entertainment blog
The Ledger: Music Subscription Prices Barely Budged for a Decade. That’s Quickly Changing
The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version of the newsletter is published online. Apple Music may have opened the floodgates on Monday when it announced that it will raise prices on its Apple Music subscription service, as well as its Apple TV+ streaming video on-demand service and its Apple One bundle of services (which includes Apple Music). Apple wasn’t the first music streaming company to broadly raise prices. Deezer started raising prices in France in January. In May, Amazon hiked prices for Prime members for Amazon Music Unlimited from $7.99 to $8.99 (or $79 to $89 if paid annually) and for the single-device plan (for Amazon’s Echo and Fire TV devices) from $3.99 to $4.99 per month. And ...
2022 Latin Grammys Will Have 4 Co-Hosts: These Awards Shows Had Even More
You may have read earlier Friday (Oct. 28) that the 23rd annual Latin Grammy Awards, to be held in Las Vegas on Nov. 17, will have four co-hosts — Brazilian powerhouse singer Anitta, Puerto Rican hitmaker Luis Fonsi, Italian singer-songwriter Laura Pausini, and Mexican superstar Thalia. This marks the first time the Latin Grammys will have had four or more co-hosts since the inaugural broadcast, in September 2000, which had five — Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, Andy Garcia, Jimmy Smits and Antonio Banderas. Most awards shows nowadays tend to go with one host or perhaps two or three co-hosts. But it used to be fairly commonplace for an awards show to have four or even more co-hosts. We took a deep dive into awards show history and found close to 20 times that shows...
Steve Aoki Joined Taking Back Sunday Onstage at When We Were Young Festival
A dance music superstar crashed the biggest emo party of the year. Over the weekend, emos and punks descended on the Las Vegas Festival Grounds for the inaugural When We Were Young Festival. The event featured performances from My Chemical Romance, Paramore, A Day to Remember, Avril Lavigne, Bring Me The Horizon and many more. The closest thing to EDM you’ll find at this event is a smattering of synthesizers, but a special surprise during Taking Back Sunday’s performance raised eyebrows. During their performance, Steve Aoki joined the band onstage. Over the summer, the prolific rock band and the Dim Mak boss blended their distinct styles to create the collaborative track “Just Us Two.” Looking to highlight some of their newer music at the festival powered by nostalg...
Spotify Considers First U.S. Price Increase for Individual Premium Plans In 2023
Inflation has been at a 40-year high for most of 2022, and so far seemingly nothing has been safe from price hikes, save for Costco hotdogs and your Spotify subscription. Unfortunately, in the case of Spotify, the days of the individual benchmark $9.99/month plan for U.S. customers may soon be a thing of the past. The subject of a price increase has been a topic of frequent speculation in years past, but on Tuesday’s earnings call the streaming giant gave the first clear indication they are seriously considering one in 2023. Spotify’s individual plans have remained $9.99/month since the company first launched them in the U.S. in 2011. Speaking with analysts, CEO Daniel Ek said raising prices “is one of the things we would like to do and it’s something we will [discuss] wi...
Creamfields Vietnam to Debut With Headlining Set From Hardwell
Hardwell has been called upon to usher in a new era of electronic music in Southeast Asia. The REBELS NEVER DIE artist has been announced as the marquee act at the debut of Creamfields Vietnam, scheduled for December 2022. Founded by Cream, now a Live Nation company, the Creamfields festival property rose to prominence after becoming a staple of the U.K. dance music festival scene over the past two decades. The flagship event was founded in 1998 and today boasts an annual attendance of over 250,000. Creamfields Vietnam will take place at the Phú Quốc United Center on Phu Quoc Island, the largest tropical island off the coast of Vietnam’s mainland. The area is a regional travel destination known for robust entertainment experiences, resort getaways and more. Scrol...
Elderbrook Announces Album Release Date, Celebrates With New Song Produced By ODESZA
It’s a “Beautiful Morning” to be a fan of Elderbrook. Not only has the indietronica star released a new, ODESZA-assisted single, but he’s also announced his forthcoming sophomore album, Little Love. Due February 24th, 2023, the album is said to be a 10-track project inspired by Elderbrook’s shift into parenthood. All of the music was composed after the birth of his first child in 2020. “‘Beautiful Morning’ is simply about two people spending time together. A day where nothing matters other than each other,” Elderbrook said in a press release shared with EDM.com. “When I first wrote the song, I had pictured it being two people in love. Between now and then, the song has definitely taken on multiple meanings for me. It no...
