General Manager of Music, overseeing the creative and day-to-day operations of Mass Appeal’s music division (label and publishing) and contributing across Mass Appeal’s other two divisions in content and creative

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs Variety’s recent cover star H.E.R. announced during Sunday night’s BET Awards, the artist’s Lights On Festival will return to California’s Bay Area in September.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter years of criticism over a lack of female and diverse representation in its membership and the Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy is continuing its efforts to expand its voting body by extending invitations to 2,710 established music professionals “from wide-ranging backgrounds, genres and disciplines,” according to the announcement.It states that the 2021 class of invitees is 48 percent female, 32 percent Black or African American+, 13 percent Hispanic or

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe United States is the only major country in the world where terrestrial radio pays no royalties to performers or recorded-music copyright owners of the songs they play, a situation that is largely due to the powerful radio lobby’s influence in Congress. While the more than 8,300 AM and FM stations across the country pay royalties to songwriters, they have never paid performers or copyright holders, although streaming services do.On Thursday, Reps.

Sony Music Publishing has signed Janelle Monáe and her Wondaland Arts Society company to a worldwide administration agreement.“As an artist who is constantly reinventing myself, I feel like I’m just getting started”, says Monáe.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorA year on from the “Blackout Tuesday,” during which the music industry paused to take a look at its racial policies and plan to reform them, how is it doing? According to both last week’s USC-Annenberg “Inclusion in the Music Business” study and a “report card” released over the weekend by the Black Music Action Coalition — a 200-plus-member organization formed around this time last year — it’s doing fair-to-badly.BMAC’s 37-page report takes a look at dozens of

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBack in the day, one of the great perks of being a music writer was “Free CDs and Tees” (t-shirts).

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRepublic Records, Sony Music Publishing and Spotify were among the big winners at last week’s Clio Music Awards.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorVeteran artist-producer DJ David Guetta has entered into a career- agreement with Warner Music that sees the company acquiring his recorded-music catalog from the last two decades, as well as striking a new deal for future recordings.