Jem Aswad Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

SZA spoke to Variety for a new cover story published on Thursday and talk turned to the music she likes to listen to. SZA reeled off an eclectic list of her favorite artists, naming everyone from Stevie Wonder to King Krule via Fever Ray.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music How does a six-year-old song become a hit? In 2023, of course the short answer is TikTok, but it takes a lot more than that to make a song into a genuine hit single — let alone take the longest climb to No. 1 for a non-holiday song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. That’s the story of the Weeknd’s “Die for You” — No.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music A Nashville judge has temporarily blocked John Oates’ proposed sale of his share of the Hall & Oates business partnership to Primary Wave until a private arbitrator hears the case, according to a Billboard report on Thursday. The move is the latest in the ongoing, rather mysterious legal battle between the estranged longtime musical partners.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music It’s obvious from SZA’s music that she has a wide range of influences, from classic R&B to Joni Mitchell, jazz to pop-punk and beyond. But just how far those influences range becomes dramatically clear when she talks about the music in her house and at school growing up, and best of all, when starts looking at the playlists in her phone. For much more from this remarkable interview, see our “SZA: Variety’s Hitmaker of the Year” article. What kinds of music were playing in your house when you were growing up? My mom has a lot of church music; my dad has a lot of jazz and abstract music; my sister plays a lot of melodic hip-hop and rap. And I love classical music, I love jazz, I love music with color.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Whether it’s a soundtrack, a score or a song placement, there are countless wrong ways to do music for film and so few ways to make it feel right. There’s very little leeway, which is why it can be so challenging for even the most successful hitmakers to make the transition to film music — especially with a major film event like “Barbie.” To say that the music for the summer blockbuster has been a success is a vast understatement: Not only is the film’s companion album Variety’s Hitmakers Soundtrack of the Year, the music from the film scored a whopping 11 Grammy nominations across seven categories — including song and record of the year — and four of the five entries nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Phil Quartararo, the veteran record executive who played a major role in the success of the Spice Girls, Linkin Park and many others, has died, Variety has confirmed. Billboard reported that the cause of death was pancreatic cancer; he was 67. A familiar and friendly presence at countless concerts across the decades, “Phil Q.” — pictured above with Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks in 2001 — was renowned for his warm personality and firm handshake.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Public Enemy, R.E.M, George Clinton, Steely Dan, Bryan Adams, Tracy Chapman, Timbaland are among the nominees for the 2024 class of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The full list of nominees appears below.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music As expected, the Rolling Stones have announced they are going back on the road in 2024 behind their recently released “Hackney Diamonds” album. The group, led by core members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ron Wood, will perform in 16 cities across the U.S. and Canada, playing a combination of classics, deep cuts and songs from the new album, according to the announcement.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music As expected, Spotify unveiled its updated streaming payment policies for artists and labels on Tuesday morning, and they are essentially the ones that have been previously reported in recent weeks: efforts to cut down on fraudulent streams; increasing the minimum payable track length for what is called “noise” content (the often-cited “rain falling on a rooftop” recordings); and eliminating payment for songs with less than $1,000 streams. The company claims the updates will drive an additional $1 billion toward artists, by re-directing the payments that had previously gone to fraudulent streams, noise content or distributors that do not distribute royalties below a certain amount.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Of the many premature deaths from the wave of great ‘60s musicians, Gram Parsons is one of the most tragic. A deeply gifted singer and songwriter, he’s universally (if not entirely accurately) regarded as the patron saint of Americana music.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music If there is a bible for the music industry, it’s Donald Passman’s book, “All You Need to Know About the Music Business.” Since the first edition came out more than 30 years ago, it has guided countless musicians and executives, and has prevented many of them from making decisions they’d later regret. Considering the deep detail Passman gets into about contracts, royalties and other complicated business arrangements, his tone is remarkably conversational, and he makes sure readers don’t miss the important stuff: The section on business managers begins with him saying “Listen to me!!!” in italics with several exclamation marks.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Since Outkast released their last album in 2006, the Grammy-winning group’s Andre 3000 has released a small smattering of songs and memorably guested on tracks by artists ranging from Beyonce to Drake to Frank Ocean, but has kept fans waiting for his debut solo album. It’s finally dropping Friday, the artist suddenly announced out of a clear blue sky early on Tuesday morning, but “New Blue Sun” may not be what they were expecting: “an entirely instrumental album centered around woodwinds; a celebratory piece of work in the form of a living, breathing, aural organism,” according to the announcement.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music As the music industry explores an updated, more artist-friendly model for streaming royalties, Warner Music has joined Universal in adopting a new “artist centric” model with Deezer in the streaming company’s home country of France. The arrangement has been in effect since Oct. 1, sources confirm to Variety.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Just weeks after concluding his blockbuster ‘It’s All a Blur’ arena tour, Drake has announced dates for his 2024 U.S. ‘It’s All A Blur Tour – Big As The What?’ tour with J. Cole, presented by Cash App and Visa.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music This year’s Grammy noms are a refreshingly diverse look at the past year of music, with a huge number of female artists and racially and musically diverse nominees in the leading categories (see the full list of 2024 Grammy nominations here). Yet as the past few years in particular have shown, leading the Recording Academy, the Grammys’ parent organization, is no day at the beach — having to build consensuses and move the organization forward while making sure it accurately reflects current trends in music and business, in an art form that is almost entirely subjective.