business
Tekashi 6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj Aim for U.K.’s Highest New Debut With ‘Trollz’
Tekashi 6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj are bound for the highest new entry on the U.K. singles chart with “Trollz”. After a busy weekend of sales and streaming activity, “Trollz” starts at No. 5 on the Official Chart: First Look. It’s on track to secure Minaj her highest-charting single in the U.K. since Little Mix’s 2018 hit “Woman Like Me,” on which assisted. “Woman Like Me” peaked at No. 2. Tekashi 6ix9ine has only impacted the U.K. top 10 on one occasion, with his “comeback” track “Gooba,” which hit No. 6 last month. A portion of the proceeds from the single, including merch items, will benefit The Bail Project, Minaj explains, which provides free bail assistance to low-income individuals who can’t afford to pay bail while awaiting their trial. Leading the U.K. sales blast is DaBa...
Tones And I, Jimmy Barnes, Amy Shark & More Set for COVIDSafe Concerts Program In Australia
BRISBANE — Live music is returning to Sydney, with a little help from government. As Australians kicked back for another weekend in lockdown, a statement dropped Saturday (June 13) from the New South Wales government detailing “Great Southern Nights,” a live music campaign featuring some of the biggest and brightest homegrown artists. A lineup starring Tones and I, Jimmy Barnes, Birds of Tokyo, Missy Higgins, The Jungle Giants and Paul Kelly will present 1,000 gigs for Great Southern Nights, curated by ARIA and an industry advisory committee and playing out in venues across regional New South Wales and the state capital, Sydney. Other big names booked include Thelma Plum, The Presets, Amy Shark, Tash Sultana, The Teskey Brothers and The Veronicas. There is one slight catc...
What the 2021 Grammys Could Look Like
With a confirmed date for the 2021 ceremony, the Recording Academy is now focused on pandemic-proofing the show. The show will go on. That’s the word from Recording Academy chair and interim president/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. about the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, slated to take place Jan. 31, 2021. Less certain, in the age of the coronavirus, are all of the other particulars, including whether the ceremony will air live from Los Angeles’ Staples Center as planned. Mason says he is in “constant communication” with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office, medical advisers, network partner CBS, the venue and executive producer Ben Winston regarding the latest updates that inform the reopening process. California is currently in stage two — and concert venues in the state do not reopen until ...
Halsey Launches Fund to Amplify Black Creators’ ‘Art, Voice and Perspective’
Halsey is stepping up her support for the Black Lives Matter movement by launching a special fund to help black creators. The Black Creators Fund will provide financial support, resources and a platform to black creators, the singer explains in a statement posted to Instagram. “Looking for black creators who want to enrich the world with their work,” she writes, “use #BLACKCREATORSFUND & tag your favorite black creators in the comments.” Launching Thursday (June 11), the fund will help amplify black artists’ voice and perspective, read a statement. The initiative is an ongoing one, and it’ll be entirely funded by the Halsey team. “If you’re an artist, poet, graphic designer, writer, film maker, music producer, journalist, make up artist, or creator of any kind,” reads the launch statem...
BMG Commits to Review of Historic Contracts, Diversity Shakeup In Pledge Against Racism
In the wake of international protests against the death of George Floyd and other Black men and women at the hand of police officers, BMG has committed to action. And timeframes. One week on from “Black Out Tuesday,” BMG has set out its stance on racism and inequality. The music company circulated a message to thousands of its artists and songwriters with a pledge: “We need to play our part in addressing historical injustices inflicted on black people.” Mindful of the music industry’s “record of shameful treatment of black artists,” the message reads, “we have begun a review of all historic record contracts. If any inequities or anomalies are found, BMG will create a plan to address them within 30 days.” BMG also promises to address diversity within its workplace. “...
Coachella Announces 2021 Dates After Cancellation News
Now Coachella is being planned for April 9-11 and April 16-18, 2021, and Stagecoach is scheduled for April 23-25, 2021. Following news Wednesday Coachella and Stagecoach festivals’ October dates were canceled by county health officials, promoter Goldenvoice announced new dates on Thursday (June 11) in 2021 for the Indio, California, events. Now Coachella is being planned for April 9-11 and April 16-18, 2021, Stagecoach is scheduled for April 23-25, 2021. Coachella’s 2020 edition was previously scheduled to take place April 10-12 and April 17-19 with headliners Travis Scott, Frank Ocean and Rage Against the Machine. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was then pushed back to the weekends of Oct. 9-11 and Oct. 16-18 and Stagecoach was moved to Oct. 23-25. R...
