New Recording Academy Co-Presidents Talk Future Plans and Reaching Young People

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Publishing has struck a worldwide deal to administer the works of the Australian music company Alberts, which owns the complete song catalogs of AC/DC and the songwriting and producing team Vanda, Young and Wright.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSinger-songwriter Chris Isaak has partnered with Primary Wave in a deal that sees the publishing company acquiring a 50% stake in his master recordings and signing with the legendary Sun Records for future recordings (which was recently acquired by Primary Wave).

EXCLUSIVE: The former business representative of IATSE Local 480 in Santa Fe, NM, has accused the local’s president, Liz Pecos, of “unwelcome sexual advances” and of creating a “sexually hostile work environment” – allegations that Pecos and the local deny “in the strongest terms possible.”

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCreative Artists Agency announced that it has signed all six members of New Edition: Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill. The company will represent the group in all areas worldwide, including touring, theatre, literature, TV/film, production, composing and others.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBessemer Trust, a professional wealth management firm that was poised to take over as co-conservator of Britney Spears’ estate and work with her father, has asked to resign from the arrangement, according to a court document filed Thursday that was cited by the New York Times.The company, which manages more than $100 billion in assets, said it was requesting to withdraw “due to changed circumstances.” In the filing, the firm said it had been told the singer’s

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorYoung Thug has landed a major role in the musical dramedy “Throw It Back” — appearing in the movie and overseeing its soundtrack as executive producer. Directed by Shadae Lamar Smith from a script written with Rochée Jeffrey, the film stars Shahadi Wright Joseph and will feature Tiffany Haddish in a supporting role.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSince Square, the payments-processing company led by CEO (and Twitter founder) Jack Dorsey, announced plans to buy a “significant” majority stake in Tidal, the music and entertainment streaming platform run by Jay-Z, many have wondered exactly what it plans to do with the service.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter years of criticism over a lack of female and diverse representation in its membership and the Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy is continuing its efforts to expand its voting body by extending invitations to 2,710 established music professionals “from wide-ranging backgrounds, genres and disciplines,” according to the announcement.It states that the 2021 class of invitees is 48 percent female, 32 percent Black or African American+, 13 percent Hispanic or

NEW YORK -- Ousted Grammys CEO Deborah Dugan and the Recording Academy have reached a confidential settlement over why the former leader was let go from the organization.“The Recording Academy and Deborah Dugan have agreed to resolve their differences and to keep the terms of their agreement private," the academy and Dugan said in a joint statement late Thursday.Dugan was fired days before the 2020 Grammys. She has since said the awards show was rigged and muddled with conflicts of interest.

The Recording Academy and former president/CEO Deborah Dugan have reached a settlement over her acrimonious departure last year just 10 days before the Grammys.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe United States is the only major country in the world where terrestrial radio pays no royalties to performers or recorded-music copyright owners of the songs they play, a situation that is largely due to the powerful radio lobby’s influence in Congress. While the more than 8,300 AM and FM stations across the country pay royalties to songwriters, they have never paid performers or copyright holders, although streaming services do.On Thursday, Reps.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEricka Coulter has joined Warner Records as senior vice president of A&R, the company announced Wednesday (June 23). Coulter was most recently VP of A&R at Epic Records, where she worked with acts including Rick Ross, Giveon, and Lonr., among others; prior to her six-year tenure at Epic, she held posts at Interscope and Capitol (Evolve) Records.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThree and a half years after Elton John announced his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour,” after an unavoidable pandemic delay, he has finally unveiled the closing stadium dates of that tour.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRepublic Records, Sony Music Publishing and Spotify were among the big winners at last week’s Clio Music Awards.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs previously reported by Variety, Imran Majid and Justin Eshak officially have been appointed Co-CEOs of Universal Music Group’s legendary Island Records label, effective Jan. 1, 2022.Eshak and Majid will join Island from Columbia Records, where they were previously co-heads of A&R.The appointment, effective January 1, 2022, marks a return to UMG for Majid and Eshak, who met at UMG’s Republic Records in 2004 where they worked as A&R executives.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWith two major releases in just a few days, June is basically a debut party for 4th & Broadway, the legendary Island Records imprint that is now helmed by LaTrice Burnette.The label, named after Island’s former location above Tower Records in New York’s East Village, originally was launched in 1984 and focused on hip-hop and dance music by artists such as Eric B. & Rakim (the 1987 classic “Paid in Full”), Dream Warriors, Stereo MCs, Bomb the Bass and others.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMusic industry veteran Jim “Koz” Kozlowski died in New York City on Sunday, May 2, after suffering a stroke. He was 71.Kozlowski was born and raised in East Hartford, Connecticut, the only child of John J.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn what is described as a major tactical restructuring of the national and regional staffs of the Epic Records Urban Promotion Department, Cynthia Johnson and Cory “Sparks” Johnson have been promoted to Vice Presidents of Urban Promotion, it was announced today by the company’s EVP of promotion, Traci Adams, to whom both will report.According to the announcement, in their new positions, the two will devise and execute Urban Radio promotion campaigns to obtain

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBiz 3 PR veteran Dana Meyerson has launched an imprint called Slashie through Mom + Pop Music.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBruce Springsteen is getting back to work this summer, playing a big role in Broadway’s return by bringing back his $108-million-grossing “Springsteen on Broadway” for the entire summer, but that isn’t all he has in the works, as he revealed in a call on Sirius XM’s E Street Radio.“I am looking forward to being in front of an audience,” he told hosts Dave Marsh and Jim Rotolo. “It’s going to be quite a thing.