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The path from TikTok phenom to career artist is a challenging one, and while Victoria Beverly Walker — a.k.a. 22-year-old British singer-songwriter PinkPantheress — has navigated it far better than most, a big test comes with “Heaven Knows,” her first conventional full-length album.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music After the long life of Dua Lipa’s 2020 sophomore album “Future Nostalgia” — which was pandemic dance therapy for so many — there’s been a hot remix album, a year-long world tour, a global hit single with Elton John and her effervescent single from “Barbie,” so it really doesn’t seem like Variety‘s 2022 co-Hitmaker of the Year been absent. Yet it’s been almost three years since “Nostalgia” dropped, and today we get the first look at her next chapter with “Houdini,” the lead single and video from her still-untitled third full-length album.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Antonio L.A. Reid, cofounder of LaFace Records and former head of Arista, Epic and Def Jam Records, has been accused of sexual assault and harassment in a lawsuit by former Arista executive Drew Dixon. The suit, which was filed Wednesday in Manhattan’s Federal District Court and obtained by Variety, claims that Reid assaulted her twice during her time at Arista in the early 2000s.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Neil Portnow, the former chairman and president of the Recording Academy, was sued on Wednesday by a woman who claimed he drugged and raped her in a New York hotel room in 2018, according to the New York Times. The allegation had previously surfaced in 2020 as part of a blockbuster legal claim filed by Portnow’s successor, Deborah Dugan, after she was abruptly placed on leave and ultimately terminated after just eight months on the job; at the time Portnow called the allegations “ludicrous, and untrue.” The new suit, filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, accuses Portnow, who stepped down in 2019, of sexual battery, and accuses the academy — the nonprofit group behind the Grammys — of negligence.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music As news about Spotify’s new payment model has torturously dribbled out — details have been leaked through sources, with little official comment from the company — it’s not surprising that controversy has accompanied it. Streaming royalty models are deeply complicated and Spotify, the world’s largest paid streaming service by a long measure, has borne the brunt of the world’s frustration with the low royalties that most artists and especially songwriters receive from digital service providers.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Four hours and 22 minutes is a long time to be doing anything except sleeping, even watching a state-of-the-art Rock and Roll Hall of Fame awards show that included Willie Nelson, Elton John, Sheryl Crow, Jimmy Page, Stevie Nicks and many more. Yet it’s a testament to the almost superhuman talent and vision of Missy Elliott that as the show hit the four-hour mark, she had the entire audience out of their seats for a visually and musically explosive medley of her greatest hits — including “Get Ur Freak On,” “The Rain” and the closer, “Lose Control” — as she rocked the stage in an all-gold glitter suit accompanied by rappers, a DJ, approximately 30 lithely limbed dancers and an eye-popping video presentation that spanned the entire width of the Barclays Center floor.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music With all the hoopla around “Now and Then” — which has been officially billed as “The Last Beatles Song” and erroneously described as the legendary group’s “first new song in 50 years” — some reality-checking is in order. Yes, it is a “new” Beatles song in that all four members, including the late John Lennon and George Harrison, play and sing on a previously unreleased composition.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music 100 Gecs are one of the most strangely fascinating acts to hit music in many years. They’re smart and stupid and appealing and annoying and infectious and grating and many other opposites, and although they take what they do seriously, they seemingly can’t believe they’re being taken seriously.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Hard as it may be to imagine, at the dawn of the ‘90s, Prince was at a make-or-break point in his career, at least as a chart-busting superstar. He was one of the biggest artists in the world, but it had been several years since he’d had a real hit, and his image and public statements had been confusing, to say the least.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Hipgnosis Songs Fund — the company that led the music-catalog gold rush of recent years by spending more than $2 billion for song assets by Neil Young, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and many others — is facing an uncertain future as some 83.2% of its investors voted Thursday that a new board make major structural changes to the overextended company. Investors also rejected a proposal by its leadership to shore up its finances by selling off around $440 million of its 65,000-song catalog to a sister fund backed by Blackstone.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Reunited pop-punk icons Blink-182 will be back on the road in the summer of 2024 with a stadium and arena tour through North America in support of their just-released album, “One More Time.” Produced by Live Nation, the 30-city trek includes stadium performances at Petco Park in the band’s hometown of San Diego, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Citi Field in New York, Fenway Park in Boston, and Rogers Centre in Toronto, along with 25 arena performances. “One More Time”, marks the first time in a decade that the original trio of Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker have been in the studio together.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Note: The conversation that follows took place in September, two weeks before Hamas’ attack on Israel. On Wednesday, veteran music executive Lyor Cohen was honored at the City of Hope’s annual Spirit of Life gala, which raised $4.3 million to improve health equity in cancer care. He made the following remarks as part of his speech: “We came here tonight to eradicate cancer, but wouldn’t it be incredible if we could also eradicate hate. “What happened on October 7th will never be forgotten, the brutality and slaughter of innocent women, children and men only because they were Jewish. It was an act of terrorism and barbarism. That is not open for debate. Many are being held captive. I want them returned to their families. “I am sorry to hijack this special event to express my feelings as a human, just like I do when injustices happen to anyone targeted because of their race, religion or sexual identity. My heart also goes out to the Palestinian people and the region that has to endure unnecessary loss of life. I pray for peace. Will you join me?” Now in his fourth decade in the music industry, Lyor Cohen is one of the top executives of the era, working as an artist manager, label chief and, since 2016, head of music for YouTube.

