NEWS
BMG Launches Record Label With French Soccer Club Olympique de Marseille
BMG has struck a strategic partnership with French Ligue 1 football (soccer) club Olympique de Marseille (OM) that includes the launch of OM Records, a new hip-hop, rap and R&B label. OM Records will be headquartered in Marseille, France, which has been a hotbed of French hip-hop since the 1990s and served as a proving ground for artists including BMG publishing clients IAM and Fonky Family. Emile Hauck will manage the new imprint and all of the club’s other music activities as OM Records’ A&R and project manager. He will report to BMG France general manager Sylvain Gazaignes. Under the agreement, BMG will be the exclusive partner for all OM music projects and activities; it also includes a licensing deal for BMG’s production music library, which OM will use for all inte...
Demi Lovato & Max Ehrich Break Off Engagement After 2 Months
Demi Lovato and Max Ehrich have ended their engagement after two months, a source close to the singer confirmed to Billboard. A source with knowledge of the situation exclusively told the magazine that the 28-year-old pop star and 29-year-old actor amicably split up to focus on their own careers. “It was a tough decision, but Demi and Max have decided to go their separate ways to focus on their respective careers,” the source told People. “They have respect and love for one another and will always cherish the time they spent together.” The Young and the Restless star surprised Lovato with a beachside proposal on July 22, which the “Confident” singer posted about on Instagram. “I’ve never felt so unconditionally lo...
Billy Corgan Says Halsey & Lady Gaga Exist in a Genre-Bending ‘Musical World That I Dreamed Of’
The Smashing Pumpkins‘ frontman Billy Corgan chatted with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe about reassembling the Chicago alt-rockers for a new album and the evolving state of mainstream pop. Corgan listed his rock-leaning musical influences David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and The Beatles, but he appreciates how pop stars like Halsey and Lady Gaga have been leaning into other genres in a “musical world that I dreamed of.” “I think the good news is that we’re now in, or we’ve entered into, the musical world that I dreamed of. Which is that you hear pop artists like Halsey doing almost alternative tracks. You see Gaga doing a country album,” Corgan said of their output. “I mean, artists really should explore the space, and ...
Chloe x Halle, Matt Berninger & More Perform for ‘Team Joe Sings’ Concert Series Supporting Joe Biden & Kamala Harris
Team Joe Sings, a concert series from the team behind Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and VP nominee Kamala Harris’ 2020 campaign, unveiled its second batch of artists on Thursday (Sept. 24). Matt Berninger (of The National), Chloe x Halle, X Ambassadors, Andrew Bird, JP Saxe, Jonathan Facka, Alfred Howard, Aniello, and Susan Werner performed two songs virtually in support of the Biden for President campaign. Performances are uploaded onto the acts’ respective YouTube channels at 8 p.m. ET every Thursday until the Nov. 3 election. The group follows last week’s performances by Kesha, Anthony Hamilton, Los Lobos, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, Harlem Gospel Travelers and Mister...
Kygo Sinks Investment Into Plant-Based Chicken Company
Kygo isn’t chicken when it comes to investing. Following his purchase of a minority stake in a top-selling Finnish alcohol company, Kygo has made another splash in the food and beverage industry thanks to an investment in daring, the leader in clean plant-based chicken. His early-stage investment arm, Palm Tree Crew Investments, helped close an $8 million Series A funding round for the company to foster its mission to remove chicken as a form of animal protein from our food system and replace it with a more sustainable, plant-based option. According to Business Wire, the funding round was led by Maveron, a prominent Seattle-based venture capital firm founded by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and investment banker Dan Levitan. In addition to KygoR...
Talk Slow: Dapper Dan Details How Luxury Eventually Embraced Hip-Hop
Source: Roy Rochlin / Getty After decades of being shunned by premium brands time has proven Hip-Hop is your favorite tastemaker’s tastemaker. One of our elders recently gave the skinny on the culture became such a force. Last week our genre broke more barriers like never before. On September 15 famed auction house Sotheby’s sold off some rather iconic Rap collectibles. The sale was a first ever occasion for the brand with The Notorious B.I.G.’s Rap Pages crown going to market for a price tag of $594,750. High Snobiety partnered with Sotheby’s in a panel that examined “The Rise Of Hip-Hop”. One of the featured guests on the special session was none other than Dapper Dan. His insight truly showed that what the South Bronx created has transformed the world. When asked about pivotal...
