Former Sky Studios Chief Content Officer Jane Millichip has been appointed CEO of BAFTA.
01.07.2022 - 01:11 / variety.com
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJohn Mayer — singer-songwriter, virtuoso guitarist, solo artist, member of Dead & Co and definitely the funniest speaker at Variety’s Hitmakers event last December — has signed with CAA in all areas globally.He has won seven Grammy Awards out of 19 nominations and since his 2001 debut album “Room for Squares” has earned three No. 1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200, with the triple-platinum “Heavier Things” (2003), double-platinum “Battle Studies” (2009), and gold-certified “Born and Raised” (2012). He has sold an estimated 20 million-plus albums worldwide.
He was previously with WME.His most recent album, “Sob Rock,” was produced by John and Don Was, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart, and was also the No. 1 Rock Album, Vinyl Album, and Digital Album in the U.S.
the week of release. Mayer is managed by Irving Azoff and Steve Moir; his attorney is Reid Hunter. At Variety’s Hitmakers event, Mayer had the audience in stitches with his nearly four-minute speech. Taking the podium after decade award winner Lana Del Rey, who said in her speech “lovemaking is my legacy,” Mayer started his remarks by joking, “I just want to say before I begin: Lovemaking is my legacy as well.”While Mayer listed out Columbia’s achievements this year — mentioning Lil Nas X’s “Montero,” the Kid Laroi’s “Stay” and Adele’s “Easy on Me” — he gave a special shoutout to BTS fans, saying: “BTS ARMY, what’s up? I’m just trying to trend.
Checking it in the car home.”However, he turned more serious when presenting the Hitmakers label of the year award to Columbia Records’ Ron Perry and Jenifer Mallory.“We artists are unreasonable, that is our job. We catch ideas we can’t let go of,” Mayer said. “Ron, Jen
.Former Sky Studios Chief Content Officer Jane Millichip has been appointed CEO of BAFTA.
Manori Ravindran International EditorBAFTA has unveiled its new, incoming CEO as former Sky Studios executive Jane Millichip.The org said on Tuesday that Millichip, a well-regarded media veteran, was selected by the Board of Trustees following “an extensive and highly competitive search.” She will take up the role in October. Millichip departed Sky Studios earlier this year after almost 10 years at the Comcast-backed pay-TV operator.
EXCLUSIVE: Brazilian actor Gabriel Leone has been set by director Michael Mann to play a key role in Ferrari, which is revving up for an August 1 production start in Italy. Leone has just signed with CAA and joins a cast that includes Adam Driver in the title role, alongside Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley as the women in his life.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLive Nation has re-upped longtime CEO Michael Rapino to a new five-year contract that will see him earn $30 million year if he and the company meet performance metrics, according to documents filed with the SEC.While Rapino’s annual salary holds at his previous $3 million per year, the annual target cash bonus is climbing from $6 million to $17 million per year. The news was first reported by the Hollywood Reporter.Starting next year, Rapino will also be eligible for an annual grant of restricted shares valued at no less than $10 million.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAugust 08, singer-songwriter known for his work with the LA-based collective 88Rising, has inked with Allel Sound, Jhene Aiko’s joint label venture with Def Jam. His debut EP, “Towards The Sun,” drops tonight and includes the new single and video “Water Sign,” which features Aiko.“August is an incredible writer, singer and artist whose music speaks to me on so many levels,” said Aiko.
John Mayer has some news about his father, Richard Mayer. “This morning, my father suffered a medical emergency and was and was transported to the ER where he received much-needed and great care,” the 44-year-old wrote in a post to his Instagram Stories. As a result, Mayer said that he wouldn’t be performing with Dead & Company as originally planned.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLaPolt Law, the Los Angeles-based music and entertainment firm founded by Dina LaPolt in 2001, is elevating five of its attorneys to partner. The promotions, effective immediately, reflect their contributions to the firm, which specializes in intellectual property law, music law and public policy.The new partners — pictured above (back row, l-r) Kristin Wenning, Mariah Comer, Lindsay Arrington and (front row, l-r) Dominic Chaklos and Tom Dean, with LaPolt in front — have expertise in a range of issues, including brand partnerships, catalog sales, executive contracts, and projects in emerging media such as NFTs, Web3.“They are all zealous advocates for our clients,” LaPolt said of the attorneys.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Weeknd’s opening acts for his global stadium tour, which launches in his hometown of Toronto next Friday, will be R&B singer Snoh Aalegra, Canadian electronic artist Kaytranada and top DJ/producer Mike Dean, his team reveals in an exclusive interview with Variety. The full 19 dates, noting which acts are playing in which cities, appear below.The tour’s original opener, Doja Cat, pulled out last month to undergo throat surgery, and although “the phone was ringing” with calls from interested parties, according to Omar Al-joulani — Live Nation’s president of touring and a Toronto native who has worked with the Weeknd since 2014 — the choices reflect the artist’s long practice of having up-and-coming acts open his tours, even one as massive as the stadium show that will work its way across North America (slowly) through Labor Day weekend before moving on to the rest of the world.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPink, Sony Music Publishing Chairman/CEO Jon Platt and the late songwriter/producer Busbee will be honored at the Songwriters of North America’s second annual SONA Warrior Awards, taking place as a hybrid celebration comprised of an in-person gala on July 23 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles and a virtual livestream via mandolin.com on July 24. SONA is one of the only advocacy organizations for songwriters, formed by professional songwriters to advocate for fair pay, safety, equality and a collective voice.The announcement notes that each of the honorees is known for their accomplishments within the industry, the Warrior Awards provide an opportunity to amplify their advocacy.