Naman Ramachandran Mick Jagger is basking in the acclaim for the new Rolling Stones album “Hackney Diamonds,” the band’s first album of new material since 2005’s “A Bigger Bang.” Reviewing the album for Variety, Jem Aswad said it “sounds classic without feeling dated,” adding “if there’s a better way to end the Rolling Stones’ 60-plus-year recording career, it’s hard to imagine what it could be.” “I’ve got really good reactions from people that seem to be genuine,” Jagger told The Guardian. In a freewheeling interview with the British newspaper, Jagger, 80, weighed in on mortality, missing late drummer Charlie Watts and contemporary U.S. politics.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music News arrived gradually of the Rolling Stones’ special celebration in New York of their new album, “Hackney Diamonds.” First it was a “Rolling Stones event on the evening of Oct. 19,” then it was an album-release party, and then rumors spread that they were going to perform “a couple of songs, but with the boys, you never know” (yes, the person quoted actually called them “the boys”).

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music DJ Mark the 45 King, who produced or co-produced such hip-hop classics as Eminem’s “Stan,” Jay-Z’s “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)” and early Queen Latifah hits like “Wrath of My Madness” and “Ladies First,” has died, a rep confirms to Variety. No cause of death was cited; he was 62. “It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved Mentor DJ Mark the 45 King!,” Latifah said in a statement.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music To put the rather overheated hype around the new Rolling Stones album in superfan-quibbling terms, “Hackney Diamonds” is not their best work since “Some Girls,” released some 45 years ago — but it is their best since “Tattoo You,” which is just three years younger. That the Stones have reached such a peak while grappling with what an octogenarian rock band should sound like — one that recently lost their drummer of nearly 60 years, no less — is perhaps the most impressive feat of all.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Three major music publishers, Universal, Concord and ABKCO, filed a complaint against the new AI company Anthropic for copyright violations, according to legal documents obtained Wednesday by Variety. The legal issues stem from Anthropic’s series of AI models referred to as Claude, and is the latest move in the music industry’s efforts to stave off what it perceives as a massive copyright threat from AI developers. “Publishers bring this action to address the systematic and widespread infringement of their copyrighted song lyrics by the artificial intelligence (“AI”) company Anthropic,” the complaint reads.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Universal Music Group and BandLab Technologies have announced plans for a strategic relationship concentrated on protecting artists’ rights in the age of AI. “Centered on empowering the next generation of artists, including within BandLab’s global community, the alliance will advance the companies’ shared commitment to ethical use of AI and the protection of artist and songwriter rights,” the announcement states.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Of all the fallen stars of the rock era, Sly Stone is definitely in the top 5 who seemed least likely to be writing an autobiography at 80 years old. As the founder and guiding light of Sly and the Family Stone, he was one of the most brilliant stars of the Sixties, a charismatic and pioneering musician who not only fronted the first major multi-genre/ multi-racial/ multi-gender band, but whose songs addressed the turmoil and the spirit of the era and, initially anyway, landed on the side of positivity and self-empowerment: “Everybody Is a Star,” “You Can Make It If You Try,” “Everyday People,” “Stand!,” “I Want to Take You Higher.” He and the group were undisputed pioneers of funk, rock and soul music (and later became one of the most sampled artists in hip-hop history), and their electrifying performance at Woodstock turned them into one of the world’s biggest acts.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Graham Nash — member of the Hollies and Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Grammy winner, two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and two-time Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee — has entered into an agreement with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group that will see the company acquiring, developing, and expanding his musical legacy. The deal encompasses a range of assets from Nash’s career, including his solo work as well as of his work with the Hollies and the various incarnations and variations of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music As if there wasn’t already enough drama and confusion around AI and the music industry, the shadowy musician Ghostwriter’s song “Heart on My Sleeve” — which used generative AI to create fake verses that sound uncannily like Drake and the Weeknd — has spawned no small amount of confusion regarding the Grammys. First, it seemed that the song wouldn’t qualify (and was removed from streaming services shortly after its release in April), then it apparently did, then it didn’t, then it finally did — but only after the artist had removed the fake Drake and Weeknd verses.