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After Dismal Year-End Results, LiveXLive Wants to Pivot Conversation to Pay-Per-View and Podcasts
Would you pay $150 for a ticket to see a virtual Monsta X concert if it included a 20-second digital meet and greet with the band? Plenty of the Monbebes (the nickname for the K-pop group’s fans) would gladly pay, according to a press release from LiveXLive, one of five announcements the company has sent out since it dismal annual earnings report came out last week. Besides announcing LiveXLive had sold out of the VIP passes, LiveXLive is hoping to convince investors it is on sound financial footing as it goes into the second quarter. With live events on hold for the rest of the year, the company is hoping pay-per-view concerts and podcasts will help the streaming company reign in growing losses, a high-interest loan that’s restricted a large chunk of its ca...
John Legend Praises ‘Verzuz’ Battles: ‘It’s Just Been Great for the Culture’
John Legend joined Ebro Darden on Apple Music on Thursday (July 2) to chat about his new album, Bigger Love, his musical legacy, the power of protesting and just how good all those recent Verzuz battles have been. “Well, we love it because one, we can never watch the whole thing because kids and things are always going on, so I just drop in when I can,” Legend, who took part in his own Verzuz showdown with Alicia Keys for Juneteenth, admitted. “But the energy has been so good around all of them.” “And what I love about them is they’ve really been teaching people about the history of our culture and the music,” Legend said, “knowing particularly because so many producers and writers have been a part of it, not just front artists, lead art...
‘Hamilton’ Parody Makes Light of the Debate Over Wearing Face Masks: Watch
The ongoing mask debate across the United States has gotten the Hamilton treatment just in time for the musical’s Disney+ premiere this weekend. A YouTube parody brings the coronavirus pandemic pro-mask and anti-mask sides head to head, with lyrics themed the soundtrack of Hamilton. The clip, uploaded by the Holderness Family, gets straight to the topic as it opens with a call-and-response to the tune of “Aaron Burr, Sir”: “Pardon me, do you have germs, sir?” “No, I don’t — and that’s my business, not yours, sir. I have my rights and have my freedom.” “To be sure, sir…” “But this corona is a sham.” “I’m getting nervous, sir.” The humorous song goes on to address everything from the v...
Tom Morello Teams Up With Shea Diamond and Dan Reynolds for ‘Stand Up’ Charity Song
Tom Morello has unveiled his new song “Stand Up,” a high-octane collaboration with Shea Diamond, Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons and The Bloody Beetroots. On the urgent, hard-rocking track, which dropped Thursday (July 2), the collective artists rail against police brutality, racism and white privilege. “When I call the police/ Will they just kill me?/ Will they just kill you?/ When I call the police/ Will they just protect me/ ‘Cause I’m white-skinned too?/ Stand up/ ‘Cause you are standing for nothing/ Just shut up/ Cause your words mean nothing,” Reynolds screams on the chorus before trading verses with Diamond about police corruption and the danger it poses to Black lives. Proceeds from the track will be split between a number of nonprofits foc...
Ed Sheeran, Rolling Stones and More U.K. Music Stars Plead With Government for Live Sector Aid
Some 1,500 artists backing #LetTheMusicPlay warn of ‘mass insolvencies’ from ongoing concert lockdowns due to COVID-19. Some of the U.K.’s biggest music stars are pleading with their government to come to the aid of the £4.5 billion ($5.6 billion) live music sector during the coronavirus lockdown, warning that government support is vital to prevent “mass insolvencies.” A group of 1,500 artists — including Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, The Rolling Stones, Rita Ora and many others — signed a letter to Oliver Dowden, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, urging the government to create a funding package for the live sector similar to what Germany’s government did last month. “With no end to social distancing in sight or financial support from government yet agreed,...
‘Blinding Lights’ Still Shining Bright: The Weeknd Makes Record Return to No. 1 on Pop Songs Chart
“I think people have been longing for simpler times and a nostalgic escape,” says one radio programmer. The Weeknd‘s “Blinding Lights” again beams at maximum wattage on Billboard‘s Pop Songs radio airplay chart, making a record-setting return to No. 1. The song revisits the top spot on the July 4-dated chart (which tallies plays on a panel of over 160 mainstream top 40 stations) after eight weeks at No. 2. No song had previously spent more than four weeks out of the summit before revisiting the coveted rank in the survey’s three-decade history. “Blinding Lights,” released on XO/Republic Records, previously topped Pop Songs for three weeks, on charts dated April 18 and 25 and May 2. Its total span of reigning, thus, covers 12 weeks, the ...