BIA Fronts Sean John’s First Women’s Collaboration With Missguided
Source: Sean John / Sean John Missguided and Diddy’s iconic streetwear brand Sean John have teamed up to create a 114-piece collection, inspired by the history of the brand and its music heritage, the collection features everything from velour to nylon to sweat fabrics. Sean John x Missguided invites the next generation of future icons to be unapologetically themselves through timeless streetwear collection. “Real disruption that resonates with customers, isn’t just about getting ranges and collaborations right, it’s about being prepared to break new ground. And with Sean John x Missguided, that’s precisely what we’ve done – the first Sean John collaboration for women, built around how we know the MIssguided customers want to look. And this is more than a one-off – we’ll be unveiling addit...
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Unearth Footage From First-Ever Show for 20th Anniversary
Damn, can you believe it’s been 20 years since Yeah Yeah Yeahs played their first show? Crazy. Many in the audience that night didn’t realize that Karen O. and company would outgrow the club in no time, not did they likely expect the band to — wisely and presciently — film that very first gig. On the 20th anniversary of that occasion, the band unearthed footage from that show at New York City’s Mercury Lounge. As the band notes on their Facebook page, the night was pretty power-packed, as the rest of the bill included “local favorites Candy Darlings, Kid Congo Powers, and up and comers from Detroit The White Stripes.” Those up and comers ended up having a pretty good career as well. That said, Yeah Yeah Yeahs shared a clip from that night, a performance of “Our Time,” which you c...
California Plans to Ban New Gas, Diesel Cars by 2035
After a few years of maneuvering by climate-change activists and green-minded legislators, Governor Gavin Newsom of California issued an executive order [click the link to view the order as a PDF] on Wednesday directing the state to require that all new vehicles on sale there in 2035 have zero emissions. The California Air Resources Board, which sets the state’s vehicle emissions standards, will actually promulgate the eventual rule that Newsom calls for. This executive order targets private passenger cars and trucks, as well as formulates a requirement that medium- and heavy-duty vehicles reach the same zero-percent target by the later date of 2045. There’s language that allows some flexibility for the proposals due to technological feasibility and cost-effectiveness. It&...
Well, Marshmello Has Nabbed a CMT Award Nomination
Genre crossover songs are nothing new. They have generally been enjoyed by music lovers since 70s prog rock, some of the nostalgic nu-metal of the early 2000s (yes, it was good), or that time when Nelly and Tim McGraw teamed up for the inimitable “Over And Over.” Not only is EDM no exception to this genre-bending rule, it’s actually the genre of music that tends to breach into crossover territory the most. Over the years, we’ve seen metal-infused dubstep, big room folk-house, orchestral bass, and most recently, EDM poster snack Marshmello and pop country dreamboat Kane Brown‘s collaboration, “One Thing Right.” The track was a big hit that certainly teetered along the lines of country. In fact, it would appear that the inclusion...
Chris Rock Hosting SNL Season Premiere With Megan Thee Stallion as Musical Guest
Like all other live shows, Saturday Night Live had to make due earlier this year with socially-distanced episodes. That changes when the new season begins. Chris Rock will host the first in-studio episode since the pandemic first hit. Megan Thee Stallion will be the musical guest to begin the 46th season on October 3. This is the third time Rock will return to SNL as a host (he was a cast member from 1990-1993) and Megan Thee Stallion’s first proper appearance on the sketch comedy show — she popped up with Chance the Rapper last year on “Handsome.” As if that wasn’t enough, Jim Carrey will also feature as Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden in the run-up to the election — kicking off what’s sure to be a politically charged month. Rock will also star in the up...
S.G. Goodman & Jim James Headlining All-Star Get Out the Vote Festival ‘Which Side Are You On’
Native Kentuckians S.G. Goodman and Jim James are hoping to encourage voter registration with their upcoming all-star online festival, “Which Side Are You On: Voices for Kentucky and Beyond.” The Old Time Feeling singer-songwriter and My Morning Jacket frontman have teamed with Hood to the Holler and Rural Organizing for the three-hour Oct. 1 blowout, during which they will perform alongside Jason Isbell, Bright Eyes, Phoebe Bridgers, Nappy Roots, Chris Thile, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Durand Jones, Leyla McCalla, James Lindsey and many more. The show will be hosted by Kentucky House Rep. Charles Booker, who will discuss voter registration, voter eligibility and key voting deadlines in between acts. And though the music is the draw, Goodman tells Billboard that the go...
