Music Industry Moves: Warner Records Ups Mike Chester to Executive VP of Promotion & Commerce

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMiley Cyrus has parted ways with longtime manager Adam Leber and joined the team at Crush Management, two sources confirm to Variety.There, she joins a roster that includes fellow female pop luminaries Sia and Lorde as well as such veteran rock acts as Green Day, Weezer and Fall Out Boy, all three of whom are currently on the Hella Mega stadium tour, which was rescheduled from 2020 (although Fall Out Boy had to sit out a handful of dates due to a positive Covid test

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSiriusXM and TikTok launched TikTok Radio (located on channel 4) at noon ET on Friday (August 20), which seems to be a way for people who have satellite radio but can’t figure out TikTok to hear the top songs trending on the wildly popular platform.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAn attorney for R. Kelly attempted to discredit one of the accusers leveling allegations of sexual abuse against the singer on Thursday, after she’d claimed he had slapped and choked her during what she described as their final sexual encounter more than 10 years ago.Jerhonda Johnson Pace, the first witness testifying for prosecutors in Kelly’s long-delayed racketeering trial in New York, is among multiple women leveling claims of sexual abuse against Kelly.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDowntown Music Holdings has announced that its founder and current CEO Justin Kalifowitz will take on a new position as executive chairman, with current COO Andrew Bergman assuming day-to-day responsibilities as the company’s CEO.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn a major shakeup at the Recording Academy, longtime chief awards officer Bill Freimuth has left the organization, along with VP of communications Lourdes Lopez and chief marketing and innovations officer Lisa Farris, Variety has confirmed. Freimuth had overseen the complex and often controversial nominating and awards process for the Grammy Awards since 2004.Reps for the Recording Academy did not immediately respond to Variety’s requests for comment.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMadonna, the top-selling female artist of all time, will bring her entire catalog of recorded music under the Warner Music umbrella as part of a career-spanning global partnership announced Monday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe non-profit Executive Leadership Council has launched of a new program called Levels, which endeavors to help junior and mid-level Black employees in the music industry better navigate their careers and climb the ladder in the music business.Sponsored by Spotify, Levels is a four-month comprehensive virtual cohort program designed to accelerate the progress of black music professionals to the executive level.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorUniversal Music Publishing is disputing wording by Hipgnosis Songs in a statement released Monday announcing Hipgnosis’ acquisition of a song catalog from Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, one of the most commercially successful groups of the past 50 years.The disagreement stems from Hipgnosis’ unusually worded announcement, which can be seen as implying that Hipgnosis has acquired the entirety of a 115-song catalog from McVie, although that is not the case.In a

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLegendary singer Tony Bennett — who celebrated his 95th birthday just last week, performing with Lady Gaga at two-sold out shows at New York’s Radio City Music Hall — has canceled his Fall 2021 tour dates.The tour — consisting of pre-pandemic shows dates had been rescheduled — was slated to begin in September. The affected dates include New York, Maryland and Connecticut as well as Oklahoma and Canada.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSometimes, when an artist makes a featured appearance on another artist’s song, you can tell that it’s just a payday — the featured artist got a nice check to add credibility to another artist that they don’t really know or maybe even respect.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFrance-based Vivendi, parent of Universal Music Group, has sold 7.1% of that company’s share capital to Pershing Square Holdings, the investment firm managed by billionaire Bill Ackman, for $2.8 billion, with the possibility to sell him a further 2.9% by September 9, 2021.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn the wake of reports of widespread sexual harassment at Sony Music Australia, Universal Music has become the second major label in the country to launch an investigation into inappropriate behavior at its offices, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.The allegations surfaced in posts on an Instagram account called Beneath the Glass ceiling, claiming multiple cases of bullying, harassment, racism, homophobia, discrimination, as well as more serious

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMost fans have a favorite Beatle, but there’s not much debate about which Beatles solo album is the best: George Harrison’s epic “All Things Must Pass.”Released in November 1970, just seven months after the group’s breakup was belatedly confirmed, it has become synonymous with the concept of suppressed brilliance.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOlivia Rodrigo, whose ‘Drivers License’ single and ‘Sour’ album have made her the breakout music star of 2021, has signed with Sony Music Publishing, the company announced on Wednesday (August 4).

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLive Nation Entertainment, the world’s largest live-entertainment company, posted strong second-quarter earnings as the concert business cautiously moves ahead amid deep concerns over the spread of the Covid-19 variant and lower-than-sensible vaccination rates in the U.S.Operating income for the quarter was up over $450 million and its adjusted operating income was back in the black as the company “is pacing for growth in 2022, 2023 and beyond.” Its event-related

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCraig D’Souza (pictured) has joined WME as a partner, music co-heads Lucy Dickins, Kirk Sommer and Scott Clayton announced today.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Weeknd teased new music early Monday morning in a snippet posted on social media called “The Dawn Is Coming” and talked generally about it in a new GQ article, calling it “the album I’ve always wanted to make.”The song has a heavy electronic dance groove reminiscent of “Alive 2007”-era Daft Punk, but with the Weeknd’s haunting, echo-laden melody soaring over it.The Weeknd teased the song with three days of hints (a wiped Instagram account followed by a new post

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRange Media Partners, the fast-growing management company launched last year, has entered into a worldwide distribution agreement with Capitol Music Group and Virgin Music & Artist Label Services.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLive Nation has announced that Cindy Agi has joined its Concerts team as a Global Tour Promoter. In her new role, Agi will be responsible for building relationships with global touring artists and booking major international tours around the globe.Agi was previously the co-head of the hip-hop department at WME and was their first black female partner.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCanadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams, one of the most successful recording artists of the ‘80s and ‘90s, has signed a global recordings agreement with BMG to release his upcoming studio album, the company announced on Wednesday. It is his first new label deal after more than 40 years with Universal-affiliated labels, beginning with A&M, which released his eponymous debut album in 1980.In his commercial prime, Adams was one of the biggest artists in the world,