Music Industry Moves: Willie Nelson and Live Nation Team Up to Support Developing Artists, Cut Touring Costs

Filmmaker Alexander Payne (“Sideways,” “The Descendants,”) recently held a Q&A session during the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon, France (via Variety), with Los Angeles-based French film journalist Didier Allouch overseeing that conversation. Payne gave the French audience a big tease about what he’s currently working on, which could allow him to tackle a dream film genre.

Naturalist Chris Packham has called for an independent investigation into the multi-million pound Scottish salmon farming industry.

Thania Garcia Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) has signed Fred Again (real name Fred Gibson) to an exclusive, worldwide publishing agreement. Now widely recognized for his DJ chops, Fred Again began his career as a pop songwriter but found his niche in producing and DJ-ing thanks to his “Actual Life” trilogy of albums. The South London native is the Brit Awards’ youngest-ever producer of the year winner thanks to his work with Ed Sheeran, Brian Eno, Travis Scott, Skrillex, Young Thug, J Balvin and Burna Boy, among others.

EXCLUSIVE: Quiver Distribution has acquired North American rights to Willie and Me, a comedy marking the feature directorial debut of L.A.-based German actress Eva Hassmann, who stars opposite 12-time Grammy winner Willie Nelson and the late Peter Bogdanovich. Marking the latter’s final screen performance, the film written by Hassmann is slated for release in theaters and on demand on February 9, 2024.

EXCLUSIVE: Rising British actress Leo Hatton has inked with Artists First for management.

Valerie Wu editor Elsie Choi, a film and TV development veteran who has worked for such producers as Dan Lin and Bruce Willis, has joined Los Angeles-based CJ ENM America as executive VP and head of scripted TV. CJ ENM is a South Korean entertainment company that has produced content such as Oscar-winning film “Parasite” and popular Korean fantasy drama series “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God.” Among the company’s recent productions are the romantic drama “Past Lives” with A24. It’s also the company behind the annual KCON Korean pop culture conference and concerts held in downtown Los Angeles in August.

People struggling to pay their Council Tax during the ongoing cost of living crisis could be eligible for money off their 2023/24 bill, even though payments started in April. The Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme is unique to Scotland and helps people on low incomes knock an average of £750 off their annual bill.

EXCLUSIVE: The Eternal Memory, the latest film from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Maite Alberdi (The Mole Agent), has landed a series of international deals for Dogwoof and MTV Documentary Films ahead of its UK premiere this week at the London Film Festival. 

Suella Braverman has said some immigrants are 'not embracing British values' and are living 'parallel lives' to the rest of the country.

Ethan and Maya Hawke have joined forces for a cover of the Willie Nelson song, ‘We Don’t Run’. The cover is lifted from ‘Light in the Attic & Friends’, an upcoming compilation album featuring covers of songs which have been re-released by eponymous record label over the last 22 years.

Thania Garcia Ed Sheeran is donating a portion of the proceeds from sales of “Autumn Variations” — both the original release and the newly-released “Fan Living Room Sessions” — to music education non-profit Save The Music. The announcement comes on the heels of “Autumn Variations (Fan Living Room Sessions),” an extended version of the album that arrived today and features live performances from surprised fans’ homes. The takes were filmed during the North American leg of Sheeran’s “Mathematics Tour,” and each fan is commemorated in the title of the song recorded in their living room.

Fulham remain interested in Scott McTominay and could make an approach for the Manchester United midfielder in January, according to reports.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has a new television home.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will be streamed live for the first time in November, as Disney+ has picked up rights to let viewers see the event as it happens, a marked change from the years in which music fans had to wait weeks to see an edited broadcast. The Disney+ livestream will go out coast-to-coast from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Nov. 3 at 8 p.m..

Queen and Adam Lambert are set to embark on their North American ‘Rhapsody’ tour next week – find all the details below.The legendary band launched the acclaimed show back in 2019, and brought it to the UK, Ireland and Europe last year.Per a press release, Queen and their frontman Lambert are now taking the newly “expanded and updated” production back to the US and Canada “where it first began”. The group have promised an “even more ambitious show” at the upcoming dates.Queen’s 2023 Rhapsody’ tour is scheduled to begin with two consecutive nights at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, Maryland next Wednesday (October 4) and Thursday (5).From there, they’ll visit Toronto, Detroit, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and other cities throughout the month.

Willie Nelson, naming the scheme after one of his songs, to provide financial support to emerging artists and their teams in a time of rising touring costs.Artists who play Live Nation-owned and operated clubs will now keep 100% of the profits they make from merch sales, while they will also benefit from a $1500 (£1,233) stipend to help with the costs of fuel and travel. Both headliners and support acts will receive stipends.Live Nation will also provide financial bonuses to local promoters and tour representatives who help execute shows, as well as venue crew members who have worked over 500 hours in 2023.

Kylie Minogue steps out in a unique color block dress while promoting her new album, Tension, in London, on Monday (September 25).

Bob Dylan made a surprise appearance at Farm Aid last night (September 23), marking the first time he’d appeared at the charity concert since he helped to conceive it.The annual event was founded by Willie Nelson and has taken place since 1985 and raises money to support family farmers in the US. The idea came about when, during his performance at Live Aid to raise money to help support farmers during the Ethiopian famine, Dylan wondered whether a similar event could be worked on to support American farmers.

midyear revenue report.Retail revenue, which includes revenue from consumer streaming services, jumped 9.3 per cent to an all-time first-half high of $8.4billion, while wholesale revenue is up 8.3 per cent to $5.3 billion.Streaming revenue increased by 10.3 per cent from last year, reaching $7billion, which makes up 84 per cent of music revenue in the United States. The RIAA explicitly notes that although revenue from paid subscriptions grew 11 per cent to $5.5billion, the total number of paid subscriptions only grew 6 per cent.

We’ve got the keys to the weekend, Insider fans. Jesse Whittock here guiding you through the international film and TV stories you need to read to top off the working week.