Normani Inks Publishing Deal With Hipgnosis, Promises New Music Soon

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFor everything that music and entertainment do to better people’s lives, it’s all put into a sobering context when you hear someone speak about their work at a cancer treatment center. And the music industry’s work with City of Hope cancer treatment and research center in Los Angeles is one of its greatest charitable efforts.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFormer Lady Gaga manager and Spotify exec Troy Carter and fellow Q&A co-founder Suzy Ryoo have announced the Venice Music Collective, an independent membership music community for creators powered by Web3. Launching this month, the collective is a place “where members are given access, opportunities and the ability to achieve greater wealth as an independent,” according to the announcement, which adds that “The goal is to empower and support independent artists and their careers in a more equitable way that currently exists.”Membership provides access to industry contacts: distribution, sync, analytics, financial services, events, workspaces, and more, according to the announcement.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMyke Towers. Camilo and Sony Discos are among the big winners at the ASCAP “El Premio” Latin Music Awards, which take place virtually through Tuesday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLive Nation has announced ”Live Nation Next Gen”, a new career development program focused on helping young people, primarily from Black and Latinx communities, prepare for careers in the live music business. Live Nation Next Gen has partnered with SoLa Impact’s I Can Foundation at SoLa’s new, state-of-the art Technology and Entrepreneurship Center in the heart of South Los Angeles, where the organization is providing free education to train and inspire future leaders.According to the announcement, The inaugural program features an intensive 10-week program of courses for local students ages 16 to 21.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment has announced the full slate of programming for the fifth annual New York Music Month, to run throughout the month of June 2022 in New York City.This year’s NYMM will feature a combination of in-person and virtual programming, with more than 20 events, including an all-day industry conference on the future of NYC’s music industry, skill-building workshops, free rehearsal space, songwriting camp, and showcases of emerging NYC artists. This month-long series aims to support songwriters, established musicians, emerging artists, and NYC’s entire musical community, many of whom were severely impacted by the pandemic.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor“This is a very special evening for me, for us,” Harry Styles said to a crowd of nearly 20,000 at the UBS Arena on Friday, and to millions over an Apple Music livestream. “We’re in New York City for one night only, and we’ll be playing this new album for you the way it was intended to be heard: From start to finish.”And with a giant neon outline of a house behind in, that’s what Styles and his tightly drilled band did: Premiere his just-released third solo album, “Harry’s House,” at a “One Night Only” concert, an arena-sized album release party offered for Styles’ most devoted fans (even if the title was a little bit of a misnomer: There’s a similar concert taking place in London next week).

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMy Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Future, and Jack White will headline the 2022 edition of Music Midtown, which will also feature performances from Phoebe Bridgers, Mitski, Phoenix, Turnstile, Louis The Child, A Day To Remember, 2 Chainz, Quinn XCII, Conan Gray, Denzel Curry and many more. The full lineup appears below.Over 30 artists, four stages and two full days of music will take place September 17-18 at Piedmont Park in downtown Atlanta. Two-day tickets go on sale Friday, May 20 at 10am ET via www.musicmidtown.com, with Layaway Plans starting at $19 down.“Over twenty-five years strong, Music Midtown remains a monumental music festival that brings a diverse lineup of the biggest names in music year-after-year, while giving back to the city that I proudly call home.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHarry Styles’ “One Night Only in New York” concert at UBS Arena at Belmont Park this Friday — May 20 — will be available to stream exclusively to Apple Music subscribers in 167 countries around the world, the company has announced.The concert will celebrate his new album “Harry’s House,” which drops that day, “and will see Harry performing songs from the album for the first time ever,” according to the announcement. All tickets for the show were $25 all-in, including taxes and fees, although they are currently going for thousands of dollars on the secondary ticket market.The concert will be available to stream live on Apple Music at 9:00p EST / 6p PST on Friday, May 20th HERE and will encore on May 22nd at 12:00p EST / 9:00a PT / 6:00p CET and on May 26th at 4pm BST / 5pm SGT / 7pm AEST.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBob Dylan’s share of the Traveling Wilburys has been acquired by Primary Wave Music — an asset that most people probably did not realize was not included in the Nobel Prize-winning artist’s nine-figure deals with Universal Music Publishing and Sony Music.Dylan’s master royalties and neighboring rights royalties for both of the group’s albums, as well as a 2007 box set, are included in the deal. Terms were not disclosed.The Wilburys were a supergroup comprised of Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison, and released two albums filled with lighthearted, not-too-serious songs in contrast to their usually weighty work.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSean “Diddy” Combs has announced the launch of a new R&B label called Love Records via a deal with Motown Records. According to the announcement, the new label “will be dedicated to R&B music and will release singles and collaborative projects from a collective of world-class artists, producers and songwriters.” Also according to the announcement, today’s news marks Combs’ official return to music.An album by Diddy himself will be Love Records’ first project, set to be released this summer.“Music has always been my first love, Love Records is the next chapter is about getting back to the love and making the best music of my life,” said Combs (pictured above, left). “For the label I’m focused on creating timeless R&B music with the next generation of artists and producers.