NMPA Touts Cross-Industry Legislative Cooperation, New Friendship With Peloton & More at Annual Meeting
Kicking off the National Music Publishers’ Association’s annual meeting Wednesday, the organization’s president and CEO David Israelite applauded RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier for his leadership in pulling together around 65 music trade groups to lobby Congress for CARES Act relief for self-employed music industry workers. Glazier himself applauded the industry for coming together and noted that in times of tragedy, artists are quick to respond, playing live concerts to raise money for any number of worthy causes. “But sometimes they are not so good at raising money for themselves” in their own time of need, he said. Israelite also pointed out the industry was forced to respond to California’s AB5 law, which was enacted to try and protect gig economy workers. That law, however, would have created...
The Biggest Dance Music Livestream of Quarantine Just Got Even Bigger: See The Lineup
Billing itself as “the biggest digital music festival in history,” upcoming dance music livestream festival Electric Blockaloo just got even bigger. Today (June 11), the event added artists including Bob Moses, Maya Jane Coles, Deadmau5’s techno alter-ego Testpilot, Skream, Blondish, Seth Troxler, Khruangbin, MK, DJ Soda, Ekali, Felix da Housecat, Ivy Lab, Kevin Saunderson, The Knocks, Krafty Kuts, Luciano, Carl Craig, MK, Paris Hilton, Rudimental, DJ Sneak, Sherelle, STS9, Steve Aoki and Todd Terry to its already massive lineup featuring a staggering 850 artists. Electric Blockaloo takes place June 25-28 inside the video game Minecraft, which during the festival will feature 65 digitally-rendered stages including those hosted by labels and artists like Bedouin,...
Russell Simmons Accuser Criticizes ‘Breakfast Club’ for Giving Him a Platform
Following the debut of HBO Max’s sexual assault documentary On the Record — which features accounts from multiple women accusing Russell Simmons of rape — the hip-hop mogul was invited onto The Breakfast Club, where he once again denied the allegations against him. “Back then, I thought it was a game…. There were no Black actresses that I didn’t date and they’re my friends today,” Simmons said on the long-running radio show. “They don’t have the experience of me being a monster the movie makes me out to be.” He later added, “I can never say that someone doesn’t feel victimized. I can tell you that I don’t feel that I victimized them.” Not long after the interview was posted online, Sil Lai Abrams — one of Russell’s accusers featured in ...
NMPA Annual Meeting Celebrates Continued Publishing Growth, Warns of Pre-Pandemic Threats
The National Music Publishers’ Association announced its fifth consecutive year of increased revenues, while noting the industry’s high-stakes legal cases still ahead. The National Music Publishers’ Association’s annual meeting was held virtually Wednesday (June 10) due to COVID-19, where president and CEO David Israelite reminded membership that music publishing is still facing pre-pandemic threats to its business. Namely digital streaming services’ Copyright Royalty Board appeal and the Department of Justice’s review of ASCAP and BMI consent decree — which could also be an opportunity, depending on how the DOJ rules. “We are now 2.5% years into the new [rating] periods but we still don’t have certainty on our rates because Spotify and...
Coachella, Stagecoach Music Festivals Pushed to 2021
The events were already rescheduled from April to October, as plans for a return next year still remain unclear. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and country music festival Stagecoach will not take place this year due to county and state restrictions. Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday (June 10), the festivals would not be held in Indio, California, this October — as had been planned when promoter Goldenvoice was forced to reschedule from their original April dates last March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Kaiser cited California Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s four-step outline for re-opening the state as the reasoning behind the decision, noting music festivals are not permitted to reopen until a...
ARMY, K-pop Fans Become an Unexpected Ally to American Protesters
As American protesters took to the streets to mourn the death of George Floyd, they found an unexpected ally: K-pop fans. Floyd died May 25 after a police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes even after he stopped moving. K-pop fans galvanized by police brutality and political disappointments swiftly mobilized, re-purposing their usual platforms and hashtags from boosting their favorite stars to backing the Black Lives Matter movement. They flooded right-wing hashtags and police apps with short video clips and memes of their K-pop stars. In a tweet Thursday to its 26 million fans, South Korean boy band BTS said it opposes racial discrimination and violence and announced a $1 million donation to Black Lives Matter. Fans quickly followed suit with the hashtag #MatchAMil...
