Sony Music Group Launches Regional Headquarters in Singapore

The best date night in Music City! Country music’s hottest couples hit the red carpet at the 2022 CMT Music Awards on Monday, April 11, at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

Music City is coming to your living room! The 2022 CMT Music Awards will airs live from Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, April 11, and every major country star is going to be there.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe estate of the late Mexican singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel has signed an exclusive, worldwide agreement with Virgin Music US Latin and extended its agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group. Under the new deal, Virgin Music US Latin will now represent Juan Gabriel’s post-2008 catalog and future recordings, while UMPG will represent his entire catalog through an extended, exclusive global publishing agreement, bringing Gabriel’s music under the Universal Music roof.New music will be released “in the coming months,” the announcement continues, including the highly anticipated “Los Duo 3, including duets with Mon LaFerte and Gloria Trevi as well as posthumously recorded duets. Billboard notes that Gabriel, who died in 2016, left behind dozens of unreleased recordings, including new songs and re-recordings of older ones.

The Directors Guild of America, which represents more than 19,000 members, has launched a review committee to improve on-set safety following the Alec Baldwin "Rust" movie shooting that left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead and director Joel Souza wounded in October. The new team will be led by director Karen Gaviola, who is also involved in an upcoming round of studio contract negotiations, according to the Los Angeles Times. "We have been leading advocates for mandatory safety training and for demanding increased safety precautions on sets," the guild told the paper.

Vicente Fernández passed away four months ago, and his life and music were honored last night at the 64th annual Grammys. The “King of Ranchera,” posthumously won his fourth Grammy, and was included in a tribute to other musical artists who died in the past year. However, Fernández’s fans were not too happy about the presentation of his award: read the details below.Fernández passed away on December 12, 2021, at the age of 81, in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSony Music Entertainment’s Global Podcast Division hired media and podcast veteran Serita Wesley, who will serve in the newly created role of head of U.S. entertainment podcasts.Wesley will be based in New York and reports to Tom Koenig, VP, U.S.

Ukraine’s invasion by Russia.During the pre-recorded message that aired on the show Sunday, he likened the invasion to a deadly silence threatening to extinguish the dreams and lives of the Ukrainian people, including children.“Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals, even to those who can’t hear them,” he said in English.

Thania Garcia Def Jam Record­ings celebrated Women’s History Month — in partnership with LUCID Motors — with a special event recognizing its own female staff. Held March 28 in Beverly Hills, “The Women of Def Jam” brought out the iconic label’s executive team, staff and VIP guests as well as artists like Kendra Jae, DaniLeigh, Pap Chanel, Nevaeh Jolie, Ilham and Kaash Paige, who joined a “Future Leaders” panel moderated by Variety executive editor Shirley Halperin.After closing statements from newly installed Def Jam chairman and CEO Tunji Balogun, the event concluded with a performance by Coco Jones, a new label signee and star of Peacock’s “Bel-Air.”Def Jam’s female execs were also celebrated earlier this month with the release of “The Women of Def Jam” — a 24-track compilation album showcasing music by Nikki D., Foxy Brown, Boss, Ashanti, Amerie, Teyana Taylor, Alessia Cara, Rapsody and Jhené Aiko, among others.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Mexico’s top broadcaster Televisa has launched N Más (“N+”), a brand-new online news service, in its continued bid to consolidate its digital properties for the streaming era.To be available worldwide over the internet, social media, its upcoming ViX platform and the N Más site (www.nmas.com.mx), the umbrella brand N Más will encompass Televisa’s Noticieros news service, streaming channel N Más Media, the newscasts of its flagship station, Canal 2 Las Estrellas, its cable/broadcast channel FOROtv, and newscasts from its local stations.In addition, N Más launches two new divisions: documentary N Más Docs, headed by Marijean Kushfe, and investigative journalism, N Más Focus, led by Omar Sánchez de Tagle. Leading the charge is Daniel Badía as general manager, the current head of Noticieros Televisa, and a seasoned team made up of Otoniel Ochoa, operations director; Amador Narcia, information director; Yolanda Ocampo, content director; Diego Carvajal, digital director and Gustavo Torres, director of technology.They lead more than 1,600 journalists, producers and technicians with the capacity to produce more than 44,000 hours of content per year and 120 live programs daily, according to Televisa.Recognizing that “today’s audiences are looking for new formats, new themes and new platforms to incorporate into their daily decision-making,” Badía pointed to Televisa’s vast decades-long experience in producing Spanish-language news content. “With this proposal – which combines experience and innovation – we will consolidate the most important information offer in Spanish to maintain and grow our audiences.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Group and GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, have announced a new partnership to advance LGBTQ representation in music and amplify LGBTQ voices in the industry.According to the announcement, the partnership includes several initiatives to advance LGBTQ advocacy and inclusion at Sony Music Group and within the broader music industry:“Over the past several years, many LGBTQ artists have made major strides within the music industry, but there is still significant room to improve LGBTQ inclusion, representation, and awareness at all levels,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “Sony Music Group continues to be an incredible leader for diversity, equity, and inclusion in music, and we’re grateful to partner with them to both amplify diverse LGBTQ voices and establish greater pathways to grow LGBTQ inclusion within the industry at large.” “We believe in building an industry that is as diverse as the stories our artists and songwriters tell through their music every day,” said Tiffany R.