Lil Baby Drops Visual for Future-Assisted Track “From Now On”
Lil Baby has shared an accompanying music video for his Future-assisted track, “From Now On.” Helmed by Envisioned by Denity, the visual sees the pair performing the track in the studio, on the streets and in shops. “From Now On” appears on Baby’s latest studio effort It’s Only Me — an extensive 23-track record that also featured Nardo Wick, Young Thug, Fridayy, Rylo Rodriguez, Jeremih, EST Gee and Pooh Shiesty. The album went on to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, giving the young rapper his sixth top 10 effort and third No. 1 following The Voice of the Heroes with Lil Durk in 2021 and My Turn in 2020. Watch Lil Baby and Future’s “From Now On” visual above. Elsewhere in music, Baby Keem released the deluxe edition of The Melodic Blue. Read Full Article
Frank Ocean Unveils New Apple Music 1 Show Homer Radio: Listen
Frank Ocean is back with a new Apple Music 1 radio show. Homer Radio takes place on Thursdays at 10 p.m. Eastern; the show’s first episode features the producer Crystallmess. It is Ocean’s latest broadcast since unveiling two episodes of Blonded Radio back in July, which followed a “Blonded Xmas” episode late last year. Ocean played “Enough Said (NOLA Remix)” by Aaliyah, “Ghosts” by Japan, “Rather Unique” by AZ, and more. Listen to Homer Radio over on Apple Music 1. (Pitchfork earns a commission from purchases made through affiliate links on our site.) A description accompanying the broadcast describes it as “a one hour window into what plays around our office after hours.” The statement, signed by Frank Ocean, continues: Twin line array speakers hold court, they’re only a little loud. Som...
SZA Shares Long-Teased New Song “Shirt”: Watch the Video
SZA has released her long-teased track “Shirt.” The new song arrives with a music video directed by Dave Meyers and co-starring Lakeith Stanfield (who previously featured in SZA’s “I Hate U” visual). SZA and Stanfield go Bonnie and Clyde in the new Quentin Tarantino–esque visual, which features a room full of pregnant women dressed as nuns, a dead clown, and more. Watch it below. “Shirt” first surfaced in 2020 and grew popular on TikTok, where it soundtracked a popular dance challenge and took on the name “Shirt.” “I heard y’all named the TikTok song ‘Shirt’ lol,” SZA once wrote. “I’m fine w that.” She then said back in January 2021 that she was “finalizing” the song. In a recent interview with Complex, SZA revealed that she worked on “Shirt” with Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. “That was alwa...
Rihanna Returns With First New Song in 6 Years, Black Panther’s “Lift Me Up”: Listen
Rihanna has shared a new song, “Lift Me Up”—her first as a lead artist in six years. It will feature on the soundtrack to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The soundtrack is out November 4, ahead of the film’s arrival in theaters a week later. She wrote the song with Tems, producer Ludwig Göransson, and the Marvel movie’s director, Ryan Coogler, as a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. Rihanna also released a video for the track directed by Autumn Durald Arkapaw; it features the singer on a beach intercut with scenes from the film. Check out the video below. Tems said in a recent press release, “After speaking with Ryan and hearing his direction for the film and the song, I wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from all the people that I’ve lost in my life. I tried to imag...
Ice Spice Shares New Song “Bikini Bottom”: Listen
Ice Spice has shared her new song “Bikini Bottom.” The single is the Bronx rapper’s follow-up to her breakout moment “Munch (Feelin’ U).” It’s produced by her frequent collaborator RiotUSA and gets its name from SpongeBob SquarePants. Check out the song below. Ice Spice has been releasing singles since early last year. In 2022, she steadily built her name with a string of songs including “Name of Love” and “Euphoric,” until eventually going viral with “Munch (Feelin’ U)” in August. Since then, she’s featured on only one track, “One Time,” with B-Lovee, J.I., and Skillibeng. Read “Ice Spice’s “Munch (Feelin’ U)’ Is the New York Rap Song of the Summer We’ve Been Waiting For” on the Pitch. Content This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Kelly Clarkson Teams Up With ‘& Juliet‘ Star Lorna Courtney for ’Since U Been Gone’ Duet
To celebrate the opening night of previews for the original Broadway musical & Juliet on Friday (Oct. 28), the complete cast recording is now available on streaming services. The album features a brand new version of Kelly Clarkson‘s 2004 hit “Since U Been Gone” performed by the show’s star Lorna Courtney along with Clarkson herself. & Juliet is set to open at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in New York City on November 17 and features songs by the legendary and Grammy-winning songwriter and producer Max Martin. In addition to “Since U Been Gone,” the track listing also features pop anthems like Katy Perry’s “Roar,” Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time,” Backstreet Boys’ “Larger Than Life,” Celine Dion’s “That’s The Way It Is,” Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling” an...
