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.
17.04.2021 - 00:37 / variety.com
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEarly Friday, Apple Music sent a carefully worded letter to artists, music labels and publishers that briefly explained “how creators earn royalties” from the service, which is the world’s second-largest, behind Spotify.
The letter, which was not sent to the media, was obtained by the Wall Street Journal, which published a report that was not inaccurate but, since it became the only reliable source of the news for media outlets, was often inaccurately reported —
.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 EditorAs more and more concerts go on the books for the fall, Genesis becomes one of the first to announce a major arena tour, announcing rescheduled North American tour dates for their “The Last Domino?” tour, the first time in 14 years the group has played the continent. The tour will see core members Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford joined by Nic Collins on drums and the band’s long-time lead guitar and bass player Daryl Stuermer.
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 EditorSpotify, the world’s top paid music-streaming service; Hybe, the company formerly known as Big Hit that spawned BTS; and Clubhouse, the actual-human-conversation-based social-media platform launched just last spring, have made Time magazine’s annual “100 Most Influential Companies” list.According to the announcement, “To assemble it, Time solicited nominations across sectors including health care, entertainment, transportation, technology and more, from our global
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.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn the latest blockbuster music-catalog deal, Downtown has sold its 145,000 owned and co-published copyrights to an affiliate of the Concord music company.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAll 2021 Academy Awards nominees for Best Original Song will be performed during the preshow, which begins at 6:30 p.m. ET — not during the main show, which begins 90 minutes later.The pre-show and main ceremony will be broadcast on ABC, as well as available to stream on Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV, FuboTV and on ABC.com (with provider authentication).
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRapper, actor and activist Common has signed with YM&U management of his music endeavors, the company has announced. He will be represented and managed by Kevin Wolff, who signed him to YM&U, alongside Anthony Rodol.Common is the only rapper to win Grammy, Academy and Emmy Awards; he has also won a Golden Globe.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFive-time Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne has joined UTA, the company announced, for worldwide representation in all areas. With a catalog reaching back to the 1990s, Wayne is one of the most influential and successful rappers of all time.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorNormally, for an interview like the one Variety did on Tuesday with Oscars musical director Questlove and show producer Jesse Collins, the reporter can ask at least somewhat informed questions.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEver since the music industry began its streaming-fueled recovery around five years ago, the songwriting and publishing communities have been protesting not only the uneven payment structure of streaming — which sees recorded-music rights holders being paid three times what publishing is paid — but also the imbalanced power and payment structures of the music industry.
Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorU.S. Rep.