6ix9ine Dropping New Song ‘Yaya’ on Friday: ‘This Is the Best One I Did So Far’
6ix9ine‘s steady release of new music continues. The 24-year-old New York rapper took to Instagram on Thursday (July 2) to announce that his new song “Yaya” and its accompanying music video will drop Friday at 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET. “THIS IS THE BEST ONE I DID SO FAR,” he captioned the announcement. In late June, 6ix9ine scored his first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with “Trollz,” a collaboration with Nicki Minaj. That song followed his comeback single “Gooba” in early May. Earlier in the week, the rainbow-haired rapper teased the new Spanish-language “Yaya” with a brief video of himself lip-synching the track while getting a lap dance from a bikini-clad woman at his home studio. “THIS FRIDAY YAYA WE...
Jenni Rivera’s New Song ‘Quisieran Tener Mi Lugar’ Is a Gift to Fans on Her Birthday
Watch the exclusive premiere of Jenni Rivera’s “Quisieran Tener Mi Lugar” music video. In celebration of her 51st birthday, Jenni Rivera‘s new posthumous single “Quisieran Tener Mi Lugar” is released today (July 1) along with a music video that pays homage to La Diva de la Banda. Penned by Luis Antonio López “El Mimoso” and Rivera, the Mexican-American singer-songwriter reflects on her hard work to get to the top with lyrics like, “It hurts them to see that I’m the diva, but I say what I feel … to earn respect, I’ve worked hard, I won’t stop.” An unstoppable force, even eight years after her death, “Quisieran Tener Mi Lugar” follows Rivera’s two previous posthumous singles “Aparentem...
Vanilla Ice to Perform In Texas Despite Surge in Virus Cases
Robert Matthew Van Winkle, best known by his stage name Vanilla Ice, is scheduled to perform at the Emerald Point Bar & Grill in Austin, Texas on Friday, according to a social media post from the venue. The concert, dubbed “Independence Day Throwback Beach Party,” will celebrate the Fourth of July holiday on an outdoor stage. This event arrives amid the surge in COVID-19 cases across Texas. According to The Texas Tribune, the number of COVID-19 cases has nearly quadrupled since Memorial Day. As of Wednesday, the state reported 8,000 new cases and 21 additional deaths. 2,481 people in Texas have died from COVID-19, with 168,062 Texans testing positive. There were 3,000 hospitalized in the Houston region, with 800 in intensive care. “We are looking forward to a fun and ...
Camila Cabello Is Video Chatting With Fans Who Check Their Voter Registration Status
The presidential election is coming up in November, and Camila Cabello is encouraging her fans to exercise their right to vote. The pop star teamed up with the non-profit organization Headcount to video chat with a fan at random who checked their voter registration status at HeadCount.org/Camila. Anyone who is not currently registered to vote is also pointed to their state election website or a printable form to get registered. The platform, called Vote Ready, was created by HeadCount in conjunction with technology firm Phone2Action. The organization aims to register at least 200,000 voters for the 2020 election and contact over one million Americans in a massive get-out-the-vote effort. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined w...
‘Facing the Music: The Fight for Criminal Justice Reform in America’ Panel Discusses How Musicians Can Leverage Their Mics on Their Platforms
Vibe editor-in-chief Datwon Thomas and formerly incarcerated teacher and Writing My Wrongs author Shaka Senghor co-moderated the “Facing the Music: The Fight for Criminal Justice Reform in America” panel Wednesday (July 1). The two discussed how artists can amplify police reform legislation with their voices in a 40-minute conversation with Grammy-nominated artist Aloe Blacc, U.S. Congressman for the Eight District of New York Hakeem Jeffries, trial attorney Justin Moore, and formerly incarcerated Lava Records and “Wrongful Conviction” podcast founder Jason Flom. “Music has been such an integral part of social impact work and civil rights movements,” Senghor said while asking Jeffries how musicians can better leverage the cultural impact of the industry for bipartisan legislative effo...
CNCO’s Richard Camacho Wins Best Latin Music Dad in Fan Poll
After a two-week poll circulated asking Billboard readers to vote for the best dad in Latin music, fans crown Richard Camacho of the Latin pop group CNCO. Camacho, who’s the father of three-year-old Aaliyah Sofia Camacho, nabs nearly 80 percent of the votes. He’s followed by other favorite Latin dads Ricky Martin in second place and Enrique Iglesias in third. On August 1, 2016, the New York-born Dominican artist announced the birth of his daughter on social media. “Very excited and very blessed!” he tweeted. “Thank you, God, for the amazing gift, the angel you have brought to me. Thank you for my little monkey, Aaliyah!” Camacho is the only CNCO member who’s a father. Joining the CNCOwner crew, Aaliyah’s adorable and playful ways are showcased on the group’s Instagram page. Recently,...
