Spotify, Hybe, Clubhouse Make Time’s ‘100 Most Influential Companies’ List

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe “Hella Mega Tour” featuring Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer has unveiled new dates, beginning in July and stretching into September.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOne thing we did not expect to see on this Spring Monday morning was a high-quality audio duel between two of the world’s biggest music streaming services.At around 9 a.m. ET, Apple announced that its Apple Music is bringing “industry-leading” sound quality to its subscribers, with the addition of Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFor the past 15 months, many of us have felt starved by the absence of live music from our lives — as if our bodies have been deprived of an essential nutrient and we’re suffering from some existential scurvy.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorManuel Abud has been named CEO of the Latin Recording Academy, effective Aug. 1, the Board of Trustees announced on Wednesday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAmong the many programs that Spotify has launched over the years, its Singles have been one of the most popular — so much that Singles just passed the 5 billion streams mark. To date, there have been more than 630 recordings, from more than 300 artists, across all genres, and the complete list of Spotify Singles can be found HERE.  The series is one of many platforms and programs that Spotify has provided for music and artists since it launched 15 years ago.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorVeteran heavy metal quartet Megadeth have released a statement regarding sexual misconduct allegations against bassist David Ellefson, who recently denied that he was “grooming” an underaged girl via online messages and videos.“We are aware of the recent statements regarding David Ellefson, and are watching developments closely,” the band wrote in a statement posted on social media accounts on late Monday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust under a year ago, as protests gripped the U.S.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Weeknd will perform at the Billboard Music Awards on May 23 — which is only fitting since he’s the top finalist this year with nominations in 16 categories, riding the success of his blockbuster “After Hours” album and its smash single “Blinding Lights,” which has crushed multiple streaming and chart records.Over the course of his decade-long career, the Weeknd has racked up a dazzling number of Billboard chart records: He’s had 34 top 40-charting hits on the

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLongtime Live Nation CFO Kathy Willard is retiring effective June 30, CEO Michael Rapino announced during the company’s earnings call on Thursday. The company is planning for Joe Berchtold, who currently serves as Live Nation’s president, to assume the role of president and CFO.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHipgnosis Songs has acquired yet another catalog, this one from Andrew Watt, who recently was named 2021 Grammy Producer of the Year for his work with Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, Post Malone and Ozzy Osbourne.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorA picture paints a thousand words, the old cliché goes, but it’s truly amazing how much publicity photos of musicians can say about a certain year: The clothes, the shoes, the hats, the belt buckles, the scarves — and most of all, the hairstyles (and lack of styles). G.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSolomon Sounds, ne Solomon Sobande, the former manager of the late rapper and songwriter XXXTentacion, has joined Capitol Records as senior vice president of A&R, reporting to Capitol Music Group (CMG) chairman and CEO Jeff Vaughn. Sounds is tasked with signing and develop artists for the company’s flagship label.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe new Wasserman Music agency and livestreaming service Twitch have partnered to launch “There is Light,” an indie-centric channel and concert series. The series will present 20 live concerts from independent music venues in the U.S.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWhen Variety interviewed the Weeknd over the weekend about the Grammys’ decision to eliminate nomination-review committees (more on that here), we naturally slipped in a question about the new music he recently hinted at in social media posts, which presumably will be the follow-up to his blockbuster 2020 album, “After Hours.” To our surprise, he answered the question — and in characteristic, slightly enigmatic fashion, no less.“If the last record is the after hours

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Weeknd has responded to the rule changes for the Grammy Awards announced by the Recording Academy on Friday — primarily a change that eliminates the “secret” nomination-review committees that played a key role in his being shut out of all nominations for the 2021 awards, despite having one of the biggest albums and the most-streamed single of the year with “After Hours” and “Blinding Lights,” respectively.“The trust has been broken for so long between the Grammy

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGoldman Sachs’ annual “Music in the Air” study is widely recognized in the music industry as an optimistic but authoritative survey of the business — and yet again, it will make Universal Music Group very happy, as it has valued the company at a whopping $53 billion ahead of its IPO, expected this fall.That’s up from the $36 billion posited in last year’s report, and shows the strength of the recorded-music and publishing businesses, which are primary among UMG’s

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRed Bull Records has bulked up its staff with a number of hires and promotions. Nikki Cox will serve as the label’s Chief Marketing Officer, leading the organization’s efforts across marketing, digital, publicity, and streaming.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWEA, the Label and Artist Services division of Warner Music Group, today announced that Benjamin Blank has been named president of media, a newly created position. In this role, Blank will lead WMG’s new digital advertising and creative content division, unifying WMG’s digital advertising under one unit.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHasbro announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Entertainment One Music (widely known as eOne Music) for an aggregate price of $385 million in cash.The transaction has been approved by Hasbro and Entertainment One Canada’s board of directors, and is subject to customary closing conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSpotify has been hinting at price hikes for some time, and in advance of their next earnings call on Wednesday — which it has said is likely to see a dip in new paid subscriptions — the company raised the price of several subscriptions in the U.K.