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLegendary hitmaker and 12-time Grammy winner Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds has signed with Capitol Records, the company announced Tuesday. His first project for the label will be “Girls’ Night Out,” which is described as “a sonic journey through love, heartbreak and all of the emotions in between” and features a number of top young female R&B singers, including Ella Mai, Queen Naija, Ari Lennox, Kehlani, Doechii and others.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLegendary rocker Alice Cooper, who should need no introduction, has signed with CAA to represent his touring in North America.He has sold more than 50 million albums over the years and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. His nightly radio show, “Nights With Alice Cooper,” continues to air in nearly 100 cities in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFast-rising 18-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter Lauren Spencer-Smith has inked with both Warner Chappell Music publishing and longtime Shawn Mendes manager Andrew Gertler’s AG Artists in partnership with Ziggy Chareton, Variety has confirmed. The news was first published in Hits.A native of Vancouver Island, the singer’s confessional, intimate songs like “Fingers Crossed” and her latest single “Flowers” have effectively set her on a track to be this year’s Olivia Rodrigo.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe BET Awards are officially a celebration of “Black excellence,” and Sunday night’s show featured blockbuster performances from Lizzo, Mariah Carey, Latto, Jack Harlow (who was joined by Brandy and Lil Wayne) and an elaborate tribute to Lifetime Achievement honoree Sean “Diddy” Combs that included an unannounced in-person speech from Kanye West.But for the second time in three years, the show coincided with galvanizing events in the United States: In 2020, it was George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police and the ensuing the Black Lives Matter protests, and this year it was the Supreme Court’s polarizing overturn of Roe v. Wade and the impending loss of a woman’s right to choose in many states in the country.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTaraji P. Henson took a moment to be serious in her otherwise upbeat introduction to the BET Awards on Sunday night, delivering the first of three consecutive slams at the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v.
John Mayer is asking for a huge favour from his fans.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSteve Cooper, CEO of Warner Music Group for the past 11 years, will step down next year, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal that was confirmed to Variety by a rep for the company.The transition will be a gradual one, the rep emphasized, as the company seeks a suitable successor.Warner is the third-largest major music group, after Universal and Sony, and Cooper has run it with a firm, calm and non-flamboyant hand through the first decade of the streaming era and as it went public for a second time in the early months of the pandemic in 2020. The company earnings were declining at the time of his arrival and he not only reversed that trend but doubled its revenue and embraced new technologies and business opportunities.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEpix has announced an upcoming four-part docuseries titled “My Life as a Rolling Stone.” Tied to the band’s 60th anniversary, each episode will focus one of the band’s four core members (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and the late Charlie Watts). The series premieres on August 7.“My Life as a Rolling Stone” is directed by Oliver Murray (who helmed “The Quiet One” the recent documentary on longtime Stones bassist Bill Wyman) and Clare Tavernor (“Keith Richards: A Culture Show Special”), and executive produced by Steve Condie, senior VP of content at Mercury Studios.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBeyonce will drop “Break My Soul,” the first single from her forthcoming seventh solo studio album “Renaissance,” tonight at midnight ET / 9 p.m. PT, the singer announced on social media Monday morning.
EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based Real War of Thrones has hired former Mediawan senior executive Jean-Marc Rouhette to the newly-created role of Chief Operating Officer.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe music industry’s return to whatever passes for normal these days has been hit and miss, to put it mildly: Grammy Week, Coachella, and the first publishers’ week in three years have seen an uneven balance of caution and carelessness — some events have a relatively high percentage of masks and distancing, some have hardly any at all, and at each one you hear tales of how severe someone’s bout with Covid was or wasn’t, and that someone else couldn’t make it because they suddenly tested positive.The “publishers week” we’re referring to is the usual combination of A2IM’s Indie Week conference, the National Music Publishers Association’s annual meeting, and the closer, the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which is one of the most unique and memorable awards shows in the business — which is a parallel event to the Clive Davis pre-Grammy Gala in that it’s invite-only and features a number of once-in-a-lifetime performances. Not only is it the annual family reunion for the songwriting an publishing industry, over the years we’ve seen performances from Neil Diamond, Drake, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande, Van Morrison, Cyndi Lauper, John Prine, Leon Russell, Elvis Costello and dozens of others, along with several completely unique homages: Lady Gaga singing Four Non-Blondes’ hit “What’s Up” to Linda Perry; Stevie Nicks belting “The Rose” to Bette Midler; Emmylou Harris performing Eric Clapton’s heartbreaking hit “Tears in Heaven” for the song’s co-writer Will Jennings; and one year, the evening ended with Billy Joel and Garth Brooks duetting at the piano in matching Stetson hats.