Live Music Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Rapper Scott Mescudi, better known by his stage name Kid Cudi, revealed on Wednesday the launch of an interactive live music app in collaboration with screenwriter Ian Edelman and software engineer Jonathan Gray. Dubbed Encore, the mobile app offers an alternative to current streaming models by empowering musicians with new ways to monetize their business and grow their audience fanbase.

‘Survival Tour’ have raised over £30,000 so far for live music and events workers in the UK.The five main ‘Survival Tour’ cyclists, who are all live events professionals, completed their 15-day ride from Newcastle to London yesterday (October 18) to raise money for those who work in the live events industry, which has been blighted this year by the coronavirus pandemic.The ‘Survival Tour’, which visited over 50 entertainment venues and festival sites in cities such as Nottingham, Bristol and

Chris Willman Music WriterThe Beastie Boys had never before licensed any of their songs for an advertisement, but that commercial blackout came to an end during Sunday’s Steelers/Browns game, when the sounds of “Sabotage” accompanied a spot for the Joe Biden presidential campaign.It wasn’t just any campaign spot, but one that focuses on how the COVID-19 shutdowns have decimated the live music industry.

Billboard).Listing hundreds of experienced Black tour managers, production managers, sound engineers, lighting experts, stage and set designers and more, the professionals featured in the new directory can be contacted via the official site.“When Jenifer Smith from Live Nation Concerts and NyAsia Burris from my team came to me with this idea, I thought it was genius and absolutely necessary,” Live Nation Urban president Shawn Gee explained.“There are several amazing resource groups that exist

Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s new job support scheme, claiming that their sector feels “ignored” by both the plans and the government.Announced last Friday (October 9) and set to launch on November 1, the scheme will benefit employees who work for UK firms that are forced to shut by law due to coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

coronavirus on the beleaguered sector, Dinenage said that the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund was proof of its support.“The government stands with the culture sector,” she said (via Music Week).“We are doing everything we can.

breakdown in talks this week between Donald Trump‘s administration and the Democrats over a COVID-19 relief bill.NIVA, who represent over 2000 independent venues across the US, issued a statement last night (October 6) in response to the breakdown in talks, saying that they “have been sounding the alarm since April that if our members don’t get emergency assistance, they will go under forever — and it’s happening”.“This is real.

coronavirus-enforced closure.The 20,000-capacity arena will host a socially-distanced show on Saturday, December 5, headlined by Squeeze.The venue’s capacity will be reduced from 20,000 to 4,700 for the show, and tickets will be sold in groups of two, three and four.A one-way system will be in operation throughout the arena and entrances, while all separate groups of fans will have empty seats between them.

coronavirus pandemic.Spearheaded by Attitude Is Everything, who are aiming to improve deaf and disabled people’s access to live music, the Alliance has been officially launched today (October 1) to mark 10 years since the Equality Act came into force.The Alliance have published an open letter this morning to show “support and solidarity to [their] partners across the cultural, sports, heritage and tourism sectors”, especially to those who are “fighting for survival as we enter more months of

The coronavirus pandemic has brought the United States economy to a sputtering halt, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the live music industry. With indoor concerts out of the picture for the foreseeable future and 90% of independent music venues on the edge of permanent closure, 2020 has posed an existential threat to seeing music live as we know it.

Eric Clapton has lent his support to Van Morrison’s Save Live Music campaign – although he’s not made it clear if he’s completely on board with Morrison’s new conspiracy-theory-pushing singles.Morrison, of course, announced plans to release three new anti-lockdown singles over the course of a month, as part of his campaign to get live music up and running again. The first, ‘Born To Be Free’, was released last Friday, with two more to come in October.

Mogwai have cancelled three of their planned UK shows for February 2021 as a result of the continuing uncertainty over the return of live music during the coronavirus pandemic.The band had been set to play at the Roundhouse in London (February 17), the O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester (February 19) and the SSE Hydro in Glasgow (February 20).But this afternoon (September 28) Mogwai confirmed that they had now taken the decision to cancel those live dates, saying in a statement that “the safety

Chris Willman Music WriterA survey of concert pros conducted by the trade magazine Pollstar finds some interesting splits between optimism and continued wariness as the industry tries to forecast what lies immediately ahead for their battered and still largely shut down business.“It is encouraging that over half of all respondents, 54.7%, believe the industry will return to full capacity in 2021, as compared to 30.6% who say the comeback won’t happen until 2022,” Andy Gensler, the executive

coronavirus crisis, is set to come to an end next month.The new petition arrives after claims from many in the live music industry that, despite socially distanced indoor gigs being allowed in the UK from mid-August, the vast majority of venues are not viably able to host events with restrictions in place.You can sign the petition on the UK Government and Parliament petitions website here.Despite the government’s £1.57billion bailout for venues and arts spaces, which was announced back in July,

Kinross last weekend with long-awaited performances by young local talent. Organised by KLEO (Kinross-shire Local Events Organisation) the Sunday, August 30 concert was supported and hosted by The Green Hotel in the guest courtyard.

When Keiron Marshall was 15, he found his way out of a desperate situation with help from an unexpected source: Eric Clapton. The guitar great was host at the first gig Marshall ever went to, and he was joined on stage by Gary Brooker of Procol Harum, The Who's Pete Townshend and Beatle Ringo Starr.

Chris Willman Music Writer“It’s shocking that they don’t just stay until they figure it out,” says Audrey Fix Schaefer of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), speaking about Congress adjourning Thursday without taking up federal legislation to relieve businesses hardest hit by the pandemic.