For British musicians and other performing artists whose touring capacity in Europe has been curtailed by post-Brexit regulations, travel is about to get a little easier.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorUniversal Music’s share of Todd Moscowitz’s Alamo Records was acquired by Sony Music Entertainment for around $125 million, with a total purchase of between $188 million and $225 million, according to Universal’s recent earnings report and an educated estimate by Music Business Worldwide published Thursday.The company, which was founded as a joint venture with Universal Music Group by the former 300, Warner Music and Def Jam exec in 2016, has been on a hot streak in recent years with Blackbear, Lil Durk and Rod Wave. Sources told Variety at the time that there was a buy/sell negotiation in the months leading up and UMG opted to walk away.While some sources at the time of the June 2021 deal put the sale price at $250 million, MBW spied an item in Universal Music Group‘s recently-issued annual fiscal report stating that Sony Music paid €102 million (around $123 million, which MBW rounded up to $125 million) to buy UMG’s interest in Alamo, which was presumably 50%, with Moscowitz owning the other half.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLos Angeles-based Saudi-Arabian/American singer-rapper-producer $kinny has released his new album, “Have a Nice Trip,” which was executive produced by Swizz Beatz, on Universal Arabic Music.The album features his new single “Salam” with Swizz Beatz and French Montana, the video for which also dropped today (pictured above at the video shoot, L-R, are Swizz, UAM CEO Wassim “Sal” Slaiby, $kinny and Montana).$kinny grew up in Los Angeles as the child of an American mom and Saudi-Arabian dad, and his music is germane to both cultures. Swizz Beatz has been spending a lot of time in the Middle East in recent years, and the match was easy.“It’s crazy, Swizz and I made ‘Salam’ the day we met,” $kinny tells Variety.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust two weeks before the release of his “Harry’s House” third solo album, Harry Styles has announced the dates for “Love on Tour 2022.”Coming off of a sold out 42-date arena tour in 2021 and two special “One Night Only” shows in New York and London, the 2022 tour works the “Harry’s House” theme by turning arenas in New York, Los Angeles (10 nights each), Chicago, Austin (5 nights each) and Toronto (2 nights) into Harry’s de facto house.Produced by Live Nation, the tour kicks off on Monday, August 15th and Tuesday, August 16th at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON. Styles will continue his residencies in New York City for ten nights at Madison Square Garden, Austin for five nights at Moody Center, and Chicago for five nights at United Center, before wrapping up at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum for 10 night run concluding on Tuesday, November 15th.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorA$AP Rocky has dropped his new single, “D.M.B.” via A$AP Worldwide/Polo Grounds Music/RCA Records — but the headlines will no doubt go to Rihanna, who stars in the video and is making her first appearance in a music-related video in years.The video is described as “an ode to the classic love story,” with Rocky and Rihanna depicting true ride-or-die characters in a devoted relationship despite their circumstances.The video was shot in New York last summer and was written, directed & executive produced by A$AP Rocky for AWGE.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy-nominated rapper and Variety Hitmakers cover star Jack Harlow unveiled the tracklist for his second major-label album, “Come Home the Kids Miss You,” on Tuesday — and it includes features from Drake, Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell and even a song called “Dua Lipa.”Pharrell guests on a song called “Movie Star,” Drake on “Churchill Downs” (presumably about the horse-racing track in Harlow’s home state of Kentucky), Lil Wayne on “Poison” and Timberlake on one called “Parent Trap” (in which he apparently plays the parent).The album drops Friday (May 6) via Generation Now/Atlantic Records and includes the singles “Nail Tech” and “First Class,” the latter of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 last month and boosted streams for Fergie’s 2007 pop hit “Glamorous,” which it samples.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWhile year-over-year growth in the wake of a global pandemic is an unprecedented metric for the music industry, Universal Music Group posted a robust first quarter for 2022, with revenue up 21.6% (16.5% in constant currency) to €2.199 billion ($2.31 billion). Many of these boosts are at least partially a result of the gradual reopening of the world’s economy after the lockdown of the pandemic.Music publishing revenue was up 32.5%, recorded-music revenue up 11.3% and merchandising and other revenue up a whopping 69.8% year-over-year in constant currency.The company’s adjusted EBITDA increased 14.0% year-over-year in constant currency.Recorded Music revenues for the first quarter of 2022 were €1,721 million, up 16.0% compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, or 11.3% in constant currency.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorChris Thile, singer-songwriter and virtuoso mandolinist and member of Nickel Creek and the Punch Brothers, will perform a concert to benefit pediatric cancer research at New York’s City Winery on June 1. Billed “Uncorked & Unplugged,” proceeds from the event will support Mount Sinai.Head here for tickets and more information.According to the announcement, “Uncorked & Unplugged continues the tradition of a grand New York bacchanal while raising money for and bringing awareness to cancer research.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFollowing his recent headlining stint at Coachella and his long North American tour last fall, Harry Styles has announced a special “One Night Only in New York” concert at UBS Arena on Long Island on May 20. All tickets will be available for $25 all-in, including taxes and fees.According to the announcement, the show will celebrate his new album “Harry’s House,” which drops that day, “and will see Harry performing songs from the album for the first time ever.”American Express® Card Members have the power to unlock access to Harry Styles tickets for his UBS Arena show by registering for American Express® Early Access powered by Ticketmaster Verified Fan*.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEarly 21 st century New York rockers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — singer Karen O, guitarist Nick Zinner and drummer Jay Chase — have announced new music and tour dates in the summer and fall. The group, which recently signed with indie powerhouse Secretly Canadian, say they will have new music in the fall.The group will play a brace of dates in Europe and Australia in the summer before hitting North America, with dates at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium and the Hollywood Bowl in October, where they will be joined by high school punk rockers the Linda Lindas on both dates and (in Los Angeles) by Japanese Breakfast.