One Liners: Gucci Mane, Rick Astley, Fred Again, more

DEALSHarbourView, one of those equity funds buying up music rights, has done some big old deals with Nelly and Wiz Khalifa. TMZ reports that the former was worth $50 million and got HarbourView a 50% stake in Nelly’s entire catalogue, though the official statement implied the deal relates specially to the musician’s recordings.

DEALSGlassnote Records has signed Tors. Label founder Daniel Glass says: “We are THRILLED to welcome Tors to the Glassnote roster.

APPOINTMENTSArtist services and rights management company Interstellar has announced the appointment of Vickie Nauman to its advisory board. “Interstellar is a business that has impressed me from the off, in terms of the calibre of the team, its commitment to its clients and, importantly, the passion they have for music and its creators”, she says. “The company sits right at the intersection of music and innovation, so I hope that it will benefit from my experience as it enters its next phase of growth”.————————————————–RELEASESNZCA Lines will release new EP ‘Universal Heartbreak’ on 22 Sep.

DEALSZayn Malik has signed a new record deal with Universal Music – releasing through Mercury in the US and Island in the UK. “As soon as Zayn and I met, I knew we had to work together”, says Mercury Records President Tyler Arnold.

DEALSPrimary Wave has bought a stake in the songs catalogue of George Brown, founder member and drummer with Kool & The Gang. “Kool & The Gang’s influence on generations of musicians and fans around the globe cannot be denied”, says Primary Wave SVP Business And Legal Affairs Samantha Rhulen, who also confirms that the company is “THRILLED” to be partnering with Brown.Reservoir Media has acquired music rights from four of the founding members of The Spinners.

Glastonbury organisers have confirmed the dates for next year’s festival. Check out all of the latest info for Glastonbury 2024 below.Keeping with tradition, next year’s festival will be taking place on the final weekend of June from Wednesday June 26 through to Sunday June 30, 2024 at Worthy Farm in Pilton,The Somerset-based festival is renowned not just for being one of the biggest festivals in the world but also one of the hardest to get tickets for.

APPOINTMENTSCross-sector trade group UK Music has confirmed Eunice Obianagha as its first Head Of Diversity. She will develop the organisation’s diversity strategy and work with its Diversity Taskforce, and also offer advice and support to the other trade bodies that make up the UK Music membership.Wise Music has appointed Massimiliano ‘Max’ Moroldo as MD of the recently established Wise Music Italy.

Elton John, Rina Sawayama, Rick Astley and more have spiked after their performances at Glastonbury this weekend.According to a new Spotify round-up of this year’s Glastonbury tracks and artists that was shared with NME, streams of John’s songs increased 294 per cent in the UK in the hour after his career-spanning headline set on the Pyramid Stage yesterday (June 25).Gun N’ Roses‘ opening track of their headline set on the Pyramid stage on Saturday (June 24), ‘It’s So Easy’, saw a 300 per cent increase in streams in the UK on Sunday.Meanwhile, Friday (June 23) headliners Arctic Monkeys, were identified as the artists with the most tracks on user-generated Glastonbury playlists.Rick Astley’s debut Glastonbury performance was also followed by a 294 per cent spike in steams of his song ‘Dance’ in the UK.

Rick Astley covered Harry Styles‘ ‘As It Was’ during his Glastonbury 2023 performance this weekend – see footage below.Astley opened proceedings on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday (June 24), going on to play a secret set of Smiths covers with Blossoms later in the weekend.During his Pyramid set, Astley played hits from across his career including the iconic ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’.He also covered AC/DC’s ‘Highway To Hell’ while playing drums, and for his third song of the set he took on Styles’ huge chart-topper ‘As It Was’.See Rick Astley cover Harry Styles at Glastonbury below.

Glastonbury viewers reckon Rick Astley has 'won' the festival after he performed an unusual collaboration with Stockport's very own Blossoms.

Blossoms and Rick Astley‘s suprise set at Glastonbury consisting solely of covers from The Smiths‘ discography.The musicians’ supergroup covers band played an hour-long set at the Woodsies Stage today (June 24).

