Luis Estrada Appointed President of Universal Music Southern Cone

Of the many home concerts that have been streamed in the past two weeks, few stand close to the solidarity and emotion of “Argentina Canta La Cigarra.”

Steve Earle has pulled out of a lawsuit against Universal Music Group that was filed by five artists last year over damage the artists’ musical recordings suffered in a 2008 fire that destroyed many assets in the company’s vaults. With the withdrawal from the lawsuit earlier this month of the Tupac Estate and Soundgarden, and withdrawal last year of the group Hole, this leaves only the contested estate of Tom Petty.

MADRID — Argentina’s Pablo Trapero, one of the driving forces behind the renaissance of Latin American cinema, is teaming with El Estudio on two ambitious TV series: an English-language U.S. remake of his 2010 hit movie “Carancho” and true-facts inspired bioseries “Galimberti.”

Literally at the tail end of the continent, Argentina may have shut down its borders but not its music.Since last week, Universal Music Argentina and its management and live concert division launched an initiative called #Musicaentucasa (MusicInYourHouse). Every day at 4 p.m.

Universal Music Chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge has been hospitalized after testing positive for coronavirus, multiple sources exclusively told Variety. He is currently receiving treatment at Los Angeles’ UCLA Medical Center, sources said.

Universal Music Group’s home offices in Santa Monica, Calif., were evacuated Friday after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus. All staffers were directed to leave the buildings “in an orderly manner,” although the discovery was made toward the end of the day and a source tells Variety that most of the staff had either left or were already working from home.

The Tupac Estate and Soundgarden have pulled out of a lawsuit against Universal Music Group that was filed by five artists last year over damage the artists’ musical recordings suffered in a 2008 fire that destroyed many assets in the company’s vaults.

Official Competition, the new film that re-teams Pain & Glory stars Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas, has become the latest production to fall victim to the coronavirus. The new feature from Argentine directors Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat (The Distinguished Citizen) halted shooting in Spain on Thursday, producer Mediapro confirmed.

By Nellie Andreeva

BBC Two’s Race Across The World returns for its second series on Sunday evening with a whole new cast of adventure-seekers.

Just over 18 months ago, a New York Times article stated that the damage Universal Music Group’s archives suffered in a 2008 fire was far greater than originally revealed — while lacking specific details, the article estimated that around 500,000 masters by some of the greatest artists of the past century were destroyed.

Universal Music India has promoted Vinit Thakkar from senior VP to the newly created position of COO, India and South Asia. Thakkar was instrumental in the launch of the VYRL Originals label, alongside Bollywood filmmaker Mohit Suri.