Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X Star in Amazon Music’s ‘Holiday Plays’

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.

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 EditorWhen it comes to music, TikTok is not your usual platform, so it’s not surprising that its first year-end report has a different approach. And considering the company’s famous secrecy, it’s also not surprising that the data supporting many of the lists in its year-end report is a little vague.Thus, we were pleasantly surprised that after we skeptically asked for more data, they sent our request to their U.S.

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 EditorThe charts are usually filled with holiday fare each mid-December, but this year is over the top even by that standard. While Shawn Mendes’ “Wonder” debuted at No.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJay-Z’s Roc Nation and Random House, a division of Penguin Random House, have announced a new literary publishing partnership to be called Roc Lit 101.

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 EditorAs the nation and the globe wake up each morning asking, “Is 2020 over yet?,” the search for the next great new song is one thing that makes getting out of bed a worthy endeavor.We’ve already covered the Taylor Swift, Avalanches, Kid Cudi and Chris Cornell albums as well as the 20-years-late Britney Spears-Backstreet Boys tag team, and fittingly for this odd week, the top songs are an odd batch …James Blake “When the Party’s Over” We don’t usually go for covers in

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 EditorConcord announced today that two-time Grammy-winner Shooter Jennings will be joining its label group as a staff producer.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust days after Jeremih was released from the hospital after a harrowing bout with coronavirus, he and Chance the Rapper have announced that their joint compilation album, “Merry Christmas Lil Mama: The Gift That Keeps on Giving,” will be released on December 11.The album features two new original songs – “The Return” and “Who’s to Say” – along with holiday hits from the pair’s previous releases, the “Merry Christmas: Lil Mama” volumes 1 and 2 mixtapes (released in

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

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOkay, we’ll admit it: We’re still hung over from celebrating after our stellar “Hitmakers” event last night — a virtual party that basically turned into a virtual mini-awards show with appearances from Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Lil Baby and many more.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Entertainment has acquired Human Re Sources, J. Erving’s Los Angeles-based artist distribution and services company, from the music and tech company Q&A.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWith 3.6 million subscribers, New Music Friday is hardly Spotify’s most popular playlist (that would be Today’s Top Hits, which tops 27 million).

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLarry Mattera has been appointed general manager of Capitol Records, the flagship label of Capitol Music Group (CMG), and executive VP of CMG. The announcement was made by CMG Chairman & CEO Jeff Vaughn, to whom Mattera will report.In his newly-created GM position, Mattera will helm the day-to-day operations of the label, and in his broader EVP role, will help strategize and navigate CMG’s future course as a key member of Vaughn’s executive management team.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBritish rapper Stormzy, one of the most successful British musical artists to emerge in the past decade, is the first signing to Universal Music Group’s newly launched 0207 Def Jam record label.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPuerto Rican singer-rapper Bad Bunny cancelled his scheduled performance on the American Music Awards Sunday night after testing positive for coronavirus.