Glastonbury fans were surprised when Rick Astley performed an 'iconic' cover at the festival, with many admitting it wasn't on their bingo cards for 2023.

Rick Astley and Blossoms have announced the return of their Smiths supergroup covers band for a secret set at Glastonbury 2023, with the pop icon telling NME about what went into it and the backlash from Johnny Marr.Astley, who this weekend made his Glastonbury debut by opening up the Pyramid Stage, made headlines last year when he joined Blossoms on stage in London to perform a number of Smiths covers – before they then played a number of full gigs dedicated to the iconic ’80s indie icons. Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr was less than pleased having not been told about it, before telling NME that he’d been in touch with Blossoms and “dealt with it“.Now, they’ve announced that the tribute project will be performing at Glastonbury on the Woodsies stage at 6pm tonight (Friday June 23), filling in one of the TBA slots with a secret set.“I can’t tell you how much I love doing this,” Astley told NME of the covers band. “I know it’s sacrilege and they should hang the lot of us on the line for doing it, but I also just don’t care.

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DEALSPeermusic has acquired the entire songs catalogue of the late bluegrass musician Earl Scruggs and the majority of the songs catalogue of his son Gary Scruggs. It was already involved in managing the Scruggs catalogue, however, via the new deal, “Peermusic acquires the US rights it was previously administering for Earl Scruggs as well as some of the songs that were previously controlled by the Scruggs estate”.————————————————–APPOINTMENTSWarner Chappell Music in the US has announced the promotions of Wallace Joseph to SVP A&R and Jon Chen to VP A&R.

DEALSPeermusic has acquired the entire songs catalogue of the late bluegrass musician Earl Scruggs and the majority of the songs catalogue of his son Gary Scruggs. It was already involved in managing the Scruggs catalogue, however, via the new deal, “Peermusic acquires the US rights it was previously administering for Earl Scruggs as well as some of the songs that were previously controlled by the Scruggs estate”.————————————————–APPOINTMENTSWarner Chappell Music in the US has announced the promotions of Wallace Joseph to SVP A&R and Jon Chen to VP A&R.

Rick Astley has spoken to NME about what to expect from his debut Glastonbury performance this weekend, as well as the rumours that Foo Fighters will be performing a secret set.Thousands of fans were present for festival organiser Emily Eavis opening the gates at Worthy Farm this morning (Wednesday June 21) with this year’s line-up including headline performances from the likes of Guns N’ Roses, Elton John, and Arctic Monkeys, alongside the likes of Lizzo, Lana Del Rey, Måneskin, Fred Again.. and Cat Stevens, Manic Street Preachers, Wizkid, Lil Nas X, Chvrches and The War On Drugs and more.Astley meanwhile, will be opening Saturday’s Pyramid Stage performances with an early set at 12pm – an honour that makes him feel “quite nervous”, as he told NME.“I think anyone who’s never played it before would have to say that,” said the pop veteran. “I’m so looking forward to it.

Fred Again.. has announced a run of shows in the UK and EU taking place in September. Check out the tour details below.The DJ and producer will kick off the dates by taking over London’s Alexandra Palace for four consecutive nights (September 4-8).

Glastonbury 2023 is just around the corner, with over 200,000 people heading down to Somerset’s Worthy Farm for the UK’s biggest festival. However, many will already be eager to find out how to get into next year’s event.The Somerset-based festival is renowned not just for being one of the biggest festivals in the world but also one of the hardest to get tickets for.

Emanuel Okusanya Governors Ball — New York’s biggest music festival and one of the largest in the country — returned over the weekend with a stellar lineup: headliners Kendrick Lamar, Lizzo and Odesza, along with top-billed sets from Ice Spice, Lil Nas X, Haim, Giveon, Central Cee and many more. The festival, which was traditionally held on Randall’s Island, made its debut at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens (near Citi Field Stadium), and as always there was way too much for any one person to take in, so we’ve got several highlights — but by no means all — below. Ice Spice Brings Signature “Calm Girl” Energy With a Confident Twist