Maybe it was the chilly temperatures, steady breeze and light spatterings of rain, which take a toll when a person is standing outdoors on an elevated platform — like the stage of a concert venue — for two hours. Or maybe it was just an off night. But the feverishly passionate reviews for the first dates […]

Spotify was hit with a cease-and-desist letter from the National Music Publishers Assn. over its use of lyrics in its recently launched video function and podcasts, and its remix feature that enables users to speed up or otherwise edit songs to create derivative works. The trade association claims that such uses are copyright violations and […]

Sony Music Publishing today announced it has acquired the catalog of Tame Impala singer/ songwriter/ producer Kevin Parker, who has also worked extensively with Dua Lipa, Rihanna, SZA, Kendrick Lamar Gorillaz and more. The deal, which expands the company’s 15-year partnership with Parker, encompasses his entire catalog of songs as well as future works. Terms […]

It’s hard to think of an album with a more confusing backstory than Childish Gambino-aka-Donald Glover’s “Atavista,” which was first released stealthily — with little notice, promotion, cover artwork or even song titles — into a dark world four years ago, in the early days of the pandemic, and originally named after its grim release […]

Mary J. Blige has been a superstar for more than 30 years not just because of her unforgettable voice, hit records and Oscar-nominated acting — it’s also because of the deep bond she’s built with her fans. “The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,” is not only one of the most successful artists of her generation, but […]

Dennis Thompson, whose powerhouse drumming drove the MC5, has died, according to the Detroit Free Press. The MC5 were one of the most aggressive and politically active bands of the 1960s and their driving brand of rock music was a foundation of punk rock, Motorhead and every strain of hard rock that followed. According to […]

Meshell Ndegeocello, Fishbone and others lead the 2024 season of the long-running BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival lineup. Now in its 46 th year, the festival returns to the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park beginning on June 8 and wrapping on August 24. It is the longest-running free performing arts festival in New York City. […]

A long list of artists including Robert Plant, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Peter Frampton, Bryan Adams and more have joined the late British singer Steve Marriott’s children and bandmates in opposing the release of “new” recordings featuring AI-generated versions of his vocals. The former frontman of the Small Faces and Humble Pie (and Rock and […]

An HBO concert special based on Lady Gaga’s 2022 “Chromatica Ball” tour will premiere on the network on Saturday, May 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT  and will be available to stream on Max.   The special was filmed before a sold-out crowd of 52,000 people at Los Angeles’s Dodger Stadium in September of 2022 and features […]

(This article is unintentionally a counterpoint to my colleague Owen Gleiberman’s considerably more-positive take on the Beatles’ “Let It Be” film, restored by Peter Jackson and released today on Disney+.) When I was a Beatles-obsessed seven-year-old, my mother, in an act of selfless parental love, took me to a Fab Four film festival: “Hard Day’s […]

It’s a strange sensation to see an artist who you last saw performing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before a global audience of 120 million-plus at the Super Bowl singing ten feet in front of you at the Blue Note jazz club in New York’s Greenwich Village. But that was the consolation prize for 400 […]

A man has been hospitalized with serious injuries after a shooting outside rapper Drake’s home in Toronto, according to the CBC and Toronto’s CityNews. Paramedics told reporters that the man’s injuries are not considered life-threatening; police confirmed that Drake was not the victim. The shooting took place at around 2:10 a.m. ET near the corner […]

Kendrick Lamar continued to ramp up his increasingly personal musical battle with Drake by releasing “Not Like Us,” his third song in 36 hours, early Saturday evening. The song is posted on Lamar’s official YouTube channel — which essentially guarantees its authenticity in an era when an AI deepfake must always be considered — and […]

“We haven’t done a matinee show in years,” Mick Jagger observed drolly, halfway through The Rolling Stones’ first appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on Thursday evening. As usual, the Stones began their set with “Start Me Up” — but shortly after 5 p.m., launching into an early but enthusiastic 18-song set […]

“Say It Isn’t So” isn’t just the name of a classic Hall & Oates song — it’s the much-headlined reaction to the news that the duo that practically defines duos had a nasty and seemingly final split last year. The two, who began singing and performing together more than 50 years ago over a mutual […]

In the wee hours of Thursday — 2:35 a.m, ET, to be precise — Universal Music Group and TikTok announced the settlement of their three-month standoff over royalties, AI policies and other issues. The battle was significantly disruptive to the industry but most of all to artists, thousands of whom suddenly found their music muted […]

The months-long standoff between Universal Music Group and TikTok over royalty payments and AI policies is finally over, at least for the time being, with the announcement that the two entities have struck a deal to bring the label’s music back on the platform. As part of the agreement, the companies stated that they will “deliver improved […]

Richard Tandy, the keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist whose tenure with the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) spanned more than 50 years, has died, according to a statement from Jeff Lynne, the group’s frontman and co-founder. No cause of death was given, although sources said he had been ill for several years; he was 76. “It is with […]

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and this year’s theme has been dubbed “Advancing Leaders Through Innovation” by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council. The organization not only works to support AAPI leaders in government, but to empower AAPI individuals all around the world to find success and growth in their careers in […]