Party in Music City! Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean and more of country’s biggest stars will be honored at the 2022 CMT Music Awards.

Caitlin McHugh Stamos is pressing play on giving back!ET can exclusively announce that the 35-year-old actress is channeling her passion for philanthropy into a podcast, aptly titled,, launching March 28.“It's all about how I can help, and how my listeners can help, some incredible people who are making a positive impact on the world,” she explains. Proving it’s truly a project rooted in generosity, Caitlin reveals, “100 percent of the proceeds from the podcast go back to the nonprofits that I interview.”The structure of the show is unique.

The fans are in charge! The first round of nominations for the 2022 CMT Music Awards have been announced — and the list is full of chart-topping artists.

2022 CMT Music Awards are almost here — and it's going to be a star-studded night!On Wednesday, CMT announced the nominees for country music's only entirely fan-voted awards show — which will be hosted live from Music City by Anthony Mackie and Kelsea Ballerini on Monday, April 11 -- and the list includes some of the biggest names in music. Kane Brown leads the pack this year with four nominations, while Ballerini, Mickey Guyton, and first-time nominees Breland and Cody Johnson earned three nods apieceThe first round of nominations for the coveted Video of the Year award includes 12 acts, spotlighting artists like Brandi Carlile, Kacey Musgraves, Luke Combs, Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift feat.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Entertainment Latin-Iberia has struck a new partnership with WK Records, the record label founded by WK Entertainment CEO-founder Walter Kolm.WKR artists include reggaeton star Alex Rose, Grammy-nominated/ Latin Grammy-winning producer-artist Foreign Teck, singer-songwriter Emilia, Argentine trap artist Seven Kayne, and Colombian artist Cheo Gallego, with more signings to be announced in the coming weeks.WKR is led by CEO and WKE head of music Horacio Rodriguez (who joined last year after 15 years at Universal Music Latin), with a pop and urban division led by WKR GM/co-founder Oscar Guitián, and a regional Mexican division led by producer-composer-executive Alberto De León, who previously held roles at Universal, Capitol Latin, Machete Music and  Fonovisa/Disa. “We have an incredible relationship with the entire WK family,” said Sony Latin-Iberia chairman-CEO Afo Verde.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAsian sports streaming platform SPOTV has launched in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and The Philippines. The move was announced on the first day of the virtual FilMart rights market.The service is available as a subscription-based app that includes linear channels and on demand event coverage. The sports it covers include MotoGP World Championships and World Superbike Championships; World Badminton Federation Tour; the Korean Baseball League; V.League Japan and Formula E motor racing.

writing a statement on their website that said: “Sony Music Group calls for peace in Ukraine and an end to the violence. We have suspended operations in Russia and will continue our support of global humanitarian relief efforts to aid victims in need.”Earlier this week (March 9), Universal Music Group also announced they were cutting ties with Russia.“Effective immediately, we are suspending all operations in Russia and closing our offices there.