NME about their call for the government to urgently provide support to their industry while unable to work due to COVID-19 restrictions.Earlier this month, the #LetTheMusicPlay campaign saw artists and industry figures take to social media to demand that the government share arts funding to protect the future live crew, musicians and the individuals working behind the scenes.Despite the government’s recent £1.57billion to help the arts, culture and heritage industries survive the impact of

Attitude Is Everything, which has been working towards accessibility throughout the live industry for 20 years, has set up the Beyond The Music initiative with the help of the National Lottery Community Fund.BTM will provide the necessary skills, experience, resources and guidance for deaf and disabled people as well as for music businesses in order to create inclusive work environments and close the employment gap.“Attitude is Everything believes it is crucial that deaf and disabled people have

coronavirus pandemic.An official press release stated that “donations totaling nearly £270,000, co-ordinated by the BPI, will go to a range of causes from this second round of funding that will help to sustain artists and musicians, artist managers and grassroots music venues that are most in need.”The financial support comes from funds previously provided by major record labels Sony Music Entertainment UK, Universal Music UK, Warner Music UK, and independents Cherry Red and Demon Music

coronavirus pandemic has forced festivals around the world to cancel their 2020 editions, with fears over their futures if they can’t safely return in 2021.Writing in a memo shared with the promotion company’s investors, Michael Rapino said there were positive signs for next year’s summer events already. “Importantly, we remain confident that fans will return to live events when it is safe to do so,” he wrote.

teetered on the brink of closure before being saved last month, and Band on the Wall has had to lay off 26 people after what they described as 'the biggest crisis in our history' forced them to shut in order to bring forward previously-planned renovation work.

U2 have donated a further $1,500,000 (£1.2m) to helping the live music survive during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to reports.It comes after the Bono-fronted rock band donated €10m to Irish COVID-19 relief efforts back in April.According to Billboard, this new amount also includes the €200,000 (£180K) amount that the group raised in a recent fundraiser for Ireland’s music industry.Bono and the Edge shared a video of their acoustic rendition of the Led Zeppelin classic ‘Stairway To

U2, a band renowned for their long-running charitable efforts on a global scale, is continuing to give back during the coronavirus pandemic. After donating €10m to Irish COVID-19 relief efforts back in April, the rock outfit is now donating an additional $1,500,000 to provide relief for the live music industry, which is suffering economically as the pandemic forces closures of live music venues, leaving many out of work.

The show took place yesterday evening at the 1250-capacity Clapham Grand, with Frank Turner performing to just 200 socially distanced attendees — less than 20% of their normal capacity.The pilot event was supported by the UK government as a trial run for enforcing safety measures at gigs during the coronavirus pandemic.However, Clapham Grand venue manager Ally Wolf told BBC News that the style of show that was trialled last night was not a financially viable model for other venues to follow

Frank Turner is to play the UK’s first show to be requested by the government as a pilot for the return of live music.The punk singer-songwriter will play The Clapham Grand tonight (July 28), with the South London venue operating at less than 20% capacity.Performing to a crowd of 180 fans, Turner’s show will be used to provide a clear understanding on how indoor UK venues can return to their full functioning capacity in the near future.Ally Wolf, manager of The Clapham Grand, said: “Preparing

Jason Derulo cooled off by the pool during his steamy "Savage Love" performance Saturday (July 25) as part of Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series.

Bruce Haring pmc-editorial-managerYes, there’s still music being made. Taylor Swift stunned the world by dropping an unexpected eighth album, forever, this week.

COVID world. “You’re just gonna be really controlled.

coronavirus pandemic was submitted by senators John Cornyn and Amy Klobuchar yesterday (July 22).The Bill would provide six months of financial support to keep venues afloat, pay employees and seek to preserve an economic sector that has been hit in most states since mid-March.“Texas is home to a number of historic and world-class small entertainment venues, many of which remain shuttered after being the first businesses to close,” Cornyn said in a statement to Billboard.“The culture around

Ali Shutler hears from bands and concerned commentatorsDespite the government promising a £1.57 billion cash injection for venues and arts spaces alongside the announcement that some socially distanced live shows can take place indoors from the first of August, last week was full of terrible news for the northern music scene, which has a history of being painfully underfunded – a 2017 report found that the arts in the north would need a £700m cash injection to bring it to parity with London in

Miles Kane is to lead the acts playing the UK’s first public live series of music events since the coronavirus lockdown began earlier this year.The singer will play Camden Market this Saturday (July 25) to kick off the ‘Camden Unlocked’ series, which will take in eight ticketed, free open-air weekend performances until August 16.A single act will perform on alternating Friday, Saturday or Sunday afternoons, with Kane joined on the line-up by the likes of Newton Faulkner, Shaun Escoffery, Stone

snatches them away like an evil nibbles waitress. It hints that we might be spared the hideousness of Kanye West spewing anti-abortion rants all over the Presidential campaign trail, then signs him up at the Federal Elections Committee, presumably after heated discussions over whether submissions in block capitals over 38 additional pages are still valid.And it keeps on promising us gigs, despite them being all-but incapable of coming through.

the ongoing pandemic ultimately canceled.

@londonsymphony and others. So pleased to make progress to Stage 4 of our road map for culture.

pandemic.On Sunday, the government , but there are still no plans to resume live shows.After more than three months of lockdown, many have criticised the move as coming too late.Skinner, who is taking part in drive-in gigs across the UK in July and August while traditional shows cannot take place, says he is staying positive about the industry but realises the enormous effects the crisis has had on performers and venues already."There's two sides to my work life, there's recorded music and then